Knighton Day Nursery & Pre-school

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique Reference Number 226971 Inspection date 15 June 2005 Inspector Judith Chinnery

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Setting Address 559 Welford Road, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE2 6FN

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Telephone number 0116 2883030 E-mail Registered person Elizabeth Garner Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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

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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 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 nursery education are satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT? Knighton Day Nursery opened in 1993. It operates from a purposely converted bungalow on the Welford Road close to Leicester City. The nursery caters for children whose parents’ live or work either nearby or in the city centre. It is registered to provide full day care for 36 children aged under eight years. There are currently 69 children aged between birth and five years on roll, of these, 21 children aged 3 and 4 years are receiving funding for nursery education. The nursery

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This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 supports children who have special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 5.45pm. It is open throughout the year except for public holidays. Children can attend for a variety of sessions. There are 11 members of staff working with the children, of these, six members of staff have early years qualifications, with a further five working towards gaining a qualification.

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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROVISION Helping children to be healthy The provision is good. Children’s good health and well being is promoted well in the nursery. Their individual dietary needs are met effectively. Meals are planned to include a well balanced range of food which includes fresh fruit and vegetables daily. There is a constant supply of water or juice throughout the day so children are unlikely to be thirsty. An inviting outdoor area enables children to participate in a variety of physical activities and exercise including climbing and balancing. The vegetable patch also gives some young children the opportunity to learn about healthy food. Physical activities for older children are effectively planned to ensure they are challenged and making progress with their large body movements. However, staff do not always point out the benefits of healthy practices and exercise so older children are less

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aware of why these practices are important in helping to maintain a healthy life style. Most hygiene practices are well established and suitable. Older children know when to wash their hands and tables are appropriately cleaned between activities. While arrangements for changing nappies are suitable, the use of a single flannel for cleaning their hands and the use of a single towel in the bathroom for older children does not prevent the spread of infection.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe The provision is good. The safety of the children is a priority in the nursery. Well placed gates keep children safe and ensure they do not have access to unsafe areas or stairs without supervision. Effective planning and suitable arrangements such as using reins ensures that children stay safe while on outings. Children use a wide range of safe, good quality, and developmentally appropriate resources. They can access resources themselves, easily and safely from the drawer units based in each room. Low tables and chairs and other suitable equipment ensures that all children can sit, eat and play safely. However, staff do not always use explanations about safety so that older children are less able to take responsibility for keeping themselves safe. Security is good with the external exits

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This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 being kept locked to ensure unwanted visitors do not gain access to the nursery or present a risk to the children. Most children are protected in the nursery. Staff are aware of child protection procedures and managers are clear in what they would do should allegations be made against a member of staff. However, this information is not available to other staff or parents.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do The provision is satisfactory. The care, learning and play experiences for children in this nursery are sound. Children of all ages are content and settled and enjoy close relationships with their carers. Regular discussions with parents ensure that young children benefit from and experience familiar home routines for eating and sleeping helping them to feel safe and secure. Babies enjoy experimenting with paint and the sounds of musical instruments and learn to explore their environment with their senses. Older children love to choose their favourite toys from the drawers such as the trains and make appropriate requests of staff if they cannot find what they want. Some children are learning new skills as they play with dough, talking about birthdays and numbers. While staff plan worthwhile activities for young children to enjoy, current systems for

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assessment and planning do not enable staff to provide activities based on children’s interests and what they need to do next. The quality of teaching and learning for three and four-year-olds is satisfactory. Most staff use their sound knowledge of the Foundation Stage to plan a broad range of activities for children. Records show that children are making steady progress towards the early learning goals across most of the areas of learning. Staff use this information to identify what children need to learn next, which is generally used in planning some activities, however, this is not yet well established and does not yet happen consistently for all children. Children are confident and enjoy good relationships with staff and each other. Most children are aware of the expectations of staff and respond positively to their interventions in any squabbles which might arise. While staff use appropriate strategies to manage children’s behaviour they do not always actively look for ways

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of promoting positive behaviour. Most children are able to take care of their own 278.s and enjoy opportunities at meal times to serve themselves. Staff use circle time effectively to greet each other and enable children to develop a sense of belonging. Staff work with children in both small and large groups and provide an appropriate balance between adult and child led activities. This enables children to learn and experiment for themselves in activities such as painting the fruit from a story, taking great delight in exploring the mixture of colours. Most children like to make marks and form lines and circles while some older children are beginning to form recognisable letters and enjoy the challenge of writing such as making an invitation to a party, showing that they are beginning to understand that print carries meaning. However, some activities such as the use of colouring sheets and work books are much less

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This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 effective in challenging children to make progress. Most children are keen to count and confidently assert how old they are, showing a corresponding number of fingers. They know the names of common shapes and use size language such as big and little in their play. While some children attempt to offer solutions to simple problems the staff miss many opportunities in everyday routines and occurrences to talk about taking away and adding. Most children are curious about how things work and can create and join construction pieces purposefully such as building a chimney for the smoke to get out from the fire. While most children are able to use the computer and mouse to operate simple programmes they become easily frustrated when other types of technology resources do not work. Children are

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also less knowledgeable about the natural world around them, mainly due to limited resources in this area. Children move well in a variety of ways such as running and jumping and are becoming competent in their hand skills such as using a knife and fork at meal times. The children love to dress up and take on different roles such as playing doctors and nurses. They know and enjoy a wide range of songs and rhymes but are less experienced in exploring different kinds of music or using their senses. Staff supervise and direct activities appropriately and make suitable use of resources to support children’s learning in most areas. They offer good support to children with special educationTJ 1 0 0 1 7needs, adapting activities and equipment to ensure that all children are able to access the provision.

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Helping children make a positive contribution The provision is satisfactory. The individuTJ 1 0 0 1 7needs of most children are met by staff using information from parents regarding diet and sleep routines. Staff’s basic understanding of equTJ 1 0 0 1 7opportunities means that children are introduced to other cultures and beliefs through multicultural resources and the celebration of different festivals. However, older children’s understanding of and respect for different cultures and beliefs is not promoted well by staff. Most children behave appropriately in the nursery because staff use suitable methods to explain and deal with unacceptable behaviour. However, staff are not always active in promoting positive behaviour and consequently the actions of some older children continue to be challenging. Sound relationships between staff and parents means that information regarding children’s care needs is shared and used effectively. Partnership with parents for

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nursery education is satisfactory. They are well informed about the educationTJ 1] TJ 1 0 0 1 70.866 184.535 Organisation The organisation is satisfactory. The well established staff team and effective appraisal and training programme ensures that children are well cared for and protected. Staff are placed around the nursery to maintain suitable ratios to keep children safe and support their care, learning and play. Most policies and procedures are known by the staff and are effective in promoting children’s health and well being. The needs of the range of children for whom the nursery provides are met. Leadership and management for nursery education is satisfactory. Managers are working closely with the staff in developing a clear vision and focus on improving the personal development and achievements for all funded children. Improvements for children across all areas of learning have been brought about by the support of the

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mentor teacher and the positive role models of managers working directly with the children. Staff evaluate most daily activities but managers do not monitor and evaluate the educational provision as a whole. The reliance on inspections and the mentor teacher means that strengths are not easily identified and weaknesses in children’s progress are sometimes missed. Managers and staff have embarked on completing a significant amount of training, the effects of which, are seen in their commitment to, and improvements in promoting an inclusive environment where every child matters.

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Improvements since the last inspection At the last care inspection in March 2003, the nursery was asked to make a number of improvements: to reorganise space and resources in rooms and deploy staff more take account of the following recommendation(s): • improve hygiene practices across the nursery for hand washing and drying • develop staff’s knowledge in the planning of activities which meet the needs of children aged under three years for example by using the Birth to Three Matters Framework • improve staff’s understanding of equality of opportunities and behaviour management to enhance children’s ability to make a positive contribution

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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 the use of individual targets for children’s progress in plans to ensure that all children particularly four years olds are effectively challenged and interested • improve resources which support children’s learning especially in knowledge and understanding of the world, using technology and early science • develop effective monitoring and evaluation systems for the educational provision to provide a clear focus for future development

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procedures set .601 453.043 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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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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