Tiddlywinks Day Nursery

Tiddlywinks Day Nursery Limited Inspection report for early years provision

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EY345251 Unique Reference Number 09 July 2007 Inspection date Jannet Mary Richards Inspector

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160 Victoria Avenue, Blackley, Manchester, Lancashire, M9 0RN Setting Address

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0161 7954689 Telephone number Tiddlywinks/nursery@btconnect.com E-mail Tiddlywinks Day Nursery 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?

Tiddlywinks Day Nursery is one of two nurseries operated by Tiddlywinks Day Nursery Limited. The nursery opened in April 2007 and operates from four rooms within Higher Blackley Children's Centre. It is situated in a residential area of Blackley, North Manchester. The nursery is open each weekday from 07.30 to 18.30 for 51 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 37 children on roll. Of these, five children are in receipt of nursery education funding. There are no children currently attending who have a disability or learning difficulty. There are no children currently attending who have English as an additional language. The nursery employs 13 staff. All of the staff 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 good. Children are cared for in a clean environment where effective measures are used to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. The children use individual face cloths, liquid soap and paper towels, for example, and learn about the importance of good personal hygiene as the staff discuss this with them. The routine of hand washing is encouraged from an early age so that children begin to develop good personal hygiene routines. The younger toddlers, for example, are encouraged to wash their hands following a nappy change. The staff usually wear aprons and gloves to change nappies, though occasionally the procedures for nappy change and hand washing are not followed fully which is less effective in minimising the risk of the spread of infection.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit from a very healthy diet. The nutritious meals are prepared on the premises using fresh produce. The menus provide the children with opportunities to sample a wide variety of tastes and textures. They include options such as Spanish vegetable paella and homemade cheese and onion pie. The children have many healthy choices. At morning and afternoon snack they are provided with a variety of different healthy foods and staff respond positively to specific requests from individual children. Children's individual dietary needs, stages of weaning and preferences are accommodated very well. Meal and snack times are relaxed occasions, in line with the nursery's 'happy eating' policy. Children develop very good self-help skills as the babies are encouraged to learn to feed themselves and older children are able to serve themselves at meal times.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children play outdoors every day, providing them with opportunities for fresh air and exercise to promote their good health. The children benefit from being able to choose between indoor and outdoor play and are able to play outdoors in most weather conditions.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The entrance to the nursery is arranged to provide an especially welcoming environment for the children. There are good quality displays of children's photographs and art work, with tactile displays for children to explore. Gentle music is played and a light machine creates visual effects. These aspects together create a very calming sensory experience as children walk in through the entrance door. The nursery rooms are well organised for care and learning. Children use a range of good quality toys, furniture and equipment. The toys and books are placed where they can reach them easily, allowing the children to select what they play with. The staff are skilled at observing how the children use the play environment and then modifying the arrangements of furniture and storage units. This allows the children to move around the different areas and get the full benefit from their play.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The play environment is generally safe for the children, though storage arrangements for some cleaning fluids and the accessibility of some small objects pose possible hazards for the children. The staff keep the children safe by supervising them well at all times. In addition, there are detailed risk assessments in place which identify most risks and appropriate action to minimise these. The staff have a good awareness of child protection issues and procedures in order to safeguard the welfare of any children they may care for. Safeguarding children is given priority and all staff attend training to ensure that they are knowledgeable about this subject.

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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 good. Children settle very well in the nursery due to the very effective gradual settling in procedures. These are adapted for each individual child to enable them to build up the time they spend at the nursery, until they are settled and happy. They are allocated a key carer who is responsible for their care and welfare on a daily basis. This allows the children to develop positive relationships with their carer and helps them to feel secure and happy. The staff get to know the children very well indeed, they are familiar with their individual characteristics and meet their needs very well. The staff and children clearly enjoy the time they spend together. Children are given individual time and attention. Babies enjoy interacting with their carers, who talk to the children and echo their attempts at communication in order that the children can become skilful communicators.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The younger children enjoy an interesting and appropriate range of activities planned on their daily life experiences and interests, which encourage their development very well. They enjoy group music and singing sessions, for example, as an opportunity to interact and be with others. They explore shredded paper, baked beans, paint and other tactile media in order to develop their exploration and learning skills. They learn how to wash their hands in order to become aware of their health needs. The staff observe the children closely, take photographs of them at play and use their observations to plan for the next steps in their development. They record their observations in the form of a 'learning journey' which is shared with parents and carers.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The older children who attend the out of school club also enjoy a good range of activities. They are well consulted. They help to make decisions about equipment purchases and activities they enjoy. The children enjoy attending the club, they appreciate the relaxed atmosphere and emphasis on play and enjoyment.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children make very many choices, they are able to develop their play ideas and direct their own learning experiences. They can access a good range of toys and resources to use in their play. They benefit from being able to return to unfinished activities. The children are confident, interested and are developing a positive approach to learning. During the daily routines and play the children count often and develop a good awareness of mathematical concepts, such as shape and size. They count the pieces of crumpet at snack time, for example, and recognise that two halves make a whole crumpet. As they set a table at lunchtime, they learn that they need more than three plates for the number of places at the table. At circle time they throw a dice and clap or hop to the corresponding number of spots on the dice.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children develop good communication and early literacy skills as they listen to stories and recall their favourite story. They can access a good range of books in a comfortable and inviting book area. They have many varied and interesting opportunities to make marks, using paint, chalks and other media. They have fewer opportunities to learn that we write for a purpose. The children enjoy some very exciting opportunities to develop their thoughts and ideas using creative media. They explore and develop their ideas using clay, fabrics and a wide range of different media. They are interested and curious to find out what happens when they place different objects on a projector, which projects the images on to a fabric sheet. Exploration and investigation is a very evident and strong feature of the children's learning within the

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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 nursery. They find out what happens when they mix sand and water together to make 'mud'. They dig in the soil in order to look for insects. They plant seeds and observe how they grow.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

As they play the children use tools and equipment, such as scissors and pencils, which help to develop their fine motor skills and coordination. This is developed further as the children are able to pour their own drinks and serve their own food at meal times. The children enjoy a good range of activities to develop large motor skills, such as balance and coordination, though there are limited opportunities for them to climb.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff support the children well as they play, they talk to them about what they are doing and ask questions to encourage their thinking. They organise the resources very well to support the children's learning and offer them good quality choices. They observe the children, know their abilities and are able to challenge them at a level which is appropriate for their understanding. The staff have not yet developed the planning and assessment systems fully to identify what children are intended to learn from focussed activities and chart their progress in each area of learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children behave well in the nursery as the staff manage any unwanted behaviour very effectively. They encourage positive behaviour as they praise and encourage the children often. They talk to the children with kindness and respect. In response, the children learn about acceptable behaviour. The children learn to respect each other and value differences. They play with a good range of toys and books which have positive images of race, culture, gender and disability. Their knowledge is enhanced when they take part in activities linked to different cultural festivals. Through this very positive approach, the children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The staff work well in partnership with parents and carers to ensure that children's individual needs are well met. At the time of admission they discuss the children's routines, preferences and characteristics with parents in order that they can accommodate these in the nursery. The staff have experience and a good understanding of how to support children with a disability or learning difficulty. Parents and carers are very well informed and consulted. During the regular meetings with parents they are invited to share their ideas for menu provision. Partnership with parents and carers of children in receipt of nursery education funding is good. Parents are invited to contribute what they know about their children to their 'learning journey'. The staff provide them with ideas of activities to do at home to encourage the children to learn through play. This effective partnership contributes to the good progress which the children

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The good organisation of the nursery ensures that children receive good quality care and education. There are very effective procedures in place for the employment of staff which ensures that staff are suitable to care for the children. Once employed the staff undertake a rigorous induction procedure which allows them to become familiar with the nursery procedures and policies. There are very effective communication systems, such as diaries and regular staff meetings during which staff are encouraged to share their ideas and views. Since opening the

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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 nursery the committed and hard working staff team have worked very hard to put policies and procedures in place and provide a child-centred and stimulating environment for the children.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the nursery education are good. The nursery staff, managers and teacher all work very well together to provide good quality educational experiences for the children. The staff attend training on a regular basis which ensures that they have a good knowledge and are able to support and challenge the children well. In the short space of time since the nursery has been operating they have worked well to create a stimulating learning environment for the children.

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Organisation

The documentation relating to the care of the children is very well maintained. There are comprehensive policies and procedures in place which are reviewed very regularly to ensure that they reflect the day to day childcare practice.

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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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Complaints since the last inspection

Since registration 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): • ensure that staff follow hygiene procedures at all times in relation to hand washing and nappy changing, in order to further minimise the risk of the spread of infection • devise and implement a risk assessment relating to storage of cleaning fluids and accessibility of small objects.

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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 • continue to develop the planning and assessment procedures, to ensure greater clarity about children's progress along the stepping stones and planning for the next steps in their progress.

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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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