Happy Nursery Days

Happy Nursery Days

Inspection report for early years provision

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Happy Nursery Days

Unique Reference Number EY287358 Inspection date 24 May 2005 Inspector Malini Parmar

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Happy Nursery Days

Setting Address Valens House, 132A Upper Tulse Hill, London, SW2 2RX

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E-mail

Registered person Ekaya Housing Association 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 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?

Happy Nursery Days opened in 2004 and operated from a recently refurbished, self contained building, on the ground floor of a residential block of flats on St. Martin's Estate in Tulse Hill. A maximum of 49 children aged up to five years may attend at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08:00 to 18:00 throughout the year except during bank holidays. The nursery premises comprise of three play rooms, two children's bathrooms, an

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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 office, staff room, kitchen and parents room. There is an enclosed garden at the rear which once landscaped will be used for outdoor play. The nursery serves families from the local community. There are currently 21 children attending a variety of sessions throughout the week. Of these 6 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and a number of children with English as an additional language. The nursery employs nine staff including 2 managers who are both supernumerary. Of these, seven staff hold relevant childcare qualifications. All staff attend regular short training courses.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children learn about healthy hygiene practice through the daily routine. They are, for example, encouraged to wash their hands at appropriate times. Older children visit the toilet independently, before and after meal times and after engaging in messy play. However, older children are not offered consistent explanations to support their understanding of healthy hygiene. Consequently, while they participate in daily routines they do not successfully learn the connections between maintaining hygiene and good health. Babies benefit from the sound procedures followed by staff to prevent the spread of infections by generally following clear hygiene practice. Babies do not, for example, share bedding or cots and staff diligently sterilise equipment after it has been used. Consequently, a healthy and secure environment is being established for babies, which is, in the main, reinforced by sound routines to promote

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Helping children to be healthy

emotional well being. Babies are cradled whilst being bottle fed, staff maintain conversation when changing nappies. They are frequently provided with cuddles and they blossom in the warm, friendly and secure interaction which supports and promotes healthy emotional well being. Occasionally, such effective personal routines are not followed and babies do not consistently receive such positive levels of involvement. For example, staff do not maintain eye contact when feeding babies in highchairs as they stand over them. During these times babies eat their lunch with minimal staff interaction. The mechanisms in place to ensure all staff follow the clear procedures such as when nappy changing, are not yet fully reliable. As a result, children sometimes experience a greater risk of infection which may have a detrimental impact on their health. Children clearly enjoy the sound range of healthy and nutritious snacks, which

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Helping children to be healthy

comply with all special dietary requirements and parental wishes. Children benefit from the range of hot lunches and relish the fresh fruit at snack times. Babies are offered meals and snacks according to their individual routines. They are able to eat, rest and sleep according to routines which match those followed at home and staff ensure they are frequently offered drinks. Older children can help themselves to drinks from a jug of water at any time, outside of the routine meal and snack times. However, procedures to ensure the jug's remain filled are not fully reliable and this

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Helping children to be healthy

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 may lead to occasions when younger children remain thirsty. Children benefit from daily programmed opportunities for fresh air and vigorous play to maintain health. Older children show their awareness of space as they skilfully manoeuvre around objects and one another. They develop greater control over their movements as they practice jumping and hoping and energetically pedal bikes and scooters to win races. Babies receive useful support and are encouraged to develop confidence in their movements as they learn to crawl and support themselves to stand. However, outside of these times, older children receive limited opportunities to practice these skills as they are not fully encouraged to do so indoors. In particular, children who are developing confidence in their movements often express a desire to

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Helping children to be healthy

climb but receive insufficient chances to do this. Consequently, their need to engage in vigorous play is sometimes misdirected and opportunities to acquire and practice new physical skills are restricted to outdoor play times only.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children are settled in a welcoming and well organised environment. They move freely and comfortably in the light, bright and well equipped purpose built premises. Children delight in their art and craft when they move freely around the nursery. Children, in all areas of the nursery, can easily access particular activities because space is sufficiently utilised and attractively divided into specific play areas. Babies have room to explore and develop their spatial awareness in a secure and safe environment. Children have access to and enjoy using a sound range of developmentally appropriate toys and resources that stimulate their interest. However, babies as yet, have limited access to resources that reflect the natural world and environment in which they live. Children's access to broken, incomplete or dirty toys is minimised because staff follow effective routines to check for safety.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's risk to accidental injury is minimised by generally effective procedures, such as checking the temperature of their food before it is served, and the sound use of fundamental safety equipment such as socket protectors. Children benefit from good systems to monitor the entrance to the provision such the intercom system, to enable them to feel safe and secure. Risk assessments are regularly made to ensure effective safety measures are always in place and staff offer helpful explanations to children to enable them to understand why some things are unsafe. Consequently, children receive useful opportunities to develop an awareness of how to keep themselves and others around them safe. For example, older children know that is dangerous to run indoors, particularly to younger children that they may bump into and hurt. However, children's welfare is not fully safeguarded because staff are not fully secure

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

in their knowledge of issues surrounding child protection. Staff are particularly unsure of what procedures to follow if an allegation is made against them.

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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

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Babies are increasing in their confidence and have warm secure relationships with the staff, which increases their sense of belonging and promotes effective well being. They have useful opportunities to find their voices as they, for example, snuggle comfortably on to staff's laps and look through books together. They benefit from the positive interaction at these times to support and encourage babbling, singing and talking to stimulate their language. Consequently, babies respond with animation and excitement as, for example, the pages in the books are turned and they happily practice repeating the sounds they hear, which are clearly emphasized to form words. Babies clearly enjoy a range of sensorial books and independently use programmable plastic toys such as activity centres. They are learning to make connections as they distinguish between different toys and choose their favourite

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

things to play with. For example, they clearly enjoy pressing buttons on electronic toys to make lights flash and confidently repeat this as they receive sufficient affirmation and support. Babies and toddlers benefit from staff's developing knowledge of the birth to three matters framework to improve achievements. However, this has not been fully implemented as yet, because staff are developing in their confidence of it. Consequently, although babies clearly enjoy painting, opportunities for them to regularly use malleable resources to promote their senses, such as pasta or use natural objects to promote sensory exploration are insufficient. Occasionally, babies and toddlers receive limited chances to consistently engage in meaningful play because staff are occupied by domestic tasks and consequently do not spend their time working directly with the children. This is particularly significant during snack times when opportunities to promote language and acquire social

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

confidence are missed. Nursery Education The overall quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and in the main, children are successfully engaged in a range of interesting practical activities. They are making satisfactory progress through the stepping stones towards the Early Learning Goals. Children are confident and try new activities with enthusiasm. Firm relationships are established as they learn to share and take turns. Children develop sound levels of concentration and preserve in their chosen tasks, such as when completing puzzles. Although children ably put on their coats in preparation for outdoor play, many opportunities to strengthen their self help skills and foster their independence effectively are missed. Consequently, children receive limited opportunities to, for example, pour their own drinks, or serve themselves at lunch times. Although, children freely select activities from the range offered. The

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

environment is not carefully prepared to help them make choices outside of those offered by staff. This occasionally results in children wandering aimlessly in search of other things to do, when they have exhausted the possibilities available. Children speak clearly and confidently as they engage both adults and their friends in conversation. They receive regular opportunities for songs and rhymes and children, for example, happily sing whilst participating in other activities. In particular they benefit from the mathematical language that they frequently hear. They successfully

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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 repeat it to identify, size, shape and quantity. Children regularly absorb themselves in books and the environment is clearly labelled to reinforce print carries meaning. They develop good self esteem as they successfully recognise their names through the routine. They have access to good mark making resources but these are not always effectively utilised and children receive few chances to support writing for many purposes. For example, they are not sufficiently encouraged to label their work. Children frequently engage in creative play, they eagerly paint, cut, stick and play with sand and water to communicate their thoughts, ideas and feelings. Children experiment with water wheels and become excited as they learn to make them spin. Others, delight as they successfully transfer water using different sized containers.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

However, opportunities to clearly learn about space and measure are missed by staff who do not support children's enquiry at these times because they are often busy completing domestic tasks. Children develop a strong sense of time through topics such as exploring "when I was a baby". This is reinforced through the routine on a daily basis. Children delight as they successfully select the day, date and establish what the weather is like and how this makes them feel. In addition they are provided with clear warnings about how much longer they have to play this enables them to strengthen their understanding of time. Children frequently engage in imaginative play to mimic their observations of the world around them, for example, they put on doctor's uniforms and enter the play house. However, much of this play is unsupported by staff, who do not always successfully engage the children to extend their imaginations by exploring their experiences further.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Quality of Teaching and Learning. Staff use the Foundation Stage Curriculum and are developing a more secure knowledge of how to fully implement it. Planning and assessments are evolving. Staff meet weekly to discuss and evaluate a programme of activities based around a theme. They make regular observations on the children's progress. The process of using these to identify children's individual learning priorities and use these to plan activities is beginning to develop. Staff interact positively with children and they generally ask useful questions to support and extend learning. However, sometimes, children's learning is hindered by staff's lack of effective organisation and deployment. They are engaged in domestic tasks and consequently do not spend their time working directly with the children. This sometimes results in children receiving insufficient challenges.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children have useful opportunities to learn about differences and develop a positive view of the wider world. A range of festivities are celebrated throughout the year and children receive useful chances to consolidate their understanding of these by regularly using a range of resources reflecting all areas of diversity. Posters, books and toys promoting positive images of the wider world and which represent the cultural backgrounds of all the children attending, enable all children to feel valued and consequently children receive greater chances of strengthening their self worth. Children benefit from regular trips into the local community, such as, to the parks and

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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 shops to increase their awareness the local and wider world. However, children with dual language including English, are less supported because there is little emphasis placed on the child's other language. For example, the system to gather a list of words in the child's other language or ensuring that displays or name cards represent both languages are not yet fully developed. Consequently, children may not fully learn to appreciate the value of both languages as it is not represented within their environment. Support for children with special educational needs is developing. Children receive sound levels of praise and encouragement for their achievements to boost their confidence and enhance self esteem. Older children benefit from receiving useful explanations for unwanted behaviour when they spend time in their

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Helping children make a positive contribution

designated room. However, such explanations are not consistently offered throughout the nursery and this results in children sometimes repeating undesirable behaviour. During these times, the focus changes to managing children's behaviour rather than their needs. Consequently, children receive fewer chances to successfully understand why certain behaviour is not acceptable. As a result they have fewer chances to develop effective skills to manage their own behaviour. Children benefit from the sound procedures in place to promote healthy partnership's with parents to ensure their well being, development and progress. Children settle well and benefit from a two way sharing of information to meet their needs. Babies routines match those followed at home and the key worker system ensures that information is continually exchanged and shared. Newsletter's, notice boards and contact diaries ensure that parents are made aware of how children spend their time

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Helping children make a positive contribution

at nursery. Children's developmental records are available for parents to view upon request outside of the programmed parent's days. Although, children receiving funding benefit from these systems, opportunities to ensure parents can participate fully in their learning is limited because the system to share children's individual learning priorities is not yet secure. Overall children's Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development is fostered appropriately.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children benefit from the developing support structure in the organisation which has clear aims and takes account of the ideas of staff, in order to meet their needs. The manager is relatively new and works closely with the deputy who is responsible for the nursery's daily organisation. Children are comfortable and confident in a friendly setting in which the staff team work closely. Children are interested in a suitable range of developmentally appropriate activities. Although, these are not always sufficiently challenging to consistently retain their interest and help children take the next step. They benefit from the developing use of the key worker system to promote strong secure relationships. Babies benefit from staff following individual routines which match those followed at home to help them settle. Relationships between staff and children are generally good and they receive sound levels of praise and encouragement to

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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 develop their confidence and self esteem. However, children do not receive useful support to understand why certain behaviour is unacceptable. This sometimes leads to repeated instances of unwanted behaviour as they are not provided with sufficient explanations to successfully learn to independently manage occasional conflicts. Children benefit from staff working alongside them to guide and support their play. However, staff are not always effectively deployed to achieve this. They spend much of their time engaged in organisational tasks and not directly working with the children. This has an adverse effect on the children's learning and behaviour. All required records for children are in place and there a set of appropriate polices and procedures. Induction training and regular individual support meetings are

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Organisation

developing to ensure staff are familiar with them. However, in practice, children's welfare is not fully safe guarded because staff are not fully secure in their knowledge of some of the settings procedures, in particular child protection. Leadership and Management is satisfactory. The manager has a clear aim for the nursery but has yet to fully implement it. She has a sound understanding of the Foundation stage curriculum and is able support staff with planning a balanced range of opportunities to support children's learning. Both managers work closely to support the staff responsible for the funded children and the process for accurate planning to meet the individual needs of the children attending is developing. Although, staff have begun to assess the children's progress, the process of using this information is just beginning to develop. Consequently, some challenges for children are sometimes insufficient. There is a strong commitment to improvement throughout the

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Organisation

team which is instigated by the manager. Therefore, staff are keen to access training to ensure they provide high levels of education and care for the children. The manager has a knowledge of the settings weaknesses but has yet to fully implement a secure and thorough system to monitor, review and evaluate the effectiveness of the nursery education to ensure children consistently receive suitable challenges. In practice, the funded children spend much of their time working in the "toddler room", to meet the organisational needs of the setting. Consequently, at these times their progress is hindered because the environment and challenges are not organised to meet their needs.

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Improvements since the last inspection

There were no actions set at the registration inspection in 2004.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Ofsted have not received any complaints since the registration in 2004.

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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

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 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 staff are effectively deployed at all times to support and extend children's play and learning. • Ensure staff are secure in their knowledge of issues surrounding child protection, in particular in the event an allegation is made against them. • Ensure staff consistently offer explanations to children when managing their behaviour to promote their welfare and development.

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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): • Continue to develop the use of assessments in order to identify children's individual learning priorities and use these to inform future plans, ensure these are shared with parents. • Develop a rigorous system to monitor and review the groups' strengths and weaknesses and that of the educational programme.

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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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