Elliston Primary Academy

King Edwards Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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141773 Unique Reference Number 13 December 2007 Inspection date Dorcas Forgan Inspector

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Southwood Community Annex, Conniburrow Boulevard,Conniburrow, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK14 7AF

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E-mail

Sheree James Edwards & Sam King 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?

The King Edwards Day Nursery opened in January 2000. It operates from two rooms in the annexe to Southwood school. The two private owners are actively involved in the management of the day nursery. It is in the centre of Milton Keynes, close to schools, offices and shops. The Nursery serves a wide area. A maximum of 30 children may attend at one time. The nursery opperates five days a week all year round apart from two weeks in the year at Easter and Christmas. The nursery is open from 08:00 until 18:00. All children share access to a secure enclosed play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 20 children on roll six of whom receive funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Currently the group does not have any children with special needs or who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The owners of the nursery employ five full time and two part time members of staff to work directly with the children. All the staff have early years qualifications.

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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 stay healthy because practitioners follow current Environmental health and hygiene guidance and their own policies and procedures very effectively. The nurseries policies regarding medications and times that children should be excluded from the nursery because they are ill have recently been revised; with the result that infections have been reduced. The staff maintain very good hygiene standards throughout the nursery and carry out procedures such as changing nappies methodically. Children are becoming familiar with good hygiene routines and are starting to be independent in their own personal hygiene. They wash their own hands and faces before and after meals and clean their teeth. All of the staff are trained in First aid.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are well nourished they are offered a well-balanced and nutritious diet. All of the meals are cooked in the nursery by one of the managers. They consist of fresh ingredients. Children have fresh fruit each day with milk and water to drink. The menus are displayed for the parents so that they know what the children will be eating. The nursery provides all the milk feeds and foods for the babies. They work closely with parents ensuring that children’s individual needs are catered for such as vegetarian meals.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy physical exercise in the fresh air daily. They practice riding bikes and scooters learning to negotiate around each other. They also use hoola hoops and the parachute to play games. The babies use the same outside area. Children also develop their physical skills inside taking part in exercise sessions, dancing and playing with equipment such as the tunnel. Babies sleep in their own cots in the main room or in their prams depending on the parent’s wishes. Other children sleep on mattresses with clean linen in quieter areas of the main room.

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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 bright cheerful environment that is safe and secure. Staff make both rooms look cheerful with posters and displays, however not many of the displays are the children’s own work. The baby room is very well organised so that babies can play and crawl safely. There are a wide range of toys and equipment including bouncy chairs, a play pen, activity centres and many smaller toys to encourage their development. The older children use a large room that has different areas for separate activities such as; an area to eat their meals, a comfortable area to read books and relax and a home corner.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children’s safety is paramount. Staff carry out daily checks to ensure that the risk of hazards are minimised. The manager carries out more in depth risk assessments annually. The managers have instigated very effective security measures. Children learn to keep themselves safe and avoid accidental injury;

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

They learn to sit properly on chairs and not to run around when inside. Children are very familiar with the emergency evacuation as they practise every month.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected because staff understand their responsibility to safeguard children and to pass on concerns if necessary. A manager is undertaking refresher training in this area to ensure their planned procedures are up to date.

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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 satisfactory. Children are happy and well settled in the group. Staff are becoming very familiar with Birth to three framework and use it in the plans of activities for the youngest children. The babies receive a great deal of individual attention. Staff cuddle and talk to them, they are stimulated through activities and suitable resources so that they are becoming strong, confident children. The older children are becoming independent through making choices. Individual children’s needs are met satisfactorily. There is a wide age range of children in the main room and activities are not always suitable for their abilities. Such as, children of eighteen months listen to the same stories as four year olds. They do some activities separately when groups of children are taken into the other room.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Staff are developing their knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum and becoming more familiar with it through regular use. It is used as the basis for planning and for making observations. All areas of learning are included in the plans and focused activities have learning intentions. However, there is no differentiation made in any of the activities for the children of different abilities. The same activities are presented for all the children in the main room whose ages range from eighteen months to four years. The more able children are not sufficiently challenged. Staff record the children’s achievements using the stepping stones as guidance, although all the staff know their children well they do not record the child’s next steps of learning so that development can be monitored and planned.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children move around freely between areas choosing which of the activities on offer they want to take part in. They spend as long as they wish at an activity so that they can complete it to their own satisfaction. Their concentration is growing. Children are making good relationships with other children they choose to look at books and draw together. They are beginning to know right from wrong. Children communicate well; some speak very confidently in front of the whole group. Children look at books independently while sitting in the book corner. The older children concentrate well during the story of The Night before Christmas and join in with familiar phrases. There are no reference books for children to look at so that they can gain information. Staff provide opportunities for children to recognise their own names and to name letters that are familiar to them, some are beginning to write their own names. They use the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children count to ten confidently, some can count further. They enjoy singing rhymes that include counting both forwards and backwards. Staff use flash cards so that children learn to recognise the numerals. They use compare bears to match sizes and to put into sets. Children join in enthusiastically with a game of ‘What is the time Mr Wolf’ counting the footsteps as they go. Children have opportunities to design and build, such as making a space rocket out of boxes and foil, which they were later able to play in and enjoy. They explore the texture of different media like paint with glitter added. During the growing season children plant flowers and fruit in the garden. They especially enjoy the strawberries, which they care for harvest and eat. The nursery is unable to explore the local community so they invite people into the group such as the fire brigade to show the children the fire engine and talk about what they do.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing their hand eye co-ordination through activities like threading beads, completing puzzles, building with blocks and using pencils and paintbrushes. The home corner is always available but is not set out attractively to tempt the children to use it. Children enjoy

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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 musical sessions and join in their favourite songs eagerly. They experiment with musical instruments and learn about rhythm.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are forming good relations with each other and the staff, they are fully involved in the nursery and feel a sense of belonging which builds their self esteem and pride. The staff meet children’s individual care needs very well. Through themes and activities, the staff provide information about other religions and cultures. They take part in Diwali activities such as making lamps and they taste exotic fruits and foods from other countries. A good range of resources are available to promote diversity such as books, puzzles, dolls and small world figures, there are also posters of welcome in other languages. The setting has effective arrangements to care for children with learning difficulties and disabilities, although none currently attend. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children’s behaviour is good. The staff are good role models and work in a co-ordinated way to ensure children understand what is expected of them. Children are learning the rules of the group and to understand responsible behaviour, they help to tidy activities and resources away at the end of a game or session. They learn respect for others as they sit quietly and listen to them at group times and learn not to push when lining up to go outside. Staff use positive reinforcement and praise to enhance the children’s pride and encourage good behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is good. Parents are encouraged to exchange information daily about their child so that all are very well informed which enhances the child’s experiences. Information is displayed on notice boards for parents so that they are aware of issues such as the activities that their child will be doing and the meals for the week. Parents receive reports during the year and are invited to attend open evenings to discuss their child’s progress. Staff and parents work closely so that children’s individual needs are met.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children benefit from their care being provided by a team of staff who work well together; they understand their roles and responsibilities and work co-operatively. There has been a low turnover of staff since the nursery opened. The employment procedures are good and include induction programmes for new staff. The management aim is for all staff to hold level three qualifications; the newest member of staff has been booked onto a course. Managers hold regular meetings with individual staff but do not carry out annual appraisals to ensure their development. The daily routines ensure that children receive good care and are well supervised. All the necessary documentation is in place and is reviewed frequently to ensure it is up to date and relevant.

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Organisation

Leadership and management of nursery education is satisfactory. One of the managers has taken on the responsibility of developing this area. It is all still quite new to her and her staff. They are devising systems to plan activities for the children, but there is no effective system in place to monitor whether all learning intentions are met. They are all committed to improvement and making progress. The setting meets the needs of the range of 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 Children Act inspection recommendations were made that sleeping facilities for the younger children should be provided and activities offered to the children over the age of two should be reviewed. It was also recommended that procedures should be devised for children who become lost or are uncollected. Suitable sleeping facilities are now provided for the younger children and children over the age of two have more play opportunities and resources in line with Birth to three and the Foundation Stage. The additional procedures have been devised so that parents and staff are aware of what would happen if a child was not collected or became lost.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Concerns were received on October 3rd 2007 regarding National Standard 2: Organisation, National Standard 7: Health, National Standard 6: Safety, National Standard 1: Suitable Person, National Standard 9: Equal Opportunities. An unannounced visit was made to the setting to discuss these concerns and make observations as a result, no actions were made. However, two actions were set regarding, further issues under National Standards 6 and 2. A response was received which demonstrated that these actions had been met. No further action was taken and the provider remained qualified for registration.

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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): • instigate a staff appraisals system

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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 plans further to show more differentiation between activities for the youngest and oldest children ensuring that all children are suitably challenged. • develop a method to monitor that all areas of learning are being provided effectively.

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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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