Windermere Day Nursery

Windermere Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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260738 Unique Reference Number 08 August 2007 Inspection date Kristin Hatherly Inspector

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Haweswater Road, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN16 8XB Setting Address

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01536 520075 Telephone number windermere@childbase.com. E-mail Child Base Limited Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, Out of School 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?

Windermere Day Nursery opened in September 2001. It is a purpose built provision close to the hospital in the Northamptonshire town of Kettering, and is part of the Child Base chain of nurseries. The nursery serves the town and surrounding area. It is open from 07:00 to 19:00 each weekday except for bank holidays.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The accommodation comprises an early years room, toddler rooms, tweeny room, two baby rooms, toilets, staff facilities and a kitchen. There is an enclosed outdoor play area for all ages.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The Nursery is registered to care for 88 children. There are currently 151 children on roll and of these, 49 receive funding for nursery education. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery is able to support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The provision is managed by an appropriately qualified manager supported by the senior management team of the Child Base company. Twenty one staff work directly with the children. Twenty have recognised early years qualifications and three are currently on training

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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 programmes. In addition a cook, support staff and cleaners are employed. The setting currently receives support from an advisory teacher.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children's health is effectively promoted by staff who follow clear health and hygiene procedures and ensure they have appropriate medical information such as details of any allergies. This information is kept in the kitchen and checked regularly. Children learn about their own personal hygiene as they are encouraged to wash their hands at appropriate times such as before meals, after messy play and after going to the toilet. This sustains the level of hygiene and helps to prevent the spread of infection. Children's welfare is safeguarded because seven members of staff have up-to-date first aid knowledge in the event of any accidents and appropriate procedures are in place if children are unwell.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children gain an awareness of the role of healthy eating in developing their good health and growth as they are provided with a variety of nutritious well-balanced snacks and meals which are planned with the help of a nutritionist employed by the nursery chain and an outside consultant. This is further developed through the provision of separate menus appropriate to the age and development of the child. Children are also encouraged to independently ensure they have five pieces of fruit or vegetables each day as they have individual charts which they are able to Velcro pictures of the fruit and vegetables they eat each day. Children have access to fresh drinking water at all times. As a result children are thoroughly hydrated and comfortable.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's physical development is promoted well within the setting enabling children to develop their large and small motor skills through outdoor play and handling of a variety of equipment. They have access to a soft paved area and a grassed area which the children downstairs are able to freely access and the pre-school children upstairs are taken to regularly. Children also benefit from a Physical Education Instructor coming into the nursery twice a week. There is a very good variety of outdoor play equipment and many inside activities are brought outside in the good weather. Children were seen to move spontaneously with increasing control and co-ordination, developing an awareness of space around them and the close proximity of others.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are very safe and well cared in a nursery that the staff and management ensure is fit for purpose and in an environment that is comfortable, welcoming and child-friendly. Their safety is further promoted as a result of staff's good awareness of health and safety and because all reasonable steps are taken to minimise the risk of accidents. For example, the staff and management ensure that furniture and equipment are of suitable design and condition, well-maintained and conform to safety standards. Thorough risk assessments and good supervision allow children freedom to choose activities that offer variety. They have access to a good variety of toys, resources and equipment appropriate to their age and development which are regularly checked.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's safety is promoted as effective procedures are in place within the setting and proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents. For example, there is a good ratio of staff to children to ensure that children are well supervised at all times. Children understand and practise fire

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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 drills regularly which are carefully recorded. They are further kept safe as there are clear procedures for outings. Children are protected and their welfare promoted through regular risk assessments of equipment and premises. The required procedures and documents are in place to ensure children's welfare is safeguarded and promoted.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected because all staff have child protection training as part of their induction and this is renewed regularly. They have a clear understanding of the local child protection guidelines. Children's safety and welfare is further enhanced by staff carefully monitoring access to the premises, checking all equipment and complying with fire requirements. A good understanding of safety aspects is integral to the induction process for new staff.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children's self-confidence and independence is promoted by staff who build warm positive relationships with the children and have consistent expectations and clear routines. Staff demonstrate a caring attitude towards the social side of the child and encourage children to share and play together. Children develop their independence through helping set out the cutlery at lunchtime and clear away. They are also able to decide when they wish to have their snack and clear away after themselves. Children's self-confidence is developed as they are encouraged to engage in conversation at registration and story time and their ideas and opinions are respected. They are also able to see their craft activities displayed and discussed with visitors which further develops their confidence and self-esteem. Children are able to take forward their own ideas during play using a wide range of resources which capture their interests, for

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

example, during imaginary play in well developed role play areas and during craft activities. They enjoy playing in the outside area which develops and supports their physical skills. Children begin to understand their own needs and with adult support, become aware of the needs of others. Children behave very well, for example, they take turns and share resources. All of these promote their emotional, physical, social and intellectual development.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and children’s learning is good. Staff show a clear understanding of the Foundation Stage and the 'Birth to three matters' framework through sharing the long term planning. They take turns to individually develop this into weekly planning all of which is based on the Foundation Stage and the framework. Children show a lively interest in the activities provided. There is a key worker system and development folders are kept for each child which include photos, observations and samples of children's work. There is a system for evaluation of activities. However, the evaluations are not used effectively to ascertain whether children have learnt what was intended, in order to plan next steps, to build on what children know and can do. Staff are friendly and caring and form good relationships with the children which help them to feel secure. They give regular encouragement and praise which develops

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

children’s confidence and self-esteem. As a result, they behave very well.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Throughout the setting, children’s personal social and emotional development is promoted by the staff's caring attitude towards the social side of the child which includes inviting visitors into the nursery and taking them out into the community. They encourage children to respect each other and to play co-operatively. Children work well together, sharing and helping each other.

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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 are very confident to speak to and question staff and visitors and are able to discuss and express their own ideas. They listen to stories with interest and concentration and are encouraged to develop an interest in reading with access to a good range of books which they select and read independently. They learn a letter a week and are also developing an understanding of the days of the week and months of the year. Children are provided with activities to encourage mark making and develop an understanding of marks have meaning through a variety of role play scenarios. Children are developing their problem solving and mathematical language skills through a variety of activities, which includes construction, games and puzzles relating to number, shape, measure and weighing such as developing a height

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

chart, cooking and sand and water play. They are encouraged to count spontaneously during activities, at register time and when lining up.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have plenty of opportunities to explore and investigate such as growing plants, have babies visit the nursery and enjoy cooking activities. They are able to develop an understanding of the wider world through recycling, visiting shops, and with visitors to the nursery such as police, firemen and ambulance. Children celebrate a variety of festivals to develop their understanding of other cultures and play with a variety of resources such as books, puzzles and dolls. They are beginning to understand that people speak and write differently through a variety of posters and displays. Children are able to use simple programmes on the computer.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have access to a well equipped outdoor play area. The children under three years have free access through their rooms and the pre-school children, whose room is upstairs, are taken out several times a day particularly in good weather. They develop their large and small motor skills through outdoor play and with a physical instructor who comes into the nursery twice a week to do a variety of games and skills with all the children. Children have access to a variety of construction toys, craft materials and use tools confidently such as pencils, paint brushes and glue spreaders. They play with balls, hoops and bean bags. Children were seen to move spontaneously with increasing control and co-ordination, developing an awareness of space around them and the close proximity of others as they negotiated confined space at registration time very well, and moved around between activity tables.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have a wide variety of opportunities to explore media and materials and colour during well planned and creatively thought through activities related to topics such as salt dough crabs and collage mermaid when looking at holidays and a whole group dragon for Chinese New Year. They are encouraged to experiment with colours and use a variety of items to design and pattern and independently access craft material if they wish. Children play imaginatively in role play corners and using the dressing up costumes. They respond and express ideas and share feelings during free play and when talking to each other and staff. Children enjoy singing rhymes and songs and are able to develop their understanding of music and musical instruments with activities such as a parent coming in to talk to the children about the violin and demonstrate it to them.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are valued and respected as individuals and are fully included in the life of the setting. Staff are able to support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and who speak English as an additional language.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children enjoy activities and resources which promote a positive view of the wider world. They celebrate festivals, for example, Chinese New Year, Divali, Easter and Christmas and have access

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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 to resources such as jigsaws, dolls and a variety of books. This increases their awareness of diversity and their understanding of others. Children are valued and respected as individuals and are fully included in the life of the setting. The nursery understands their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act. However, although children are able to receive appropriate support, staff's knowledge and understanding of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities has not been fully developed.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff deal with behaviour consistently that is appropriate to the child's level of understanding and maturity. Children learn to share, take turns and consider others. They receive regular reassurance, praise and encouragement which promotes their confidence and self-esteem. This positive approach fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents are provided with information through a very comprehensive prospectus and notice boards. Policies are included in the Prospectus and also the Complaints Policy and there is a comprehensive Complaints Log. All of which ensures that parents are aware of the ethos of the nursery. Staff ensure that all parents are aware of how their children are progressing towards the early learning goals by sharing assessments and comments on a regular basis either through discussion or at parents' evenings. Parents are given information about the planning of activities and are encouraged to make their own comments through a suggestion box in the front entrance. They are given daily verbal feedback about what the children have been doing. Parents are encouraged to come in and join in social events, play sessions or share a particular skill or expertise with the children. All

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Helping children make a positive contribution

of which contributes to the consistency of care for the children.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children benefit from the effective organisation of the space and resources both indoors and outside so that they can make choices and develop their ideas as they play. They benefit from the good staff to child ratios as can be seen through the good supervision and interaction. Staff support children well during activities and allow them time and space to initiate their play. The premises are purpose built, safe and secure. Resources and equipment are well-organised to promote children's safety, welfare and development. Staff continue to update their training to improve and develop their work with the children.

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Organisation

Children's care and welfare are safeguarded by clear and well-maintained documentation and a comprehensive Operational Plan which shows clearly how the nursery operates. However, staff are not fully aware of the significant events or changes to be reported to the regulating authority. Policies and procedures ensure staff are clear about their responsibilities and parents are aware of the nursery's ethos.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the setting is good. There are clear recruitment and induction procedures with a mandatory comprehensive initial training programme, for example, healthy and safety, child protection and infant feeding. Staff have six monthly appraisals which include self-assessment. They work well together as a strong and committed team with clear staff roles and very good support from the Senior Management Team. All staff are encouraged to attend courses to update their training. Overall the needs of the children are met.

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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 At the last inspection the nursery was asked to continue to monitor staffing to ensure that required ratios are met at all times, particularly at the end of the day. The nursery has made significant changes in staffing to ensure that ratios are always met. For example, the administrator's hours have been changed to 8:00 to 16:30 and more staff have had first aid training. Further all room co-ordinators are now aware that they would be expected to stay late if there were any staffing problems.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the nursery was asked to develop staff's knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage, continue to develop the planning, observation and assessment systems and to ensure there were appropriate challenges set for more able children. Further they were asked to develop the programme for knowledge and understanding of the world. Childbase has its own curriculum, however, the planning is linked to the Foundation Stage which staff now have a clear understanding of. Planning is done at Head office although there are clear observations and photos relating to children's learning and staff are developing a system for assessment and for challenging more able children. Children now celebrate a variety of festivals and go out into the community. They also have access to a good variety of toys and resources.

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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 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): • continue to develop knowledge and understanding of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities • continue to develop staffs' knowledge and understanding of the significant events or changes which should be notified to Ofsted

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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 • further develop the evaluation of activities to ascertain whether children have learnt what was intended, in order to plan next steps, to build on what children know and can do.

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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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