St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon

WOKINGHAM DAY NURSERY Inspection report for early years provision

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148629 Unique Reference Number 12 June 2007 Inspection date Carol Patricia Willett Inspector

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Wescott Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 2ER Setting Address

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E-mail

Wokingham Day Nursery Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of 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

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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?

Wokingham Day Nursery is a committee run charity day nursery. The group first opened in 1974. The group operates from a building in the grounds of Wescott School. The children have use of a large playroom with an adjacent toilet area. There is a kitchen area that doubles as a staffroom and office. The children have access to a fenced tarmac area, and the occasional use of the school playground. Children attending the nursery come from the local community and surrounding villages.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Wokingham Day Nursery is registered for 20 children aged from two to five years. Currently the group have 49 children on roll, of these 37 are in receipt of nursery funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting supports a number of children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those who have English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery opens five days a week for 51 weeks of the year. Sessions last from 08:30 until 17:15. Children can stay all day, or mornings or afternoons, with the added option of lunch. The nursery provides wrap-around care at their breakfast and twilight sessions from 08:00 until 08:30 and 17:15 until 18:00.

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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 Nine staff work a variety of sessions and hours, to meet the needs of the group. The nursery employs an administrator. The nursery receive support from a qualified teacher at Wescott School and from the local early years team. The nursery is a member of the Preschool Learning Alliance.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children develop an awareness of healthy eating as staff provide an excellent variety of fruit and vegetables with pitta bread, bread sticks and rice cakes. Meal times are happy social occasions. Children choose from an interesting variety of fruit and vegetables including cucumber and carrot sticks, olives, grapes, apples and strawberries, for example, and this varies daily. This enables children to develop an understanding of healthy foods options, independence and choice. Children choose milk or water to drink and they competently pour this for themselves as staff provide appropriately sized jugs. Staff use snack time to further develop children social skills and manners as they wait for all their friends to arrive before they eat. They develop other skills such as counting and calculation as the children count the number of friends and cups needed. They develop a sense of responsibility as one child is chosen to collect the cups. Children

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Helping children to be healthy

do not have independent access to water throughout the session. Documentation details children's dietary requirements which staff follow when providing food for snacks. Children staying all day bring their lunch boxes. Staff sit with the children and all chatter happily sharing their experiences and family life.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff generally follow good hygiene procedures to ensure children stay healthy. They have access to clean, spacious premises. There are suitable policies and procedures and documentation in place for accidents and medication. Daily routines encourage children's awareness of good personal hygiene as staff encourage them to wash their hands and wipe their noses. The layout of the premises enable children to develop independence in their toileting. They put on aprons when painting and playing with the water to protect their clothes. Staff ensure children's health is safeguarded when they play outside as they put on sun cream and hats every time children go out to play in the sun.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have good opportunities to learn about healthy living and enjoy a range of physical play. They play outside daily enjoying the fresh air. They enthusiastically develop physical skills as they climb and slide on the indoor climbing frame. They have access to the school playground where they enjoy circle games under the shelter and singing matching words and actions. They kick and throw balls, catch beanbags and use wheeled toys in their enclosed play area. Staff provide children with a wide range of appropriate resources and tools including playdough, scissors, paint brushes, pens and crayons, and they manipulate jigsaw pieces and construction toys to develop their fine motor skills.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children have access to a large playroom situated on the ground floor of an old building, set within the grounds of a school. They play and learn in a welcoming, safe, stimulating environment with ample space for them to play and explore in comfort. Staff organise the rooms effectively to support children's development and encourage independent learning. Displays of children's work, group collages and educational posters are put on the walls to provide a welcoming

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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 child-friendly environment and develop children's sense of belonging. Children access a wide range of good quality toys and play materials put out daily by the staff, which are in good condition and age appropriate. Low shelving enables children to select other resources when needed such as scissors and sticky tape. There is an interesting range of resources and equipment outside, such as wooden seating and weaving poles and playhouses as well as sand and water trays, which provide a stimulating environment for children's play. They have access low drawers with a selection of construction and role play toys for outside play.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children stay safe in the nursery as staff are experienced, qualified and suitably vetted. There are good procedures in place to promote children's safety. The nursery maintain a high staffing ratio and supervise children closely at all times. This ensures there are two staff both inside and out as children freely access the outside play area. Staff have a good understanding of the policies and procedures in place to protect children including child protection procedures if they have any concerns about the children. Children and staff regularly practice fire evacuation to develop their confidence and awareness in the event of an emergency.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children stay safe as staff follow good health and safety procedures. Staff check the premises daily both inside and out to ensure all hazards are removed and resources are safe for use. The entrance door is kept locked to protect the children whilst they are on the premises. Safety gates are in place if the doors are open for fresh air on very hot days to prevent children leaving unsupervised. Staff have good collection arrangements in place to ensure children's safety. Visitors sign in and out. Staff ensure children develop an understanding of their own safety through the introduction of safety rules which include no sand in the playhouse as it makes the floor slippery. They model how to use tools such as scissors safely.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children have fun, are happy and develop well as staff are kind, caring and interested. Staff develop warm relationships with children who are confident and secure and they settle quickly into the group. Staff have a good knowledge of the children and give individual attention as needed during the session to ensure children are making progress. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are supported well in their play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff provide an interesting range of activities and resources so children are busily occupied throughout the session and make good progress in all areas of development. Children's communication skills develop well as staff listen to the children and are responsive to their questions and needs. This ensures most children happily talk about their experiences and families during the session.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young children access a wide range of resources and activities which are set out within easy reach enabling them to make decisions about what they play with. Staff observe and record young children’s development and link this to aspects of the ‘Birth to three matters’ framework and the Foundation Stage curriculum.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children busily occupy themselves throughout the day. They are friendly and sociable. They share and take turns using resources such as the computer and playdough tools. Children join

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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 in well at group times and are confident to share their experience and family life. Children enjoy a good range of activities, which cover all aspects of the early learning goals. Staff monitor children’s learning through observations and transfer this information to the children’s progress records. The records are regularly updated and highlight children’s achievements along the stepping stones. A review of children’s records when planning, identifies which areas require additional attention to ensure children make balanced progress across all areas during their key-work group time.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Weekly plans do not always contain sufficient detail to effectively identify the intended learning for children. Consequently, when staff that planned the activity are not available, other staff do not always effectively prepare and organise the activity. For example, group sizes are sometimes too large and children are not fully engaged in the activity on these occasions. Staff make observations of individual children during activities. However, activities are not consistently effectively evaluated to assess how children learn and achieve.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing good use of their language skills through discussions with each other during their play and through the effective questioning techniques used by staff. Most children are confident talkers and readily engage each other and staff in discussion, for example, when talking about what they like to eat at snack time and as they work in their key work groups. They are developing a good understanding of language, through the simple instructions from staff, for example, when giving instructions on how to use equipment or not using the pasting brush to paint another child with water. Children recognise their names as they find them on entering the nursery. They use their name cards as they learn to write their names during play, and some children write their names on their drawings and pictures. Some children recognise the names of their friends during snack time as they find their places.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy participating in craft activities, exploring with paint, glue and dough. They have free access to a range of recycled and joining materials and tools. They explore glue and it’s sticking properties or use sticky tape. They are confident in naming a range of colours and shapes, recognising when they are different or have the same features. Staff provide a range of activities to develop children's imagination and creativity. They enjoy painting using a variety of techniques such as folding their painting to make butterfly pictures and printing to make caterpillars. They enjoy listening to stories actively participating. They join in signing and dancing with enthusiasm matching words and actions to songs such as the 'wheels on the bus'.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing good skills in the recognition of numbers as staff provide a good variety of activities and resources. They enjoy playing number games and count the number of children and cups needed for snacks. Children are beginning to count to high numbers, such as how many children are present in the group. Children competently match and sort by size and colour using compare bears and identify numerals as they complete puzzles and games. They learn simple calculation through singing number songs and rhymes. Planned key work group activities develops children's understanding of position as they place their bear under or on top of the table or behind the chair.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy opportunities to develop their manipulative skills, for example, when playing with dough and are proficient in their use of a range of equipment, such as knives and cutters. They display good manipulative and coordination skills, competently pouring drinks from jugs into cups and into different size containers in the water tray. They enjoy using the computer which has an interesting range of software to further develop their number and literacy skills and they demonstrate good skills using the mouse. Further opportunities encourage children

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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 to grasp a good understanding of using programmable equipment, such as the use of ‘Bee Bots’.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy opportunities to explore local areas as they go out to the local park and the library. They develop an interest in the natural world when they watch caterpillars change to butterflies, grow beans in jars and plant potatoes in containers outside. The enjoy visits from the Zoo Lab which introduces them to a different range if animals. Overall, children are making steady progress in their learning journeys.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Staff greet children and parents warmly on arrival so children are happy, settled and secure. Children develop a sense of belonging as some of their work is displayed on the walls in group collages, for example, of butterflies and caterpillars. They have named pegs for their coats and drawers for their belongings. The keyworker system allows staff to form trusting relationships with the children and their parents, as they share informal information on a daily basis. Children stay with the same keyworker throughout their time in the nursery which ensures continuity of care. Staff respond positively and sensitively to children’s special needs and family backgrounds, ensuring their well-being and that all are included and helped to make progress. They work closely with parents and professionals to support the children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. They learn about their own and other cultures through planned activities and visitors into the nursery. Staff praise and encourage them, teaching them to care about each other and learn respect through their own actions as they act as good role models. Children care about their friends giving them hugs and helping them up when they fall over. Staff are kind and caring and show interest in the children encouraging their efforts which ensures children are confident and develop good self esteem.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave well as staff have high expectations of good behaviour. They use distraction well and give children clear explanations. They ensure children are aware of the rules, such as being kind to each other and not putting sand in the playhouse. Children are busily occupied and receive lots of praise and encouragement to develop positive behaviour. They respond to hand clapping which signals staff want them to listen to instructions. They receive five minutes notice so they are aware of changes in the session, for example, to tidy up before snacks. Children learn about good manners as they wait for all their friends to come to the table before they eat their snacks and lunch. Staff treat the children with respect and use please and thank-you when talking to them. Consequently, children develop respect for each other. They share and take turns and negotiate over the use of resources, such when sharing the wheeled

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Helping children make a positive contribution

toys in the outside play area and when using the climbing frame inside.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnerships with parents and carers are good. Staff develop a good rapport with them. Children's needs are effectively met as parents share useful information prior to their child starting at the nursery. Parents support children's learning as they have access to the policies and planning for nursery education which are available in the entrance hall. They are very positive about the care and education their children receive. They like the information relayed to them at the end of the session via the whiteboard outside the playroom and the genuine friendliness of the staff. They have opportunities to comment on the provision through questionnaires. The manager responds in writing to any concerns. Parents can help in the nursery to develop an insight to their child's care and learning, and be part of the committee to support the work 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 the nursery staff. The children's records are freely available for parents to view and there is formal feedback opportunities where parents can discuss their child's progress. Parents are able to comment on and contribute to children's achievement records and some take the opportunity to be involved in planning for their children's learning. Nursery staff arrange information evenings each term for parents about nursery education and the Foundation Stage curriculum as their children start working toward the early learning goals.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children relate well to caring, interested staff. Their allocated keyworker stays with them throughout their time in the nursery providing continuity of care. Children know the routine well and adapt easily to the changes during the session. This ensures they settle well and are happy in the nursery, which is generally well organised to allow the children space to play and learn. The nursery is well supported by a parents' committee who help with fundraising and social events.

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Organisation

The leadership and management is good. Staff work effectively as a team and they are well deployed to ensure ratios are met at all times. They work well together and are very supportive to each other. They are aware of their roles and responsibilities. The space and resources are generally organised well to ensure all children's developmental needs are met and they make good progress to the early learning goals. The manager is aware of the need to improve planning and evaluation to develop consistency and there are plans in place to allow better access to the outside play area.

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Organisation

There are good systems in place to ensure staff are suitable to care for the children. They are committed to updating their knowledge and skills with the manager working towards NVQ level 4 childcare qualification and other staff attending workshops identified through the annual appraisal system. A comprehensive range of policies and procedures are in place and work in practice to promote the care, welfare and education of the children and manage all aspects of the provision. These are updated to include new guidance, such as the sickness policy which includes details regarding notification of infectious illness to the regulator. The complaints policy does not have the updated address and phone number for Ofsted. Overall the provision meets the needs of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the nursery were required to improve documentation relating to the complaints procedure. They have made progress and now include contact details of the regulator in the policy, however, change in address and telephone numbers have not been updated.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The education inspection required improvements to staff knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum and stepping stones. They were required to develop evaluation of activities to inform planning and ensure children are challenged sufficiently. There has been some improvement as all staff have attended training and hold relevant childcare qualifications to NVQ level 3. Keywork activities group children to stage of development and so provide sufficient challenge for the children. Staff understand how activities are linked to the stepping stones and this is included in planning. However, activities are not consistently or sufficiently evaluated to inform planning and this is carried forward for further improvement.

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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 April 2005 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 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): • ensure children have access to drinking water throughout the session

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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): • improve planning and preparation of activities in order to ensure group size is appropriate so children are actively engaged in learning • improve evaluation of activities to ensure they are always used effectively to plan for 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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