Manna House Day Nursery

Manna House Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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218424 Unique Reference Number 09 May 2007 Inspection date Christine Holmes Inspector

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Bamford Street, Glascote, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B77 2AT Setting Address

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E-mail

Manna House Day Nursey 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?

Manna House Day Nursery opened in 1994. It operates from purpose built premises on the site of the Elim Church Centre, near to Tamworth town centre. It serves the local area. A maximum of 64 children may attend at any one time. The nursery open each weekday from 07:30 to 18:00 all year round. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 71 children aged between four months and four years on roll. Of theses, 19 children receive funding for early education. The nursery currently supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs 17 members of staff all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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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. Children are cared for in a clean nursery where their good health is protected because all staff implement good hygiene procedures. For example, staff wear disposable plastic gloves and aprons to minimise the spread of infection when handling food and changing nappies. Children are beginning to understand simple good health and hygiene practices through daily routines and activities. Children wash their hands before eating and after toileting. Pictures and discussions are used to help children understand the importance of good oral hygiene and to help them develop the skill of brushing their own teeth. This helps to minimise the risk of cross-infection and helps to develop children's independence. Comprehensive arrangements are in place to protect children's good health. Most staff have obtained a first aid certificate. Records are detailed regarding accidents and the administration of medication. Staff effectively

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Helping children to be healthy

work in partnership with parents to meet children's individual medical needs and written consent has been obtained from parents to enable the nursery to act in the best interest of children in the event of a medical emergency. This helps to ensure appropriate action is taken in the event of children becoming ill or sustaining injury.

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Helping children to be healthy

Good emphasis is given to ensuring children enjoy daily opportunities for fresh air and rigorous activity outdoors. Children go outdoors to jump and splash in the puddles when it rains and go for regular walks to a local nature area to hunt for bugs. The outdoor area is used well throughout the day and is equipped to provide children with a varied range of activities. Children are able to run around, climb on the climbing frame and slide down the slide. They ride bikes and cars and learn to negotiate a path between other equipment and children. Indoors and outdoors children pull the parachute up and down and roll and jump around in the soft play equipment. These types of activities help children to develop their physical skills and develop a positive attitude towards exercise. Children are encouraged to take rests during the day. There is adequate provision for children to sleep and individual sleeping routines are respected

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Helping children to be healthy

and followed by staff in partnership with parents.

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Helping children to be healthy

An increasing emphasis is being placed on promoting healthy eating and developing children's understanding of healthy choices. Children develop healthy appetites eating grapes and kiwi fruit at snack time and eat freshly made chicken pasta for dinner. Staff use discussions and activities to promote children's understanding of healthy foods. Effective arrangements are in place to ensure children's individual dietary needs are met in partnership with parents, particularly in the baby room.

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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 welcoming environment where staff are always on hand to greet them and their parents. All rooms are set out ready for children to start to play and resources are generally stored at children's height to enable them to make choices and follow their own interest in play. Children's work and pictures of them at play are displayed all around the nursery. Older children have their own trays to enable them to store their personal items and work. This helps children develop a sense of belonging and encourages their independence. Children are cared for in a very secure and safe environment. Security of the building is very good. All exits are kept secure and visitors can be seen via the photo phone or through the office window. Staff and parents are very vigilant to ensure only authorised persons gain access to the building.

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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 This helps to ensure children are safeguarded. Children are able to move freely and safely around the indoor and outdoor play area because suitable steps are taken to ensure hazards are identified and minimised. For instance, covers are fitted to the inside of doors to protect children from trapping their fingers in the closing doors and safety flooring in the outdoor play area reduces the risk of children injuring themselves if they fall. Resources and toys are of good quality, sufficient in quantity and age-appropriate. Children's awareness of safety is fostered through daily activities and routines. Older children learn how to use the stairs safely and they learn road safety as they go on regular walks around their local community. All children have regular opportunities to practise the fire drill so that they are confident about the evacuation

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have a sound understanding and knowledge of the signs and symptoms that may alert them to child abuse. The detailed written child protection policy is shared with parents and details the Local Safeguarding Children's Board procedures. This helps to ensure staff act appropriately to safeguard children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. All children are settled and happy in the setting because staff are caring and kind and spend their time interacting with the children and giving hugs and cuddles where needed. This supports children's well-being, trust and confidence. Children benefit from being cared for by a keyworker who gets to know them well, provides their main care throughout the day and works in partnership with their parents to meet their individual needs. This helps to provide continuity of care for children and ensures staff get to know individual children well. Children in the baby room particularly benefit from high quality one to one interactions with staff who know how very young children learn and how they can help this process. Good emphasis and support is given to encouraging children to use their senses to explore and experiment with a wide range of materials. Gloop, shredded paper, water, paint and foam are provided on a daily basis. Children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

delight and become engrossed in sensory play with coloured rice which has been mixed with essence to smell. They use their fingers to scoop and sprinkle it over themselves and into containers. Children play with a range of cardboard boxes, turning them upside down and onto the side and climbing in and out. This provides children with a great sense of purpose and space. Reflective materials, home made instruments, rain makers and an array of items in treasures boxes act as further stimulation for younger and older babies. This approach is a very effective way to helping very young children become competent learners. Children in the Tweenie room have great fun. There is a wide range of play opportunities in their room which enables them to initiate their own play such as playing hide and seek around the room with their friends and rolling about in the 'Dinosaur' bed made from shredded paper. They take part

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

in a wide range of stimulating planned activities such as chasing ice cubes in the water play and going to a local nature spot to hunt for bugs. Children take part in singing, looking at books and talking in small groups on a daily basis. These types of activities support children's social and communication and language skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

There are effective systems in place for recording children's progress reflecting the 'Birth to three matters' framework. Staff make regular observations and take photos of activities that children take part in and the progress they are making and they use this information to inform their planning, although this information is not yet fully used to identify children's next steps in learning.

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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. Children are making satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals because the learning environment provides children with play opportunities in all six learning areas. Children are able to initiate their own play in the maths and writing areas, develop their skills on the computer in the computer area, play creatively in the imaginative play and music area, play with construction resources on table tops and on the floor or go into the craft area. This allows children to explore and experiment through play following their own interest and make sense of their own experiences. Staff's knowledge of the Foundation Stage is not fully secure. As a result, planning does not show a clear learning intention, it is not linked to the stepping stones leading to the early learning goals and it does

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

not identify how activities are adapted to support more or less able children. Consequently, activities are not always well-matched to children's abilities. Teaching methods are mostly adequate to effectively support children's learning. For example, staff demonstrate how to follow and recreate a pattern using beads on a one to one basis which children respond well to. However, in group situations methods to capture children's interest and manage their behaviour are less effective which results in children losing interest and concentration. Systems are in place to record children's progress and to identify their next steps in learning but they have not all been kept up to date and they are not currently used to inform planning. Consequently, children's learning is not always fully supported.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

In most instances children are interested and keen to engage in play and learning. They have a developing sense of their own needs and they move around the environment confidently choosing what they want to play with. They are becoming increasingly sociable, eager to talk to visitors and introduce their friends. They play cooperatively, taking turns and sharing resources. However, children's personal independence is not fully supported because staff in the nursery do too much for them. For instance, after dinner staff wipe children's hands and faces and at meal time staff serve food and clear away whilst children watch the television. This limits the development of children's independence. Children talk freely and use language to express their needs. Some children have good language skills and can hold complex conversations. For example, they enjoy conversing with the inspector to recall what they have

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

been playing with and what they like to do the best at nursery. However, open questioning from staff is sometimes limited and therefore children's language is not always extended. Children learn to recognise their own name with the support of pictures and staff prompts but this is not always extended for children to recognise their own and other names without prompts and little emphasis is placed on children developing and using their interest in the sounds letters make. Children show a good interest in numbers and numerals. For instance, they count the number of children present and the number of bricks they have built, they can recognise numerals when not in sequence and they use their understanding to solve simple problems such as how many current buns are left and who has got the most grapes. They know how many bricks they need to take away to have the correct number of bricks to represent the numeral.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

However, children are not consistently challenged to use and increase these skills across a range of activities. Children enjoy a number of experiences and activities which help them to develop their understanding and knowledge of the world. For example, pictures displayed around the nursery show wonder and curiosity as children look at, feel and hold a wide range of creatures during a 'Zoo Lab' visit. In the garden children grow sunflowers and they have daily access to materials such as sand and water to explore and experiment. Children's imagination is fostered well as they freely take part in imaginative play throughout the day and they are able to use musical instruments and enjoy taking part in singing activities. A number of planned craft activities help children develop the skills to enhance their own creativity, but materials such as paint are not always freely available.

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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 good. Children's continuity of care is enhanced through the very good communication links staff develop with parents. For instance, keyworkers write daily information for parent's to inform them about their child's day at nursery and many parents use this link to exchange information about the child's care and experiences at home. An increasing emphasis is being placed upon seeking parent's opinions which are valued and acted upon. For example, a recent questionnaire sought parent’s opinions about the care their children receive and a 'parent partnership form' is currently being used to include parents in identifying children's next learning steps. Staff work hard to provide parents with information about how the setting operates using displays, notice boards, newsletters and a wide range of written polices and procedures. Discussions with parents and responses to the questionnaire demonstrate they appreciate this and feel

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Helping children make a positive contribution

they are kept well informed. Partnership with parents and carers of children who receive nursery education is satisfactory. Parents receive some information about the curriculum on display boards in the nursery which enables them to be involved in their own child's learning. They are invited to attend open evenings at the nursery and they receive written progress reports which help to keep parents informed of their child’s progress. Assessment systems are not yet fully effective to include parent’s accounts of their child's progress. Parents report their children enjoy nursery. They feel they are kept well informed and can see the progress their children are making.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Children behave well and play harmoniously with each other, taking turns, sharing and developing an awareness of others. The nursery provides an inclusive service. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are supported well by staff who work in partnership with parents and other agencies to meet children's individual needs. Children take part in some activities which helps to develop their awareness of diversity and play with some toys and look at some books which provide positive images. However, this provision is not rich enough at present to fully promote children's awareness of themselves and others.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Overall children's needs are met. The nursery undertakes self evaluations and devises development plans to ensure ongoing improvements in relation to the National Standards. It has attained accreditation for the quality assurance scheme 'Aiming for Quality'. As a result, staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, manage their time well and have a good working knowledge of the National Standards. There are effective recruitment and vetting systems in place to ensure children are well protected. All staff hold early years qualifications. Some staff are currently undertaking further professional qualifications and all staff have ongoing opportunities to attend training events relating to the National Standards. This means that children benefit from practices which are in line with current ideas and legislation and staff's knowledge and understanding of the needs of the children is constantly improving.

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Organisation

Comprehensive records, policies and procedures are in place which ensures the efficient and safe management of the provision. This promotes the welfare and care of all children.

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Organisation

The effective organisation of the setting contributes to the good quality of care for children. Children's care is greatly enhanced by the effective key worker system which ensures children have continuity of care and helps to ensure all their needs are clearly known and met. Children's

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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 learning is enhanced by the organisation of space and resource which allows them to initiate their own play and follow their own interest.

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management of the nursery education is satisfactory. Whilst the setting has consistently acted upon advise to improve the learning environment they have not established a rigorous monitoring and evaluation system for the nursery education. Consequently, weaknesses have not been identified or addressed. As a result, in some areas children are not making as much progress as they could.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the nursery was required to organise space to ensure babies were cared for in groups of no more than 12 and have contact with a minimal number of carers. They were also required to deploy staff appropriately to ensure the correct ratio of adult to babies was maintained and to provide an action plan detailing how staff child ratios were met at all times. Good improvements have been made in all areas. The Baby room is now organised effectively to ensure children are cared for in smaller groups with an identified keyworker allocated to each child and adult child ratios maintained at all times. As a result children are settled and their needs are well met.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that require 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 then 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): • provide more activities and resources to enable children to value diversity.

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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): • devise a rigorous system to monitor and evaluate the quality of the nursery education • develop assessment and planning systems to ensure appropriate challenge for all children

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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 • provide further opportunities for children to be more independent at dinner and snack time, use number for a purpose in daily activities, recognise the sound that letters make and begin to recognise more familiar words. • improve staff's understanding of the Foundation Stage.

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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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