Fit N Fun Kids

Fit N Fun Kids Inspection report for early years provision

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EY218833 Unique Reference Number 21 November 2007 Inspection date Lynne Stephanie Bowden Inspector

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Plot 10, Tregonigie Industrial Estate, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 4SN Setting Address

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01326 379428 07973 913488 (Rachel Jones) Telephone number info@fitnfunkids.co.uk E-mail Rachel Jones Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day 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?

Fit N Fun Kids Ltd opened in 2002. It is run by its proprietor Rachel Jones and operates from six rooms in a unit sited on Tregoniggie Industrial Estate on the outskirts of Falmouth. It serves the local area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 130 children on roll. This includes 13 who receive nursery education funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children aged up to 11 years old may also attend after school and in the school holidays. The setting supports children with learning difficulties and or disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are 15 members of staff employed to work with the children, all have appropriate early years qualifications. The setting receives the support of a teacher from the Family services. They are also members of 4 Children and the National Day Nurseries Association.

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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 benefit from staff, conscientiously, ensuring that they all, including babies, have very regular access to fresh air and outdoor play. In addition, children thoroughly enjoy daily energetic play in the large soft play room. Where they benefit from having the space and freedom to run around, climbing over and under equipment and through the ball pool. Staff encourage children to jump over obstacles and build towers with the large foam bricks. Staff carefully plan activities to develop children’s physical skills and confidence, such as manipulating streamers, feathers and balloons along with heavier objects. Children develop control as they throw and pat balloons to each other and develop their strength and stamina as they enthusiastically enjoy participating in parachute games.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff take account of children's individual routines and react to signs of tiredness, so that children and babies quickly settle to sleep. They rest and sleep in comfort on mattresses and in travel cots or prams. Records show that sleeping babies are checked frequently, though there is no system to prompt these checks.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are protected from risk of cross infection by staff conscientiously carrying out good hygiene practices. Children learn when it is appropriate to wash their hands, as staff remind them to follow good routines. Staff act as good role models following effective practices as they change babies' nappies. Clear policies are in place and followed, regarding sick children and excluding children with infectious illnesses. Parents are quickly informed of any outbreaks. Management ensure that sufficient staff are available with current first aid training and meticulous records show that children receive good medical and first aid treatment. Careful note is made of children's allergies and food preferences and effective systems ensure that all staff are aware of and act upon them. Children benefit from eating healthy snacks such as fresh fruit and plain biscuits or crackers. Staff quickly transfer perishable food in packed lunches to

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Helping children to be healthy

the fridge, so that they are safely stored. Children eagerly anticipate and enthusiastically eat the hot nutritious meals served to them, which are freshly prepared on the premises.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children benefit from being cared for in a secure setting, where doors are kept locked and staff control and monitor visitors, the staff usually identify and address hazards through carrying out regular risk assessments both indoors and out. When hazards such as slippery wooden bridges in the sensory garden are identified, children are kept safe from the hazard until steps have been taken to rectify the problem.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are protected from risk of fire, through the provision of suitable fire equipment and regular fire drills. This ensures that children and staff are familiar with and aware of the procedure. Children’s welfare is safeguarded through the staff's secure knowledge of child protection issues and procedures.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are able to use a wide variety of safe and suitable toys and resources, which are well organised and stored so that they can be easily accessed. There is sufficient child sized furniture and bean bags for children to rest, sleep, eat and play comfortably but no adult sized chairs for staff to comfortably sit, while they feed or cuddle babies.

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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 cared for by familiar teams of staff in their group rooms. They have good relationships with staff and each other, with children confidently approaching adults, discussing what they are doing and asking questions. Staff use their observations to assess and monitor children's needs and progress, with key workers coordinating their records and planning for individual needs. They identify targets for development, initially using the Birth to three matters framework, then progressing to incorporate the Foundation Stage.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are familiar and comfortable with the daily routine which has varied pace, including times to be active and relax. They develop independence as they access the range of resources that interest them. They enjoy role play as they buy and sell goods in the cafe and push dolls around in prams. Babies enjoy exploring a range of resources that interest them, manoeuvring their way around their base room, the soft play area and the outdoor play area. Staff engage well with them, encouraging their play and exploration and their attempts to talk and communicate.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a secure knowledge of the Foundation Stage. Planning is based on staff's knowledge of children's levels of development. They develop this knowledge and awareness from their observations of children as a group and individually. They make clear records of their observations of children's attainments in relation to stepping stones. The room manager uses these records to plan appropriate activities, with differentiation to meet the differing attainment levels of children and provide suitable challenge. The staff regularly appraise and monitor the effectiveness of activities and children's progress, working with the room manager to ensure that a balanced, challenging range of activities covering all areas of learning is provided.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are positive, learners and show interest in what they do. They are all constructively and happily involved in an interesting range of activities. Staff introduce new vocabulary, giving space and time for children to talk with each other, as they talk about foods that they select in the café or to make a food collage. Children listen and concentrate to staff instructions. They thoroughly enjoy being told stories and acting them out. Children enjoy recognising their own names and some confidently identify their friend's names, with praise and encouragement from staff. At snack time helpers from each table count up the number of their friends at the table and match the number of cups needed. Most pour out their own drinks with varying levels of confidence. Staff skilfully encourage some to help and show their friends how to pour out their drinks. Staff use daily routines to reinforce counting in meaningful ways as children move

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

between rooms or to activities where the number of participants is limited. Children confidently use the computer, taking turns and playing cooperatively. They begin to write for a purpose as they attempt to complete their orders in the café and copy their parents marking themselves in on their own register. They learn to solve problems and develop their imaginations, when staff make effective use of materials such as strips of coloured plastic to represent obstacles such as the sea and a big wall and ask the children how they can travel beyond them. The children enthusiastically follow their unanimous suggestion of swimming through the sea and climbing over the wall.

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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

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children develop awareness of difference and diversity through seeing and handling of resources to teach them about other cultures, lifestyles and abilities and disabilities daily. Staff plan topics and activities to enable children to learn about their own community and the wider world, for example Divali, Guy Fawkes and Christmas. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff work effectively with parents and relevant agencies to meet children's individual needs. Parents express confidence that their children's needs are met well. Enthusiastic and universal use of sign language promotes integration and communication for all. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are well integrated and included in the setting.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are generally well behaved because staff keep them occupied in activities that they enjoy and are interested in. They use effective strategies such as distraction and giving clear explanations of what is needed and older children are involved in devising and setting rules. Reward systems are used effectively to address both individual and general behaviour issues. Younger children enjoy the responsibility of being chosen as helpers at snack time and are learning to tidy up and pack away after they sing the tidy up song.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is good. Systems are in place to share information with parents and their views about the general running of the setting are sought regularly and acted upon. Parents receive a well presented, prospectus. Policies and procedures are readily available and parents are aware of planned activities, through notices, newsletters and displays. Staff usually keep parents informed verbally about their children's behaviour, activities and progress. However, information about children's attainment is not sought from parents when children begin the nursery Foundation Stage, discussions at parent evenings are not recorded and parents are not fully consulted and involved in assessing their children's development and planning their future targets.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children benefit from being cared for in a well organised setting where routines are well planned and balanced giving all children opportunities to rest play and be active. Each group’s activities and routines are adapted to meet individual children's needs and coordinated to ensure that each group has suitable time in both the soft play and outdoor play areas. A range of resources and child sized furniture is available, though adult sized comfortable seating is lacking. Staffing structure and roles are clearly defined. All necessary documentation is available to ensure the safe management of the provision. Staff know children well and share information verbally with parents, but do not fully involve parents in assessing their children's development and planning targets. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Organisation

Leadership and management are good. Children benefit from being cared for by a well trained and enthusiastic group of staff, who work well together. Staff meet regularly both as a whole setting and in key groups to keep up to date, share good practice, plan for the future and appraise their practice. Staffing levels and rotas are well organised to cover sickness, emergencies, school pickups, staff breaks and children's needs.

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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

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Improvements since the last inspection

At their previous inspection the provision was set the following recommendations:

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Improvements since the last inspection

to ensure that the child protection procedure for the nursery complies with local Area Child Protection Committee, that toys and equipment are well maintained, that the outdoor play area is safe and free from hazards and that radiators are safe or inaccessible to children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Children's safety has been improved by amendments to the child protection procedure and safety measures taken both indoors and out and regarding resources.

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Improvements since the last inspection

To improve the nursery education the setting agreed to provide opportunities for children to plan and review their work, ensuring sufficient challenge, use children's assessments effectively to identify learning priorities and to develop systems to share information formally with parents about their child's abilities and progress.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The first two recommendations have been addressed. Staff encourage children to review their activities and solve problems and use assessments to identify learning priorities. The setting shares information with parents informally and at parent evenings but this remains a recommendation because no records are kept to demonstrate the effectiveness of these systems.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints to report made to Ofsted since 1 April 2004.

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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): • provide some domestic style furniture to assist children in developing mobility and to continue normal life experience and enable staff to sit comfortably, while they feed or cuddle babies.

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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): • further develop systems to share information formally with parents, seek information from them about their child's level of attainment when they begin the nursery

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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 Foundation Stage and their progress towards Early Learning Goals involving them in setting future targets.

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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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