Daybreak Nursery

Daybreak Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Daybreak Nursery

314085 Unique Reference Number 15 February 2007 Inspection date Julie Morrison Inspector

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Daybreak Nursery

Church Hall, Church Street, High Etherley, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 0HW

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E-mail

Joanne Hardy Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Daybreak Nursery has been registered for seven years. It operates from three rooms within a converted church near the centre of Etherley. It serves the local area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The setting is registered for 27 children and there are currently 61 children from birth to five years attending on a part time basis. This includes 23 funded three and four year olds. The setting supports children with learning disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens five days a week all year round from 08.00 to 17.30.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Eight members of staff work with the children. All of the staff hold a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in early years to Level 3 and one to Level 4. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Good standards of hygiene and cleanliness are maintained throughout the nursery to promote children's health. Tables are cleaned before and after food, table cloths are used and there is a general cleaning rota in place. Staff adhere to nappy changing procedures as they wash hands, wear aprons and disposable gloves and dispose of nappies appropriately, to minimise the risk of cross-infection. Consistent adult support and guidance helps children become increasingly independent in their personal care, for example, when washing their hands before snack time and after the toilet, and when helping themselves to tissues which they dispose of in the bin. Older children go to the toilet themselves and confidently discuss why they need to wash their hands, to 'stop germs'. A clear written policy regarding sick children and the effective recording of emergency consents, medication permission and accident records, promote children's health

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Helping children to be healthy

The children have regular opportunities for physical exercise which contributes to their good health. Babies are able to move around, crawl, roll, pull themselves up and explore their environment, as well as having some opportunities to go outside for fresh air. The older children have free access to the secure outside area, which helps to create a sense of independence and confidence. Outside, they enjoy a range of physical activities such as running, climbing and ride on toys, as well as a reading corner, writing desk and role play. The children play with water and soil, they make 'mud pies' and 'coffee' and thoroughly enjoy the freedom of getting dirty and exploring their environment. Such opportunities support the children in developing gross motor skills and aid their ongoing physical development.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children learn about healthy eating through planned activities and a healthy diet. They discuss and taste different kinds of fruit and make a display about healthy foods. All children benefit from having nutritious snacks including, fresh fruit, raw vegetables, crackers and milk and water. Lunch is provided as part of a rolling menu, and is well balanced and nutritious, as well as a social occasion where staff and children eat together. Children have their health and dietary needs met, as staff work well with parents to obtain written information about individual needs and ensure that these are supported. For example, vegetarian options and alternatives for children who are dairy free.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a safe, secure and welcoming environment where all risks have been identified and minimised. For example, well documented risk assessments are carried out by staff and regularly reviewed. The outside area is checked before children go outside and accident records are discussed as a team to ensure that any reoccurring risks are identified and minimised. The premises are secure, internal doors are locked and visitors are signed in and out to ensure that children remain safe. The rooms are laid out to enable children to move around independently and freely to explore their environment. Child sized storage, shelves, boxes and

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 trays means that they are able to make independent choices from a range of good quality and developmentally appropriate resources.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected because the setting has a good range of written policies covering safety issues, which are understood and implemented by staff. For example, lost and uncollected children and fire procedures, including regular fire drills. Children are kept safe on outings as staff ensure that all appropriate consents are in place, risk assessments are carried out prior to outings, staff carry first aid kits and mobile phones and record where they are going and what time they will return. Children are beginning to learn to keep themselves safe as they discuss road safety, walking in twos and crossing the road safely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to child protection, which effectively safeguards children. They have a clear child protection policy in place and a secure understanding of the signs and symptoms to be aware of. Procedures are in place to record exiting injuries and all staff have completed some child protection training.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The children are happy and settled at the nursery and are developing warm relationships with the staff and each other. Children's and staff's photographs are displayed at the entrance to the nursery, this contributes to a feeling of belonging for the children and is welcoming for parents. Children know the routines well, enter the group confidently and separate well from carers. They are involved in a range of activities which cover all areas of development. For example, babies enjoy playing with a space blanket, they explore it with all of their senses including feet as they take off socks and shoes to stand on it and enjoy the sensation. They explore water, bathing babies, and playing with corn flour. Younger babies enjoy mirrors, activity and musical toys as well as exploring natural objects, such as shiny paper, water bottles full of glitter, cones and empty cartons. Even the youngest of babies have a 'quiet' area in their room

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

with cushions and books for them to enjoy.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing good creative and fine motor skills as they paint, cut paper with scissors and use sticky tape to make crowns. They love role play and pretend to be doctors or make sandwiches out of soft dough, while others play with building blocks, jigsaws and sand. Children benefit from small age appropriate groups for story time and enthusiastically join in with well known stories. However, circle time as a large group goes on too long for some of the younger children who lose interest and wander off to find something different to do.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Most staff have a good understanding of the 'Birth to three' matters framework. They have effective measures in place for planning, monitoring and assessing children's learning. This is used well in the baby rooms to ensure that they are effectively supported in making good progress across all areas of their development. However, in the older room the large age range of children means that some opportunities to extend learning for the younger children are missed and the older children sometimes dominate activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Some staff demonstrate a good understanding of the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. However, others lack a clear understanding of the stepping stones and how young children learn. Staff use long, medium and short term plans to provide a broad range of activities across all areas of learning. Focused activities are adequately used, they show clear learning intentions, are directly linked to the stepping stones and identify differentiation for children's abilities. Some staff make good use of questioning to extend children's learning. For example, asking how many blocks there are or what letters they are using, and are clear which of the stepping stones children are working towards. However, a lack of understanding from other staff means that sometimes

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

opportunities to extend children's learning outside of the focused activities are missed, and children spend quite a lot of time undirected.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children benefit from key-workers and progress is effectively monitored and recorded in individual files. Written observations link to the stepping stones and areas for further development are kept in a separate book so that all staff are aware of areas of development for individual children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children clearly enjoy coming to the nursery and engage happily in solitary play, for example, persisting at jigsaws, painting pictures and cutting and using glue to make Valentines cards. They also play cooperatively with others, for example, they plan a picnic and discuss what they will take, pack a bag and all go off to the other side of the room to enjoy their picnic. They show an understanding of the world around them and good communication skills as they discuss the weather and agree to pack up because it is raining. They talk about how they will get home and decide to get the bus, so that they do not get wet.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children benefit from having supervised access to trying out new activities. They practise sawing and hammering nails into a piece of real wood to increase hand-eye coordination, and demonstrate a sense of pride and confidence at using real tools. The children benefit enormously from this hands on experience of using real equipment and resources, for example, they are able to feel the wood and describe its texture and shape, 'its rough and sharp'. Children's communication skills are beginning to develop well, they confidently talk about what they are doing, their families and where they have been on holiday. They engage in songs and rhymes enthusiastically, such as 'hickory dickory dock' and 'one, two…once I caught a fish alive'. Although, some of the quieter and younger children do not get heard at circle time when they try to request songs and some lose interest in the activity. Children are showing an interest in

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

written words, some can write their names and are beginning to recognise letters to spell out other children's names. The older children enjoy clapping out the number of syllables in their name, this helps them to recognise rhythm in spoken words.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are gaining confidence in using numbers in everyday conversations as well as in response to good questioning from some staff. They count how many bricks they have and how many toys they have lined up. Some opportunities are missed to introduce mathematics in everyday routines, for example, at lunch time staff count out the number of plates they need, and there is a lack of use of calculations in everyday play and activities. Nevertheless, most children are counting reliably to 10 and beyond and using comparative language, for example, they build blocks high and discuss bigger and smaller, and good questioning helps the children think about how they can reach higher.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children have some opportunities to learn about the world around them, through planned activities and some resources. They celebrate the Chinese New Year and enjoy making pictures and trying Chinese food with chopsticks. Walks around their local area and visits to the post office, shops, local primary school and nursing home help children to become aware of their local community.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children with learning difficulties are successfully included in the setting. Some staff demonstrate a good understanding of the needs of individual children and are committed to working with parents and other professionals to ensue children's individual development. The registered special educational needs coordinator is committed to ongoing training and to further developing her knowledge and skills in this area, and benefit the children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children demonstrate a sense of belonging in the setting, they benefit from positive relationships with staff who know the children well. They recognise when children may be tired and children confidently go to them for cuddles and reassurance. Children's behaviour is generally good. Staff use regular praise, are consistent with boundaries and help children to understand right from wrong with clear explanations. For example, they remind children to be careful so that they do not get hurt. The large age range of children in the older room means that disagreements over toys and sharing sometimes break out. However, staff calmly encourage children to share and discuss how it would feel if toys were broken. Older children who can sometimes be quite controlling with the younger children, can equally show care and concern for them as they cuddle and check they are 'ok'. Therefore, children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is good. Children benefit from positive relationships between staff and parents. Parents speak highly of the nursery and the care their children receive. They receive an informative booklet about the setting, which includes some of the policies and procedures, such as the complaints procedure with Ofsted's name, address and telephone number. Information about the children, such as likes, dislikes, allergies and health needs ensures that the children's individual needs are met. The setting ensures that parents are kept up to date with information from the nursery in the form of newsletters, verbal feedback and an information board. Children discuss what they have been doing that day and this is written on a whiteboard for parents to see. Parents also complete regular questionnaires which the nursery use to ensure that parents are happy with the care and education that their children

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Helping children make a positive contribution

receive and further develop their practice.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents receive some feedback about their children's development at a parents evening, and some information is displayed on the noticeboard along with the current topic, 'winter'. However, this lacks details of how it is linked to the early goals or how parents can be involved to further develop children's learning. As a result parents are not fully informed about their child's development and learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Secure recruitment and vetting procedures and policies are in place to ensure that children are protected and cared for by staff with relevant experience, knowledge and skills. Good induction systems, staff appraisals and monthly staff meetings ensure that staff are valued and work well as part of a team. Staff are committed to attending relevant training courses to enhance their personal development. All staff hold a first aid certificate ensuring that children can have immediate attention in an emergency. Staff have positive regard for the well-being of children in their care, staffing levels are high and suitable contingencies are in place for emergencies.

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Organisation

The setting has a comprehensive collection of policies and procedures, which are understood by staff, updated and reviewed regularly. All required documentation is in place, securely stored for easy access and confidentiality.

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Organisation

Children are well cared and feel at home in a well organised setting which promotes children's welfare. Space is used to its maximum potential, enabling children to access toys and activities and make choices about their learning. The quiet areas ensure that children can rest if needed, whilst their physical development is promoted by access to the outdoor area.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is satisfactory. The provision is appropriately managed and monitored and the staff team are supportive and work well together. The manager values and is supportive of the staff and this creates a happy atmosphere in which to care for children. However, there is a clear disparity in staff's knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage. As a result children's leaning and development is not consistent. The manager is committed to the setting, its development, and the care and education of children who attend. They are currently working towards a quality assurance scheme.

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Organisation

Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the setting was asked to ensure that there was an appropriate procedure in place for completing children's medical records and to ensure areas for development were identified through evaluation of activities. They were also asked to ensure that opportunities were increased for children to develop effective listening skills through organisation of groups, and to increase opportunities for older and more able children to develop their skills.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The setting has an up to date and signed medication record in place for all children. Opportunities have been developed for children to develop listening skills by arranging the group into smaller, age appropriate groups at story time but not for other activities. Plans show differentiation for older and more able children and in-house training has been done in this area to increase staff's awareness. Activities are evaluated to ensure that areas for development, as well as individual children's learning, is highlighted.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection, there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure children's awareness of diversity and the wider world is promoted through access to resources and activities.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure through planning and in daily activities that children have regular opportunities to develop calculation • develop procedures to keep parents informed about the Foundation Stage, and how they can support their child's development • further develop staff's knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage to ensure that children receive maximum benefit from activities • (and care) ensure that sessions are organised and planned effectively to take into account the different ages and needs of the children.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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