Ellen Wilkinson Primary School

Helston Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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102759 Unique Reference Number 03 October 2007 Inspection date Heather Tanswell Inspector

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Helston Community College, Church Hill, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 8NR Setting Address

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E-mail

Helston Day Nursery 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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Helston Day Nursery registered in 1989. It operates from a large portable building, situated in the grounds of Helston Community College, in Cornwall. A maximum of 30 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08:00 until 17:00 during term times and some weeks during school holidays. All children share access to a secure enclosed play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 31 children from six months to four years on roll. Of these, five children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from surrounding towns and villages.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs four full-time staff. All staff members have early year’s qualifications to NVQ Level 2 or 3. The setting receives support from an advisory teacher from the Local Authority Family Services, and is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA) and the Kernow Association of Day Nurseries (KADN).

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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 outstanding. Children thrive because staff follow highly effective procedures and practices, which meet the children's physical, nutritional and health needs. The nursery is spotlessly clean throughout. Exceptional care is taken to minimise the risk of cross infection, especially during nappy changing. Children gain an excellent understanding of good personal hygiene routines to keep themselves healthy. Well-documented information from parents about their child's personal health needs is meticulously recorded. Reminders placed at strategic points in the nursery ensure staff know, value and respect important details, for example, about allergies, or babies' preferred sleep and feeding routines.

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Helping children to be healthy

Practitioners give high priority to ensuring that children's individual dietary needs are provided for and that all meals and snacks are healthy and appeal to their tastes. Well-balanced hot meals, such as casseroles or pasta dishes accompanied by freshly cooked seasonal vegetables, are provided at lunchtime. Parents, if they prefer, can supply a packed lunch and staff make sure these are stored properly to keep them fresh. A nutritious snack of segments of fresh fruit is available between meals. Children help themselves to easily accessible drinking water throughout the day to quench their thirst.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children explore, test and develop physical control in stimulating daily indoor and outdoor experiences. Practitioners have a keen understanding that children need to be physically active as part of their play so maximise the use of the play areas. An excellent understanding of each child's stage of development means that younger children grow in confidence to try out new skills. Toddlers delight standing upright and taking dolls for a walk in a pushchair about the playroom. Older children develop a positive attitude to exercise as they go on woodland walks, pedal ride on toys and climb over challenging apparatus in the garden.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Risks of accidental injury to children are minimised because staff are extremely vigilant and use thorough risk assessments to reduce potential hazards. All areas of the nursery undergo meticulous routine checks each day, linked to detailed risk assessments. Checks are monitored rigorously by the person in charge. Staff have an excellent understanding of how to secure the premises and make sure children are safe from harm. Visitor’s identity is verified and access monitored. Detailed and fully up to date child protection policies and procedures are in place. Staff have a very clear understanding of these procedures and give top priority to children's welfare.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children use high quality equipment appropriate for their age and stage of development laid out for them and made easily accessible in their base room. Children of different ages are safe and fully included, because when children come together for large group activities, staff share responsibility to make sure they are carefully supervised at all times. Great care is taken to monitor sleeping babies and to maintain a suitable room temperature to keep them safe as they rest undisturbed.

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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 outstanding. Children of all ages enjoy their time in the nursery. They achieve so well because staff are highly skilled and use their exceptional understanding of early year’s guidance, such as Birth to three matters and the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage, to provide high quality care and education. Staff share their in-depth knowledge of the children's individual interests and stages of development, to influence actively the short term planning of worthwhile experiences for all children. Children's independence and inclusion is promoted highly effectively through a balance of adult led and child initiated experiences.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children arrive happy and eager to participate. They show great enthusiasm for the developmentally appropriate activities made ready for them, which are changed regularly throughout the day to maintain their interest. Children access an extensive range of age appropriate, good quality toys and equipment to support their play and development. A particular feature of the nursery is the exceptionally good organisation of daily routines, large group activities, and the use of resources and base rooms, which significantly enhances children's learning and enjoyment. Children of all ages make marks and handle natural and real materials as part of their self-chosen play. Babies and younger children thrill at the visual experiences they encounter in the sensory room. The animated use of symbols, such as puppets, makes story times a pleasure and captivating experience for everyone.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. Children make exceptional progress towards the early learning goals because staff plan an extensive range of stimulating, relevant activities related to their individual needs. All children are keen and eager to learn. They delight in the large group activities led by their key workers who make early literacy and numeracy into fun learning experiences by using amusing introductory action rhymes and songs. Children giggle as they accurately say and sort items to their initial sounds and match and sort toys to different criteria. Excellent use of the outdoor environment helps children make connections with the natural world and science. Children use their senses to assess what the weather is like by watching for the effects of wind on leaves in the trees, feeling if it is warm or cold, listening to sounds of passing aircraft they cannot see because of the mist, and looking for dampness

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children gain a well-developed respect for their and other cultures and traditions through activities that link local celebrations, such as harvest festival to events and stories about the gathering of food in other parts of the world. Topics weave their way imaginatively throughout the activities. For example, as part of the autumn harvest children make a fruit and vegetable number line to help them add and subtract at the maths table. Children build and construct imaginatively designing and construct models, using recycled materials or large building blocks. For example, straws are made into helicopters, then turned into umbrellas. Children's ideas and comments are used expertly by staff to extend learning and conversations that make good links with other areas of learning and their home-life experiences. Children develop a sense of time as they discuss and record days of the week. Children are adept tool users. For example, they

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

handle pencils ably to write with a purpose, making shopping lists in role-play and labelling their own work.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff find out about children's skills, interests and needs, building on this information effectively to help them achieve as much as they can. Staff use questions very successfully to challenge

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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 their thinking especially about the meaning of what they can see and hear. Staff are perceptive to children's interests during self-initiated play showing concern by modelling new ways of working with materials or acting out character roles to extend imaginative play. They use highly effective systems to observe, monitor and record children's achievements and to plan experiences and daily routines that help children take the next step in learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Children are welcomed and play a full part in the nursery because staff value and respect their individuality, any additional needs they may have and the family context for each child. Children have opportunities to learn about themselves, each other and the wider world around them through planned activities, visitors to the nursery and outings to local places of interest. Clever use of stories and different foods linked to topics are used to support children's awareness of other cultures and they way people live. Children handle an extensive range of resources that challenge stereotypical views. They listen to different types of music and see vibrant images showing positive images of others. Social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave superbly well. Staff support children in sharing, turn taking in routines and games, and helping each other. They have high expectations of what every child can achieve according to their starting points. By creating a mutually respectful and calm atmosphere, staff ensure children grow in self-esteem and become active, independent learners. Children's contributions are highly valued. Their creative work is used as props to illustrate stories and photographs from home are beautifully displayed alongside their artwork.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is outstanding. Great care is taken to gather important information from parents about every child's diet, sleeping, feeding routines, interests and preferences. Displays ensure parents are kept fully up to date with important information about topics, menus, policies, staffing and activities. Regular newsletters invite parents' contributions to the interest table accompanied with ideas about complimentary activities at home to support future learning. Daily feedback through written, verbal and in confidential one to one meetings ensures parents play a full and continuing part in their child's care and education at the setting. Parents value highly the advice they receive and note how staff's professional guidance has helped them and their children feel secure in their care.

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. Staff greatly enhance children's care by the exceptional dedication, the quality of teamwork of the practitioners overall, and the outstanding leadership and management of the person in charge. The premises are very well organised. Indoor and outdoor space is laid out to maximise play opportunities for children. All the legally required documentation, which contributes to children’s health, safety and well-being, is in place, regularly reviewed and presented in a professionally presented operational plan.

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Organisation

Leadership and management are outstanding. Staff meet regularly to share their expert knowledge and observations of each child's stage of learning. They use this information proficiently, to plan developmentally appropriate, worthwhile experiences for children, which enables children to take their next steps in learning through play. The setting meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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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 the last care inspection, the provider agreed to ensure the management committee understands their roles and responsibilities and supports the staff team by carrying out regular staff appraisals. A new committee has recently been established. Some members have previous experience of committee work and understand their role to maintain and promote effective management systems to support the care and welfare of young children in their care. Regular appraisals are now part of nursery procedure to ensure staff continue to develop their knowledge and skills to support the development and learning of young children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last nursery education inspection, the provider agreed to improve children's access to creative materials and give children more independent play opportunities. They also agreed to develop a system to evaluate the effectiveness of planned activities to meet learning intentions for individual children. Children have greater freedom to access independently a wide range of resources to use to their own ends. There are now highly effective systems in place to ensure learning intentions meet the needs of individual children.

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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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the care

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of care are outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of nursery education are outstanding.

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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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