Old Rectory Day Nursery

Old Rectory Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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220140 Unique Reference Number 20 April 2007 Inspection date Andrea Ewer Inspector

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The Old Rectory, Church Lane, Little Billing, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN3 9AF

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E-mail

Susan Hartley and David Hartley 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?

The Old Rectory Day Nursery opened in 1985 and serves the local community and beyond. The nursery is situated in a grade 2 listed building standing in one acre of land within the village of Little Billing. The nursery is divided into two areas and children have access to three enclosed outdoor play areas, and a further tarmac section in front of the house which is used for children to ride bikes and pedal cars. The nursery is open from 8.00 hrs to 18.00 hrs, five days a week all year round and children attend for various sessions.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is registered to care for a total of 60 children from one to eight years at any one time. There are 120 children on roll including 68 children, who are receiving funding for nursery education. The nursery is able to support children who have learning difficulties and those who are learning to speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are 17 members of staff regularly working with the children. All but two of the staff have the equivalent of qualifications at Level 3 or above in early years and child care. Two of these staff are currently working towards a Level 2 qualification in child care. The setting receives support from a local authority advisory teacher. The nursery is accredited with the Pre-school

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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 Learning Association Accreditation Scheme and is working towards accreditation with the National Day Nursery Association.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Good attention is given to ensuring children's good health is promoted well. Children benefit from nutritious meals and snacks such as home made chips and fishcakes with beans as part of a well-balanced diet. Meals are cooked on the premises and promotes children's healthy growth and development very well. Staff give careful attention to children who have special dietary needs including those who have a small appetite. Children are given proportions of food that are manageable and support them to eat sufficient quantities.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are starting to understand the importance of personal hygiene as they carry out simple hygiene practises as part of everyday routines. For example, they wash their hands before eating and after visiting the toilet. Children's good health is further promoted well because staff follow clear health and hygiene procedures that effectively prevents the spread of infection. Disposable gloves are worn during nappy changing and clear hygiene routines are carried out in the kitchen. All staff hold an up-to-date first aid qualification, first aid kits are readily accessible around the nursery and appropriate procedures are in place which ensures children receive appropriate care in the event of minor accidents or illness.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have good opportunities to rest or be active according to their individual needs as part of everyday routines. Children under three years have opportunities to sleep after lunch and those over three may rest or join quiet activities. Children have free access to the outdoor area where they ride on wheeled toys, climb on large apparatus and jump vigorously on the trampoline. This helps to develop their physical skills and increase control of their bodies.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in welcoming premises which are brightly decorated, with photographs of themselves involved in activities, posters and attractive displays of their artwork. Rooms are well-organised to allow children to move around confidently as they participate in the wide range of stimulating activities and the outdoor area is well-organised to provide a stimulating area for children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Overall effective measures that ensure children's safety are in place. A safety gate prevents children accessing the stairs unsupervised and closed circuit televisions monitor the nursery rooms and outdoor areas, however, the nursery is not secure enough to prevent unknown visitors from entering which potentially compromises children's safety. The use of a rota ensures staff are deployed effectively throughout the nursery which makes sure children are supervised at all times, including whilst they play on the trampoline.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are extremely well protected from harm or neglect because staff have secure knowledge of the signs and symptoms of child abuse and the correct procedure is followed vigilantly if they are concerned a child may be being harmed. All staff have attended updated Safeguarding Children training and information about the role of the nursery in protecting children from harm is displayed on the parents notice board.

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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 good. Children are happy, settled and enjoy their time in the nursery. They share good relationships with staff and their peers, and purposefully engage in the wide range of stimulating activities that helps to develop their physical, social, emotional and intellectual skills well. Activities for children under three years are carefully planned around the 'Birth to three matters' framework and supports them to build on skills they already have. Children become skilful communicators as they speak within large and small groups to share their news and they actively participate in simple action songs and rhymes. Children confidently choose what to play with from the activities set out for them and have free access to outdoor play for most of the day. Children use their imagination well as they act out real life situations in the home corner, which helps them start to make sense of the world. The develop co-ordination and increased control of

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

their bodies as they ride on wheeled toys and climb the apparatus.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children under three years make good progress because well thought out records based on the 'Birth to three matters' framework are maintained. Staff make regular observations of children and include photographs and samples of their art activities to show their progress. The next steps for each child's development is clearly identified and the information is used to plan future activities. This successfully contributes to helping children move on to the next stage in their development.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children make good progress towards the early learning goals because staff plan and provide a broad range of developmentally appropriate activities around the six areas of learning. Clear learning outcomes are identified in planning and topics are regularly repeated to secure children's understanding. Staff have a very good understanding of the Foundation Stage and how children learn, which enables them to effectively extend children's learning during both planned and spontaneous activities. For example, children use binoculars and magnifying glasses to observe the frog they find during outdoor play. Occasionally, however, activities are not sufficiently well organised to promote children's learning. Observations and assessments are made on all children and clearly shows their achievements. The evaluation of activities helps staff identify the next steps in each child's

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

learning and enables staff to monitor whether or not learning outcomes are achieved.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are motivated and make links in their learning because staff incorporate the current theme into other activities set out. For example, during the shapes theme children identify various shapes in the community during a local walk. Children are forming friendships with each other. They seek out others to share experiences, such as sitting next to their special friend at meal times. They start to learn the rules for getting along as they understand that only children wearing a necklace can play in the sand and an egg timer helps them understand that their turn on the computer is over. Children develop their early writing skills during the many opportunities for mark making. They all write their name on their artwork and give meaning to marks during painting and drawing activities. Children are developing a love of books and often spend time looking at them for enjoyment in the cosy book corner. Most children turn the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

pages correctly and start to understand that we read from left to right. They listen with interest to stories and older children recognise their own name and often the first letter of other children's names. Children speak with confidence as they engage in conversations with each other and to share their news. For example children tell the group they are going to France on holiday. Children are making excellent progress in mathematics because numbers and shape

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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 are bought into everyday activities. They look for numbers during local walks such as on post-boxes, cars, bus stops and road signs and spontaneously count the number of spots on the ladybirds. Children recognise shapes such as rectangles, squares and circles and confidently match gloves by shape, size and colour. Children gain an understanding of volume and capacity whilst filling containers in the sand and use mathematical language well such as more than, under, over and through.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have regular access to a computer where they use simple programmes with increasing confidence to learn about the seasons and numbers. They show interest in how things works as they use science kits to explore insects and frogs in the garden and look at shapes and patterns through the kaleidoscope which helps them understand how things work. Children gain a sense of time and place. They discuss the date during talk time and start to relate this to birthdays and other events in their lives. Children regularly go for walks in the local community, swimming and other places of interest such as the school playground which helps them understand what it will be like when they go to school. Children use their imagination well as they dress up and take their babies shopping. This helps them make sense of the world. They explore colour and texture as they mould play-dough and paint using bright colours.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural needs are fostered. Children feel valued in the nursery environment where their individual needs are met well and they are all fully included. Children feel secure because staff form friendly relationships with their parents and work closely with them. Information is obtained from parents about children's specific needs during the settling in period and shared daily thereafter. This ensures children receive appropriate and consistent care both at the nursery and at home. Comments from parents show they value the quality of care and nursery education their children receive.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children have warm and friendly relationships with staff and each other. They respond well to the regular praise and clear expectations for their behaviour. Children learn to share, take turns, and respect each other, and as a result they are well behaved. They begin to appreciate diversity as they participate in activities and play with resources that positively reflects themselves and people of other races, cultures, religions and abilities. For example, children play with dolls of various colours including some who have a disability and puzzles, small world toys and books. Children who are learning to speak English are well supported by staff, who spend quality time getting to know them by playing with and talking to them to help them settle into the nursery. This contributes to all children feeling safe, developing a positive self-image and a good understanding and respect for others.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children who have, or may have learning difficulties are extremely well cared for because staff implement the special educational needs code of practice with confidence. They carefully monitor any concerns they have about children and work closely with parents and outside agencies to ensure their specific needs are met. Children further benefit from resources and equipment that meet's their individual needs which results in care and activities that support them to reach their full potential.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers of funded children is good. Parents receive useful information about the Foundation Stage and attractive displays using photographs of children involved in activities relating to each area of learning, helps to make this information meaningful. Regular newsletters inform parents of the current theme and some of the forthcoming activities.

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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 This positively supports parents to contribute to their children's learning at home. Information from parents about what their children know and can do when they enter the Foundation Stage helps staff plan and provide learning opportunities that helps children make progress. Children's development records are shared with parents regularly during parents meetings, and parents have good opportunities to contribute to them by adding their own comments and observations. This successfully contributes to children making good progress towards the early learning goals.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The needs of the range of children who attend are met. Rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures ensure all staff are suitable to have regular contact with young children. Potential staff are interviewed and relevant checks are carried out, including criminal records bureau and proof of qualifications. This ensures children's welfare, care and safety are maintained. Comprehensive policies and procedures that underpin the practice in all areas of the nursery are implemented consistently by staff and regular meetings where information is shared ensure the outcomes for all children are promoted very well. Children's record's are well maintained and support staff to meet their individual needs.

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Organisation

Overall children benefit from the effective organisation of space, resources and the daily routine. They move around with ease and initiate their own play from the stimulating range of activities set out for them. At lunch time space is not organised as effectively for Foundation Stage children which results in them waiting for long periods before they eat.

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Organisation

The leadership and management is good. Children make good progress towards the early learning goals because the management team have a strong commitment to the training and development of staff to ensure children receive high quality care and nursery education. Staff are motivated, work well as a team and have clear roles and responsibilities. Effective systems are in place to ensure they are kept up-to-date with any changes in policies and regular team meetings are used to plan the curriculum. The effective use of evaluation helps to identify what is being done well and areas to be developed. This ensures the quality of teaching and learning is consistently good for all children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last care inspection recommended that the nursery conduct a risk assessment on the swimming activity identifying actions to be taken to minimize identified risks. Children's safety is now promoted more effectively because a comprehensive risk assessment has been carried out on the weekly swimming sessions which includes action to be taken in the event of any potential hazards.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last nursery education inspection recommended that the nursery improve the opportunities for children to operate independently and take initiative when expressing themselves creatively. Although children have better opportunities to initiate their own ideas because they choose freely from the wide range of activities set out for them including creative activities, the opportunities for children to select additional resources to develop their play are more limited.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints that required Ofsted or the provider to take any action. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents

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Complaints 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 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): • improve children’s safety by making sure unknown visitor’s are unable to enter the premises unsupervised • ensure group sizes comply with National Standards and meet children’s needs more effectively, particularly at lunchtime

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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): • develop the quality of teaching to further support children to become independent and make choices by organising resources and activities more effectively.

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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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