Kirkby Day Nursery

Kirkby Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY286889 Unique Reference Number 19 March 2008 Inspection date Margaret Patricia Mellor Inspector

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c/o David Lloyd Leisure Club, Arbour Lane Kirkby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L33 7ET

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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.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Kirkby Day Nursery opened in 2000 and was re-registered in 2004. It is based in the David Lloyd Leisure Centre in Kirkby, Liverpool and is one of 112 settings run by Asquith Nurseries Limited. Children use four playrooms for their care and activities. There is a secure, fully enclosed garden for children's outdoor play. It primarily serves families living in the local and wider communities within Kirkby.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is registered to provide care for a maximum of 67 children aged under five years, and the crèche for eight children aged under eight years at any one time. They provide an all year round service with the exception of bank holidays and a short closure over the Christmas period. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 07.30 to 18.00. There are 53 children on roll aged from 10 months to four years, of these, 13 children receive funding for nursery education. The crèche is open Monday to Friday from 09.00 to 17.00 and places are pre-booked. It supports children with learning difficulties or disabilities, and children who have English as a second 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 setting employs 14 staff to work with the children, of whom 10 are employed part time and eight have a relevant child care qualification. Support services are employed for preparing the children's meals, maintenance and cleaning. Staff receive support from the Knowsley Sure Start and an early years teacher advisor. They are a member of the National day Nursery Association. They have a quality counts award.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children's interest in a healthy lifestyle is promoted generally well. They enjoy a range of healthy food options freshly prepared by the leisure centre caterers. The menu has been carefully planned with the support of a dietician. The lunch is particularly wholesome and served in ample portions, therefore children are well nourished. They relish fresh fruits everyday, and have plenty of fun during testing sessions, comparing the different tastes and textures. Children have regular drinks, and toddlers develop their coordination as they drink from a feeder type cup. Drinking water, however, is not freely available to children at all times during the day.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children love to be active. They respond with enthusiasm when climbing, hopping, skipping, balancing on crates and doing stretching exercises. Younger children show plenty of curiosity and have fun as they freely explore their environment. There are lots of chuckles as they crawl, push wheeled toys and climb or roll over on the soft play. Children's fine motor skills are encouraged through fun, play and learning experiences. They relish doing puzzles, cutting with different patterned scissors, mark making, threading beads and eating finger type foods.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's health is safeguarded generally well. Younger children begin to learn about simple personal hygiene through their daily routine, and learn how to blow noses with a little adult support. Staff take time to explain why being hygienic is important, and older more-able children confidently talk about how washing hands helps to get rid of the germs. Staff, themselves, have a sound understanding of health care issues, for instance, nappy changing. However, it is unclear whether children's crockery kept in the laundry room at various times during the day meets with the relevant health regulations.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff act in children's best interests when they are ill, which is well supported by the detailed sick child and medication policies. They help to protect children from the harmful rays of the sun, ensuring that they use sun creams, wear hats and play in the shade on hot days. There are effective procedures for communicating individual dietary needs, therefore parents' wishes are respected and children remain healthy. All but one of the staff team have a relevant first aid certificate and the first aid boxes are kept fully stocked, therefore children's accidents are dealt with appropriately.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children move freely and with confidence in nursery. The play rooms afford plenty of space and natural light. All the necessary safety equipment is in place and effective procedures for checking the fire equipment and portable appliances. Access to the premises is vigilantly monitored by staff, supported by an intercom system, panic buttons and effective procedures for the collection of children in an emergency. Staff carry out a daily visual premises check to effectively address any areas of concern. The outdoor area is secure affording children a variety

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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 of safe challenges on the portable toys and larger play equipment in the secure outdoor play area. There are well written procedures for keeping them safe and well, whilst enjoying outings. Therefore, the risk of children accidentally injuring themselves is minimised.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children freely and safely access the activities. The age appropriate toys available for children to play with provide appropriate challenges, whilst stimulating enjoyment. Babies crawl over toys to seek out what they want to play with, whilst older more-able children develop independence. They confidently choose play materials that interest them from the trays, tables and toy boxes at child height. They relax in comfort with their friends because the furniture is suitable for their needs. Children remain safe because staff follow appropriate health and safety procedures so that the resources are maintained well.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's awareness of personal safety is fostered and encouraged. They regularly practice the emergency evacuation procedure and learn, for instance, what to do in the event of a fire. They build on their awareness through discussion and planned activities. They relish visits from the community police and during road safety week practice crossing roads with props they make. Children's well-being is further assured because staff are close at hand to record sleep checks on them. There is a designated child protection co-ordinator who has accessed safeguarding training. They have a detailed child protection policy and a copy of the local procedures should they wish to report a concern, making the well-being of children in their care a priority.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children have an enjoyable time in nursery. Staff are using the 'Birth to three matters' framework to support children's development. They loosely plan a varied and flexible range of activities around children's interests, helping them to make progress in their all-round development. They are beginning to use jottings to record observations and monitor children's progress. They are keeping individual learning journals, containing pictures they paint or draw and photographs, with captions of how this is supporting their development.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are busy and involved in their play. They happily choose whether paint, play with the small world toys or sit at tables to join in picture games. They play imaginatively in the role play area. They begin to explore using their senses. They taste different fruits, listen to music and respond gleefully when feeling the soapy sand on their hands or the different textures in the treasure baskets. They discuss the smell and texture of the cake mixture, both before and after it is cooked. Children sit and concentrate to complete tasks, for example, putting simple puzzles together or building a tower with blocks.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are happy and relaxed, promoting their personal, social and emotional development. Younger children gain confidence as they begin to play sociably alongside one another and with each other whilst staff are close at hand for reassurance. They relish staff's close contact as they play with the toys or show signs of tiredness. Children show a sound awareness of how to behave.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Younger children begin to develop a sense of 'Me, Myself and I'. Babies smile at their reflection in the mirror, chuckle as they shake the toys that make sounds and love to explore objects with their mouth. Toddlers are developing their awareness of their physical needs, for instance, feeding themselves. They enjoy singing rhymes and eagerly join in with the actions. They move their hands and feet in time with the music. Children love to look at picture books and listen

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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 to stories with interest. They begin to link words and ask questions, for instance, 'why' or 'what's that'.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of the teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff have a sound understanding about how children learn, the Foundation Stage and six areas of learning. They plan and provide a range of activities around children's interests, which stimulate their enjoyment. They evaluate to monitor the learning outcomes and are using observation to assess the children's progress. They keep individual learning journals and have introduced development records but these are not fully used to track children's development through the stepping stones and effectively identify the next steps in their learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are supported in small groups and staff are keen to motivate their learning. They judge when to become actively involved and when to allow children to independently explore. During group activities, staff give clear and concise instructions. They explain how many spoons of flour are needed to make the cakes, and the rules of the game when matching pictures. Staff show a keen interest in what children do and say. They ask children about their painting and what they make with play dough.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are happy, interested and involved in their activities, relating well to each other and adults. They demonstrate appropriate levels of independence for their level of maturity. Children self register as they arrive, put their coats on before playing out and serve their own lunch with a little adult support. They concentrate, persisting in tasks to achieve outcomes, for example, building with blocks. Children begin to develop their mathematical skills. They learn to problem solve as they match colours or shapes and sequence size, although the puzzles do not provide appropriate challenges for more-able children. They confidently count to 10 or more when building with blocks. Staff begin to consolidate children's learning with rhythmic activities but there are few numerals displayed in the environment or opportunities for children to attempt simple calculation in every day activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's curiosity and investigation skills are promoted generally well. They show an interest in what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel. They plant bulbs and learn that they need sun, soil, light and water to grow. They learn about the different insects living under the soil as they dig for bugs. They extend their learning when the zoo lab visits and have plenty of fun as they make spiders or snakes with their parents on fun days. Children spontaneously explore and observe natural or made objects in the environment with magnifying glasses. They delight in playing with the telephone or calculators but the computer is broken and there are few other programmable toys, therefore their awareness of technology is not fully promoted.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's communication, language and literacy skills are promoted generally well. They have many opportunities to practise their writing skills and mark making, with free access to a variety of writing materials and paper. Many of the children hold their name card the right way up and recognise their own name and the names of others. They eagerly sing rhyming songs and join in discussions at story or circle times. They chat fondly with adults about their home life and past or present events. Children begin to learn that print carries meaning through displayed words and captions but they do not have free access to many books for enjoyment.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's creative skills are nurtured and encouraged. They make models out of recyclable materials, crayon, free paint at the easel and respond with gusto when playing in the jelly, sand or water. They have plenty of fun as they engage in imaginative play acting out first hand

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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 experiences in the role play area. They are proud of their achievements, which they eagerly share with others. Children happily show adults their paintings, fostering their self-esteem.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children attend from different family backgrounds and activities are non-gender specific. There is a named coordinator for special education needs. They regularly attend training events, such as 'Maketon'. They work in partnership with parents and other professionals, helping to meet all the children's needs. Older more-able children begin to develop positive attitudes towards others. They play with different nationality dolls, small world toys, do puzzles and look at books. They learn about their own and other cultures. They celebrate birthdays, Easter, Diwali and have fun making lanterns for Chinese New Year. However, multi-cultural resources are not fully incorporated into the range of play materials, and younger children are provided few opportunities to develop their awareness of others cultures.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's self-esteem is nurtured in a positive atmosphere, where they are encouraged to feel good about themselves. Staff are attentive, reinforcing children's good behaviour through constant praise. They encourage children to express their interests, talk about what they are doing and to play with the toys. Children begin to develop their social skills as they learn what is expected of them. They are courteous and spontaneously say 'please' or 'thank you' at mealtimes. Younger children begin to develop the concept of sharing, whilst older more-able children are supportive of one another as they willingly take turns. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are happy and content in nursery. Staff work closely with parents to understand children's individual needs, preferences and home routines. Parents are provided with a hand book about the activities as part of the enrolment procedures. There is ongoing sharing of information about the children. Staff take time to write in the under three's day diary and chat to parents as they arrive. Newsletters keep them up to date with developments, and questionnaires welcome their comments, reassuring them that children's interests come first. Parents say that they are very happy and satisfied with their children's care, diet, play and catch up sessions with staff. Children's continuity and the quality of care offered is fostered through this meaningful relationship between home and nursery.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers of the nursery education is good. Parents are provided with written information about the Foundation Stage and early learning goals, which are also discussed informally. They can look at their children's learning journals at any time, and talk enthusiastically about the regular open days for reviewing their child's progress. Parents are particularly pleased with opportunities to contribute to children's observation records, and fun days when they support their learning about 'mini beasts'.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children are cared for in a safe and comfortable environment. There are well written policies, which are understood by staff and work well in practice. There are rigorous systems for the recruitment, induction and supervision of adults who care for the children. There is written confirmation that staff are vetted and effective procedures so that non-vetted persons are not left unattended with children. Staff have accessed training, such as first aid and safeguarding, which also helps to provide an effective service for children. All the necessary regulatory daily

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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 documentation is maintained well, stored with regard for confidentiality and made available for inspection.

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Organisation

Children benefit from good adult support through the experience of an established staff team. They are cared for in four age related groups and all children have a named key-worker, contributing to their happiness and sense of security. Staffing ratios afford children appropriate levels of individual or small group support, helping to meet all their needs. The environment is creatively organised by staff allowing for both active play and relaxation. Children gain confidence and have plenty of fun pursuing activities that appeal to them with their friends. The garden area is still being developed, therefore, opportunities for children's continuous play is not yet fully promoted.

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management of the nursery education is satisfactory. The manager and staff work well together and this is reflected in the children's happiness, confidence and sense of belonging. There is a clear commitment to improving the care and education for all children. The manager organises regular room and staff meetings, which help staff share ideas. Staff are supported by an early years teacher. They have access to resources materials and training. The quality of care and learning offered is fostered through the regular sharing of information with parents.

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Organisation

Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the previous inspection two recommendations were raised to meet the National Standards and improve the quality of care. These referred to organisation. They have reviewed the staff induction programme to cover child protection in the first week of employment, and provided parents with information about the child protection procedures. Therefore, safeguarding children and improving the quality of care offered.

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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 complaint record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are satisfactory. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND 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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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): • make drinking water freely available to children, and take advice on the storage of children's crockery • improve the range of resources that promote children's awareness of diversity, and activities for children aged under three years to develop their awareness of others cultures • continue to develop the children's outdoor play area.

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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): • continue to develop methods for charting children's progress to ensure they link to the stepping stones and can be used effectively to identify the next steps in children's learning • improve the range of books, puzzles, and programmable resources and technology to extend children's learning opportunities • improve the opportunities for children to recognise numerals in the environment, and attempt simple calculation in every day activities.

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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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