Noahs Ark Nursery and Out of school Care

Noah's Ark Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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208238 Unique Reference Number 11 October 2007 Inspection date Linda Tomkins Inspector

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Noah's Ark Nursery, Newport Infants School,Granville Ave, Newport, Shropshire, TF10 7DX

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E-mail

The Trustees of Noah's Ark 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 good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Noah's Ark Nursery and Out of School Club opened in 2000 and is located in the grounds of Newport Infants School, in Newport, Shropshire. The nursery occupies part of the school building and maintains strong links with the school. A maximum of 56 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08.00 to 18.00 during school term times. All children share access to secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 120 children aged from three to 14 years on roll. Of these, 51 children receive funding for early education. Children come from the Newport area. The nursery currently supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and also currently supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs 11 members of staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications and four are working towards an advanced qualification.

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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 learn the importance of personal hygiene through planned routines and specific adult-led activities. They know they have to wash their hands before food and after using the toilet. Children said 'you have to wash your hands, so you get the germs off, they make you ill'. Staff follow effective procedures, such as routinely cleaning the tables with anti-bacterial spray before food and practising the clear procedures for managing sick and infectious children to prevent the spread of infection. However, staff do not always ensure that food hygiene guidance is followed when serving snack food to children. This has the potential to expose the children to cross-contamination.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit from a healthy diet, they have a variety of balanced snacks and meals, such as cereal, toast and fresh fruit. Parents of the nursery children can choose to provide a packed lunch or a cooked school meal. Fresh water is freely available throughout the day from a jug and cups positioned at a low level. In addition, children are offered milk and juice at snack and mealtimes. Staff ensure all individual dietary and health requirements are recorded on children's individual record forms. This helps to ensure children remain healthy.

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Helping children to be healthy

All children have frequent regular opportunities for play and activities in the outside area during the day. They make posters and collages to broaden their understanding and promote a healthy lifestyle.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children use an extensive range of safe developmentally appropriate resources. These are well maintained and presented by staff to enable children to choose from the varied range stored at low-level. Staff consistently explain safe practices to the nursery children, such as forming a crocodile line and holding hands when walking along school corridors to the school hall. Children in the out of school club said 'you have to wait for your mum or dad to collect you, you can't just go home'. Children are taught how to keep safe.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The outside play area is secure and provides children with safe space. The area is accessed by doors in the two playrooms and children have free access and choice of activities when outside. Risk assessments and premises checks are undertaken regularly to maintain the safety and security of the nursery.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff ensure they maintain an accurate record of children's and visitors' attendance. Children are cared for in an organised environment where risks are limited through effective procedures including restricted access to the nursery at all times with a locked entrance door. Fire fighting equipment is well maintained and children practise fire drills regularly. This means that children will be safe in an emergency situation.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected by staff who have a good understanding of child protection issues and follow the correct procedures to record existing injuries and report concerns to the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

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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 are happy and settled in the out of school club's welcoming, caring environment. They have positive relationships with staff and each other. Children are absorbed in their play using resources, such as computer games, farm animals, construction bricks and art materials suitable to their age and stages of development. Staff are actively involved with the children, for example, staff sit with the children and join in with board games and general conversations.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children attend from the infant school and the local junior and senior schools. Young people up to the age of fourteen still choose to attend the club and mix companionably with the younger children. Staff ensure the children are appropriately grouped according to their likes and dislikes particularly during physical play in the extensive outside area. The club has a strong family approach, brothers and sisters attend together and create good links between the older school children and nursery children. The nursery children are excited and anxious to 'go up' to the next room or transfer into school.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff and children work together to plan a range of stimulating and appropriate activities for all children. The children's social and personal skills are particularly well developed by staff through constant conversation, questions and individual attention. Staff encourage the children to have a sense of ownership and to play an active part in the operation of their club. Children said 'we like all the toys but especially the farm, drawing and inter-active white board'.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff use effective methods to maintain the nursery children's interest. Plans are flexible and allow staff to spend the majority of their time working directly with the children and asking understandable questions. For example ' how does the magic soil feel?'. When the children are grouped together at story time all children are effectively challenged to extend their intellectual development as staff allow time for children to think and respond.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. The staff team have developed their knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage and plan and provide a varied range of activities under each area of learning. The learning intention is detailed and recorded and relates to the stepping stones and early learning goals so that all aspects are covered. Staff have developed their practice of recording observations on the children's progress and the development records clearly show children's attitude to learning to provide a complete picture of achievements and progress over time. This enables staff to make accurate progress reports to parents.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff record the next steps for each child's level of future development and the evaluation of activities and teaching methods are fully developed to show the impact of planned activities and daily routines on the children and used to inform future planning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are clear about the purpose of planned activities because staff clearly explain and show children how to use resources. Children frequently join in with their own ideas and home experiences. Development is good in all six areas of learning but particularly in the areas of personal, social and emotional development because staff frequently engage the children in one to one conversations and encourage children to express themselves in variety of ways.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Behaviour is well managed by consistent methods. For example, children are encouraged to understand the behaviour boundaries and respond to staff with 'please' and 'thank you' and praise each other's achievements. This results in an ordered caring environment for children.

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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 settled and show a sense of belonging and are motivated to learn. They are friendly and confident to speak in a familiar group. Children behave well and show care and concern for each other. For example, older children help younger children to make the train track and prompt each other to help tidy-up. They are encouraged to develop their personal independence by managing their clothing when visiting the toilets. However, daily routine opportunities, such as mealtimes are not planned to encourage children to lay the table and serve their own food to develop further.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Younger children make recognisable marks on paper and recognise labels of their own names and resources whilst older children have progressed to competently write their own names. They have very well developed skills to speak clearly and express their choices and opinions. They tell each other stories as they look at pictures in books that are well known to them. Children use a variety of writing materials and mediums, such as clip boards whilst outside and using the shaving foam spread on tables to draw and write their names.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children explore and investigate as they use the 'magic soil' to plant and grow daffodils. They discover wildlife as they go pond-dipping for frogs. Children discover the natural world with topics and art work and visit the school to join in with Harvest Festival. Children use everyday technology and computers to play matching games and use 'real' telephones, cash registers and programmable musical toys. They widen their understanding of their own cultures and beliefs and those of other people with activitiessuch as tasting fruit from around the world and looking at the map of the world.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing an understanding and meaningfully using numbers. They are progressing with problem solving using addition and comparisons with mathematical language whilst counting how many boys and girls in the group. Children experience weighing and measuring with water and sand during free-play. They demonstrate that they have a good understanding of shape as they point to a circle, square and triangle on their collage pictures.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have regular planned periods of play in the adjoining outside areas. They routinely use large physical equipment to travel around, under, over and through balancing and climbing equipment to develop their physical skills in the school adventure playground and on the school's gymnasium equipment in the hall. Children discuss their health and bodily awareness and the effects of different types of weather. For example, they say 'today is sunny and cloudy, we don't need our coats'. Children use small tools and construction materials with increasing control.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children express themselves through creative activities and role play. For example, playing on bicycles outside and stopping at the play house to collect their builder's hats and saying 'I'm off to work now' as they pedalled away. Children know and identify colours as they choose coloured paper and sequins to make their hats. Children play rhythmically with musical instruments and sing songs, such as 'Oats and beans and barley grow'. They dance and move with staff to recorded music linked to a music and movement system.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children celebrate other nations festivals, such as Chinese New Year by making dragons and food tasting. They enjoy visits from the local authority's multi-cultural team who supply resources with positive images of minority groups. This helps to increase their knowledge of the wider

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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 world and raises children's awareness of diversity in their community and develops a positive attitude to others. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children enjoy close relationships with the staff and each other. They are valued and respected as individuals, their confidence and self-esteem is developed by staff with use of praise and encouragement on arrival and during their play throughout the day. There are strong family links within the setting. Staff positively encourage brothers and sisters to support each other. For example, the nursery children wave excitedly at the older children as they visit the school hall at lunchtime.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave well, they take turns, share and remember to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Staff encourage the children to help tidy the toys away, they teach the children how to return toys to the correct container. Children are enthusiastic and take a pride in helping and staff reward them with stickers and clapping. Older children in the out of school club help to compile their rules and respond positively to the 'three strikes and you're out' rule, mainly reserved for rare examples of extremes of behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The nursery operates on the ground floor. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and specific language requirements are fully included and supported because senior staff have formulated a system to offer appropriate support and ensure the policies and procedures promote inclusion for all children. Staff work closely with fellow professionals and parents and undertake training in a sign-language system to extend and improve communication methods.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

All children benefit from the positive partnership staff have developed with parents and carers. The individual routines and preferences are discussed and recorded which means that staff are aware of all the children's care needs. Children settle well because staff work closely with parents.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers of children in receipt of early education is good. They are made aware of how the setting operates in a detailed prospectus. They are informed of topics and operational changes verbally, in regular newsletters and from written notices on the white board in the entrance area. However, staff have not yet developed a routine for parents and carers to have more detailed information on suggested activities to continue at home to further involve them in their children's education. Written development records and art files are freely available to parents at all times and at regular Parent's evenings for them to track the progress of their children. Children's health and dietary needs are discussed and recorded. Verbal exchange of progress and daily written food diaries keep parents informed of their child's well-being and progress.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children's records and staff details are stored securely and available for inspection. Staff attend training on a rolling programme and are continually increasing their understanding of children's development and knowledge of appropriate activities. Staff are experienced and knowledgeable and ensure children's individual needs are met.

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Organisation

There have been some recent changes to the management of the setting and all policies and procedures have been reviewed. The registered person has robust recruitment methods to ensure staff are appropriately checked, vetted and qualified. Senior staff are developing efficient systems to ensure the continued suitability of staff to work with children.

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The leadership and management of early education is good. The staff team regularly attend network training on the Foundation Stage to increase their knowledge of the stepping stones and the early learning goals. Staff are confident and have established their own methods and evaluations. Staff are supported by the school teaching staff and a visiting development advisor who provides examples of practice and record keeping to further develop their knowledge and understanding of planning and how children learn. Children in receipt of funding for early education are steadily achieving and progressing because the teaching methods are effective.

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Organisation

The policies and procedures work in practice to keep children healthy and safeguard their welfare. There are clear systems in place for recording accidents, medication and children's attendance. All documentation is meticulously maintained, up to date and regularly reviewed to reflect the progressive improvement of the operational practice. The staff team work well together to plan and provide all children with exciting innovative experiences to enhance their development and progress. Overall, children's needs are met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the nursery was asked to: ensure that all children's individual needs and differences are acknowledged and accommodated within the daily routine; and to ensure that children have access to drinks that are healthy and nutritious. In addition the nursery was asked to address safety aspects concerning lost and uncollected children, trailing leads and lighting.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The staff and registered person have ensured that clear written records are made of all children's individual needs at the time of placement and regularly reviewed with parents and key workers. Children have access to appropriate drinks and all safety aspects and policies are now in place.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last early education inspection the nursery was asked to consider the following key issues: develop and improve the use of available resources within the routine, specifically the availability of information technology and programmable toys, resources to support early writing skills in free play and imaginative use of the outdoor area to support children's learning in all areas of development; to continue to increase the opportunities for children to make independent choices about what they want to do within child-initiated times ;and to develop and use appropriate methods, resources and techniques to help children with English as an additional language to progress well.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The nursery has undergone a change of management and evaluated and reviewed methods of teaching and learning to address the key issues from the last inspection. This has ensured that the quality of all six areas of early education is now of a good standard.

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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 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 food hygiene guidelines are followed by all staff when serving snacks.

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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): • review and implement opportunities for children to further develop their personal independence • develop procedures to further involve parents in their children's learning.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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