Chigwell Day Nursery

Chigwell Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY287949 Unique Reference Number 27 November 2007 Inspection date Samantha Smith Inspector

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C/o David Lloyd Leisure Club, Roding Lane, Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell, Essex, IG9 6BJ

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E-mail

Asquith Court Nurseries Limited Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, Crèche 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. At the time of the inspection there were no children in receipt of nursery education. Ofsted judges that the provider remains suitable to provide nursery education.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Asquith Nursery and Crèche, Chigwell is one of 105 nurseries run by Asquith Nurseries Ltd. It opened in 1998 and operates from five rooms within the David Lloyd Club situated in Chigwell. A maximum of 49 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 07:30 to 18:30 for 51 weeks of the year. All the children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 55 children aged under five years on roll. Of these, 13 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide catchment area, as many of their parents travel to use the Club facilities. The nursery currently supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs 14 staff. Of these 10 staff including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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. Children play in a clean environment where they are encouraged to follow basic hygiene routines including washing their hands at appropriate times throughout the day. Staff follow effective hygiene procedures such as wearing gloves when handling food and changing children's nappies. Written procedures and rotas ensures staff are aware of their roles and responsibility in maintaining hygiene standards.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's health and well-being is promoted through the satisfactory procedures in place. Children that have infectious illnesses are excluded from the provision until they are well. Appropriate care and attention is given to children that become unwell and written permission to administer medication is obtained from parents. A record of accidents occurring on the premises is kept. However, not all entries have been signed by parents to acknowledge their awareness which potentially compromises children's health and well-being.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy healthy lunches that are provided by outside caterers in the leisure centre and procedures are in place to ensure that these are served to children at an appropriate temperature. Children have their individual health and dietary needs met and provision is made for young babies; staff blend food where necessary. Older children are developing their independence as they learn to serve themselves at lunch times. They choose what they want to eat and learn the names and benefits of different foods. Healthy snacks are also provided and these generally consist of fresh fruit and drinks are freely available. However, the organisation of snack times do not always effectively meet children's needs. This is because in some rooms young children have to wait for their snacks and sometimes become restless.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy regular physical activity. Older children take part in swimming and tennis lessons and all children enjoy regular outdoor play, where they use the climbing frames and other outdoor equipment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. The nursery provides a welcoming environment for children and their families through displays of information and examples of children's craft work. Children are kept safe in the setting because the main entrance is kept locked and parents and visitors are permitted access through an intercom system. All visitors are required to sign a visitors book and there is a registration system in place for staff and children, which includes arrival and departure times.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Fire safety precautions are in place and children are safe as a result of the staff's awareness of these. Emergency evacuations are practised with the children to ensure that they know what to do in the case of an emergency. Tests are conducted periodically by the leisure centre on equipment, such as fire extinguishers and electrical appliances to ensure these are in working order at all times. Risk assessments are carried out monthly and the setting maintains appropriate liability cover.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There is a written policy in place to support staff knowledge and understanding of child protection issues. However, these are currently being updated and staff have yet to receive training in this.

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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

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. On the whole most children settle well. Many are familiar with the nursery routine and their surroundings which promotes a feeling of security. There are displays of children's photographs throughout the nursery which contributes to their sense of belonging. Children happily access resources which are selected and organised for them in advance and they engage in activities that are mostly age appropriate. Younger children, aged under three years, clearly enjoy exploring malleable resources such as, paint, corn flour and play dough developing a variety of skills and experiencing different textures.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Babies enjoy the close, caring relationships they have with staff. They benefit from cuddles and the comfort they receive. They make their needs known through sounds and gestures and staff are responsive to them. Some babies and younger children enjoy feeding themselves at snack time, promoting their hand-eye coordination.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff working with children under three years are developing their knowledge and understanding of the 'Birth to three matters' framework. The setting aims to continue to improve the planning, observations and evaluation of younger children's progress to positive effect.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and children are generally making progress towards the early learning goals. Staff are currently developing their knowledge of the Foundation Stage and recognise the value of planning a balanced curriculum. However, in practice this not always evident as not enough consideration is given to planning a challenging environment which allows children to constantly access the six areas of learning. As a result some older children display negative behaviour as they become bored. Planning is in place but children's starting points, observations and assessments are not recorded regularly across all six areas of learning, to identify their next steps or is it used to inform future planning and assessments.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Most children show good levels of confidence and know their surroundings well. Their independence is encouraged by staff. For example, children serve their own meals at lunch times and use the toilet independently. Children use a range of tools confidently such as handling cutlery with increasing control. They enjoy some opportunities to understand the world around them through playing with home corner equipment, small world toys and dinosaurs. Some children are able to count to ten confidently, however there are limited opportunities for children to consistently develop their skills in number language, sorting and calculation. There are some opportunities provided for children to draw, however there are less opportunities for children to experience writing for a purpose. There are few planned activities that give children the chance to discover, explore and investigate living things or use programmable toys

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

such as through exploring creatures or 'minibeasts' and using information communication technology (ICT).

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children attending the setting come from various backgrounds and all are welcomed into the setting. There are some resources that promote equality and positive images of other cultures.

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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 However, these are somewhat limited. As a result children are not gaining a full appreciation of the wider world they live in.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Strategies to support children with learning difficulties and or disabilities are in place and there is a named Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) in the setting who has attended relevant training, ensuring individual needs are met.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children on the whole behave well and respond positively to staff. The use of praise and encouragement for their achievements reinforces good behaviour. In incidents of negative behaviour staff use appropriate and consistent explanations, helping children distinguish the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents of children in receipt of funded nursery education is satisfactory. Children's individual needs are documented and the key worker system is currently being developed to ensure information regarding children's progress and development is continually exchanged and shared. Information about their child's needs and preferences is gathered at the start of the placement and staff continue to share verbal feedback with parents. Newsletters, notice boards, policies and procedures keep parents regularly updated and a starter pack provides some useful information about the nursery. Parent and carer meetings are held throughout the year. However, parents are not given sufficient information regarding the Foundation Stage resulting in parents being unable to become fully involved in their child's learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children are happy and confident in nursery, which is sufficiently organised to meet their needs. They are cared for in a secure environment by a committed and developing staff team who work closely together to ensure the nursery runs smoothly.

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Organisation

Procedures for the recruitment and induction of staff is sufficient. All staff undergo an interview process and a full induction programme that includes all checks and child protection training. An appraisal system is in place providing all staff with the opportunity to identify strengths and areas of improvement as well as training opportunities.

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Organisation

All required records are in place to promote the welfare, health and care of the children and the setting is currently updating their written policies and procedures in line with current regulation and guidance. Some staff have an awareness of the Birth to three matters framework and the implementation of the framework continues to be developed. Staff working with children in the Foundation Stage are developing their knowledge of this in order to improve outcomes for children.

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Organisation

Leadership and management of the nursery is satisfactory. The management team and staff are fairly new and are working together to build an effective team providing satisfactory care for children. They are currently monitoring and reviewing their practices and are taking positive steps to improve the quality of care and education. As a result, they have some knowledge of the setting's strengths and have identified some areas for improvement, such as further monitoring systems and organisation. The manager is seeking some help from the Early Years Partnerships and the Advisory Teacher, to strengthen staff's knowledge and understanding of

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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 Foundation Stage, to ensure all children have access to a balanced curriculum. Overall children's needs are met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last inspection the setting has taken positive steps to improve partnerships with parents by ensuring all written consents are obtained and by providing copies of the policies and procedures in the reception. The setting had taken steps to improve child protection through updating staff knowledge of child protection procedures and obtaining the details of the Local Safeguarding Children's Board. This contributes to the safety and well-being of the children.

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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. At the time of the inspection there were no children in receipt of nursery education. Ofsted judges that the provider remains suitable to provide nursery education.

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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): • ensure a record is maintained, signed by the parents, of any accidents • ensure that children have an appropriate range of activities and resources that promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice • continue to develop the staff team to ensure better outcomes for children and ensure staff are made aware of the changes to the further development of policies and procedures.

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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):

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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 • ensure that all staff working with the children in the Foundation Stage have sufficient knowledge and understanding and develop systems to show how children are progressing through the stepping stones towards the early learning goals • continue to develop planning to ensure that all children are provided with sufficient challenge in all areas of learning and ensure that observations are consistently carried out and used to inform future planning • review the information given to parents regarding the Foundation Stage to enable them to become fully involved in their child's learning.

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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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