Bookworms Nursery

Bookworms Inspection report for early years provision

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154373 Unique Reference Number 19 March 2008 Inspection date Tonia Chilcott Inspector

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Farnborough College of Technology, Boundary Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 6SB

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Setting Address

01252 407080 Telephone number k.easting@farn-ct.ac.uk E-mail The Governing Body of Farnborough College of Technology Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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Setting Address

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?

Bookworms Day Nursery opened in 2001. It operates from three rooms within Farnborough College of Technology and has access to kitchen, toilet and enclosed outdoor play facilities. It is registered to provide full day care for 33 children aged under eight years, and accepts children from three months old. It serves the children of students and staff from the technical college only.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 55 children on roll and this includes 24 who are in receipt of nursery education grant funding. The setting supports children who have special needs and who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Opening hours are 08:30 to 17:30, Monday to Friday all year round, with the exception of a one week closure at Christmas and in August. Children attend for a variety of sessions according to individual needs.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are 10 staff working with the children, of these, nine have a recognised child care qualification to level 3 and one is currently working towards one. The college offers in house

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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 training for staff and ongoing training and support is also accessed via the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children have a good understanding of personal health and hygiene practices, as these are effectively promoted by staff throughout the day. For instance, children know when to wash their hands and do so with gentle guidance from staff if necessary and children know to wash their hands before eating for instance. Whilst good procedures are in place to ensure that children’s health is protected whilst at the setting, at times, children’s privacy is not fully supported whilst using the toilets. Children benefit from the effective hygiene routines that are in place across the nursery; for example, when changing babies’ nappies staff follow the procedures well to ensure that children are protected. Staff consistently wear gloves and aprons, both of which are changed for each individual child, and staff ensure that they clean the changing mats with antibacterial spray between each use, again ensuring that children are

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Helping children to be healthy

protected. Children’s overall good health is well maintained because staff understand and implement effective health and hygiene policies and procedures, including the administration of medication and recording of accidents, to help children stay healthy. Children benefit from the extremely high level of staff on site that have up to date first aid training, this together with well placed and fully stocked first aid kits, ensures that children receive appropriate care in the event of an injury.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a wide range of healthy and nutritious meals that are prepared freshly on site and take into account the individual dietary needs of all children. They benefit from, and thrive in, the friendly and social atmosphere during lunch and snack times, when eating together. Children's individual dietary needs are very well met due to efficient systems that ensure that all staff are fully aware of children's individual needs. Babies and younger children are supported by staff and encouraged to feed themselves where appropriate, using cutlery that is suitable for the age of the children. Children enjoy engaging in cooking activities, which are linked to the nursery theme; for example, during the inspection children made chocolate nests that linked to the Easter theme and Easter egg hunt activities.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have many exciting and stimulating opportunities to develop their large muscle skills, climbing and balancing in the garden area of the setting for instance. Children move around the nursery freely and confidently, negotiating space well. They learn quickly why they need to put their coats and hats on in cold weather and many children manage this task on their own. Younger children receive support from staff to put hats, coats and boots on. Children negotiate space well whilst playing together in small groups; for instance, when listening to stories, older children take care to sit in a group whilst ensuring that they can all see the book.

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Helping children to be healthy

Babies’ and toddlers’ physical needs are well met; for example, sleep routines ensure consistency between home and nursery and young children benefit from a range of physical experiences appropriate to their age and ability. Babies learn to crawl and stand and then begin to experiment with climbing, whilst being supported throughout by staff. Toddlers enjoy accessing daily outdoor play activities that enable them to balance and climb on the garden equipment.

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Helping children to be healthy

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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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are secure and comfortable within the warm and welcoming environment. Children feel valued within the nursery due to the many displays of their work and achievements around the setting. Staff make very good use of the available notice boards throughout the setting, to display a wide range of posters and other information in addition to children’s work; this, together with careful presentation of activities and resources contributes to the warm and welcoming environment. Children freely make choices from the wide range of exciting and stimulating toys and materials, all of which are well maintained by staff. For example, staff within the younger section of the nursery, implement effective procedures to ensure that all toys and materials are cleaned on a regular basis to prevent the spread of infection when younger children mouth toys.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Generally good systems are in place to ensure that all areas of the setting are safe and secure. For example, staff are vigilant in ensuring that the nursery remains secure throughout, by making sure that all external doors remain locked. Daily risk assessments are undertaken by staff to ensure that any potential hazards are noted and appropriate action taken to minimise risk. Action is taken swiftly when any hazards are noted, thus ensuring that children remain safe. Highly effective procedures are in place and followed consistently by staff to ensure that sleeping children remain safe and secure. Monitors are used to listen to the children sleeping and regular physical checks of children also take place to ensure that they are fully protected. Children are very well supported and supervised by staff who work together well as a team. Children learn to keep themselves safe when taking part in regular fire drills with staff for

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

example, and learn to keep themselves safe whilst taking part in planned and everyday activities with staff. When tidying up before snack, older children learn to tidy up safely whilst talking to staff. Children are very well protected by staff, who have a thorough understanding of child protection and the procedures to follow. Comprehensive policies and procedures are in place and effectively implemented by staff to keep children safe. The policies are displayed well to ensure that parents remain fully aware of the setting's responsibilities. Highly effective procedures are in place to ensure that all staff undertake child protection training regularly, thus reinforcing their understanding of child protection.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Babies and young children thrive in the stimulating and exciting learning environment provided, benefiting from the secure and loving relationships that staff have developed with them. They cuddle in to staff when being fed or comforted and begin to develop effective communication skills as they spontaneously begin to sing and move in time to the songs, such as "Row Row Row your boat". Staff working with the younger children, make exceptional use of the Birth to three matters framework to guide their planning and provide a very wide range of rich learning experiences for each child, enabling them to build upon their foundations of learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Babies benefit from staff understanding and effective implementation of the Birth to three framework, and the recent move to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage, both of which are used to plan a range of activities to meet the individual needs of children. Babies thoroughly enjoy peaceful and calm heuristic play that is supported well by staff who calmly and quietly supervise children, fully aware of when it is appropriate to join in with the children’s play. Throughout the nursery, staff record details of children’s achievements to celebrate special moments with parents, children and staff. WOW displays, as they are known, are visible in all

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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 areas of the setting and record a wide range of children’s special moments that enable children to talk to one another and visitors about their achievements. Babies and younger children, enjoy taking part in painting and arts and craft activities. Babies engage happily in painting activities and enjoy experimenting with the feel of paint and younger children learn about colour whilst making flowers and talking about orange petals for instance.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All children thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. They are happy, settled and are keen to join in the activities, through their familiarity with the consistent routines and good relationships with one another and the staff. All children benefit from very good resources and a wide range of accessible toys and equipment. All children are supported in developing language skills because staff talk, listen and play with them very well.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a sound knowledge of the Foundation Stage and ensure that children access and take part in a wide range of stimulating activities; all of which are planned carefully to meet the individual needs of children. Staff carry out observations which are added to individual child records and are used to assess children’s progress. Whilst observations and records of progress do not clearly record, in writing, children’s next steps in learning, staff know the children very well and are fully aware of how activities can be extended and adapted to meet the individual needs of all children and enable children to progress further. Children’s next steps in learning provide the focus for staff during planning meetings. Activities and topics are planned to enable children to make steady progress towards the early learning goals. A key person system is in place across the setting that ensures that

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

staff know the children well. Staff take time to evaluate and assess the planning and delivery of activities, although occasionally the evaluations do not clearly identify if the learning intention has been met or what children have learned.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff team all make good use of time and resources and children are generally well engaged in activities throughout the day. Staff build strong relationships with children; they use skilful questioning to extend children's learning and their positive and encouraging approach promotes children’s self-esteem effectively. Staff work exceptionally well together as a team, supporting one another and sharing information. All staff are fully committed to improvement and as such eagerly seek further advice, fully engaging in the inspection process.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are happy and enjoy their time at the nursery. Children concentrate very well during self chosen activities, displaying good levels of involvement and they begin to show independence as they make choices. For instance, whilst painting at easels, some children concentrate for long periods, becoming completely immersed in the self chosen activity. They spend time painting shapes on the paper before experimenting with mixing colours together, talking to staff about how mixing red and yellow together makes an orange colour. Children begin to learn to recognise some written text, particularly their names. They talk to staff during circle time about their written names and the sounds that some letters make. Some children are able to identify their own name from the text, whilst others begin to recognise their written names, which are displayed with photographs. Some children are able to form some recognisable

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

letters, whilst others are able to write their full names.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's imaginations are developing well. They enthusiastically engage in imaginative play, and use the good selection of resources well to support their play, for example whilst playing in the home corner. They learn to share and take turns when taking part in activities such as the Easter egg hunt, working in pairs and kindly ensuring that their partner has sufficient eggs

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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 or helping one another to find the next egg. Children of all ages are beginning to build a repertoire of songs and have many opportunities to explore the sounds of different musical instruments, from the wide and interesting range available. Children have opportunities to explore and experiment with different media and have access to a good range of art and craft resources. They are beginning to gain a good awareness of colour, talking about the yellow daffodils and orange petals when creating spring collages with staff. Whilst painting freely at the easels, children concentrate for extended periods of time, carefully mixing the paints together and talking to staff about the colour they have made. Many children enjoy books and some have learned to handle books correctly, gently turning the pages. Staff encourage children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

to access books throughout the day, and the well planned and presented book corner encourages children to regularly choose to sit quietly, looking at the books available.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children listen intently to their favourite stories, talking about the story with staff as they read the books. Children concentrate, looking at the images in the book and count objects in the pictures with staff. Many children count to 10 and beyond, often using mathematical language within their play. Staff encourage children to count and solve simple mathematical problems during everyday activities. For instance the Easter egg hunt, staff talk to children about how many eggs they have found and how many more they need to find until the activity is finished. When making Easter nests, children talk to staff about how many eggs are in the nests. Many children happily speak in a familiar group, taking time to listen to others, for instance during large group activities or when mixing the chocolate nests, talking to one another about the changes occurring to the mixture as they stir it.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are looked after in a caring environment where they are valued, treated with respect and equal concern. They settle well into the nursery, where they are secure and familiar with the daily routines. For instance, older children are aware that after tidying up they need to wash their hands before having snack time. Children with identified learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported by staff, who have developed effective relationships with other professionals to ensure children are fully supported. This is enhanced by the staff's good understanding of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice and staff commitment to continued training to continue to meet the individual needs of children. Children behave very well in the calm and caring environment; their individual contributions are valued and they receive regular praise and encouragement from staff. Children proudly wear stickers that record

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Helping children make a positive contribution

their achievements, for instance, stickers highlight that children have concentrated well at times. Children enjoy choosing their own sticker to wear when celebrating achievements with staff. Children develop a sense of community and a positive understanding and appreciation of different cultures though a wide range of interesting and enjoyable activities. For instance, children enjoy tasting a range of foods relating to the cultural festivals of others. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is outstanding. All children benefit enormously from superb partnerships between practitioners and parents. Parents are extremely well informed about the nursery through a variety of ways, including detailed information in the parent pack, notice boards and regular newsletters. They welcome the sticker/badge system that ensures that any and all important information is passed to parents from staff. Parents are provided with extremely well presented information about the nursery’s routines, policies and procedures, ensuring that they are fully aware of the nursery's practices. All policies and procedures are provided and printed in a wide range of different languages to meet the community needs. Parents are fully

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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 involved in their children's learning as they are kept informed about topics and themes and their children’s development, many having seen their children flourish whilst at the setting. Parents welcome information about how they can extend their children’s learning in the home environment. Parents find staff friendly and approachable and have many opportunities to contribute to both the development of their child and the nursery as a whole. Parents' opinions are regularly sought through verbal discussion and written questionnaires and their opinions valued and welcomed.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The staff team are suitably experienced to work with children, with an exceptionally high level of staff being fully qualified; they are fully committed to updating and furthering their knowledge and skills. Effective procedures for the appointment of staff and a thorough induction programme are in place that enables all new staff to quickly settle at the setting and gain an awareness of all polices and procedures. All staff are keen to develop both their own practice and the nursery as a whole and as such eagerly engage in the inspection process, quickly implementing any suggestions. The staff team are all very enthusiastic about their roles. All required documentation is in place, and is stored securely thus maintaining confidentiality.

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Organisation

Children feel at ease within the environment, which is well organised, making good use of staff time and resources to provide good play opportunities for children. Space is used well throughout the nursery, ensuring that children are free to play freely and safely whilst being continually supervised and supported. Overall, the setting meets the needs of the children for whom it provides care.

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management is good and enhances children's play and learning experience. Effective systems are in place to ensure that all staff are fully able to and are encouraged to share ideas and contribute to the planning and evaluation of activities and the nursery. Staff are provided with many opportunities to contribute their thoughts and ideas to continually improve the nursery, through regular appraisals and involvement in the nursery’s self evaluation. The manager and staff work very well together as a team and demonstrate a high commitment to continually develop and improve children's care and education. This is achieved through regular training, and participation in the PLA (Preschool Learning Alliance) accreditation scheme.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection of Nursery Education, the nursery was asked to ensure that achievements recorded in children's development profiles are supported with evidence and that the information is used to inform future planning and provide sufficient challenge for children. Children's individual development files contain many examples of children's work and achievements that allow staff to measure children's progress. Whilst the development tracker books do not highlight children's next steps in learning in writing, staff are very aware of children's needs and focus upon how children can be extended whilst planning the sessions and activities. The nursery was also asked to develop activity plans to include key questions to be asked, vocabulary to be introduced and ways to extend activities to meet the needs of the more able children. Planning has been developed to incorporate further information about extending activities,

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Improvements since the last inspection

although skilful staff, who know the children well, are fully aware of how to extend children's learning without needing to refer to planning sheets.

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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 At the last inspection the nursery was asked to ensure that some domestic style furniture is provided in the under two's group room. Children across the nursery all now have access to a wide range of domestic style furniture. The nursery was also asked to ensure that the child protection procedure for the nursery complies with local Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) procedures. This has been completed and together with the staff team's awareness of child protection procedures, ensures that children are fully protected. Additionally, the nursery was asked to provide an area where staff can take breaks and talk to parents confidentially. Whilst a defined, permanent area has not been identified or provided, staff make very good use of space to ensure that they are able to speak to parents in confidence at any time or to

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Improvements since the last inspection

take their breaks. This either takes place within the nursery setting, or, with negotiation with the college, a separate room can be provided.

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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 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): • consider supporting children's privacy further whilst accessing the toilets

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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): • continue to develop and improve the systems to evaluate activities to clearly identify what children have learned

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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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