Clehonger CofE Primary School

Goldilocks Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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116795 Unique Reference Number 07 September 2007 Inspection date Sheila Collins / Aileen Ewins Inspector

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77 School Road, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire, RG31 5AT Setting Address

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E-mail

Siobhan Frances Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, Out of School 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 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?

Goldilocks Nursery is privately owned. It opened in 1991 and operates from converted domestic premises. The children are cared for in three buildings according to the age and stage they are at. Children under three are in the main building; children aged between three and five are in a second building and the holiday club have their own separate building. The nursery is situated in Tilehurst, near Reading in Berkshire.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

A maximum of 114 children may attend the setting at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 07.30 to 18.00 all year with the exception of public holidays. Children aged between four and 11 years may attend the holiday club, which operates during the main school holidays. The holiday club was not in operation at the time of this inspection. All children share access to secure enclosed outdoor play areas.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 99 children aged from birth to under 8 years on roll. Of these, 48 children receive funding for early education. Children come from the local area. The nursery currently supports children with learning difficulties and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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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 nursery employs 27 staff. The manager and 17 staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. There are three staff working towards a qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. The children are developing an understanding of the need to follow good hygiene practices, such as washing their hands after using the toilet or before snack and blowing noses. The older, more able children are independent in their self-care skills, for example taking themselves to the toilet. Children's health is promoted because staff follow effective health and hygiene procedures to minimise the spread of infection and have good hygiene practice when changing and feeding babies and younger children.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff discuss with parents of babies, their individual routines for eating and sleeping which are followed until a child reaches the age of one year. This reassures the babies and makes them feel secure.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's health is maintained because staff have good knowledge of the children's health and dietary needs. There are staff trained in first aid on duty at all times. All the relevant documentation is in place, to support the children's well-being. Accidents and medication are dealt with appropriately.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy their meals and snacks. Both the staff and the cook are aware of children’s individual dietary needs. Parents can send their children in with snacks and packed lunches if they choose and children attending the holiday play club have the option to have nursery meals. Drinks are available at all times throughout the nursery and staff remind the children to have regular drinks, for example after playing in the garden or when they have been asleep.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy physical activities especially outdoor activities. Each area has it’s own garden. The children have opportunities to run, use small apparatus and to ride bikes. Older children are becoming confident when using equipment, for example swinging. Children attending the holiday club have opportunities for regular walks around the area as well as off site activities, for example outings to the local park. Babies are learning about their own bodies and what they can do. They crawl, sit and practise standing, gradually developing new skills as they play in their base rooms.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Effective systems to monitor the safe arrival and departure of children are in place and ensure the children's safety. Children keep safe within the building, as the nursery has good security arrangements in place. Parents and visitors are let in and out and are challenged if staff do not know them. Children’s safety is maintained as staff have a good awareness of safety issues. Staff conduct risk assessments daily, which ensure that any potential hazards for the children are identified and minimised. Staff are vigilant in all areas to ensure that safety gates are secured.

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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 The nursery rooms are welcoming and bright. The nursery is generally well maintained. However, not all areas, for example the changing area in Badgers and the carpet in Rabbits where babies crawl are monitored closely enough to ensure their ongoing upkeep.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children in all areas have access to a wide range of resources. Staff check these regularly to ensure that they are clean and safe for the children to use. Children help with the cleaning where appropriate, for example the babies help to wash the balls from the ball pit. Children access resources easily as in all rooms these are stored at child height. However, some items, for example books in the Badgers room are showing signs of wear and tear. Children in the toddler and pre-school rooms are learning to keep themselves safe, by helping to tidy up in their base rooms, as part of the routine, which they undertake willingly.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children are confident when moving between areas of the nursery and within rooms. The children in Bears know to hold the handrail when they go up or downstairs. They are learning about safety issues as staff remind them not to push their friends in front. However, staff do not always remind them not to swing on their chairs.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Procedures and documentation are in place and understood by staff, to ensure that children's health, safety and welfare is promoted. Staff are aware of child protection procedures which safe guards the children's well-being. There are clear routes of referral and procedures to be followed if staff have concerns about a child. Evacuation procedures are displayed throughout the buildings and staff and children, including those who attend the holiday club, take part in regular drills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children under three years enjoy planned activities as well as free play. Each child is able to choose activities that they would like to take part in and staff are sensitive to the children’s individual needs. Babies participate in a wide range of activities including cooking activities and receive a lot of one to one support. Staff offer continuous praise and encouragement and are attentive to individual's needs. Babies communication skills are promoted as staff talk, interact and respond to them. Babies are happy, settled and have a positive sense of well-being.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Older children are able to explore activities and staff are supportive of child initiated play. For example, a child in Squirrels enjoys playing and exploring during the gluing activity. He finds that the tissue paper shapes stick to the glue on his fingers. Other children involve staff in their free play, for example sharing a pretend picnic, building towers out of bricks and dressing and undressing the dolls. Children in both Badgers and Squirrels enjoy a wide range of activities which support their all round development. An interesting variety of activities are available for the children to choose from including focussed activities, such as pasta play. Children in all areas particularly enjoy story and rhyme times, with staff in Badgers ensuring that the children play an interactive part within the stories. All the children in all areas were interested in the activities on offer and were well occupied throughout.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children enjoy outdoor recreational play and this is an opportunity for all the under threes to use the designated garden at the same time. The children benefit from meeting up with older and younger children and participating in activities together.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are benefiting from the staff's awareness of Birth to three matters, which they use as a planning and assessment tool, so ensuring that the children have suitable stage

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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 appropriate experiences. Staff know the children’s individual needs and achievements. A daily report sheet is filled out by staff for each child aged under two. However, although there is a system in place to record the children’s development and progress within Badgers, this is not yet related to Birth to three matters.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children move freely around the nursery and can easily access resources and activities. Children settle well and feel secure in the surroundings. Children make relationships with other children and confidently speak to staff who appropriately see to their individual needs. The nursery is split into age related rooms and children assigned to a room leader/key worker, however, children have many opportunities to mix with children from different age groups.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Each room is organised well and offers children opportunities to play with a range of resources, for example dressing up clothes, a home corner with kitchen, dolls, cash registers and small tables and chairs, puzzles, construction toys, trains and cars, dinosaurs and animals. Children also have opportunities to look at fiction and non-fiction books.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

In the garden children can explore over in the gardening corner. They dig next to a scarecrow with spades of various sizes. Flowers and vegetables have been sewn and children can see these growing, however, opportunities are missed at times when staff water the vegetables but do not extend children's learning in discussing how the plants have taken or if vegetables are ready to be eaten. Children enjoy their time outside, however, and play happily on the climbing frame, slides and swings. Children ride on scooters and bikes, and push pushchairs about, regardless of gender. Children also explore in the sand pit and pit containing shaving foam. A child talks to the staff member about how his dad shaves in the morning and that the foam feels soft.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Planning is completed by the four room leaders who have a sound knowledge of the Foundation Stage and are enthusiastic, caring and organised. Observations are collected for each child and stored currently in a folder ready to be transferred over to children's individual development books. The system is complicated and time consuming however, therefore, impacts on staff deployment. Activities are evaluated weekly and children's records within the areas of learning updated regularly. Some staff have less knowledge of the Foundation Stage and opportunities are missed out on to encourage an extension of children's learning, for instance few opportunities are made during the course of day to day play for number recognition, calculation and shape.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children use name cards for registration and find their name card with picture at lunch time. Opportunities are made for children to develop emergent writing. Children can make use of the writing table to mark make or use the magnetic board and letters. Children are encouraged to write their own name upon their pictures and paintings. Children benefit from one to one time when using the learning programmes on the computer and confidently learn how to use the arrow keys for example. Children confidently join in with familiar songs and stories and take turns to choose the rhyming songs they would like to sing. Children also enjoy art work and staff use initiative in planning activities. The current topic is our bodies/ourselves. Children are interested and have a good attention span when looking around in the garden and drawing pictures or building houses out of recycled materials. Older children use scissors to cut out

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

windows and a roof for their house. Younger children have been learning about the heart and keeping healthy. Children enjoyed food tasting of fruit, vegetables, biscuits, cereals and discuss

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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 how some foods are healthier for us than others. Children are asked open and closed questions about the food, for example where does fruit grow?

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children arrive happily, separate from their parents with confidence and settle quickly. Staff meet and greet the parents and children individually, which gives them a sense of belonging. Staff know children's individual needs and routines and are aware of those children who need support to settle. Children with learning difficulties and with English as an additional language are receiving appropriate support. The staff know the routes of referral should they have concerns about a child in their care.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children in all rooms have equal access to all activities and to a range of resources which reflect diversity. They are encouraged to take turns and share. Younger children help to clear away toys and receive praise from staff for helping. The younger children are beginning to understand adults' expectations of their behaviour. They behave well and respond to praise and encouragement from staff, which promotes their self-esteem and self-confidence and makes them feel good about themselves. The older children in Bears are well behaved, understand right from wrong and are respectful to each other and the staff who care for them. Children confidently speak to staff and ask for help when needed. Children are aware of the wider world and the diverse needs of some people.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered appropriately.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The quality of the partnership with parents and carers is satisfactory. Parents receive limited information of how best to help their child learn at home, however, a recent open evening for parents was very successful and plans are in place for the event to be held regularly. A key worker system is in place and parents can talk to staff whenever they have a concern. Whilst the nursery do not hold a child's starting points profile, completed by parents, key information is recorded as children work through the age rooms and this information is collected each term and held on file. Children' development records are sent to feeder schools and parents can request to view these whenever they wish.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Good procedures are in place for appointing new staff, which ensures that the staff working with the children are appropriately vetted, so safeguarding the children. The staff have a comprehensive induction process and are given copies of the nursery policies to read. Staff are clear about their responsibilities within the nursery for the children’s well-being and those working with the under threes are developing their knowledge of Birth to three matters. Staff with an extra, specific responsibility, for example the child protection co-ordinator, have a good knowledge of their roles.

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Organisation

The children are grouped mainly according to age but this also depends on their stage of development, so that each child is in a stage appropriate environment, for example two children who are nearly three are in Cubs. The staff are well deployed within the nursery and the organisation of the rooms mean that the children have a quiet area in which to relax, for example to read books, an active area and a messy play area.

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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 There are comprehensive policies and procedures in place which cover all the required areas. All documentation is in place. Policies, procedures and other information is available for parents. The registration certificate and the insurance are displayed on the parent's notice board. This ensures that parents are aware of how the nursery is run.

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management is satisfactory. The management has a clear vision for the nursery and steps are being made to achieve the targets set. Positive use is made of the early years advisor and secure procedures are in place in regard to working with children with particular needs or difficulties. Consideration has been given to improve staff training and provision is being put into place for all staff to acquire further knowledge to aid in their future development. Planning for the nursery education is carried out by room leaders who are confident and enthusiastic in their approach. Staff get on well with one another and work effectively as a team. The manager is aware of the strengths of the nursery and equally aware of the areas for improvement.

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Organisation

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

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection an inadequate judgement was given for the care which resulted in two actions being set. These were to ensure an accurate record of the arrival and departure times of children's attendance is maintained at all times and to devise and implement effective systems to ensure the policies and procedures of the setting are adequately followed to promote the welfare of children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The nursery has introduced new systems where the children's attendance including arrival and departure times are recorded. The management have a system in place to spot check these registers to ensure their accuracy.

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Improvements since the last inspection

All staff have been asked to read the policies and procedures in place for the children's safety and welfare and the management have introduced systems to spot check to make sure policies and procedures are being followed at all times.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the nursery was set two recommendations in relation to the Nursery Education. The nursery have addressed the recommendations as follows: The first was to ensure all staff working with funded children have a secure knowledge of the early learning goals and are able to provide sufficient challenge for all children. Whilst the nursery have put into place procedures to enable all staff to have a copy of the Foundation Stage guidance and read up on this whenever possible; and systems for planning/evaluation/observations are improving, some children are not given appropriate challenge when playing or taking part in set activities. A further recommendation has been set to address this and to enable children to gain effectively from their time at the nursery.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Secondly, devise and implement an effective system to record and extend children's learning and involve parents in their children's records. The nursery have addressed this recommendation more securely, in that they have put into place a procedure to keep track of observations made of children's progress and have offered parents an open evening in which they can discuss their child's progress. The system enabling children's observations to be transferred to their development record is weak and a recommendation has been set to that effect, however, the open evening was a success and although a date has not been set for the next parent's evening, one is planned and the nursery intend to make this a regular event.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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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 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): • devise and implement a system to ensure that all areas of the nursery are regularly assessed for cleanliness and maintenance • devise and implement a starting points profile for all children entering the nursery [ also applies to nursery education]

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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): • extend children's opportunities for number work on a daily basis • devise and implement systems to record both observations and children's development and to make these records more accessible on a daily basis • continue to develop and implement a system to ensure that all staff working with funded children have a secure knowledge of the early learning goals and are able to provide sufficient challenge for all children.

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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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