Mossley Hill Childcare

Mossley Hill Childcare Inspection report for early years provision

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EY344957 Unique Reference Number 05 June 2007 Inspection date Michele Anne Villiers Inspector

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Mossley Hill Childcare Ltd, Mossley Hill Drive, Liverpool, Merseyside, L17 0ES

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Setting Address

0151 727 6117 Telephone number catchall@seftoncottage.co.uk E-mail Mosley Hill Childcare Ltd Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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Setting Address

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?

Mossley Hill Childcare Nursery is run by Mossley Hill Childcare Limited. It opened under the new company name in 2007. It operates from three rooms in a converted bungalow situated in Mossley Hill, Liverpool. A maximum of 40 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08.00 to 18.00 all year round. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 54 children aged from birth to under five years on roll. Of these, 22 children receive funding for early education. Children come from a wide catchment area, as most of their parents travel in to work in or around Liverpool. The nursery supports children with learning difficulties or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs 16 members of staff. Of these, 14 hold appropriate early years qualifications and two are working towards a qualification.

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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. The premises are suitably clean and staff take appropriate steps to help protect children from cross infection. Children learn about personal hygiene. They are reminded to wash their hands regularly in order to 'remove the germs' and to clean their teeth after meals. Displayed pictures, words and captions about cleanliness and hand washing are used to reinforce their learning. Staff follow written policies and procedures on sickness, exclusion and the administration of medication, help to protect children when they are ill. However, the refrigerator in the baby room is broken, posing a possible risk to the storage of milk products and other foods. The freezer compartment does not have a door and there is no thermometer to ascertain if the correct temperature is constantly maintained.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit from healthy, nutritional food. The cook provides home made meals of lasagne and butternut squash soup. Fresh vegetables are served each day and children have a choice of varied and interesting fruit, such as melon, grapes and kiwi. Fresh drinking water is freely available for children to help themselves. They are encouraged to quench their thirst and re-hydrate after physical exercise and during the hot weather. Babies and young children develop independence as they learn to feed themselves and share control of drinking bottles with staff support.

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Helping children to be healthy

Fresh air and outdoor physical activity are incorporated into daily routine, helping to promote the children's health and growth. Older children develop strength and stamina as they play on the large climbing frame and slide. Children become competent at manoeuvring wheeled toys and balancing on the small see-saw. They frequently go for walks in the local park to run around. Indoors, children have sufficient space to freely move about. They enjoy organised games, such as music and movement, plus a weekly exercise session with a trained physical instructor.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Good security measures are taken to help keep children safe. Surveillance cameras are positioned on the outside of the building and in each playroom. Parents use a secure password to view their children through a web cam. All external doors are kept locked and staff operate them using swipe cards. Visitors are closely monitored helping to protect children from unknown persons entering the building.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children independently access a satisfactory range of safe and suitably maintained toys, resources and furniture. Staff conduct regular risk assessments of the premises, helping to minimise any hazards. Children are closely supervised and sleeping babies are monitored every ten minutes. However, there is not a thermometer displayed in the baby room for staff to check that the appropriate room temperature is maintained. Young babies are held for bottle feeds and cuddled when tired, but there is not a suitable chair for staff to sit in comfort whilst nursing babies.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children learn about safety throughout the daily routine. They are gently reminded to be careful when running around and not to push each other. On outings, children are kept safe in buggies or in reins or wrist straps. Whilst on a charity fund raising walk staff discuss road safety with the children. They explain about the dangers of water whilst walking around the park lake.

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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 Older children learn about 'stranger danger' and the importance of always staying close to the adults caring for them. Children are further safeguarded as staff have a suitable understanding of child protection and what to do should they have any concerns about a child.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Babies and young children access a sufficient range of sensory toys and activities, helping them to make progress in their development. They become competent learners as they explore interactive toys, pressing and turning buttons to create different visual and sound effects. Toddlers show awe as they watch coloured glitter and water move around in plastic shakers. During art and craft children experiment using different coloured paints and tactile materials, such as glue, glitter and tissue paper. Staff sometimes sit on the floor with the babies, talking to them, using voice intonation and facial expressions, to foster their communication skills. However, babies are often grouped together in high chairs for long periods of time whilst staff sing songs and read them stories. This results in several babies and toddlers becoming bored and fractious. Many are too young to understand and staff fail to take into account their

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young children enjoy drawing and construction using building blocks. They concentrate to complete simple puzzles, and enjoy looking at books. Outside they develop good dexterity, shovelling sand into different size containers and sprinkling water on the ground with the watering can. Staff working with babies and young children plan activities, but do not adjust activities accordingly, taking into account the children's differing abilities. The components of the 'Birth to three matters' framework are suitably used to monitor and record the children's progress and development.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and children are making effective progress towards the early learning goals. Children are happy and interested in their play. They confidently initiate interaction with their peers and adults. Staff use planning to provide a balanced range of adult directed and child led activities, with focused activities linked to the six areas of learning. Observation is used to monitor and record the children's development, either through written notes or colour coded stepping stones. However, staff do not always date the children's progress in order to effectively track their development. The written notes do not clearly identify the stage of development in relation to the early learning goals.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff are enthusiastic in their approach and support children to promote their learning and understanding. Children develop satisfactory independence skills. They make choices about their play and request certain toys and activities. When working alone they concentrate well and during group activities they confidently speak and ask questions. They have fun with games that help their literacy skills. For example, children manoeuvre a toy 'Buzzing bee' on the alphabet mat and name the letter that it lands on. Staff encourage the children's thinking with questions, such as 'What begins with letter…?' Children show a keen interest in books and staff spontaneously read stories to individual children or in small groups. New words are introduced, such as 'Aubergine' when examining the plastic vegetables.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children learn about shapes and mathematical concepts. At lunch time one child proudly says, 'Look, I've made half a triangle', when the knife and fork are positioned at an angle making two sides of a triangle. Children confidently count objects up to ten and count the number of

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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 squares needed to move the 'bee' in order to get to a particular letter. Children become familiar with their environment and develop a sense of place. They frequent visit the nearby park where they explore wildlife, such as ducks, swans, squirrels and birds. The outside play area is used for bug hunts and sometimes growing flowers. However, there are no resources for the examination and observation of objects and living things, such as magnifiers, binoculars or torches. Staff encourage the children to use their imagination during role play. They excitedly make dens using large blankets positioned over their heads to create a private space to play. Children create colourful collage displays and three dimensional models and express their own thoughts and ideas during painting and drawing.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children are settled and contribute to the life in the nursery. They learn about diversity and the world in which they live. The nursery employs male childcare workers and staff from different religious and racial backgrounds, providing positive role models for the children. Children access some toys reflecting positive images, but these are not fully incorporated throughout the nursery in order to further reinforce the children's knowledge and understanding. Staff respect the children's differences and incorporate their own cultures. For example, they teach children simple words in other languages to help fully integrate those who speak English as a second language. Older children learn basic French and enjoy the weekly lesson with a French teacher. They laugh and giggle as the teacher makes it fun, using words and phrases that the children understand.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to help promote the welfare and development of children with additional needs. The children's behaviour is generally managed appropriately. Staff use praise and encouragement to reinforce good behaviour and a sticker system to reward older children. Children are encouraged to share and take turns, and praised with comments, such as 'Well done for saying please'. They take part in funding raising events, such as 'Barnardo's big toddle'. The children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents are welcomed into the nursery at any time, helping children to settle. Information is shared through daily discussion and written newsletters and notices. Parent evenings are held twice a year for formal meetings with key workers and a fun day is organised during the summer months. The partnership with the parents of educationally funded children is satisfactory. Parents receive some written information about the areas of learning and may ask to see their child's progress reports. The education programme is displayed and parents may formally meet with key staff at parent evenings.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Suitable procedures are in place for the recruitment and vetting of staff. Most staff are qualified in childcare and they use their knowledge and skills to promote the children's welfare and development. Staff are encouraged to access childcare related courses, regular appraisal and team meetings help to identify any training needs. Staffing ratios are maintained and designated members have specific roles of responsibility. The play environment is suitably organised and children are grouped according to their age and ability.

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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 quality of leadership and management of the nursery education is satisfactory. The two managers oversee the planning of activities through observation and staff meetings. They are keen to improve the outcomes for children and staff receive support from a teacher advisor. All regulatory documentation is in place for the effective management of the nursery. Written policies and procedures are available for staff to follow and the operational plan is regularly reviewed. Overall, the provision 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 the baby room refrigerator is in a good state of repair and the correct temperature is maintained at all times • provide a baby room thermometer and a comfortable chair for staff to sit and nurse young babies • provide activities appropriate for the individual needs of babies and young children, and restrict the length of time babies sit in high chairs • continue to increase the number of toys, resources and displayed materials reflecting positive images of race, culture, gender and disability throughout 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): • record and date the children's progress through the stepping stones in order to effectively monitor their development

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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 • provide children with toys and resources for examination and exploration of objects and living things.

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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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