Little Wonders Nursery

Little Wonders Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Little Wonders Nursery

EY337869 Unique Reference Number 07 March 2007 Inspection date Debra, Elizabeth Mitcheson Inspector

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Little Wonders Nursery

50-54 Fishwick Parade, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 4XR Setting Address

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Little Wonders Nursery

01772 702 002 Telephone number littlewondersnursery@hotmail.co.uk E-mail Little Wonders Nursery Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of care

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Little Wonders Nursery

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 good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Little Wonders Nursery opened in 2006 and is run by a voluntary committee. The nursery is situated within easy access of Preston town centre and operates from the ground floor of three converted houses. Children are cared for in two designated rooms, with direct access to toilets. There is currently no outdoor area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

A maximum of 30 children aged two to five years may attend at any one time. There are currently 52 children on roll, of these 26 are in receipt of nursery education funding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is open each week day, 38 weeks a year, from 09:10 until 11:40 and 12:40 until 15:10, term time only. The setting serves the children in the local and wider community and receives funding for nursery education. The setting seeks the advice and support of the Early Years Teacher Training Team.

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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 satisfactory. Children have a satisfactory understanding about being healthy because staff model acceptable hygiene practices. These include appropriate cleaning procedures, such as wiping tables down and washing utensils and hands after snack time. Suitable procedures are also in place in the event of children having an accident or requiring exclusion if they are ill or infectious. These are in line with current changes in regulation. Children demonstrate a sound understanding in relation to meeting their own personal needs, for example, washing their hands after snack time and flushing the toilet after use. They also acknowledge the need for a clean and tidy environment as they use a toy vacuum cleaner and dry cloth to clean the home corner.

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Helping children to be healthy

The operating times of this setting do not require the provision of a hot meal. However, the staff team have a satisfactory knowledge of why they need to provide children with a selection of drinks and nutritional snacks. This ensures that children develop their own understanding of healthy living. They are observed to make choices from a selection of pre-prepared fruit and bread sticks with cheese. Focused activities on food preparation, such as sandwich making, are implemented at regular intervals to allow children to make choices, develop their independence skills and consolidate their learning in relation to healthy living.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff recognise that the lack of an outdoor area at the setting does have a negative impact on some aspects of the children’s physical development. However, careful planning incorporates walks in the community and visits to the local park as well as daily, structured indoor activities. This enables children to have the opportunity to make steady progress in this area of development. Children are thoroughly absorbed in an indoor assault course, which requires them to develop their skills of dexterity, coordination and balance. They are later observed to recognise that they need to relax after this energetic activity and take rest on the carpeted area of the book corner.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. A welcoming environment awaits all users at this setting and includes an abundance of children's art work, which is displayed, and child orientated fabrics and furnishings throughout the nursery. Storage and organisation of toys and resources enable children to explore and make their own choices. Rooms are structured well in providing areas for specific aspects of play.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have access to a good range of toys, equipment and play materials that are both age and size appropriate. These also support the developmental needs of the range of children being cared for and are in good condition, for example, domestic style furnishings, child sized tables, chairs and appropriate safety mats to enable children to play safely on larger pieces of equipment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are safe and protected from hazards. This is because policies and procedures have been established and daily risk assessments are used to prioritise their safety. Children are

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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 beginning to take responsibility for their own safety as they take off their shoes when accessing the slide and pieces of equipment on the assault course, and they participate in regular fire drills. They dress in firefighters' uniforms and discuss with each other how they need to use the water to put the fire out, then go inside the house and save the people's lives.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All staff have a sound understanding of their roles in most aspects of child protection. They understand the signs and symptoms of abuse and who to report concerns to. The policies and procedures have recently been amended to include recent changes in regulation, therefore ensuring that children's welfare is safeguarded.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. All children thoroughly enjoy their time at this setting. They come running into the setting, peel off their coats and skip into the playrooms where they wrap their arms around the shoulders of their favourite friends. They are eager and enthusiastic to access an array of purposeful and interesting activities. For example, children wonder and delight with a basic science experiment; they examine and explore why coloured ice cubes melt into the warm water. They are confident in making their own decisions in what they choose to do and participate in the activities of the day, which include home corner, indoor assault course, jewellery making, construction, dressing up, story and rhyme time and continuous provision of sand, water and paint. These activities are thoughtfully planned throughout the nursery, well organised and contribute to an environment that captures the children's interest and develops their future learning needs.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All children respond well to challenge and are eager to participate in circle time. They say 'good morning' in English and 'asalamalakim' in Arabic to each other and reflect on the colour, number and letter of the week. Children play in harmony with their peers and they are observed to support each other. For example, they help each other dress and hold hands with the little ones, who need support on the balancing blocks.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff clearly know all the children well and are aware of how they learn and progress. They use their excellent knowledge and understanding of the 'Birth to three matters' framework to effectively plan activities and play opportunities to develop children's full potential in relation to their emotional, physical, social, emotional and intellectual capabilities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good as the children are making excellent progress in most of the six areas of learning. This is because all staff have a clear knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage, resulting in effective planning and provision for a wide range of purposeful activities. Staff use excellent teaching methods. These include the creative use of both purchased and hand made props, skilful questioning to challenge thinking and appropriate resources to help children remain focused during activities. Children ask 'where does orange juice comes from?' as they eat oranges at snack time. They listen carefully to the staff member's explanation and then engage in an impromptu activity, instigated by the member of staff. This involves squeezing oranges into a cup to consolidate their learning. Staff are very

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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 skilled in evaluating daily activities and have effective planning documentation to allow differentiation in the ages and stages of development of the children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have a very positive approach to new experiences, they are eager to learn new skills and demonstrate this as they take the initiative when investigating the consistency of rice and how it changes when immersed into warm water. This positivity extends when making relationships. They work in harmony with their peers and staff and are beginning to appreciate the work of other community members. These include the local community officer, the mosque's imam and members of the fire brigade. Most children are beginning to distinguish between right and wrong as staff are consistent in their approach to behaviour and work sensitively with parents to develop this area of learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Most children are confident speakers and engage in purposeful conversations with peers and staff. Staff also communicate with children in their mother tongue to support learning. Children are eager to share their experiences from their own homes at circle time. They discuss their participation in Jumma, a Muslim holy day. They also use this time as an opportunity to be centre of attention. They burst into song, singing 'Humpty Dumpty' and 'The Weather Song'. This confidence is shown as they enjoy the opportunity to practise their writing skills. They use pens and note paper in the home corner, wipe boards and felt markers and the 'sensory table top', a table layered with glitter glue and cling film. These are all activities that encourage children to practice mark and pattern making. Literacy skills are also evident as children freely access the book corner and imitate staff at story time as they follow the story in familiar books.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children learn about number through everyday activities, for example, they count out cotton reels before they are threaded and use rhymes to consolidate their learning of addition and subtraction. There are some opportunities to solve problems as they begin to understand space and measure in the water and sand tray. They develop a sense of time as they recognise the days of the week, month and year and set an egg timer in the home corner as they wait for their buns to cook in the toy microwave.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is encouraged through all aspects of play and learning. They investigate construction materials in a jewel making activity and recognise that their participation in fundraising events supports local and global charities for individuals who are less fortunate than themselves. However, opportunities that encourage children's participation in information and communication technology are limited to a non operational key board and mouse. Children thoroughly enjoy their access to a large selection of creative activities. They begin to differentiate between colours as they point out the various shades and textures of materials as they make a balloon collage.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Partnership with parents and carers for nursery education is good, as it is throughout the whole of the nursery. Staff work closely with them to meet the individual needs of their child. New children complete 'All about me books' with their parents, prior to being involved in introductory sessions. Good systems are in place for sharing information on the care and education for children and include daily discussion, open evenings, parents' brochures, newsletters and a

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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 notice board with relevant information regarding the 'Birth to three matters' framework and the Foundation Stage. This ensures that parents are aware of their children's learning and have the opportunity to contribute their ideas, which may be included in the activities provided. Access to their children’s portfolios of work demonstrates the progress children are making in the stepping stones towards the Early Learning Goals and outcomes under the headings of the 'Birth to three' framework. Parents are observed to be relaxed and comfortable in addressing their child's day with staff. Feedback from parents is promoted and a box situated in the entrance hall encourages parents and children to make any suggestions regarding practice. Recent questionnaires also include very positive feedback from parents and carers in relation

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Helping children make a positive contribution

to the quality of care and learning their children receive. Parents also have access to policy documents regarding nursery life and how to make their concerns known to staff by following the detailed complaints procedure in line with recent changes in regulation.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

There are effective arrangements in place for all children, especially those with learning difficulties and disabilities. This ensures that they are highly valued, included and treated equally and fairly. The arrangements include disabled access to the building and toileting facilities, practical hands-on experience by the staff where required, and working in close partnership with parents and other professionals to provide appropriate and inclusive care for all, for example, health professionals and staff from the Early Years Teaching Team.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children benefit from activities and resources which help them value diversity. They engage in a variety of activities, such as discussion groups on 'who helps us in the community' and celebrating religious festivals. These have included Halloween, Christmas and Muhorram, which was the last topic to be explored. Children are well behaved most of the time. They are clearly aware of their boundaries as methods used for managing behaviour are developmentally appropriate and agreed with parents. Children demonstrate very positive caring attitudes to others, which are fostered by the staff team who act as positive role models. They are enthusiastic, caring, calm and consistent in their approach. Children develop their self-esteem as they are praised by the staff team for their achievements, which are recognised with stickers and certificates. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children are settled within the well organised setting, which is good in promoting their care and education. The staff have a good knowledge and understanding of child development and meeting the individual needs of the children in their care. This is a result of staff being appropriately qualified in childcare and showing a strong commitment to training to continually improve the care and education of the children at the setting.

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Organisation

Policies and procedures are effective and in place to provide the efficient management of children both on and off the premises. For example, robust vetting procedure for staff, behaviour policies, fire evacuation procedures and risk assessments are in operation. Documentation is in place, up to date and with confidentiality being acknowledged and maintained. This includes children's details, accident and medication details, and attendance, complaints and incident logs. All children have a record of development that is linked to the 'Birth to three matters' framework and the Foundation Stage. These are shared with parents and recognise areas of

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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 achievement. Parents are fully informed about their child's daily routines and activities through effective communications. The provider is aware of notifying Ofsted of any significant changes or events at the setting. The manager recognises that she will need to apply for a variation to the conditions of registration to include the rear enclosed area to the rear of the property that will be used for outdoor play, once work has been completed to level the play area. This ensures that children continue to receive appropriate care and education within a secure environment and where the provider and staff, who care for the children, continue to be suitable to do so.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the nursery education is good. The committee and nursery manager have clear vision in relation to the present and future development of the setting. This vision is cascaded down to a committed staff team who take overall responsibility for the Foundation Stage curriculum and have a good knowledge of the six areas of learning. They verbally demonstrate how they evaluate the current system in place for assessment and the children's next steps in learning with ease. Written assessments on children are relatively clear in relation to children's starting points, enabling staff and parents to assess and promote children's current and future learning needs. This was positively supported by a representative of the Early Years Teaching Service, who was in attendance at the time of the inspection and who is developing the Foundation Stage programme with staff on a regular basis.

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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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Complaints since the last inspection

Since registration 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.

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Complaints since the last inspection

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 good.

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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):

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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 • provide further opportunities for physical development, outdoors.

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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): • provide opportunities that encourage children's participation in information and communication technology (ICT)

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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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