Rainbow Nursery

Rainbow Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY266850 Unique Reference Number 11 September 2007 Inspection date Sally Ann Hubbard Inspector

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Little London, Long Sutton, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE12 9LF Setting Address

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E-mail

The Trustees of Rainbow Nursery 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 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 satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Rainbow Nursery is a community based group registered as a charity and managed by a committee. It has been established as a pre-school group for over 20 years. It is based within the grounds of the Peele Community College which is in Long Sutton in Lincolnshire, and serves the local rural community and surrounding villages. The group has sole use of the premises which comprises of two buildings, one for children aged from three months to under three years and one for children aged over three years. Each building has playrooms and appropriate kitchen, toilet, office facilities and access to a fully enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is open all year round, except for two weeks at Christmas. It operates from 08.00 until 18.00 five days a week. Children are able to attend for morning or afternoon sessions with the option of staying over lunch or for the full day. The nursery also offers out of school care for children aged from three years to 11 years 11 months old. There are currently 79 children on roll at the nursery. This includes 33 children who receive funding for nursery education. There are children attending who have been identified with learning difficulties and 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 provision employs 16 members of staff, four of these work full-time and the rest work on a part-time basis. Twelve members of staff have completed child care qualifications and two are currently undertaking a level 2 qualification. The nursery is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance and receives support from the local authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are encouraged to have good personal hygiene and staff have occasional discussions to help them learn the importance and why they need to do this. Staff implement good hygiene routines to keep children healthy, for example, making sure children’s dummies are washed if they drop them on the floor and always washing their hands before preparing food. Children are suitably protected from risk of illness as the nursery has clear policies for excluding children who are sick. Parents receive good information so they know when their children should not attend. Appropriate records for medicine, accidents, training in first aid as well as permission to seek emergency medical advice or treatment means that children’s medical needs are well met.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children choose their snack and most of the options are healthy ones. Lunch boxes are stored appropriately in a fridge. Children enjoy meals that are nutritious and well balanced, for example, they enjoy roast dinner with a vegetarian option. Children are beginning to recognise their own needs as they can help themselves to drinks when they feel thirsty. Drinks are within reach or visible and the younger children are offered frequent drinks by staff. Children have good opportunities to have physical play and exercise outdoors in the fresh air. The well equipped outdoor area is in use every day, weather permitting. Children develop good balance and control as they walk along the upturned logs in the bark chipped play area. They confidently use the ride on toys to help them appropriately develop large muscle control.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children and their parents arrive to attractive and inviting premises. The rooms are well prepared and set out for children with examples of their work displayed on the walls. Good information is also displayed for parents on the notice boards, such as details of insurance, menus and a list of key workers. The indoor and outdoor areas are made safe and secure so children can play safely. Children play with a good range of safe and suitable equipment and there is sufficient for the number of children enabling groups to play together. Additional resources are available in low units where children can easily reach them and choose what they want to play with, promoting their independence. Tables and chairs are of an appropriate height for the different age groups and staff make sure all the equipment conforms to relevant safety requirements.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have a good awareness of any safety issues and supervise children well as they play to prevent accidents. They take steps to identify and minimise most hazards, for example, by completing daily safety checklists. They help children learn how to keep themselves safe throughout the day, for example, they explain to them about walking, not running so that they don’t fall and hurt themselves. Staff also explain to the children under two how to use the chairs safely again giving them gentle explanations. Children and adults know how to get out of the building safely in an emergency as they have regular practices of the evacuation

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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 procedure. Staff have safe procedures in place for outings including risk assessments and appropriate methods of transporting children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Most staff have good knowledge and understanding of child protection issues. They are aware what signs and symptoms would cause them concern. They have clear procedures to follow and all the relevant information, including contact numbers is readily available. The protection of the children in their care is their main priority.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Most children are well settled and others are in the process of being settled into nursery. Staff are very kind, caring and understanding of children’s individual needs during this time and key workers are available to help children throughout the nursery. Children who are settled are very happy and are developing good relationships with staff. They laugh, smile and respond well to staff. Staff work down at children’s level with all ages, for example, they sit on the floor and play with the children or sit on chairs at the child height tables; this helps children feel secure and supported. Children in the out of school club can relax and enjoy themselves. They have an appropriate range of activities available and freely choose what they want to do.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy an appropriate range of planned activities which meet all areas of ‘Birth to three matters’ and the Foundation Stage. Resources are at an appropriate level for all the children so they can select what they want to play with. Children are learning how to behave appropriately as they are given good role models to follow and taught right from wrong. Staff talk respectfully to children and teach them good manners. Children respond well to this. They develop their independence skills, for example, by starting to pour their own drinks and taking themselves off to the toilets when they need to.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The routine allows times for the children to be more active, sleep, rest or relax if they feel tired. Staff are attentive and listen to the children responding to their needs with sensitivity. They follow children’s individual sleep and feeding routines and give them comfort and reassurance to help them settle well. Staff have appropriate systems in place enabling them to plan activities and observe and record progress for the younger children using the ‘Birth to three matters’ framework.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff have sound knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage. They know what they are expecting children to learn from the activities and the activity plans support this. The planning system is clear and covers all areas of learning. Individual daily activity plans allow for all children to be involved and included although some activities are adult led. Staff generally ask children appropriate questions as they play to support their learning, however some learning opportunities are missed during activities and daily routines, for example opportunities for children to learn about problem solving when staff are cutting toast.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff remain calm and manage children’s behaviour well ensuring children understand what is not appropriate. The learning environment is planned so that children have space to move around and choose and play with suitable activities during the day. Assessments of children’s progress are used to identify any developments for individual children and their next steps are used to inform planning. However the nursery does not have a robust system for identifying

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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 children’s starting points for those children starting at nursery in the Foundation Stage to ensure they can make the best possible progress on entering the nursery.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children’s learning is generally effective as most are confident and well settled at nursery. They play well together, sharing resources and involving themselves in games, for example, in the role play area. Children enjoy listening to stories at group story time and singing songs and rhymes. They frequently look at books individually and with staff. The book area is well used and some children ‘read’ stories to small groups of others. Some everyday items are labelled around the room to teach children that print has meaning, and mark making materials are always available. Children learn about size and number during rhyme and song time however they are not always encouraged to count and use number in everyday activities. Staff miss opportunities to help them do this.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have good opportunities to look at the plants they have grown in the outdoor area and they enjoy helping staff to water and look after these. They look at the ripe strawberry that has been partially eaten by a bird. Children particularly enjoy experimenting with the paint as they paint their hands and make prints on the paper.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children all take part in the activities and are treated equally according to their needs. Good personal information is asked which enables staff to meet children’s individual needs. Children learn about diversity, the wider world and look at some of the different festivals celebrated by others, such as Diwali and Chinese New Year. Books and other resources are available to support their learning. They also learn about their own beliefs and celebrate some religious festivals such as Christmas and Easter and have involvement in the local church flower festival. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are appropriately supported and provided with activities that are suitable for their needs. The nursery has an identified person who takes responsibility for children with additional needs and they have effective systems in place to identify and support them, such

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are beginning to learn about appropriate behaviour and generally behave well. They have clear boundaries in place and staff give explanations to children so they can understand how to behave and know what is expected of them. A written statement is in place and this is shared with parents. Children are provided with good role models as staff are positive giving lots of praise. Staff are calm and consistent when dealing with any behaviour issues.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The nursery develops good relationships with parents and carers; they exchange regular information so they can continue to meet children’s ongoing needs, for example, the daily sheets used in the baby room. Children are able to settle well and become confident as a result of the good communication and partnerships being developed. Parents are made aware of the complaints policy and therefore know how to make any concerns known. An appropriate system is in place ready to record these if any are received. They give positive comments about the nursery saying their children are ‘always occupied’ and that ‘children all seem very happy’.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers of funded children is satisfactory. They are given detailed information about the nursery and the Foundation Stage so they know what their children will be learning as they play. Parents have opportunities to discuss children’s needs and verbally share what they know about children. The nursery gather information about

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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’s starting points although this is not fully assessed for all children. Parents can look at children’s progress records, for example, at parents evening. They are encouraged to be involved in their children’s learning, such as contributing to topics by bringing items in. Children are developing confidence and feel secure because of these positive relationships.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children are appropriately protected from unvetted persons as staff who have not been checked do not have unsupervised access. Appropriate employment procedures are implemented to ensure new staff are suitable to work with children. The manager and sufficient staff have appropriate qualifications and training is undertaken to help them update their knowledge and skills. The nursery meet the required ratios and often have a higher number of staff available than is needed. Staff are effectively deployed to ensure the day runs smoothly.

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Organisation

A system for registering children and staff attendance is in place. This shows times of arrival and departure. However on one occasion in the pre-school this did not accurately show how many children were on the premises as some were not marked out as they left in the afternoon. Therefore in the event of an emergency staff may not know exactly how many children are present which could potentially put children at risk. Other records are all accessible and readily available and contain clear information. They are kept securely to maintain confidentiality. Overall children’s needs are met.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is satisfactory. Staff have clearly defined roles and responsibilities and work well together as a team. The appraisal system and constant monitoring by the manager enables the nursery to identify most areas for improvement and take appropriate action, such as providing additional training for staff. Plans are discussed and evaluated at regular meetings so the nursery education is monitored. Staff make changes and improvements to the activities as a result of these discussions. The nursery is very positive and committed to improving the quality of the care and education they provide.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the nursery were asked to further develop some written policies, procedures and records with regard to: child protection; behaviour management; emergency medical treatment and outings. The policy document has been reviewed and updated and the procedures reflect practice within the group. At the last nursery education inspection they were asked to identify ways to develop, consolidate and extend children's mathematical knowledge and understanding through other curriculum areas and daily activities. The nursery has improved the way they teach mathematics and now include this in some every day activities to help children's understanding and develop their knowledge. However there are still some missed learning opportunities in this area and this is being carried forward at this inspection.

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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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Complaints 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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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 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): • ensure an accurate record of attendance is maintained.

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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): • ensure staff appropriately intervene while children are involved in activities and daily routines to maximise on all learning opportunities • formalise and develop the system for finding out children's starting points.

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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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