Mayfield House Kindergarten

Mayfield House Kindergarten Inspection report for early years provision

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205436 Unique Reference Number 09 October 2007 Inspection date Donna Stevens Inspector

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275 Marlpool Lane, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY11 5DA Setting Address

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E-mail

Heidi Munday and Erica Munday 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet 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 good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Mayfield House Kindergarten is a privately owned and managed day nursery that was registered in 1991. It operates from a private house with gardens for outdoor play. The nursery serves the wide local area. The nursery is open Monday to Friday all year round between 08:00 and 18:00. Children are able to attend for a variety of full day or half day sessions. The nursery supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Of the 14 staff who work with the children, seven have appropriate qualifications to level 2 or above. The nursery receives support from a mentor teacher from the local authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is inadequate. Children's health is promoted because they learn the importance of good personal hygiene through well-planned daily routines. Older children are encouraged to take themselves to the toilet independently and know to wash their hands after using it, after playing outside, after

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Helping children to be healthy

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 handling the nursery chickens and before eating. Staff have taken steps to ensure that children are not at risk from cross-infection, for example using different coloured cloths for cleaning tables and toilets, regularly washing toys and equipment used by the very youngest children and observing good hygiene standards when hand washing. Good procedures are in place for nappy changing, if children become unwell or need to be given medication. At the time of the inspection the staff's first aid qualifications had expired and this delay in updating training could leave children at risk from receiving inappropriate treatment in the event of an accident. It is a requirement of registration that at least one member of staff with a current first aid training certificate, which includes training in first aid for infants and young children, is on the

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Helping children to be healthy

premises or on outings at any one time. Therefore the outcome of the inspection is inadequate.

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Helping children to be healthy

The staff have a good understanding of food nutrition and children are provided with a broad range of activities to learn about healthy eating. The nursery has an allotment where children help to plant, look after and grow salad, fruit and vegetables that they will then help to harvest and prepare. This involvement in every stage of the food preparation helps to encourage children to taste new foods and develop an understanding of food that is good for them and food that is nice as a treat. Children are provided with breakfast, dinner and tea and all meals are prepared using fresh ingredients. Mealtimes are sociable occasions where children and staff sit together and engage in conversation. Drinking water is readily available to children at all times.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children have good opportunities for physical exercise. They enjoy walking to the allotment, visiting the Forest School and playing in the garden on climbing equipment. Older children take part in weekly gymnastic sessions at the local leisure centre and children of all ages enjoy yoga sessions on a regular basis. Younger children are provided with plenty of space and sturdy equipment to enable them to crawl, pull themselves up and take their first steps. As a result children are making good physical progress.

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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 very clean, well-maintained, safe and secure setting. They are grouped by age and stage of development and each room provides children with interesting toys and equipment that are stimulating and enjoyable. Children have plenty of space to play, spread out activities or have quiet time. Children of all ages are able to select their own equipment from low-level, easily accessible storage. They enjoy using the outside area which provides a variety of opportunities for play and learning. Children in the pre-school room also have access to a purpose-built treehouse which they use for small group work and expanding activities.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well supervised at all times. Their safety is paramount and all reasonable steps are taken to minimise risks. They are encouraged to begin to learn how to keep themselves safe as they learn basic safety rules within the setting, for example picking toys up from the floor and not running inside. Older children are able to further expand these experiences as they visit the Forest School and learn that they must not go too near the fire and to carry sticks carefully. They take part in regular fire drills and learn about road safety on walks to the allotment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected from possible abuse or neglect. There is a clear up-to-date written policy that is shared with parents. The staff have a clear understanding of the types of abuse and appropriate action to take if they are concerned about a child in their care.

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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

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The children are very well settled in the setting and are confident and happy. Staff spend a great deal of time with the children supporting their play and encouraging them to learn new skills. They are affectionate and caring with the children and know each child's individual level of development, likes and dislikes and daily routine. Staff working with the younger children use ideas from the 'Birth to three matters' framework to introduce children to a range of activities and play opportunities that stimulate their senses. Babies have the opportunity to explore natural materials such as pieces of material that feel differently, for example feathers, and balls made of different plastics. Mirrors are placed in trays on the floor and on the wall at child height so that children can see themselves and others as they play. Toddlers are introduced to messy play and allowed to fully explore materials. Children taking part in a vegetable printing

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

activity were encouraged to explore the paint with brushes and their hands. Their finished results are praised and valued by the staff and displayed on the wall at child height. As children get older they are given opportunities to learn responsibility as they take it in turns to do jobs such as handing out bibs and placing cups on the table at drinks time. This helps to make children feel valued and gain self-esteem. Staff are particularly sensitive to new children in the setting and children who have recently moved to a different room. They spend extra time encouraging children in their play and comforting them. This helps children to feel confident and safe.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children's personal, social and emotional development is well catered for and they are given opportunities to increase their independence by taking themselves to the toilet and dressing and undressing for structured activities such as sessions at the Forest School and gymnastics. Circle time provides opportunities for children to learn to maintain attention, concentrate and listen to each other's ideas. They are encouraged to speak in a familiar group and share their thoughts and feelings. Children are enthusiastic about structured activities and play well together. They learn a sense of responsibility as they are given jobs such as helping to water the plants and collecting the eggs. The nursery day is well planned to allow time for children to engage in free play, providing opportunities for them to think for themselves and make decisions about what they would like to play with.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children's language and communication skills are good. They use language to describe their feelings and ideas and staff listen and respond with suggestions and comments of their own. They enjoy looking at books, handling them carefully, turning pages properly and understanding that print goes from left to right. Children are provided with good opportunities to practise their mark-making skills. An area has been established where they can write in their own books and on pieces of paper and they are provided with a good range of pens and pencils as well as rulers and set squares. Children learn to recognise their name as they self-register each day and their names are written on napkin rings and coasters that they have made themselves. Labels on equipment helps them to understand that print carries meaning. As children get older they spend time in small groups in the treehouse where their learning is

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

extended and they begin to recognise and write letters using a phonic alphabet scheme.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have opportunities to learn to count on a regular basis as they spend time each morning counting how many children are present and are then introduced to the principles of addition and subtraction as they work out how many children will be there for lunch if more children arrive or some children leave early. They also learn number sequencing through songs, stories

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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 and games. They are able to learn about weighing and measuring through cooking activities. Children have further opportunities to learn about numbers as they set up a shop to sell their produce that they have grown at the allotment. All items cost 50p which they save until they have enough to buy ice creams for all the children. They know that they need two 50p's to buy one child an ice cream and so are able to count up their takings each time until they have enough money. This provides children with excellent opportunities to learn about using numbers in everyday situations.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Knowledge and understanding of the world is a particular strength of the nursery and children have an extensive range of opportunities to develop their understanding of the natural world around them and have wonderful opportunities to look at the changes to nature through the seasons, how animals grow and how the weather causes changes. They do this through regular visits to Forest School, growing vegetables at the allotment and helping to care for chickens in the garden. The project this term is looking at light and dark and children have opportunities to explore different materials using a light box where they can place coloured glass pebbles and blocks on top to see how light changes colour. A projector was used to reflect coloured light onto a whiteboard and objects were placed in front to make shadows. They learn about technology by using the computer and with supervision use the Internet to research subjects

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

that they are currently talking about in nursery. There are further opportunities to learn about technology by using simple programmable toys. Opportunities for problem solving are introduced into everyday activities for example children were making clay leaves using real leaves as templates. When they rolled out the clay it was not big enough and they discussed different solutions such as rolling the clay out more, having some more clay or choosing a smaller leaf. They develop their design and building skills while using a good range of construction toys and large wooden blocks. At Forest School they construct and build with natural materials such as logs and sticks.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are given good opportunities to be creative as they enjoy a range of arts and crafts activities where they can choose from a variety of materials and display their finished art work on the wall or hanging from the ceiling. They enjoy weaving with different materials to make colourful patterns. They become involved in role play during free play sessions particularly when they are outside playing in the covered area under the treehouse. They enjoy listening to music and sing along to familiar songs, adding actions.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children make good progress in all areas of learning. Staff find out children's skills, abilities and interests when they first move into the pre-school room and use this to plan appropriate activities. They talk to the children about activities they have enjoyed and this along with evaluations of the activities allows staff to plan further activities that will ensure that children are either challenged or will receive additional support. It also allows them to repeat activities that have been popular and to cater for individual likes and dislikes. Planning covers all areas of learning and assessments are used for planning the next term of activities. There are suitable procedures in place to support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children with English as an additional language.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children's individual needs are recognised and very well met. Staff are particularly sensitive to their emotional needs offering comfort and support as children settle into the nursery and move from room to room. Children have opportunities to develop a positive attitude to others and gain an understanding about the wider world and community. They have opportunities to

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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 play with toys and resources that encourage positive images of culture, gender and disability. There are effective procedures in place to support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and further training for staff involved in their care has been identified as an area for future improvement. This will ensure that staff have up-to-date knowledge of the procedures for gaining support for these children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave extremely well in proportion to their level of understanding and maturity as staff create an environment that encourages children to be kind and respectful and to take control of their own behaviour. Children have good opportunities for free choice in how they would like to spend their time, as well as joining in with planned activities. Children are extremely well mannered and are encouraged to sit nicely at mealtimes, say please and thank you and wait their turn in conversations. Staff provide children with lots of positive reinforcement, encouragement to share and take turns and set a good example by being polite towards children and each other. This helps to develop children's self-esteem and confidence. Staff are calm and patient, but firm providing children with explanations as to why certain actions, such as snatching toys from each other, are not acceptable.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is good. Children benefit from the close verbal communication between parents and members of staff. Regular opportunities for parents to come into the setting and socialise with each other and staff provide opportunities for them to see how their children spend their time while at nursery. There are clear written policies which are made available to parents. There are regular parents evenings when parents are provided with information about the new room that children will move into, including routines and curriculum and special events such as the weekly gymnastic sessions. Before children move on to school, time is taken to share children's individual nursery profiles with their parents and to discuss children's developmental and educational progress. Parents time between 17:00 and 17:30 each evening allows parents to make appointments to discuss on a more formal level

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Helping children make a positive contribution

their child's progress and development with a member of staff and the nursery owner.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children benefit from the good organisation of the day-to-day running of the nursery including appropriate staffing, well laid out play space and organisation of sessions which allows children plenty of time to take part in free play and structured activities. Children also benefit from the off-site activities that are organised, including gymnastics, visits to Forest School and involvement at the nursery allotment.

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Organisation

Their individual welfare, care and learning needs are well met and supported by good quality documentation. All required records, in relation to the children, are kept up-to-date, confidentially stored and are available to share with parents. Policies and procedures reflect current practice and are shared with parents.

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Organisation

The leadership and management is satisfactory. Staff meet regularly in their room teams and supervisors meet with the manager to discuss planning and the welfare of the children. However staff records including details of their training are not kept up-to-date and this has led to gaps in their training that could impact on the standard of care received by the children.

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Organisation

Overall the needs of the children who attend are not met.

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Organisation

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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Improvements since the last inspection

Some of the recommendations made at the previous inspection have been addressed. Management was asked to ensure that staff were adequately deployed to ensure that ratios were maintained at all times. Organisation of staffing on the day of inspection ensured that children were properly supervised at all times. A recommendation was raised with regards to providing the youngest children with access to books and toys that depicted diversity. New equipment has been purchased with particular attention paid to ensuring that books and toys depicting positive images of gender, culture and disability are available to children of all ages. Improvements needed to be made to the process for sharing information with parents, regular parents evenings and invites for parents into nursery have ensured that they are kept better informed of their children's progress. Risk assessments needed to be updated and these have

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Improvements since the last inspection

been completed with additional assessments being carried out when changes take place within the nursery or new equipment is purchased. Management was asked to ensure that the premises were kept secure and a new keypad has been fitted to the side door to ensure security at all times. Management was asked to ensure that staff records were kept up-to-date and available for inspection. These records were not available and an action has been raised following this inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

For the nursery education a recommendation was raised to ensure that staff working with children receiving funding had a clear understanding of how children learn through the stepping stones. Staff now have a better understanding and have attended training to support their work with the children. The role of a Special Educational Needs Coordinator needed to be established and although this was done the member of staff has since left the setting and a new member of staff is waiting to attend future training

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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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet 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 good.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care, the registered person must take the following actions: • make sure enough staff are trained in first aid to ensure that at least one member of staff with a current first aid certificate is on the premises or on outings at any one time

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • ensure individual records are kept on the premises containing the name and address of staff members and information about their qualifications and training These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice.

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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): • improve staff's knowledge and understanding of supporting children with learning difficulties or disabilities

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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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