Forget Me Not Day Nursery

Forget Me Not Day Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Forget Me Not Day Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY265688 Inspection date 06 July 2005 Inspector Judith Rayner

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Forget Me Not Day Nursery

Setting Address 9 Parkdale Road, Bakersfield, Nottingham, NG3 7GL

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E-mail

Registered person Forget Me Not Partnership Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day 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 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?

Forget Me Not Day Nursery was registered in 2003. It operates from a converted house in the residential district of Bakersfield, close to the city centre of Nottingham. There is easy access to local shops, a park and library. Children are cared for in rooms according to their age and stage of development and each area has access to a range of play facilities. Children have access to a secure, enclosed outdoor play area which is situated to the rear of the property. The nursery opens Monday to

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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 Friday between the hours of 07:30 to 18:00 for 51 weeks of the year. It is closed on all bank holidays. There are currently 36 children under 8 years on roll. Of these, six children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide catchment area, as most parents travel into work to Nottingham City and surrounding areas. The nursery employs 12 staff, 6 of whom, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications. There are three staff working towards a qualification. The nursery has started to receive support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are protected from cross infection by good procedures in place. Children's awareness is raised to good personal hygiene. They know to wash their hands before and after eating, after using the toilet, following messy creative play and also after handling the pet rabbit. Staff have a clear understanding of the importance of the prevention of cross infection and consistently promote this in their practice throughout the setting. Children understand the importance of being outside in the fresh air and how this helps them to grow. Children go outside everyday. They are provided with a range of opportunities to help them try new and challenging equipment at the local park and go for walks in the local community. Babies are given a good range of physical play experiences which sufficiently challenge them in developing their skills. This is due to the staff being effective in the implementation of the 'Birth to Three Matters'

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Helping children to be healthy

framework. Children benefit from a healthy diet. Menus are varied throughout the week which are well balanced, healthy and nutritious. Children enjoy their meals. Their individual dietary needs, likes and dislikes are taken into consideration and adhered to. Alternatives are provided and staff have a clear understanding of the importance of meeting these. Younger children are offered drinks throughout the day. Older children help themselves to water at any time which is developing their independence and self-help skills.

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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 safe and stimulating environment which is welcoming, bright and colourful. Children are developing independence skills when self-selecting activities and resources. They have access to a good range of well organised toys and equipment that is developmentally appropriate and well maintained. 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 able to move around comfortably and safely. Babies are supported effectively by adults to participate in activities whilst developing their all round skills. Children's risk of accidental injury is minimised in the setting. Good safety and security procedures are in place, such as an intercom system and risk assessments. Their ongoing safety is supported due to practitioners' understanding and compliance with health and safety requirements. Staff skilfully explain safe practices, such as why children should not walk around with food in their mouths, so that they will not choke on their food. This helps children learn to take responsibility for keeping themselves safe. Children are well protected from child abuse. The child protection coordinator ensures that procedures are up to date and that staff understand their roles and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy and settled in the welcoming environment. They enjoy making choices about their activities. Relationships with staff are good and children are able to feel secure and valued. Children understand their own needs, for example when they are no longer hungry, need a drink or the toilet. They are motivated and interested in a broad range of developmentally appropriate activities. Staff's good use of the 'Birth to Three Matters' framework is improving children's achievements. Musical activities include singing and creating rhythms which contribute to children's developing communication skills. Babies receive lots of cuddles and have a strong bond with their key worker. This increases their sense of well-being. They benefit from routines which are consistent with their experiences at home, thus ensuring good continuity of care. Nursery education The quality of learning and teaching is satisfactory. Children make generally good

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

progress towards the early learning goals. They generally progress well in communication language and literacy and personal social and emotional development. Whilst taking part in the good variety of activities children learn incidentally. Staff have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals to enable children to make satisfactory progress. However, they are not always able to effectively implement the curriculum due to weak planning and assessment. Therefore children do not always progress to their potential as some of their individual learning needs are not met. Children are happy and enjoy coming to the setting. They are confident and play in various ways according to their ages and stages of development, for example on their own or in groups. Children behave well. They have a clear understanding of the boundaries and expectations that the setting promotes. They are able to concentrate

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

for periods of time during story time and when participating in a craft activity. They make decisions about their play, independently adapting and changing activities to further extend their ideas. Children's language skills are particularly well developed

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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 as they are frequently encouraged to talk about events in their own lives. Children have ample opportunities to mark make which they use to develop early writing skills. For example, some children can write their own name. Children capably count to ten. They learn about mathematical concepts through playing dominos and matching pairs. Children's understanding of calculation is weak, as there are gaps in staff's ability to promote this through daily tasks and activities. Children actively learn about other people and understand that they have differing beliefs, cultures and traditions. They enjoy exploring the natural world by caring for the rabbit and growing flowers. Children move confidently indoors and outdoors. They develop small muscle groups and coordination when using scissors and constructing models. However, weak

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

planning restricts the development of large physical skills such as climbing. Children use their imagination to recreate familiar scenes with role play resources, for example a travel agent. They enjoy ballet and freely express themselves in music.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are valued and respected as individuals. Their needs are met well due to staff being proactive and sensitive in their approach. There is a good selection of resources that positively represent children and people from differing backgrounds, disability, cultures, age and religion. Children are learning about their local community by visiting the park, church, home for the elderly, shops and library. This helps children develop a positive attitude to others. The provision fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Children have a good understanding of what the boundaries and expectations of the setting are, therefore children behave well. They are given clear and consistent messages by staff who positively promote behaviour through praise and encouragement. Parents' views about their child's needs and interests are actively sought before the child starts. Information is shared in a variety of methods which informs parents and

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Helping children make a positive contribution

the staff of the ongoing needs and development of the child. Children benefit from this input which contributes to their good health, safety, development and learning. The partnership with parents of children who receive nursery education is satisfactory. There is information available for new parents regarding the foundation stage curriculum. They are given some verbal information about their child's progress. However, more formal opportunities for parents to learn about and contribute to written assessments are not created. They receive information on the topics being covered, but this does not include ways that parents can support and extend their children's learning at home.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The welfare and care of the children is promoted through clearly written policies and procedures which the staff positively adhere to within their practice. Adult:child ratios

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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 are maintained ensuring children receive adequate supervision. However, sometimes staff are not effectively deployed which disrupts the consistent care of children. The leadership and management of the setting is satisfactory. Children benefit from being cared for by staff who are motivated and suitably trained. Managers' positive relationships with staff supports cooperative working that promotes children's well being. However, preschool staff do not work together in the development of planning. This results in some lack of understanding regarding the best method of promoting children's development. Some monitoring and appraisals identify ongoing development needs of staff. Consequently, children benefit from this as staff training is implemented and new ideas for good practice is introduced. Overall, the provision

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Organisation

meets the needs of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last Children Act inspection recommended that the nursery should improve the steps taken 'in the prevention of cross infection' with regard to the storage of toothbrushes and used paper towels. At the last nursery education inspection a key issue was raised that the setting should evaluate the provision to ensure that staff have the appropriate skills to enable children to be more challenged in free expression in art work and to develop further, their understanding of health and bodily awareness. The nursery has made improvements which promote children's health. All bins that contain used paper towels have lids. The storage of toothbrushes is now no longer required as the nursery has decided not to continue with this particular practice. The provision now value and promote children's free expression in creative art work, and display the results around the room. Children are becoming more familiar with their

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Improvements since the last inspection

own health and bodily awareness through practical activities and topics. For example, feeling their hearts before and after exercising and noticing the differences between the pace of the heart beat. Children participated in an activity learning how and where germs come from and how they are spread. This has been followed up by a display on the wall.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since April 2004 there have been 4 complaints relating to National Standard 2,3,6,7,8,11,12, and 14. On three occasions Ofsted inspectors have made unannounced visits, on the other occasion the registered person was invited to formally respond in writing, detailing their findings. On no occasion has the provider been found to be in breach of their registration. The registered person remains qualified to provide day care.

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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

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND 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 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): • improve the system for deployment of staff to ensure the continuity of care for children 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): • take positive steps to ensure that parents are well informed about: the nursery education provision; their child's progress towards the early learning goals; and how they can support their child's learning at home • improve the planning and assessment systems to identify, the stage at which children are at in their learning, what they need to learn next and use this to inform future planning.

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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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