Immanuel Childcare Ltd

Immanuel Childcare Ltd Inspection report for early years provision

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EY335555 Unique Reference Number 20 April 2007 Inspection date Rebecca Elizabeth Khabbazi Inspector

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1 Haling Park Road, SOUTH CROYDON, Surrey, CR2 6NG Setting Address

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0208 688 0995 Telephone number info@immanuels.org.uk E-mail Immanuel Childcare Ltd Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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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 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?

Immanuel Day Nursery is privately owned by Immanuel Childcare Ltd., and was registered in November 2006. It operates from a converted house in a residential street within the London Borough of Croydon. The premises comprise of three nursery rooms including a separate baby unit, a messy play room, children's cloakrooms, kitchen, office and staff facilities. An enclosed garden area is available for outdoor play. The nursery is open from Monday to Friday, all year round. Core opening hours are from 08:00 - 18:00, with additional care provided from 07:30 and until 18:30 by arrangement with the nursery.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 25 children under five years old on roll. Of these, six children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs eight staff including the manager. Of these, six have relevant childcare qualifications and one is currently working towards a qualification. The setting receives support from the local authority through an Early Years Advisor.

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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 throughout the nursery benefit from regular daily play sessions in the garden, where they run around energetically, enjoying the fresh air and exercise. This supports children's physical development and contributes to a healthy lifestyle. Older children practise their physical skills as they carefully make their way across the stepping stones, stretching their arms out to help them balance, or when they skilfully manoeuvre their bike around an obstacle. Children rest and sleep according to their needs and babies benefit from routines that are consistent with home.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff follow a number of hygiene procedures that help promote children's good health. They are vigilant about wearing gloves and aprons to change nappies, making sure bathroom areas are kept clean and providing children with individual bedding. Children learn about simple good hygiene practices when they wash their hands before their snack and after they come in from the garden, using the liquid soap and paper towels provided. However, children are not fully protected from the risk of cross-contamination as outdoor shoes are sometimes allowed in areas where they play on the floor.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy varied meals and snacks that are freshly prepared and meet their individual nutritional and dietary needs. They are encouraged to develop healthy eating habits when they share fruit at the snack bar or at tea time. Older children confidently pour themselves drinks of water or fruit juice, ensuring they are well-hydrated, and serve themselves at lunch using big spoons.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are generally taken good care of if they have an accident or become unwell because there is always a member of staff on duty who has a current first aid certificate and can respond appropriately to minor accidents or injuries. There are procedures for obtaining written consent before any medicine is administered. However, at the time of inspection the nursery was keeping a non-prescription remedy on site for a child before the consent form had been completed by the parent.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in an appropriately maintained environment with facilities to meet their needs. Staff spend time setting up the nursery rooms before children arrive, to create an inviting play environment. Children choose from a good variety of resources that are kept clean and in suitable condition, so that they can play with them safely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's risk of accidental injury is minimised due to comprehensive risk assessment procedures including daily checklists for areas such as the garden. Staff are vigilant about supervising children carefully at all times, for instance they accompany children to the bathroom as required and follow routines for escorting children into garden. Clear evacuation procedures, which are regularly practised, ensure that staff and children are familiar with what to do in the event of an emergency. Children begin to learn to keep themselves safe when they are reminded why they shouldn't run inside or how to walk carefully up the stairs.

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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’s welfare is safeguarded because staff understand their role in child protection and are able to put appropriate procedures into practice when necessary. There is a clear policy in place and staff are familiar with what to do if they are concerned about a child.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children throughout the nursery are confident and settled. They come in to nursery happily and enjoy taking part in activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Babies enjoy consistent relationships with key staff, who get to know them well and respond to them with warmth and affection. They benefit from a well planned, stimulating environment where they can freely explore resources with staff support. Babies show pleasure, smiling and laughing as they pat the sand to help make a sandcastle, play a game with a staff member by putting a blanket over their head, or give themselves a big clap when they manage to roll a ball. Staff offer constant praise and reassurance, giving cuddles when needed, and gently rocking children to sleep when they are tired.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Toddlers grow in independence, helping themselves to toys and play materials. They take part in a variety of activities over the day that keep them busy and entertained. Children have fun with the play dough, squashing and squeezing the mixture with their fingers; they concentrate hard as they make pictures with cut out materials and glue; and discover what they can see when they use a magnifying glass. Staff spend time joining in with children's activities, talking to them as they play and helping them learn from what they are doing.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff working with children under three years old use the Birth to three matters framework to plan activities for children to take part in. They make observations of children's progress and achievements but do not yet consistently use these to specifically plan activities that build on individual children's existing skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff have a secure understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum, but have not yet established effective systems for planning activities and monitoring children's progress towards the early learning goals. However, they provide an appropriate range of activities and experiences for children, who make good relationships with staff and each other.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident communicators and are keen to use language to talk to their friends or share their ideas at circle time. They show an interest in books and enjoy listening to stories, remembering familiar words and phrases from their favourite 'Bear Hunt' book. Children count confidently and are beginning to recognise some numerals, such as the number of the week. They demonstrate their emerging writing and number skills when they complete worksheets and activities for their individual folder, but are not always encouraged to develop these skills in meaningful activities such as role play or day to day routines.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children find out about the world around them through planned topics, for instance 'transport' or 'food', and through spontaneous activities such as mixing paint. They show good imagination through self-initiated role play activities such as making a bear cave with a blanket and a table, or dressing up as fire fighters to put out a fire, using a torch to help find their way. Children enjoy building with construction sets and are proud of their models. They have regular

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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 opportunities to take part in art and craft activities, but materials to design and make things independently are not freely accessible to children throughout the day.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff follow children's day to day interests well, which means children are kept occupied throughout the day and enjoy what they do. However, weekly plans do not always show clear learning aims for activities that link to the expectations for children's learning within the Foundation Stage, and consequently full use is not made of all the activities and resources provided. Although staff make regular observations of children's achievements, these are not consistently used to identify the next step for their learning. This means that activities planned do not always challenge children and help them make progress, by building on what they already know and can do.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. All children, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, are welcomed into the setting and valued as individuals. Staff spend time ensuring they can support and settle in children who speak English as an additional language appropriately, for instance by preparing picture cards and finding out key words. Children benefit from activities that help them value diversity, such as making lanterns for Chinese New Year or playing with resources that reflect the wider community. Older children show good levels of independence as they pour their own drinks and serve their own curry and rice for lunch. They begin to show an understanding of the expectations of the setting when staff remind them to share and take turns and take a consistent approach to resolving any disputes. This creates a calm atmosphere in the nursery, and helps children begin to learn to work harmoniously together. Children's spiritual, moral,

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Helping children make a positive contribution

social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff are friendly and welcoming and work closely with parents to meet children's needs. Systems are in place such as daily record sheets to ensure there is good day to day communication between staff and parents, and this helps children experience consistent care. Parents receive clear info about policies and procedures and are kept up to date through notice boards and monthly newsletters. The partnership with parents of children who receive funding for nursery education is satisfactory. Opportunities for parents to meet with staff to discuss their child's progress are planned for the near future, but at the time of inspection parents had not yet been involved in agreeing and reviewing the next steps for their child's learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children are cared for by an appropriately vetted and qualified staff team. Staff work well together and have clear roles and responsibilities. Policies and procedures mostly work well in practice due to a comprehensive induction programme, and systems are in place to keep all required records.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the nursery education provision is satisfactory. There is a strong commitment to development of the service, with new systems planned for the future. However, systems are not yet in place to rigorously monitor and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the nursery education provision, in order to ensure areas for improvement are identified and addressed at an early stage.

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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 The nursery is appropriately organised to meet children's needs. Rooms are inviting to children and resources are arranged so that children can access them easily. Children experience a varied day and are kept busy and occupied throughout their time at nursery. Overall, the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since registration 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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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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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): • make sure that the nursery's procedures for obtaining prior written consent are always followed before agreeing to keep medicine on the premises for a child • review procedures for ensuring good hygiene is maintained in relation to the wearing of outdoor shoes in the nursery

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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 system for planning and making assessments of children's progress, so that observations of children's achievements are consistently used to identify the next steps for their learning, in order to plan activities that build on what children already know and can do • ensure that activity plans include clear learning aims that link to the stepping stones within the Foundation Stage and can be used to guide teaching • develop systems for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the nursery education provision

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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 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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