Dawn To Dusk Day NurseryOfsted inspection, 10 May 2007

Dawn To Dusk Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY332938 Unique Reference Number 10 May 2007 Inspection date Mandy Mooney Inspector

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Caxton Hall Swanley School, St Mary's Road, Swanley, Kent, BR8 7TE Setting Address

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01322 660330 Telephone number dddns@tiscali.co.uk E-mail Dawn To Dusk Nursery Swanley Ltd Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, Out of School 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet 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?

Dawn To Dusk Day Nursery is a well established provision. It was registered as an organisation in 2006. It operates from a purpose built single storey building in the grounds of Swanley School in Swanley, Kent. The provision includes several base rooms and a fully enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery serves a wide area and children attend for a variety of sessions. The group opens five days a week for 50 weeks of the year. Nursery sessions are from 07.00 until 19.00. The breakfast club opens from 07.00 to 08.30 and the after school club opens from 15.20 to 19.00. The group is registered to care for 77 children at any one time. There are currently 55 children on roll. This includes 24 children who receive nursery education funding. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children who speak English as a second language are fully supported. There are ten staff work with the children, eight of whom have early years

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

qualifications. The setting receives support from an advisory teacher from the local authority.

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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 inadequate. Children's well-being is generally protected because several staff hold a suitable first aid qualification. Appropriately stocked first aid boxes are maintained and an accident book is in place. Children are protected from cross-infection because they are excluded if contagious. Procedures ensure that written consent is obtained prior to medication being administered to children. Planned themes help children learn about healthy lifestyles including food, exercise and their emotions.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are not protected from the risk of the spread of infection. Staff wipe tables and surfaces down frequently. Although general cleaning in most of the nursery rooms and in the kitchen is to a satisfactory standard, in some rooms the hygiene practice is not sufficiently thorough. For example, outdoor shoes are worn in the baby room and as a result young children are crawling on the unclean floor because the dirt is walked in and children's dummies that are dropped or are dragging on the floor are then put back in the child's mouth. The room used for the older babies is a route through the nursery and there is an almost continuous flow of people walking through, however, there is a room designated for the younger, non mobile babies, but this is not being used at the moment and this means the area used by the younger babies is not suitably clean for them to be crawling on.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff do not demonstrate sufficient understanding of the how to maintain hygiene routines in order to protect children from cross-infection. For example, a member of staff was observed wearing the same apron and gloves to change the nappy of several children and although anti-bacterial cleaner was available, the changing mat was not wiped down in between nappy changes. Nappies are disposed of in an appropriate way.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's health is promoted as staff are aware of children's special dietary requirements. Children benefit from the healthy balanced meals and have a vegetarian alternative every day. They are encouraged to help serve themselves at lunch time and babies benefit from eating the same food as the older children, in a pureed form. Snack times are enjoyable for the children, where they are offered fruit or toast and water to drink. They access water at the 'drink station' throughout the day. This promotes their independence.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children know the importance of having effective personal hygiene routines, for example, they wash their hands after toileting and before eating and they brush their teeth after tea. They know they must do this to 'stop the germs'. A dental hygienist comes into the nursery and talks to the children about the benefits of having healthy teeth.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have daily opportunities for physical exercise both indoors and outdoors. This includes, music and movement and making use of the large outdoor space. However, the resources to support large physical play lack challenge. For example, there are several ride-a-long bikes available and children are developing their skills in this area, however, the small climbing frame and very limited opportunities to practise balancing skills provide insufficient challenge for the older or more able children.

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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

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is inadequate. The nursery provides a welcoming environment for children and their families. The displays of information and examples of children's craft work show that staff value children's contributions. The organisation of children at the beginning of the day does not promote children's needs fully because all children, including non-mobile babies are located in the same room and there is not sufficient use of space, deployment of staff or planning to manage this effectively. There is ample space in the baby rooms for the number of children attending, however, the space is not utilised effectively because staff say there has not been enough babies to use the room. The facilities within the nursery are generally sufficient, however, the location of the toilets used by the pre-school children means the children walk through the baby room to access the toilets and this can be disruptive. The general maintenance of the nursery building and of most

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

of the equipment is satisfactory. Staff have put in place effective procedures for the registration and hand-over of children at the start and end of the day in order to ensure children's safety. The premises are secure and staff follow procedures in order to ensure children are protected, such as ensuring all visitors sign in.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Regular risk assessments minimise accidental injury and enable any identified risks to be dealt with promptly. Fire drills help children become familiar with the procedures so they learn how to leave the premises quickly and safely, however, these are carried out as part of the school evacuation and this means that they are infrequent. The last drill took place in November 2006 and as a result newer staff and children have not had the opportunity to practise it. Although staff are vigilant about children's safety within the nursery and older children learn about emergencies through planned activities, they do not routinely encourage children to develop an awareness of how to keep themselves safe as they are not taken on outings where they have opportunities to learn about road safety and stranger danger. Climbing equipment is generally aimed at toddlers and as a consequence pre-school children do not always have enough

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

opportunities to take risks in a safe environment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's safety is not consistently promoted. Because required ratios are not maintained at the beginning of the day, children are not appropriately supervised to ensure they are kept safe. Children are grouped in one large room and contained in the area. At one point there were 18 children and three staff in the nursery and this included four non-mobile babies. Staff had to answer the main door and take children to the toilet, this means on occasions two staff were responsible for the children. Older children became distracted and ran around the room, jumping on tables and causing a potential hazard to the younger children. Staff were unable to manage the situation to ensure children's safety. The organisation of the children's sleep time also poses a potential hazard for children. Staff struggle to manage the number of children in the area, where different age children are being settled and the babies who do not sleep are

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

also in the room. Children walk over the sleep mats and play with the toys in the room as staff try to control the other children. This takes a considerable amount of time.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is generally promoted as staff demonstrate a sound knowledge of child protection issues and the procedures they are required to follow.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Most children arrive at the nursery ready to play and separate easily from their parents. Those who need a little encouragement are taken from their parents in the main entrance and taken

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 in where they are reassured until they feel ready to play. Staff get to know the children through discussion with parents. They talk about the children, their ways and characters and clearly know them. Staff are caring towards the children and they are responsive to their needs most of the time, however, this is not always possible because of the restraints imposed by staffing levels and the organisation of the children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff use the Birth to three matters framework as a guide to plan for the younger children. They complete observations on children and these are also used to influence the following weeks planning, to ensure it is reflective of the needs of the individual children attending. Children play with a satisfactory range of toys and resources, which are age appropriate and clean, if a little worn. The range of books available to the younger children are limited in range and variety and many are torn. This impacts on children's enjoyment of them. Parents are kept up to date with what their child is doing because they receive verbal feedback on a daily basis through the child's key worker and younger children receive written information through the use of a daily contact book/sheet.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Once the children are in their base rooms, staff spend more time at their level, interacting with them. This reassures the children and helps them settle better with their key worker. However, too much of the staff's time is taken up with domestic chores, such as, getting the lunches ready and tidying up and this takes away the quality time needed for the younger children and results in the babies being left sitting in the bouncers or on a cushion for long periods of time.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff have a sound understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum and use this to influence planning. Children take part in a wide variety of activities, that offer appropriate stimulation, however, opportunities provided to promote children's large motor skills do not offer sufficient challenge. Activities do not include any differentiation for the older or more able children. There is little evidence of evaluation of the activities, therefore, it is unclear how the observations influence future planning. For example, staff observe and record what children can do but it is not used to identify what children need to do next, although they do discuss this amongst the staff to ensure the activities are relevant. Children generally behave well and staff are consistent in their approach to dealing with unwanted behaviour and acknowledging good behaviour, however, on occasions the noise

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

volume in the room escalates and staff do always deal with promptly and as a result this impacts on children's enjoyment of the activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children generally show good levels of concentration and involvement in activities. They interact co-operatively within groups, share and take turns. Children's behaviour and consideration of others is good. They are developing independence, for example, through helping to serve their dinner at lunch time and pouring their own drinks. Children select and use books appropriately and enjoy stories. They are able to use language effectively, for example, expressing and negotiating imaginative ideas within role play. Children can recognise their name and are starting to associate meaning to print. They have opportunities for mark making, to attempt writing and form recognisable letters. Children are gaining ability with numbers and follow simple patterns. They are using simple mathematical language and have knowledge of space, shapes and measurement. Children have developing ability to use information technology, including

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

programmable toys and computers, which supports their learning in other areas. They select materials to design, join and shape. Children are developing some awareness of other people, for example, through visitors, such as, the dental hygienist. However, opportunities for them to gain a sense of place within their local community are very limited because they are not

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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 taken out of the nursery as part of the regular routine. Children study living things and patterns of change by growing plants and caring for the nursery's pet hamster. There are a variety of resources, which help children to develop physically. Children use different tools with good control to make changes to materials and to scribe, form and construct. They engage in healthy practices, including good hygiene routines, healthy eating and physical exercise. Although the resources to support children's large motor skills, those to increase their balance skills and to offer sufficient challenge are too few. They enjoy singing, they can recall familiar songs and associated actions. They experience different types of music and use musical instruments effectively, although the planning of these sessions are sometimes not well thought out and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

this impacts on children's enjoyment. Children are aware of changes to colours and they can explore and use this through a variety of mediums. They use a variety of role-play settings to enact their imagined experiences and they also express their imagination with activities and resources which include painting, modelling, water and drawing.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. The nursery cares for a diverse ethnic mix of children. Staff complete child records with parents which contain the required information in order to care for a child. Children gain a sense of value because they take part in activities to acknowledge their own background and celebrate those of others. For example, they have recently celebrated Australia Day and Chinese New Year. However, opportunities for children to experience the local community are too few because they are not taken out as part of the regular routine. Staff aim to meet the needs of all children, including those who have a learning difficulty and/or disability. The special educational needs co-ordinator has recently left the provision and another member of staff is waiting to attend training in the role. In the mean time, the manager is responsible for ensuring children access the necessary support to help them progress. This includes working closely with external agencies

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children generally behave well. They know the rules and boundaries and staff are consistent in their approach to behaviour management. Older children know that when the tambourine shakes this means they need to listen to the adult. However, on occasions, the general organisation of the routine means the noise volume gets very loud and this impacts on children's behaviour because they become distracted and can be disruptive to other children. Staff praise children for their good behaviour and older children gain a sense of responsibility by being the designated helper for the day. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is satisfactory. Parents are given basic information about the Foundation Stage when their child is ready to receive funding. Posters in the foyer give information on Birth to three matters, the stepping stones and early learning goals. Parents have informal opportunities to talk to staff about their child's progress each day and younger children have contact books and sheets to exchange information and older children have a weekly sheet that tells parents what the child has been doing. However, parents have little opportunity to be involved in their child's learning because the activity sheets are in the main activity rooms and parents rarely go in the nursery, therefore, they do not routinely see this. Progress portfolios are available to each parent, however, they are not routinely shown these and some do not realise they can ask to see them.

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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

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Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. Children are cared for by a well qualified and suitable group of staff. Most staff hold an appropriate childcare qualification and several hold a relevant first aid qualification. Recruitment and suitability procedures are appropriate and those who are not vetted are not left unsupervised with the children. Students are aware of their role and responsibility in the nursery and an effective induction procedure means staff know the policies and procedures to promote the welfare of children. However, the practices in place are not always reflective of the policies and as a result children's welfare is compromised. This relates specifically to the adult: ratios not being maintained at all times and the inadequate organisation of children at the beginning of the day, which results in the supervision not being effective enough to guarantee children's safety. At this time, there are not enough staff to manage the range and needs of the children

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Organisation

present. Staff tend to try to manage the controlled chaos, where the activities and toys on offer do not offer sufficient stimulation to engage the children. The organisation of the period when children are put to sleep is also ineffective and poorly managed.

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Organisation

Required records for the safe management are kept, however, the system for recording the attendance of adults and children is inconsistent and not recorded promptly or accurately. This means that the written record is not reflective of who is in the building and if there were an emergency during this time, staff would not know how many children they were responsible for. It also does not ensure the conditions of registration are complied with because when staff were asked how many children were present, they did not know.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is satisfactory. The provider and manager demonstrate a positive attitude to improving the nursery education. There is a clear management structure in place and as a result, staff are clear about their role and responsibilities. Staff meet regularly to discuss any issues they have and to exchange information. The nursery works with an early years advisory teacher to provide a curriculum that is reflective of the Foundation Stage Guidance, however, the systems to monitor the effectiveness of the nursery education provision is not effective enough, as weaknesses remain in this area.

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Organisation

The provision does not meet the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since registration Ofsted have received two complaints relating to National Standards 2, 6, 7, 11 and 12. The last complaint raised concerns about behaviour management, hygiene, recording of accidents and communication with parents. Ofsted conducted an unannounced visit to the premises and evidence was found that the provider was not meeting National Standards 7 and 12. The provider was given one action under National Standard 7 and National Standard 12 to ensure the record of complaint is reflective of regulations. A response to these actions has been reviewed and appropriate records kept of complaints received. The provider remains qualified for registration at the time the investigation was completed.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The second complaint raised a concern under National Standard 2: Organisation, that adult:child ratios were not being maintained. Ofsted visited the Nursery and discussed the concern. From the information gathered during the visit two actions were raised under Nation Standard 2.

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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 The provider responded to the actions and remains qualified for registration at the time the investigation was completed. The complaint is recorded in the complaint record.

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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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet 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, the registered person must take the following actions: • improve the supervision of children to promote their safety at all times • review and improve the system to monitor hygiene practices to ensure hygiene routines and standards are maintained throughout the nursery • improve the organisation of children, use of space and deployment of staff to ensure the children's needs are fully met and required ratios are maintained at all times • implement an effective system for recording the attendance of staff and children. This should include the actual times of arrival and departure These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice.

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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): • implement an effective system for evaluating the activities and for identifying next steps for individual children • ensure activities are reflective of differentiation for the more able or older children and review the range of resources to support children's physical skills to offer appropriate challenge for all children • increase opportunities for children to gain a greater understanding of the local community by visiting local places of interest • provide more opportunities for parents to be actively involved in their children's learning • review and improve the management system for monitoring the quality of nursery education

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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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