Jigsaw YMCA Ltd

Jigsaw YMCA Ltd Inspection report for early years provision

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508971 Unique Reference Number 21 May 2007 Inspection date Liz Margaret Caluori Inspector

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Y Sportscentre, St. Pauls Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN37 6RS

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E-mail

Jigsaw Day Nursery 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?

Jigsaw YMCA Ltd has been registered since 2001. It is one of three nurseries owned by the same provider and operates from the first floor of the YMCA building in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. The nursery has access to two main activity rooms with enclosed areas for younger children, in addition to toilet and sleeping facilities. There is a fully enclosed outdoor play area and children also have regular access to a sports hall for physical play.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is registered to provide 50 places for children aged under six years. There are currently 104 children on roll, including 49 in receipt of funding for their nursery education. Most children attend on part time basis but a small number attend full time. The nursery is able to support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities as well as those for whom English is an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens five days a week throughout the year, except for public holidays including a week at Christmas. Children attend during the hours of 08.30 to 17.30 hours.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

All of the 11 full and part time staff have childcare qualifications. There is an area manager who oversees all three of the nurseries and a manager who is in day to day charge of the nursery.

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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 The setting receives support from the Local Authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children’s health is effectively promoted. They play in a very clean environment, maintained throughout the day by staff who routinely wipe tables after messy activities and before serving food. They also act promptly to clean up after children, for example vacuuming up mud from children’s shoes after outdoor play.

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Helping children to be healthy

Younger children are very well supported to develop good personal hygiene practices. Older children independently use the toilet and wash their hands. They follow the advice of staff, remembering to use soap and carefully placing paper towels in the bin. Staff follow very good hygiene procedures when changing nappies and generally use a changing table in the toilet area. However, the nappies of older children are sometimes changed in the corner of a communal area and this does not afford sufficient privacy.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a range of healthy snacks and meals whilst at the nursery. Whilst hot lunches are available, many children bring in packed lunches from home. Parents and carers are given written guidance on appropriate items to include in a healthy lunch box. Careful attention is paid to the storage of food, particularly items which need refrigeration. Drinks are constantly available.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff with first aid qualifications are present at all times which ensures that children are appropriately cared for in case of an accident. Similarly, procedures relating to the care of sick children and the administration of medicines are appropriate.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy very regular opportunities for physical play, both indoors and outside. When weather permits they make good use of the fully enclosed garden to get fresh air and play with their friends. They also have use of a large sports hall where they take part in a wide range of activities including organised games. Babies benefit from the careful organisation of their environment. They have a large area of clear floor space in which to practise their mobility and happily climb over the soft play equipment. The nursery also has a triple buggy which allows them to take very young babies out into the fresh air.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are protected by the good security arrangements the nursery has in place. There is a closed circuit camera system in operation and parents and visitors are unable to gain entry to the areas used by children without being buzzed in by staff. Children play with a range of toys and resources which are well maintained and appropriate for their ages and stages of development.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Safety gates are used to restrict access to potentially hazardous areas such as the kitchen and to secure the areas used by the youngest children. Staff are vigilant in their supervision allowing children a good level of independence and sleeping babies are checked very regularly.

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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 are well supported to learn to keep themselves safe. In addition to the on-going advice and information from staff, they enjoy visits from agencies such as the police and the fire service.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Appropriate procedures are in place to protect children from the risk of fire. Emergency exits are clearly identified and children take part in practise evacuation drills. Fire fighting equipment is present throughout the setting.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are clear and comprehensive child protection arrangements in place throughout the organisation. The manager is confident in the ability of the staff team to identify the potential signs and symptoms of abuse. She has an extremely good knowledge of the appropriate way to deal with any concerns. As a result, children are effectively safeguarded.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are very warmly welcomed into the setting, they enter happily and settle easily. They form very good relationships with the staff and with their peers. Children are grouped by age, however they have good opportunities to mix with other children throughout the day.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Planning for younger children follows the Birth to three matters framework and older children are working to the National Curriculum. Children have a good understanding of the daily routines. They all take part in activities very enthusiastically and also enjoy helping staff with some of the minor domestic tasks such as tidying up toys and preparing the tables for snacks.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Babies and very young children thrive in the caring environment and respond very well to the warm interaction with staff. They enjoy exploring their environment and also take part in a range of sensory activities such as playing with corn flour and water.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Older children enjoy a good mix of free play opportunities and planned activities. These are very well resourced and attractively presented. They are well supported by staff to progress in all areas of their development. Staff listen with genuine interest when spoken to by children and respond quickly to meet their needs. As a result children are happy, settled and confident.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children are making good progress towards the Early Learning Goals of the Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum. There is a key worker system in operation and staff demonstrate an extremely good knowledge and understanding of each child’s personality and developmental needs. They skilfully engage and maintain children’s interest. They make written observations of each child which are effectively used to monitor their progress. Staff are very competent at providing children with the appropriate level of challenge to meet their individual needs, although there is no system to formally identify and record the next steps for each child.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy their time at the nursery. They play extremely co-operatively and make very good use of the opportunities they receive to explore and make choices. They are developing very good levels of concentration as they work on their chosen tasks.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are extremely confident in their communication skills. They often instigate very lively and interesting conversations using expressive and descriptive language. There are many opportunities for children to practise writing throughout the day, both in planned activities

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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 and in their free play. Many are able to form recognisable letters and examples of their writing are displayed around the setting. Children listen with great interest to the very well read stories and enjoy sitting looking at books.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Creatively, children are generally making good progress. They are provided with an extensive range of resources to support role play activities and, in addition, enjoy imaginative games with small world toys. Children also take part in very regular planned art and craft activities; however their opportunities to experiment independently with the resources and produce freely expressive art are sometimes limited. Similarly, displays of children’s work are extremely attractive but have a tendency to reflect the work undertaken in adult focussed activities rather than children’s individual art work. Despite this, children produce skilful and detailed pictures and proudly present their art work to their parents and carers.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are progressing well in their mathematical development. They count confidently and are beginning to understand the basic concepts of addition and subtraction through activities such as setting out the correct number of cups on each table at snack time.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are particularly well supported to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world. They have regular access to a computer and confidently use simple programs with the support and encouragement of staff. They are also learning about the wider world through a range of interesting topics such as studying the life-cycles of frogs. They enthusiastically take part in practical activities such as cooking, observing the wildlife outside the nursery and growing plants.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Their individual personalities and needs are clearly identified and respected within the setting. They learn about different people from throughout the community by taking part in activities to mark different celebrations and special days. They are supported in their play by a range of toys that are aimed at promoting positive images of people from throughout the community.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are developing good social skills and their behaviour is extremely good. They are very caring towards each other and are very good at sharing, negotiating and taking turns. Staff re-enforce this good behaviour by encouraging the children and praising them for their efforts.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The nursery has effective procedures in place to care for children with English as an additional language. Similarly, there are good arrangements in place to care for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The staff team has a very positive attitude towards meeting the needs of all children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is good. Those whose children receive nursery funding are kept informed of their child’s progress against the Foundation Stage. They attend regular meetings and are shown their child’s individual profiles and invited to discuss their progress. In addition, all parents are given a good range of written information about the nursery and have access to all policies and procedures. They are all greeted warmly by staff. Children benefit greatly from these positive relationships.

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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 good. The leadership and management of the setting are good. The group is one of three nurseries owned by the same provider. The nursery owner, management team and staff work extremely effectively as a team and are constantly monitoring and working to improve the service provided. There are good arrangements in place to recruit and induct staff. The setting also has appropriate procedures in place to support students on placement.

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Organisation

The routine of the day and the organisation of space within the group are carefully planned to ensure that all children have access to as wide a range of activities as possible.

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Organisation

There is a comprehensive range of written policies and procedures in place and these are fully understood by all staff. All documentation is present and appropriately maintained; this contributes to the effective management of the setting.

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Organisation

The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Following the last inspection a recommendation was made that the group obtain written consent before taking photographs of children. This is now routine practice and forms part of the measures to ensure that children are effectively safeguarded.

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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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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): • review the nappy changing arrangements for older children to ensure that they are afforded sufficient privacy

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • increase the focus on freely expressive art, giving children more ready access to a wide range of resources and consider displaying their individual pieces of work around the setting

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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): • introduce a system to clearly identify and record the next step for each child

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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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