Acorn Day Nursery and The Primary Club

Acorn Day Nursery and The Primary Club Inspection report for early years provision

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EY262789 Unique Reference Number 17 October 2007 Inspection date Rebecca Elizabeth Khabbazi Inspector

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Forestdale Primary School, Woodpecker Mount, Pixton Way, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 9JE

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E-mail

Southern Childcare Facilities Ltd 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 satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Acorn Day Nursery and the Primary Club are run by Southern Childcare Facilities Ltd. Acorn Day Nursery opened in January 2004 and provides full day care, and the Primary Club, which opened in May 2003, provides out of school care. Both operate from within Forestdale Primary School in Selsdon. The nursery is open each weekday from 07:45 to 18:00 all year round. The Primary Club includes a breakfast club, open from 07:30 to 09:00, an after school club which is open from 15:00 to 18:00 and a holiday club that opens from 07:45 to 18:00. Both the nursery and Primary Club have access to the school playground.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

At the nursery there are currently 19 children aged from one year to under five years on roll. Of these, seven children receive funding for nursery education. There are currently 28 children on roll aged from four to eight years at the Primary Club. The Primary Club also cares for children up to 11 years old.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs five staff. Of these, three have relevant childcare qualifications and two are currently working towards a qualification. Three staff currently work at the Primary Club,

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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 two of whom have relevant qualifications. The setting receives support from the local authority through an early years advisor.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children attending both the nursery and the Primary Club enjoy outdoor play every day as part of a healthy lifestyle. They run around and play games energetically, benefiting from the fresh air and exercise. Nursery children develop new skills as they practise pedalling a bike or throwing and catching a ball, which supports their physical development. Children benefit from regular, varied meals and snacks that meet their nutritional needs. They enjoy healthy options such as breadsticks and raisins at snack time or fresh fruit for their pudding after lunch or tea. Water is available to all children throughout the day, and older children help themselves whenever they are thirsty.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's health is promoted because there is always a staff member on duty who has a current first aid certificate and can respond appropriately to minor accidents or injuries. There are systems in place to keep records of any accidents children have or any medicine they need, which ensures parents are kept informed. Staff follow clear hygiene procedures when they change nappies or prepare the tables for tea, and children learn about simple good hygiene practices when they wash their hands before meals. However, soap is not always available in the Primary Club and children all share a towel to dry their hands. This does not fully protect them from the risk of cross-contamination.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a welcoming, suitably maintained environment with facilities to meet their needs. They have access to a good variety of resources and play materials that they can easily access and which are kept clean and in good condition. This helps ensure they can play safely. Children's risk of accidental injury is minimised as staff are vigilant about supervising them at all times. A risk assessment has been conducted and steps taken to reduce hazards and ensure the premises are kept secure. For instance, accessible electrical sockets are covered, and the main entrances to both the nursery and Primary Club are kept locked at all times. Children learn to keep themselves safe when they walk down the steps carefully, holding on to the rail, or remember why it is important to pick the toys up off the floor. Children’s welfare is safeguarded because staff understand their role in child protection and are able to put

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

appropriate procedures into practice when necessary.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are confident and settled throughout the provision. They make good relationships with staff and each other and there is a calm and relaxed atmosphere in both the nursery and Primary Club. Children attending the Primary Club enjoy spending time with their friends at the end of the school day and quickly choose an activity and share their news with each other. They benefit from a wide variety of activities and experiences including games, construction, art and craft, imaginative play, outdoor games and sports, and their ideas and suggestions are taken into account when planning topics and themes. Children enjoy running around outdoors

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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 and are lively and energetic. Staff join in with games and have a good rapport with the children, laughing and joking with them as they play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children under three years old attending the nursery enjoy warm relationships with staff, who plan activities using the Birth to three matters framework and ensure a good range of experiences are provided. Children snuggle up for a story and enthusiastically join in with the actions to a song. They explore shaving foam with their fingers, feeling it squelch and squish in their hand; paint a picture at the easel; practise throwing and catching in the playground; or join in a bug hunt to see how many mini-beasts they can find. Staff show an interest in what children say and do, and get to know the children well.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff have a satisfactory understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum and the expectations for children's learning. They plan a suitable range of activities and experiences for children that cover all areas of learning and generally support their development. Children are appropriately occupied and enjoy the activities provided. Some observations are made of children's progress and achievements, but these are not used to identify next steps for individual children and plan activities that build on what they already know and can do. This means that activities do not always sufficiently challenge children and fully extend their learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are keen to communicate and they use language to tell staff their news at circle time and chat to their friends. They listen to stories attentively and remember familiar words and phrases. Children use writing materials to draw and make marks at the writing table or when tracing letters on a worksheet, but these opportunities are not always extended to include freeplay situations such as role play. Some children count confidently and can recognise and name shapes, using shapes such as a triangle to create a roof for their picture of a house. Staff make use of opportunities for children to make simple calculations, for example, counting how many windows there are upstairs and downstairs in their picture, and how many altogether.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children find out about the world around them through planned topic work such as mini-beasts, the weather, or life under the sea. They experiment and investigate when they play with magnets or see which objects float or sink in the water tray. Children build and construct with a range of materials, including making models with recycled boxes and tubes. They express their imagination when they paint at the easel, making swirling patterns of different colours, and when they dress up as 'the Gruffalo' from their favourite book, or pretend to be a lion with a furry tail and sharp claws and teeth.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. All children are welcomed into the setting and valued as individuals, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Information about children's individual needs is gathered before children start and parents are encouraged to spend time at the nursery settling children in. Children benefit from experiences that help them learn to develop a positive view of the wider community, such as playing with toys and books that reflect diversity or taking part in activities to celebrate Chinese New Year. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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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 Children attending the nursery grow in independence as they choose their own resources from the shelves, get their own tissue to wipe their nose, or pour their own drink at snack time. They make good relationships with each other and staff and quickly become familiar with the rules and expectations of the setting, for instance they know they need to wash their hands before they eat, and to line up to go in the playground. Staff in both the nursery and Primary Club help children resolve disputes and give clear guidance, reminding children to share and take turns. This consistent approach helps children begin to learn to work harmoniously together.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents are generally kept informed about the setting through the prospectus, regular newsletters and notice boards in both the nursery and the Primary Club. They have appropriate access to policies and procedures, but information about complaints has not yet been updated in line with changes. Staff are friendly and approachable and exchange information with parents on a day to day basis. They use a daily contact book for younger children, and this keeps parents well informed. The partnership with parents of children who receive nursery education is satisfactory. Although parents can ask to speak to staff at any time, they do not currently have planned opportunities to speak to their child's key worker to discuss and review their child's progress. This affects how much involvement parents have in their child's learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Effective recruitment and vetting procedures ensure children are cared for by appropriately qualified and suitably vetted staff. Staff work well together as a team and have regular opportunities to update their knowledge and skills through training. There are clear roles and responsibilities and established systems for communicating with staff and keeping them up to date. This helps ensure policies and procedures work effectively in practice.

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Organisation

Leadership and management of the nursery education is satisfactory. The manager and provider show a commitment to development and improvement, and there are some systems in place for monitoring and evaluating the quality of the nursery education. However, these are not yet rigorous enough to ensure that any areas for improvement are identified and addressed at an early stage.

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Organisation

All required documentation that promotes the health, safety and wellbeing of the children is in place, although some has not yet been updated. Space within both the nursery and Primary Club is appropriately organised, with resources accessible to children and sufficient space for play. The day is planned to allow a balance of activities and experiences and children are kept occupied and stimulated throughout their time at the setting. Overall, the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the setting were asked to ensure that accident records were signed by parents. Procedures have now been revised to ensure that entries into the accident book are always signed by parents at the end of the day and parents now also receive a copy of the entry. This ensures parents are kept well informed.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The setting were also asked to improve arrangements for maintaining the sinks in the toilet area in a clean condition. The nursery has now employed a cleaner and staff also have delegated responsibilities for checking and cleaning cloakroom areas throughout the day. This helps ensure children are cared for in a hygienically clean environment.

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Improvements 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 Finally, the setting were asked to increase resources to promote children's physical development and those that reflect positive images of disability. The setting has developed the resources available in both of these areas since the inspection, ensuring that an appropriate variety of equipment is available to support children's progress in all areas.

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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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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): • improve hygiene precautions in relation to hand washing facilities for children attending the Primary Club • update the complaints policy that is shared with parents to reflect current procedures and include details of how to contact Ofsted if required

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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): • develop the systems for assessing children's progress so that regular observations are used to identify next steps for children's learning and plan activities that build on what they already know and can do • provide planned opportunities for all parents to meet staff to discuss their child's individual progress • extend the systems for monitoring and evaluating the quality of the nursery education provision

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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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