The Carlton Day Nursery

Carlton Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY264343 Unique Reference Number 13 November 2007 Inspection date Gill Ogden Inspector

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The Carlton Centre, Outer Circle Road, Lincoln, LN2 4WA Setting Address

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E-mail

For Under Fives Ltd Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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E-mail

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

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

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

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Carlton Day Nursery is one of a number of nurseries belonging to For Under Fives Ltd. It opened at the beginning of 2004 and operates from purpose-built premises that are situated in a new, mixed residential and retail complex in Lincoln city. It is a single storey building and has a secure outdoor play area. A maximum of 64 children may attend the nursery at any one time. It is open from 07:30 to 18:00 each weekday throughout the year. The nursery serves families who live and work in the local area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 94 children aged between birth and eight years on roll. Of these, 24 children receive funding for early education. The nursery supports children who have English as an additional language and is able to accommodate those who may have learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

All of the twenty staff who work with the children hold appropriate early years qualifications and some are upgrading theirs, including one who is working towards Early Years Professional Status. For Under Fives Ltd has Investors in People status and the nursery is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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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's good health is given high priority. Staff make very effort to minimise opportunities for cross-infection especially when they are aware that infectious illnesses are around. For example, hand wash gel is available for use in each room and each area within the baby room when staff are unable to use water to wash their hands easily. Also, the wearing of outdoor shoes in the premises is limited. Plenty of information is available for parents so that they are fully aware of exclusion periods for different illnesses. Robust recording systems support health and hygiene procedures. Children learn about keeping themselves healthy through, for example, appropriate hand washing after using the toilet and knowing where to get a tissue when they need to wipe their noses. The youngest children learn to wash their hands and faces after eating by using a clean face cloth which is put for laundering immediately after use. Children learn

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Helping children to be healthy

about health issues, such as the importance of cleaning their teeth, through discussion and topic work.

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Helping children to be healthy

All the children except the under-twos, have regular access to fresh air and exercise in the nursery garden as well as going for walks to the park and shops. Older children’s whole body development is promoted because, for example, they enjoy riding and manoeuvring tricycles, bouncing on space hoppers, playing ball games and climbing and balancing. Babies have plenty of room to learn to roll, crawl and walk and are well encouraged and supported by staff to do so. Babies sleep according to their individual needs and provision is made for two-year-olds to have a nap, usually after lunch.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a varied diet of nourishing food. If children want breakfast they have cereals provided or bring items from home. Babies enjoy a toast snack fairly early in the day and snacks for others include fresh and dried fruit. Casseroles, roasts and bakes are regularly on the lunch menu and quorn is sometimes used as the protein content of meals which helps when providing for vegetarian diets. Freshly cooked and frozen vegetables are often pureed for children who are weaning. All foodstuffs are stored appropriately. Some parents choose to provide meals themselves for their children and this is accommodated well.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in safe and secure premises that are in a good state of repair and are bright and appropriately decorated. Access to the building is restricted through a buzzer entry system into the foyer and a further one into the main building and a CCT camera also shows who is at the door. Thorough risk assessment procedures are carried out and regularly updated in line with accidents and incidents that may have occurred. Most rooms have low windows so that children can see the outdoors and these are all fitted with safety glass. All the necessary safety equipment is in place and checked regularly, such as fire extinguishers. All toys and play equipment are suitable for their purpose and baby furniture such as cots and high chairs are good quality.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children learn to keep themselves safe in a variety of ways. For example, they are regularly prompted and reminded by staff about safe behaviour; they take part in fire drills so know how to evacuate the premises in the event of an emergency; they wear safety helmets when riding

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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 tricycles outdoors and they learn about road safety when they go for walks and also through planned topic work.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are further safeguarded because all staff have a solid understanding of their child protection responsibilities and ensure parents are well informed about them. Managers have attended recent Local Safeguarding Children Board training related to current referral procedures.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are very happy and settled in the nursery. Children under two are clearly thrilled to see staff and develop warm relationships with them. Staff plan for the development of the youngest children in line with the 'Birth to three matters' framework and appropriately support and encourage them. For example, toddlers delight in using their voices and gradually all join in together making as much noise as they can so staff suggest that they sing songs together and the children move to the rhythm and enjoy doing actions. Others learn to build a tower of bricks and start to learn to play together especially when they knock them down and laugh gleefully. Toddlers are introduced sensitively to the next group they will go into by spending short amounts of time there when there are fewer children present. Two-year-olds enjoy creative and imaginative activities such as small world play, pretending to go shopping and making

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

meals, exploring foam and learning to squirt it from an aerosol can and choosing and joining in action songs and rhymes. However, because they start to move around rooms at this age, their natural curiosity and ability to move easily between a range of activities when they wish is limited.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. The staff have a generally good understanding of the Foundation Stage and how children learn. Planning links closely to the stepping stones towards the early learning goals and covers all the areas of learning. Staff observe children in order to assess their progress but sometimes lack confidence in their judgements without checking them out through activities that 'test' children and disrupt their play, such as holding the star shape with their photograph on in various positions, to ascertain their understanding of position such as above and below and under and over. There are a good range of resources for children to use, but because they are located in different rooms children do not have the freedom to take control of or responsibility for their own learning using their preferred resources and reinforcing their learning and understanding in their own time across

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are keen to become involved in activities and are motivated to learn. They are becoming confident and have good self-esteem, especially the older ones who introduce themselves cheerfully. They make friends and play together co-operatively. They chat happily between themselves and with adults during all activities and enjoy stories and books. They enjoy mark making and are beginning to form some letters using felt tip pens and pencils. Everyday routines help children to make progress in mathematical development, for example, they consider how many children are sitting at the table to work out how many cups are needed at snack time, and recall shapes and colours through activities such as describing different fruits and then guessing what they are, such as apples, oranges and bananas. Children sound out letters in situations such as remembering the name of the month through staff sounding 'nn' and know

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

that winter is coming because they recall that Dad had to scrape frost off his car that morning.

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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 They have access to the computer and know how to make it work to enjoy programmes that are linked to their current theme. They explore and investigate outdoors, searching for mini-beasts and growing vegetables which they then cook and eat. Natural materials such as leaves are collected and used by the children in their art and craft work. They use their imaginations by pretending to be in a forest and covering themselves up with a camouflage net so that they cannot be seen

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. All children are made welcome in the setting and staff make every attempt to ensure that their backgrounds and individual needs are respected and valued through collecting information from parents and their own observations. Children have good opportunities to learn about themselves, each other and the world around them through planned activities and access to relevant resources. For example, they welcome parents bringing in cake to celebrate children's birthdays and make lamps for Diwali. Children behave well, responding to the good role models set for them by staff and because they receive lots of praise for desirable behaviour and their efforts and achievements. The youngest children are encouraged appropriately to learn about good behaviour when, for example, staff gently support them to take turns and offer them alternative

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Helping children make a positive contribution

toys to distract them from snatching toys from others. All children are encouraged to learn good manners and say please and thank you.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents speak very positively about their children's care and the information they receive. The parent brochure includes very useful information particularly regarding child protection, complaints, infectious illnesses, behaviour, confidentiality, parental involvement and the foundation stage curriculum. Daily record sheets are completed for children under two that give parents necessary information about things such as how much sleep their children have had, food and formula they have consumed and nappy changes. Children's good continuity of care is especially effective in the baby room where parents have friendly working relationships with staff who listen carefully to vital handover information at morning drop-off times. The partnership with parents and carers of children in receipt of funding for early education is satisfactory. They are able to talk to staff at any time about their children's progress, look at

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Helping children make a positive contribution

their records of achievement and attend open evenings. Regular newsletters include information on the theme children are working on and some activities they will be doing, but parents are not given any ideas about how they can support effectively and follow up their children's learning at home.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Leadership and management is satisfactory. Children's care is enhanced by a staff team who have a generally good mix of qualifications and experience. Staff are clearly committed to providing as well as they can to meet the children's welfare and learning needs. They are supported by management through a well-established appraisal system to take up regular ongoing training in order to keep their practice up-to-date. Managers pay close attention to advice they receive from external sources and are keen to implement ideas. However, they are not selective or reflective enough to make best use of these towards creating development plans for the future. Too much energy and time is wasted on moving children between different

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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 rooms for different activities and this can detract from children's uninterrupted pleasure in having unlimited time to spend learning through doing things that interest them most.

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Organisation

Documentation and records are maintained to a high standard and are a real strength of the nursery. Overall, children's needs are met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the nursery agreed to review the organisation of rooms, and the movement of children aged over two years between them, to ensure children enjoy a richer learning experience. Some progress has been made in that children spend longer periods in some rooms but the situation has not been fully resolved, so further recommendations are made at this inspection.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since April 1 2004, Ofsted received one complaint relating to National Standard 7: Health. This followed an inspection by Environmental Health when several requirements and recommendations were made to improve kitchen practice. An action was made requiring the provider to ensure that procedures and practices complied with the local environmental health department guidance and regulations and this was dealt with promptly by the nursery. Ofsted was satisfied that by taking the reported steps the provider met the National Standards and remained qualified for registration at the time the investigation was closed.

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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 satisfactory.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • increase regular access youngest children have to outdoors • continue to review the organisation of the available space to provide the over twos with a less interrupted care and learning environment (also applies to nursery education).

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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 • ensure children are supported to become independent learners by having better access to all resources at all times • enable parents to better support children's learning at home.

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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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