Child First AylesburyOfsted inspection, 27 Feb 2007

Child First Aylesbury

Inspection report for early years provision

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Child First Aylesbury

EY342513 Unique Reference Number 27 February 2007 Inspection date Margaret Moffat Inspector

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Child First Aylesbury

Ravenstone House Preparatory School & Nursery, Ravenstone House, Green End, AYLESBURY, Buckinghamshire, HP20 2SA

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Setting Address

01296 392516 Telephone number aylesbury@ravenstonehouse.co.uk E-mail Child Care & Learning Group Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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Setting Address

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 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?

Child First Aylesbury is one of several nurseries run by Childcare and Learning (Ravenstone) Ltd. It registered in 2006 and operates from a converted church building in the centre of Aylesbury. A maximum of 116 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The setting opens each weekday from 07:30 to 18:30 for 50 weeks of the year. All children share access to the enclosed outside areas.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 67 children aged from three months to under eight years on roll. Of these, 16 children receive funding for early education. Children attend for a variety of sessions from Aylesbury and the outlying villages.

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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 The nursery employs 13 staff. Of these, 12 hold appropriate early years qualifications and one member of staff is working towards a qualification. The nursery also employs a chef and a kitchen assistant.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children learn the importance of good personal hygiene and understand why they have to wash their hands after visiting the toilet and before eating food. There are effective daily routines in place to ensure younger children are introduced to hygiene practices, for example, staff wipe children's hands before and after meals and change their nappies when required, talking to the children about what they are doing. Several of the staff hold first aid certificates and there are suitable arrangements in place for recording accidents and the administering of medication. However, two recent accident forms had not been countersigned by parents.

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Helping children to be healthy

Most areas within the nursery are kept clean and staff take steps to ensure areas remain clean during the day, for example, they wipe tables after messy play and mop up spillages by the water tray. However, the dining room on the morning of inspection had food debris on the carpet from the previous evening. Leaving this overnight does not promote good hygiene and may affect children's health.

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Helping children to be healthy

All children enjoy a range of physical activities, which contribute to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. There is a physical play area indoors, where they have opportunities to climb, slide, spin and enjoy music and movement sessions. They access the outside area on a daily basis and babies are taken for regular walks. Older children use tools, such as scissors and glue sticks, with increasing confidence as they are readily available within everyday activities, this ensures their fine motor skills are developing well.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are well nourished and develop healthy eating practices from a young age. The chef has a very good understanding of healthy eating for the under fives and ensures all snacks and meals are healthy and nutritious. All meals and snacks are freshly prepared on the premises and parents are made aware of these through the menus which are clearly displayed in all rooms. Information regarding children's special dietary needs is recorded and all staff made aware. This ensures children's needs are met and they remain healthy. Staff prepare baby food according to their individual needs and they learn to feed themselves which helps develop their independence. Older children confidently ask for second helpings.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Staff carry out regular risk assessments in each room and outside areas to minimise hazards and ensure the safety of children. Children and staff practise the emergency evacuation procedures on a regular basis. This helps children become familiar with the routine in the event of an emergency. There are good security procedures in place and includes the system for ensuring children are collected by authorised persons only. Daily registers record the arrival

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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 and departure of the children. However, numbers of children marked in the register do not always tally with those actually in attendance. This compromises children's safety in the event of an emergency.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children learn how to keep themselves safe as staff gently remind them not to walk around the room carrying scissors. As children walk downstairs to the dining room they hold onto the hand rail, staff assist some children by holding their hands.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have easy and safe access to toys and resources appropriate to their age and stage of development. Staff check toys and resources regularly to ensure they remain safe and clean. Children move around safely and independently within their rooms and outside areas. Rooms are warm and inviting and displays of children's work and photographs help children feel a sense of belonging.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff are aware of the child protection policies and procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child. They attend training courses and are clear about the signs and symptoms of abuse. This supports children's welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are developing confidence and self-esteem; they are beginning to form relationships with adults and other children. They arrive at the provision happy and are content to leave their main carer. Children have good opportunities throughout the day to be active, enjoy fresh air and rest according their needs. Staff have a good understanding of the Birth to three matters framework and use this to plan activities for the children and update their records of development. Babies clearly enjoy their time in the nursery and have opportunities to experience and enjoy items such as activity toys and books. Their early communication skills are developed as staff continually talk to them and respond to the sounds they make. For example in a game of 'peek a boo' staff hide behind their hands and some of the babies copy, then as staff move their hands away and call 'peek a boo' the babies giggle with delight and try to make the sound.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Toddlers enjoy playing with an appropriate range of toys and activities suitable for their age and stage of development. When playing with large peg boards they take turns as they build a tower, and name the colours and shapes as they place them on top of each other. As the tower begins to wobble they shriek as it falls over and have fun as they rebuild and hope that it falls again. Children follow instructions as they take part in music and movement sessions, they listen to the tape and follow staff as they repeat what they have to do. They attempt to jump with two feet and hop and put one foot in front of the other and staff praise them for their efforts.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff have a satisfactory knowledge of the Foundation Stage and use the early learning goals and stepping stones to plan activities for the children. However, evaluations of activities and the limited observations made on the children are not effective in promoting the next steps in their learning. Staff know the children well and use effective questioning and explanation techniques to develop children's language

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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 thinking skills. For example, when listening to the story 'We're going on a bear hunt' children are informed they will be going on a bear hunt and are asked to suggest what they might find. Children's listening skills are developing well and they join in repeated sentences in familiar stories. Children are beginning to link sounds to letters. As they play in the paint tray, they are encouraged to mark make the letters in their names and sound them. Many children make recognisable letters and can name all the letters in their names. Staff extend the activity as they encourage children to make simple shapes in the paint and name them. Children explore the properties of the paint as they talk about it being soft, slimy and squishy and ask staff, 'What are the lumpy bits?'. Staff inform them that the lumps are the soap flakes, which

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

are added to the paint with flour to make it thick. Children practise mathematics in everyday play and confidently count up to five and recognise numerals between one and nine. Children learn about their environment through walks in the local area and visits to the local amenities, such as the station. They develop an awareness of other cultures and traditions through planned activities. For example, during the Chinese New Year celebration, children had the opportunity to taste food, dance with the dragon they had helped design, practise Chinese writing and make lanterns. Children use their imaginations and express themselves in a variety of ways. They act out scenarios and well-known stories during role-play, for example, in the home corner they set the table and make food from cut up pieces of paper. In the physical play area, they act out the story of 'We're going on a bear hunt' as staff retell the story and children have fun

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

and enjoy themselves pretending to splash in the puddles and be chased by the bear.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are well cared for and their individual needs and backgrounds respected. Children feel secure and develop a sense of belonging as they see their work and photographs displayed around the rooms. Children are developing self confidence and independence as they recognise and manage their own personal needs and make choices and decisions about their play. Children play harmoniously with their peers, they are sociable and make friends. They are polite and show kindness towards each other. Staff promote good behaviour with lots of praise and encouragement. This contributes to fostering children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. There are effective procedures in place to support children with learning difficulties or disabilities and for those children who speak English as an additional language.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is good. They receive good information regarding the nursery routines, curriculum and policies and procedures. Parent notice boards and newsletters inform parents of the current themes and topics within the nursery. Staff and carers verbally exchange information regarding the children and daily diaries are completed for babies. Parents are asked to complete a settling in booklet, which helps staff meet the individual children's needs and helps children settle more quickly. Parents can arrange to meet with staff and discuss children's progress at anytime. Systems are being further developed to ensure that parents can discuss their children's progress on a more formal basis through parents' evenings. Parents report they are very happy with the service provided.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

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

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children benefit from a well organised environment where space is used effectively to maximise play opportunities. Children are happy and settled and receive good support from staff who know them well. All legally required documentation, which contributes to children's health, safety and well-being is in place, however, registers are not always accurate. There is an effective vetting and recruitment procedure which includes an induction process so that all staff are clear about their responsibilities within the nursery. Staff work well as a team and there is a commitment to ongoing training.

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Organisation

Leadership and management are satisfactory. Systems to monitor and evaluate the provision of nursery education are not effective. Staff do not have sufficient knowledge of how to deliver the curriculum effectively to support children's progress along the stepping stones. However, the manager has a clear vision of what she wants to achieve and is very aware of the strengths and weakness of the nursery including staff training. The setting meets the needs of the range of 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. 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 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): • ensure all areas of the nursery are appropriately cleaned to ensure children's good health at all times

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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 that all accident forms are signed • ensure daily registers are maintained accurately at all times.

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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 and implement an effective monitoring system to ensure planning and assessment records are used effectively to promote children's next steps in learning.

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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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