Quaggy Childrens Centre

Quaggy Children's Centre

Inspection report for early years provision

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Quaggy Children's Centre

Unique Reference Number EY282060 Inspection date 20 May 2005 Inspector Mandy Mooney

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Quaggy Children's Centre

Setting Address Orchard Hill, London, SE13 7QZ

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E-mail

Registered person Quaggy Development Trust (provisional name) Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care, Out of School care, CrÞche

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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 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 satisfactory. 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?

Quaggy Children's Centre has been registered since 2004. It is a full day care provision run by the Quaggy Development Trust as part of the Neighbourhood Nursery Initiative. The nursery is based at the heart of a disadvantaged community in Greenwich, bordering Lewisham Borough, offering a flexible service that is responsive to the needs of the parents and their children and one that is pro active in offering parents the opportunity to be actively involved in finding solutions to their

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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 problems. The nursery, crèche and after school club are based in a purpose built Children's Centre. As well as the nursery there are various groups and activities taking place to support the local community. The nursery has three base rooms, which includes a designated baby room and two additional rooms for the older children, which both have adjoining toilet facilities. There are also kitchen facilities within the centre, a sensory room, several meeting rooms and a large fully enclosed outdoor play area. The crèche is based in one large room. The Centre has good transport links and is close to local shops and facilities. There are currently 41 children on roll. Of these, eight 4 year olds and eight 3 year old receive nursery funding. Twelve staff work directly with the children, of whom are

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

appropriately qualified to level two or three. The nursery opens five days a week all year round. Opening hours are 8.00 to 18.00. Children can attend on a full time or sessional basis and children with special educational needs and those who have English as an additional language are fully supported. The crèche opens daily to meet the service needs of the centre. Children can attend for up to two and a half hour slots. The nursery implements a curriculum based on the Foundation Stage and Birth to three matters. The setting receives support from a teacher/mentor from the Early Years development and Childcare Partnership and various outside agencies to meet the needs of the children attending. The nursery is in the process of completing the National Day Nursery Association quality assurance scheme.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children thrive because staff follow effective procedures and practices which meet the children’s physical, nutritional and health needs. The good adult support and guidance helps children gain a valuable understanding of hygiene and a real desire to become increasingly independent in their personal care, for example through reinforcing hand washing routines and encouraging children to brush their teeth. Children explore and develop physical control in stimulating daily indoor and outdoor experiences. Staff have a sound knowledge of Birth to three matters. Their ever increasing understanding of each child’s stage of development means the youngest children are confident to try out new skills, ask for help when needed and set their own limits within the safe environment. For example, a one year old, confident enough to let go of the furniture for the first time, without adult support. Older children

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Helping children to be healthy

develop a positive attitude to physical exercise. They delight in the challenges of a wide range of activities, such as climbing and balancing and obstacle courses, which they tackle enthusiastically. Older children help themselves to the easily accessible milk bar throughout the day

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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 and enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables. Meals are well balanced and take account of the individual and cultural needs of all children. Children are well supported at meal times, enabling all children to enjoy the time.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Risks of accidental injury to children are minimised because staff are vigilant and use effective risk assessments to reduce potential hazards. Staff have a good understanding of how to achieve a balance between freedom and setting safe limits, and how to involve children effectively in organising their environment. This allows children to learn some sense of danger and knowledge about how to protect themselves from harm. Children use high quality equipment appropriate to their age and stage of development. These are easily accessible and children are encouraged to be responsible for tidying up after play. Those with special needs are safe and fully included because of the sensitive adult support and well-planned adaptations to resources and activities. Having a designated health and safety person and effective maintenance procedures contributes to children’s safety. Children are well protected by staff who have a clear understanding of child

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

protection policies and procedures and give priority to children’s welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are sociable and friendly, play well together in small groups and show a real sense of belonging. They are developing good social skills as a result of the positive role model offered by staff. They receive lots of reassurance and have developed a close bond with their carers. They enjoy using a very good range of well maintained resources, suitable to their age and stage of development. Children benefit from the practitioners' good use of the Birth to three matters framework. They have a secure understanding of the range of experiences which enable babies and children to make greater use of their senses and creative abilities. Experiences include singing and getting pleasure from looking at books which contribute to children to children's developing communication skills. Exploration with paint, dough, water and sand helps children represent their experiences, feelings and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

ideas in a variety of ways. Nursery Education The teaching and learning of nursery education children is satisfactory. Children have access an extensive range of good resources, which support their learning across all areas. They are making satisfactory progress in their learning. Staff plan a suitable range of experiences and opportunities to meet their needs based on their knowledge of the child and linking this to the Foundation Stage Curriculum, however,

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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 planning is reliant on the more experienced members of staff and although others are very aware of what is planned and contribute ideas, on occasions, opportunities to extend the learning of the older or more able children is missed, due to their limited knowledge of the Foundation Stage. Children are keen to try new experiences. They listen intently to stories and can recount favourites such as ‘An evening at Alfie's’ and 'Maisy'. All children use marks readily to represent their ideas and older children are adept at writing their own names. Good use of visual symbols and simple sign language enables children with special educational needs to participate fully in the activities and make satisfactory progress. Children are very imaginative. They make sense of the world around them

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

in the stimulating outdoor area and create individual art work. They are interested in how things such as giant water squirters work and why corn flour feels so squidgy and runny. They thoroughly enjoy role play and move freely around the nursery creating make believe experiences, for example, children got great joy at making a staff member beautiful by brushing her hair in the hair salon and putting her hair in rollers! On the whole, children work well together. They are able to take turns and share. Staff encourage children to care for the play materials and each other. Younger children learn how to behave appropriately from the example set by the older children and the positive role model set by staff. Children gain confidence in using numbers in their play and respond with increasing confidence to challenges to extend their mathematical vocabulary and skills in planned activities and daily routines. Their

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

physical skills develop well and improve through a wide variety of experiences, including being able to move between the activity room and the outdoor area throughout the day. Staff build on the initial information acquired from parents on entry to the provision to begin to provide a flexible approach to planning. A balance between adult and child-led activities allows children to learn at their own pace. Staff are perceptive to children’s interests during self-initiated play and use questions to challenge children’s thinking and language skills. Planning very much allows for spontaneous play, with the emphasis being on 'starting with the child'. Observations of individual children's progress and evaluation of the provision means practitioners are able to recognise where they are successful in promoting learning, however, not all practitioners are consistent in recording this and consequently assessments are not always used in

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

informing future planning. This can mean that all children's development is not tracked consistently or accurately.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. All children are welcomed and play a full part in the provision because staff value and respect their individuality and the family context for each child. Their behaviour is good. Staff support children in sharing and turn taking. They have high expectations and set consistent boundaries, which helps them learn to negotiate with others and take responsibility for their own behaviour. Staff increase children’s understanding of

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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 right and wrong, they respond to reminders to care for their environment, resources and each other. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered well. The children have many opportunities to learn about themselves, each other and the world around them through planned activities, visitors to the nursery and outings to local places of interest. Partnership with parents is satisfactory. An effective partnership with parents contributes significantly to children’s well-being in the setting. Staff actively seek parents’ views about their children’s needs and interests before the child starts at the setting. Parents are informed of the happenings in the centre, through newsletters, informative notice boards and through regular discussions with key workers. Although

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Helping children make a positive contribution

staff have developed individual records of achievement for each child to keep parents up to date on their development, the systems for involving parents in their child's learning for nursery education children is less effective.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The quality of leadership and management is good. Staff enhance children's care and learning through appropriately planned and organised activities, aimed at meeting the needs of the children attending. Although the provision has been open for less than a year, the manager has developed very good systems to identify weaknesses in the provision and is working closely with staff and others, such as the advisory teacher, to continually improve the quality of care and education offered. She has a very 'hands on' approach and ensures she carries out regular observations of practice and allows for discussion and contribution from all staff to continually improve. The vision shown throughout is one of aiming to be the best with the child being the main focus. This provides very good base to build upon. The premises are generally well organised. Indoor and outdoor space is laid out to

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Organisation

encourage children to develop decision making skills and to take responsibility for their environment. All legally required documentation which contributes to children’s health, safety and well-being is in place and is regularly reviewed. The relatively new, yet effective, appraisal system ensures that the centre's comprehensive policies and procedures are consistently applied. All staff are committed to continuous improvement and development. They regularly reflect, monitor and improve the quality of their care and education and have recently began the process to be a part of the National Day Nursery accredited quality assurance scheme. The quality of the provision means that overall, the service meets the needs of the range of children who attend well.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This is the first inspection since registration.

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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 1 April 2004 Ofsted have not received any complaints about this provider.

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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 satisfactory. 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): • review the organisation of the provision to ensure this best meets the individual needs of the children using all facilities (particularly when using the outside play area).

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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): • further develop all practitioners' knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage Curriculum and to improve the quality of teaching and children's learning. Ensure the evaluation of activities and opportunities provided effectively meet the needs of all children. • review the system for monitoring children's progress, to ensure the information is kept up to date and is used effectively to meet the needs of the older or more able children. Ensure this information is shared with parents and give parents more opportunity to contribute to their child's learning.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements 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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