Walmer Bridge Day Nursery

Walmer Bridge Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY102250 Unique Reference Number 19 February 2008 Inspection date Denise Sixsmith Inspector

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74 Liverpool Old Road, Walmer Bridge, Preston, Lancashire, PR4 5GE Setting Address

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01772 611 222 Telephone number walmerbridge@btinternet.com E-mail Jayne Parkinson and Kenneth Parkinson Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are 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?

Walmer Bridge Day Nursery is run by a partnership. It was registered in 2002 and operates from an old primary school building. It is situated in Walmer Bridge on the outskirts of Preston, Lancashire. A maximum of 92 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 07.45 to 18.00, for 52 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 109 children aged under eight years on roll. Of these, 24 children receive funding for early education. Children come from a wide catchment area, as parents travel to work in Preston or Southport. The nursery currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties.

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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. The setting receives support 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 good. Children's health is promoted very well because the staff ensure that they follow good hygiene practices when caring for the children. They clean the tables before serving snacks and meals and provide fresh, clean bedding for the babies and young children when they have a sleep. The children learn about their own health needs, such as the importance of brushing teeth and healthy eating, through well-planned activities and displays. In addition, they learn to take some responsibility for their own personal health and hygiene throughout the nursery day. They wash their hands before their snack and help themselves to tissues to wipe their own noses. Babies and younger children are very well supported by the staff who care for them. Appropriate procedures are in place for administering medication to the children and records of accidents are in place.

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Helping children to be healthy

Access to fresh air and exercise on a daily basis promotes the children's health. The children wrap up warmly in cold and wet weather and play out in the outdoor area. This provides them with welcome opportunities to use their physical energy as they run around and play with the toys and equipment. Babies are also able to experience being outdoors on a regular basis in their own area as well as being taken for walks in prams in the community. The children clearly enjoy being outdoors and are able to develop their physical skills well. For example, they can climb on the climbing frames, use wheeled toys and play with balls to develop their coordination. In addition, they use the resources and their imagination to develop different skills. For example, they travel across the wooden stepping stones, dig in the soil tray or balance on the large tyre. The interesting outdoor environment provides them with many good physical challenges.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children benefit from nutritious and healthy meals. These are prepared on site using fresh ingredients. In addition, the children have plenty of fresh fruit at snack time and drinking water throughout the day. The children are supported well at mealtimes. Younger children in the nursery quickly learn to feed themselves independently as the staff effectively encourage their early attempts at self-feeding. The children learn about where some foods come from and at snack time and during planned activities they talk about foods which are good for them, which raises their awareness of healthy eating. For example, there is a very informative table containing resource books as well as a collection of healthy and non healthy food. Children readily talk about milk being good for you because it has calcium for strong teeth and bones.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are made to feel very welcome in the nursery. Space for their coats and belongings and attractive displays of their creative work all help to give them a sense of belonging. They are able to reach a wide range of toys and resources, providing them with many choices of play. Quality furniture and suitable resources allow children to rest and play and to eat in comfort. Children play, eat and rest in an environment that is well stocked with interesting resources in distinct play areas, making it visually welcoming and very stimulating. Play materials are safe and in good condition.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children are very well supervised at all times to keep them safe. Good staff to child ratios are maintained at all times of the day, ensuring that children can play safely and receive appropriate support from the staff. A nominated health and safety officer is in place and risk

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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 assessments are carried out with measures put in place to minimise hazards to the children. In addition, the staff carry out daily hazard checks and use an ongoing assessment of the accident record to ensure that the nursery is safe at all times. Children are familiar with the nursery's emergency evacuation procedures because fire drills are carried out on a regular basis. Children play outdoors safely as the areas used are securely fenced and a closed circuit televised system is in place.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The staff have a sound awareness of procedures to take in order to safeguard the welfare of any children they may care for. Appropriate documentation and contact details are in place. However, the policy has not been updated to reflect the role of the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The comfortable nursery and attentive staff create an environment where children are happy and content. The staff interact well with the children. They place themselves at child height and talk to the children as they play. In the baby room, for example, the staff make eye contact with the babies and acknowledge their babbling noises. The staff introduce new sounds which babies attempt to copy. These interactions effectively encourage the children's communication skills and attempts at early speech. Babies enjoy close, warm relationships with staff as they are gently reassured and talked to during routines, such as eating, relaxing and playing. Older children are able to communicate their feelings as they talk to the staff and to the nursery persona doll.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Relationships in the nursery are very positive. Staff are very caring and children are valued. The children enjoy the time they spend with the staff. They laugh together and often seek cuddles. Babies enjoy 'snuggling in' to staff either on the floor or settee. The children under three years enjoy a wide range of age-appropriate activities, which are well planned. They love to investigate a range of textures, for example, exploring metal and wood contents of the treasure baskets as well as paint, gloop and bubbly water. The children are able to reach a selection of age appropriate toys and books at all times. This allows them to have choices about what they play with and the scope to develop their own play ideas and imagination.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children make good progress in all areas of learning because the staff plan and provide a wide range of interesting activities. The children are supported well as they play as staff talk to them and ask them questions, which effectively encourages their thinking and learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children enjoy choosing from the good range of activities on offer, they concentrate very well as they play. They relate very well to each other, for example, older children support younger children who are learning to use a program on the computer. The children listen very well at story and circle times. They take turns to hold the wizard and then pass him on when they have told the group what they have enjoyed doing at the nursery. Story time and looking at books are clearly favourite activities. Children enjoy the Jelly book and find the pages for 'pasta Jocasta' and the spaghetti food as well as the pie for ‘guy meringuetange’. This love of words, stories and books is fostered well, as children have comfortable areas to sit and a selection of good quality books to choose from. The children develop good early literacy skills when they make marks using paint, pencils and other resources which are readily available to them. Their

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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 thank you letters to Father Christmas produced on the computer are displayed on the wall near to the computer. Staff ensure that there is ample opportunity for children to access and see their names on cards around the room to assist them in putting their name on their paintings and models. As they play, the children count very often. They confidently count the number of children at the snack table and are supported to work out how many more children can sit down. One child talks readily about eating food to get big muscles then holds 10 fingers up and says, 'I have 10 big muscles'. This effective use of daily routines and conversations enables the children to develop early mathematical and problem solving skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are keen to explore and investigate indoors but have less opportunities to do so in the outdoor area. They use technology often, such as the computer, programmable toys and a tape recorder. As they play, the children develop fine motor skills and coordination well. For example, they move the computer mouse to correspond with the arrow on the screen and practise clicking the button, pour their own drinks confidently, and use tools such as pencils, spreaders and scissors on a daily basis. The children develop a good awareness of the world and their environment through topic work, for example, when they make model trees for the small world jungle and access a variety of musical instruments from around the world. The children learn about other cultures, for example, they celebrate the Chinese New Year by making a large dragon and eating a Chinese meal with chopsticks.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children engage eagerly in role play. They have access to a good range of props to support and extend their imagination. For example, during their play they develop the home corner into a dogs home. Staff effectively support this change by providing props including a variety of good quality resource books. Children create their own seasonal decorations for the indoor tree, currently making raindrops and icicles to hang on the branches. They readily break into song while playing as they hear children in the next room singing 'there is a worm at the bottom of my garden and his name is wiggly woo'. The children thoroughly enjoy their dancing session with the dance teacher, laughing and giggling as they stretch, wiggle, jump high and sink down.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Throughout the nursery, the staff observe the children and record their progress. They use these observations effectively to plan activities to encourage children's development and learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children feel valued in the setting. Relationships are very good and children arrive at the setting happy and confident. Younger children benefit from the positive partnership staff have developed with parents. New children settle well because staff work closely with parents to ensure they follow their individual routine. Older children are welcomed as they self register and eagerly look forward to the day's activities. Children's individual pegs and labelled drawers provide them with a sense of belonging as they store their pictures and personal possessions.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The special educational needs coordinator demonstrates sound knowledge of the fundamental principles of the code of practice. As a result, staff work together with parents, carers and other professional bodies to organise the environment and plan appropriate activities to ensure the children take part at a level appropriate to their needs. Children develop a positive attitude to others through varied positive images displayed around the setting. They visit the local community and develop a secure knowledge of the wider world. This positive approach fosters children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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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 Children benefit very well from staff who adopt a consistent and positive approach to the management of their behaviour. The fostering of kind acts and sharing through circle time enhance children's self-esteem and aids their understanding of the boundaries. As a result, children's behaviour is very good. Children are aware of the routines and procedures, and feel confident to express their feelings. Children know right from wrong, they are sensitive to the needs of others, readily share toys and resources, and cooperate with each other. Staff effectively boost children’s self-confidence and self-esteem and adopt good strategies for promoting positive behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers of children in receipt of early education is good. Staff seek parents' views about their child’s needs, interests and achievements before the child starts, and on a regular basis throughout their time at the nursery. This contributes significantly to children’s well-being in the setting. Children’s records are available to parents should they request to see them. Parents can chat on a daily basis with their child's key worker to know how their child is progressing and developing. Staff are keen to involve parents in their children’s learning and have identified that this is an area for further development. Parents spoken with express their overall satisfaction with the service provided and feel that the caring staff team know their children very well and put their best interests uppermost.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The nursery is organised and monitored effectively to ensure children have access to a varied range of exciting activities. Staff work well together as a cohesive team and demonstrate great enthusiasm for creating a learning environment that stimulates and challenges children of all ages. Regular meetings are held when staff are able to share their views and contribute to the organisation of the nursery. However, it is not clear in the induction process that the two required elements are covered in the first week of staffs employment. Policies, records and procedures are clear and comprehensive, underpinning the good practice in promoting positive outcomes for children.

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Organisation

Children benefit from a very well prepared environment that promotes positive outcomes for all children and enables them to make decisions and pursue their own interests. This contributes significantly to their enjoyment at the nursery. Children and babies are extremely happy and confident because staff develop warm and caring relationships with them. An example of this is the effective key worker system that ensures all children's needs are clearly known and met well. As a result, overall the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of children in receipt of funding for early education is good. The management team works very well together to lead a committed, competent and well established staff team. The manager has a good understanding of her role in monitoring and evaluating practice throughout the setting, which ensures that children benefit from the skills and expertise of the staff team. All staff demonstrate a real commitment to continuously developing the setting's practice to ensure that all children have access to good quality learning experiences. This results in a happy, consistent and focussed staff team who work effectively to meet the personal development and achievements of all the children.

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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

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last inspection made recommendations that the nursery work towards providing sufficient toilet facilities for the numbers of children on the registration certificate, do not use the staff toilet area as a storeroom, provide sufficient and more appropriate beds and keep all confidential information confidential.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The nursery has addressed all the recommendations and improved the children's toilet arrangements as well as clearing the staff toilet. There are a number of cots and beds available for the children. This action has improved the physical care of the children. Records containing individual information have been reviewed and new forms and systems of storage put in place to ensure that personal information is now recorded and stored in a confidential manner.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Ofsted received concerns relating to National Standard 6: Safety, National Standard 7: Health and National Standard 12: Working in partnership with parents and carers. An Ofsted early years childcare inspector visited the provision on 18 December 2006. One action was raised and has been satisfactorily met by the registered provider. Ofsted is satisfied that the provider remains qualified for registration.

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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 child protection statement to ensure that it reflects the role of the Local Safeguarding Children Board • ensure that the staff induction training includes both health and safety and child protection policies and procedures during the first week of employment.

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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): • further develop the outdoor area to provide more natural areas for the children to explore and investigate (also applies to care)

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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 • develop and implement a variety of ways to enable parents to contribute to and be involved in their child's learning should they wish to do so.

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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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