Wendy House Day Nursery

Wendy House Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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321600 Unique Reference Number 18 May 2007 Inspection date Rosemary Beyer Inspector

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28 St Helens Road, Dringhouses, York, North Yorkshire, YO24 1HR Setting Address

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E-mail

Wendy Diane Wood 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 Wendy House Day Nursery is a privately owned nursery which opened in 1990. It operates from a one storey building and is situated in the Dringhouses area of York. Children have access to three play rooms and a sleep area in the nursery. At the rear of the building there is an enclosed outdoor play area. A maximum of 20 children aged from birth to under five years can attend at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08.15 to 17.45 and operates all year round.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 36 children on roll. Of these 16 children receive funding for nursery education. Children attend from the local and wider area, as most parents travel to work around York. The nursery has provision in place to offer support for children with learning difficulties and disabilities. Children who speak English as an additional language are also welcome in the setting.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are six members of staff who work either full or part time with the children. All have relevant childcare qualifications. The nursery is a member of the local Early Years group. It is also a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance and the National Day Nurseries Association.

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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

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in clean and well maintained premises, where good hygiene practice is effectively implemented to prevent the spread of infection. They know they must wash their hands to protect themselves from germs and the older children do so unprompted. Staff are vigilant in ensuring younger children also develop good hygiene awareness.

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Helping children to be healthy

A sick child policy is in place and children who are ill stay at home. The written policy is included in the information given to parents when children start to attend. If children are taken ill, parents are asked to collect them, and the children are comforted until their parents arrive. Written permission is obtained prior to the administration of any medication and it is appropriately recorded, with parents acknowledging it in writing on collection of the children. Parents also give written permission for the staff to seek emergency medical advice or help should this be necessary, but they know they do not authorise any treatment. Most staff have current first aid certificates, and a rolling programme of renewal is in place. A well stocked first aid box and an accident book are readily available.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are developing a good knowledge of healthy eating with fruit and vegetables part of the snacks they eat. They recognise and eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, and during the Kim's Game, were chatting about what they need to keep fit and well. The lunch menus do not however always reflect the nursery policy on healthy eating.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children have fresh air each day, weather permitting. They use the outside area to develop their physical skills and body control with a wide range of toys and resources. Their physical development is good, and they move around with safety and good co-ordination. The children are also developing excellent balancing skills as shown by the action games they enjoy. When using small implements and tools the children have good control, cutting, moulding and sticking effectively and accurately. The older children use the hammers and pins very capably to make imaginative patterns, and enjoy making clay models.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Safety is a high priority within the nursery with the premises and grounds secure, and visitors and parents admitted by staff. The visitors' book is completed after identification is verified. Staff numbers are good to ensure the children are well supervised. The children are taken out into the community when staff numbers permit. They learn about road safety as part of the topic work, discuss the people who help keep them safe when crossing the road and how they can protect themselves.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Risk assessments are completed for both inside and out, and the manager and deputy have recently updated the recording used by the nursery in line with advice from health and safety officers. Staff know they share responsibility for safety of everyone on the premises and check resources as they are used, removing them for disposal or repair if necessary. Toys and equipment are washed at least weekly and more frequently in the baby room. The children can help themselves to toys and resources safely and easily, although not everything is available at all times. They do request other things if they wish to use them. The children use toys carefully and safely, aware that the younger children should not have access to small pieces of equipment.

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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 Children use both rooms in the nursery and move from one to the other to provide variety in the environment. The babies join the older children for some outside play, and also for snack and lunch times. The babies, and any older children who are tired, use the sleep room for rest periods, with cots available for the younger ones.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The safeguarding children policy of the nursery has not yet been updated to take account of the recent changes and the procedure to follow in the event of allegations being made against staff is unclear as any investigations must be made by outside agencies, with Ofsted being notified.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The nursery is very well equipped with a wide range of toys and resources to meet the needs of all the children who attend. The younger children are cared for in line with the 'Every Child Matters' information and staff are starting to implement the 'Birth to three matters' framework to support their development prior to the Foundation Stage. All children's development is monitored and recorded in the achievement file, to ensure they are making good progress. The children enjoy stories, songs and craft activities both in their own age group or on some occasions with the older ones.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children enjoy activities which have been planned to cover all the areas of learning and support their progress through the stepping stones. Through effective monitoring and assessment the staff ensure the children have sufficient challenge to stretch themselves but also that the challenges are realistic, depending on their abilities. All staff observe and record achievements to pass information on to the key workers who have responsibility for individual children. They know the children very well and plan activities to build on current skills and knowledge, using different teaching methods to suit the child.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All the children recognise their own names and the older ones those of the other children. They can write their names recognisably, some using their name labels for guidance. Staff use phonics to help children develop an awareness of letters and simple words, prior to starting school.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children love stories, whether from books or made up by staff with puppets. They sit quietly to listen, but also like to anticipate what will happen, whether in familiar tales or new ones. The children access books freely in the smaller playroom but although a good range of books is available in the main playroom they cannot reach them independently as the racks are too high. When using books the children are careful, and turn the pages correctly. They know what an author and illustrator do, and that books can also be used to obtain information. Their vocabulary is developing very well through the discussions and conversations they have with staff, for example when talking about their homes and neighbourhoods or the fruit and vegetables they eat to keep healthy.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All the children are settled and leave their parents happily, keen to learn and see what is on offer for them to use. They concentrate well and persevere to complete tasks they have chosen, but if they have difficulty are confident to ask for help either from their peers or the staff. All the children are developing a good sense of themselves as individuals and they recognise they all have different interests and needs.

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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 Children's mathematical understanding is developing well. They count confidently and can recognise numbers or simple shapes. They use mathematical language correctly in their games and solve problems, such as when using the construction toys, with an awareness of how to build the models to prevent them overbalancing or making wooden patterns that match. During the café role play a staff member was corrected by a child as she was charging too much for the food he had eaten, the amount was not what was displayed on the menu.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are becoming very creative. They enjoy role play activities and use mark making to write orders in the café or shopping lists in the home corner. They have some very imaginative art work displayed, with drawings of their homes and families alongside dinosaurs and the animals from the stories they read. Clay is also very popular and the children enjoy using a range of tools very competently to create their models.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Partnership with parents and carers is good. They receive an information pack about the nursery when their children start to attend and also about the Foundation Stage. The information is easy to understand and takes account of the fact parents are the primary providers of education and learning opportunities for their children. It includes details of the areas of learning and how the children's development is monitored and recorded to ensure they are making good progress through the stepping stones. The current topic information is posted for parents to see, with ideas for activities to enjoy at home to support their learning. The daily routine of the nursery is made clear to the parents to ensure they are happy with the care provided. A daily diary sheet is completed on request but verbal feedback is also an essential part of the collection process.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

A record of achievement is created for each child to monitor and record their progress. This is available for parents to see on request and includes information and photos of their child's time in the nursery. The parents contacted value the care and education the nursery provides, often having used the nursery for siblings. They are able to raise concerns with the staff should they arise, and are confident their children are safe and enjoying their time with them.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The children behave very well and are very aware of the need to consider other people. They have a good knowledge of the house rules and how they feel they should behave in the nursery. They know they must be kind to each other and take care of the younger children. The children take turns, share and cooperate well in their games. The nursery has a written behaviour policy and procedure, and parents are involved if staff have concerns about behaviour, although the bullying procedure is not very clear.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered, as they learn about right and wrong, treat each other with respect and as individuals and take account of each other's needs. They know they are all different and like to learn about each other's families and differences. Staff provide very positive images and good role models in the care they provide and the consideration they show to individuals.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The equal opportunities policy is inclusive and the nursery welcomes children from different ethnic groups and also children with learning difficulties and disabilities. Staff ensure their different needs can be met through training or obtaining information from parents to widen their knowledge. Both staff and children have learned sign language to aid communication with children with little verbal skill. The admission procedure helps prevent discrimination taking

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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 place whether inadvertently or deliberately, and home visits can be made to assess a child's needs. Children learn about other cultures and customs through celebration of festivals, different foods, music and topics. They use the globe to learn about the location of different countries throughout the world.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Leadership and management is good. The nursery has clear aims and objectives supported by policies and procedures which support the safe and efficient management of the setting. Staff meetings are used to monitor and discuss progress of the setting, and ideas for future development are recorded in the minutes, and remain there until they have been achieved. Any concerns or complaints raised by parents are also monitored to ensure action can be taken to rectify any recurring problems.

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Organisation

The manager and deputy have a very good knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage, and use effective planning and monitoring to support the children's development through the stepping stones. They take account of the children's abilities and adapt activities to meet their needs, whether by providing more challenge or having lower expectations. Staff meetings are used to exchange information with key workers and monitor children's progress.

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Organisation

Robust systems are in place for the employment of new staff and in-service training encouraged for their own personal development. Advantage is taken of the local authority training programme. The staff currently employed work very well as a team, some staff having been in post for many years which has provided consistency and experience. The nursery has sufficient staff in post to ensure good supervision of the children at all times, and non-vetted persons are not allowed unsupervised access.

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Organisation

The registration certificate is displayed and the conditions respected, with numbers of children present in line with the condition. Overall the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the day nursery was asked to develop a recruitment and induction procedure for new staff to ensure they were suitable for employment and that they knew what was expected of them. All new staff are now employed through a robust system of checks and when employed, participate in an effective induction system to ensure they understand how the nursery is managed and their role within the setting.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The nursery was asked to ensure good hygiene was maintained by the changing of sheets for different children after sleeping, which is now done. There was also concern about the grouping of the children under two years of age. The younger children are now separated from the older ones during most of the day, but they do have lunch and some outside play together.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection 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.

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Complaints since the last inspection

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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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

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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): • develop the lunch menus to reflect the nursery's healthy eating policy • enhance the protection given to children by amending the child protection procedures to take account of recent changes, and clarify the procedure for allegations made against staff • clarify the bullying procedure.

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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): • enable children to access books easily and independently.

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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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