Clever Clogs Childcare Ltd

Clever Clogs Childcare Ltd Inspection report for early years provision

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EY347110 Unique Reference Number 23 January 2008 Inspection date Christine Lynne Hodge Inspector

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Welling School, Berwick Road, Welling, Kent, DA16 1LB Setting Address

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0208 304 1655 Telephone number clevercloggs1@btconnect.com E-mail Clever Clogs Childcare Ltd Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Clever Clogs Day Nursery was registered in May 2007, although it did not start taking children until September 2007. The provision is privately owned. The nursery operates from a fully converted annex in the grounds of Welling School, Berick Road, Welling in the Borough of Bexley. The nursery consists of a baby room with sleep room, milk kitchen, and nappy changing room, a toddler room with a creative play area and toilets and a pre school room with a creative play area and toilets. The two group rooms have direct access to an outside play area to the rear of the premises and there is a fully enclosed garden to the front of the building. The nursery also has a kitchen, office, staff room and toilet with disabled access.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is registered to care for a maximum of 64 children from three months to under five years at any one time. There are currently 25 children on roll, of whom three receive funding for nursery education. There are currently no children attending with identified learning difficulties and disabilities or with English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is open daily from 08:00 to 18:00, weekdays, all year round except for bank holidays.

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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 The manager holds a NNEB certificate together with an NVQ Level 3 in Childcare and Level 4 in Management. Four members of staff also hold a NVQ Level 3 and two are working toward their Level 2. The nursery receives support from an Early Years Advisory teacher

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Children's health and well-being is extremely well promoted throughout the setting. The nursery operates a rigorous healthy eating programme. This includes balanced, nutritious menus, containing freshly cooked meals with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables served up daily to children; wall displays for parents and children about the importance of healthy eating; together with a folder of healthy recipes for parents to borrow. The nursery is also in the process of creating an area of the garden where children can plant and grow their own vegetables. There are very good systems in place to ensure that children's special dietary requirements are met and adhered to. Meal and snack times are social occasions where staff sit with children to eat, act as good role models and encourage children's language and independent skills, by allowing them to pour out their own drinks and serve up their own meals. Older children have

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Helping children to be healthy

access to fresh air and exercise on a daily basis, using both the grass area to the front of the nursery and the newly resurfaced area to the rear of the building. Children are encouraged to bring their own Wellington boots, which are kept at the nursery, enabling them to go outside in all weather conditions. They have access to a wide selection of resources to help them develop their fine motor skills. These include play dough tools, scissors, puzzles, various construction activities, pencils and paintbrushes. The baby room provides lots of space for children to crawl around in and suitable furniture to pull themselves up on to promote their physical development. They also have access to the outside play area in the better weather.

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Helping children to be healthy

The nursery is very clean and well maintained. Outside cleaners are employed two evenings a week and at the weekend. Staff are responsible for the cleanliness of their own rooms and bathrooms on a daily basis. Very efficient and effective hygiene polices and procedures ensure that children are protected from cross infection. For example, a comprehensive sick child policy means that parents are fully aware of the need to keep children at home if they are suffering with anything that may be infectious. Nappy changing routines include the use of disposable gloves and aprons, a nappy dispenser and antibacterial spray for cleaning the changing mat after each nappy change. Children are learning good personal hygiene by being encouraged to wipe their runny noses immediately and wash their hands after going to the toilet and before mealtimes. This is reinforced through visual pictures in the bathrooms and eating area.

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Helping children to be healthy

Antibacterial soap dispensers are fitted in each bathroom and baby changing area. When visiting the baby room all adults are required to wear plastic overshoes, to ensure floors are kept free from harmful germs. Children are very well protected in the event of emergencies, as five out of seven staff hold a current first aid qualification and fully stocked first aid boxes are situated throughout the setting. The nursery keeps comprehensive accident and medication records and has good systems in place to monitor and assess the cause of accidents

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Children and parents are greeted warmly by staff. The nursery is decorated throughout with photographs of children taking part in various activities, children's artwork, various topics and posters, creating a very welcoming, child friendly environment. The risk of accidental injury is

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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 minimised due to well designed, newly converted premises and necessary safety precautions in place. These include socket covers, safety gates and a fire blanket. Group rooms are well organised and allow children to move around freely and safely. Staff complete daily risk assessments of the building and garden before children arrive and fuller risk assessments and fire drills are completed regularly by the nursery manager. The nursery has excellent security systems in place to prevent unwanted visitors gaining access to the building and children from leaving unnoticed and includes an intercom and close circuit television situated in the office. There are also good procedures in place for the safe arrival and collection of children. For example, parents are required to sign children in and out at the reception area and staff complete

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

an attendance register in each room. A password system is used for the collection of children other than the named parent or carer. Children receive a high level of supervision and are learning to gain an awareness of their own personal safety through gentle reminders from staff about the dangers of walking with scissors and running indoors.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have safe and easy access to an excellent range of good quality play resources, which are well organised in child height furniture to encourage them to make independent choices about their play. Tables, chairs and furniture in all group rooms meet the needs of the children. There is a comfortable adult size chair in the baby room to allow staff to sit comfortably when bottle feeding and nursing younger babies.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are very well protected as all staff are provided with thorough child protection training in line with current Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures, as part of their induction. The nursery manager has attended several training courses and has created a comprehensive Safeguarding Children folder containing lots of relevant information on child protection, guidelines and copies of referrals forms which staff can refer to at any time. All members of staff are appropriately vetted.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy, confident and enjoy their time spent at the nursery. Staff plan a good range of child centred activities and play opportunities using the Foundation Stage and Birth to three matters framework to ensure that all areas of children's development is promoted. Children can choose what they want to play with from an extensive range of age appropriate play resources and equipment that includes role play and dressing up clothes, various small and large construction, puzzles, threading, musical instruments and small world. They have free access to well resourced creative areas where they enjoy activities such as sand and water, painting, play dough and free collage. The nursery has two fully enclosed garden areas which children enjoy using for physical play on a daily basis. Children benefit from good levels of support and adult interaction.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Babies and toddlers settle well because of the nursery's effective and flexible settling in policy. Staff work with parents in the baby room to ensure they follow younger children's home routines for eating, sleeping and playing and continue to share information with parents about their children's time at the nursery. Babies and toddlers enjoy a close relationship with the caring staff, readily approaching them for cuddles. Staff sit with children to look at books and sing songs with them, to encourage their early communication skills. Babies who can crawl happily explore their environment, pulling themselves up on the furniture to develop their physical skills. Toddlers enjoy messy activities such as painting, sand, water and corn flour and have regular access to the garden for outdoor play. However, there are only limited opportunities for babies who are not walking to go outside the nursery, unless the weather is warm and sunny.

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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 Nursery Education.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Adults demonstrate a good understanding of the Foundation Stage and that children learn best through play. They plan a broad range of stimulating and purposeful, indoor and outdoor activities and experiences for children, which cover all areas of their learning. Children are given freedom to express themselves and make independent choices about their play. Staff interact well with children, asking open ended questions and extending their play and learning. An efficient keyworker system, together with effective systems for recording children's progress, enables staff to plan for the next steps in their learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's personal, social and emotional development is progressing well. Children enjoy learning and are motivated and interested in activities. Children are gaining independent skills by serving up their own meals, pouring out their own drinks and taking responsibility for wiping their runny noses. They enjoy helping to care for the nursery rabbit. Children relate well to adults and their peers. Children are developing good listening and language skills. They enjoy looking at books and listening to stories. They speak confidently about real life situations that happen at home and at the nursery. Children have good opportunities to practise their emergent writing throughout their play and in the well equipped graphics area. They are encouraged to recognise and write their names on their own work. Good use is made of pictures and labelling throughout the setting so that children are beginning to understand that text carries meaning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have satisfactory opportunities to develop their early mathematical skills. Staff sit with children at table activities to extend their learning of shape, colours and numbers. Activities such as sand and water help children to understand the concepts of floating, sinking and size. A maths game in the role play area provides children with good opportunities for matching and sorting. Children enjoy learning about the wider world through different themes, the celebration of various festivals, such as Chinese New Year, and from visits from people in the community. The nursery has a wide range of play resources promoting positive images of diversity and disability. Children have access to electronic toys and a computer, however, this was not used during the inspection. The garden is currently being prepared for children to plant and grow their own vegetables. Children's imagination and creativity is very well explored. They have

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

good opportunities for free painting and collage using an extensive range of resources, play dough, construction and role play. Children benefit from daily activities that help them to promote their all round physical development. They practise their fine motor skills during activities such as, painting, drawing, writing and building with construction resource. Children develop their large motor skills in the garden by running, balancing, riding on bikes, throwing and catching balls and hoops.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. The nursery welcomes all children and families regardless of culture, ethnic background, religion or disability. The nursery has a strong equal opportunity policy which supports their practice. Children's individual needs are comprehensively met throughout the setting. There are excellent procedures in place to ensure children are able to separate from parents and settle into nursery life with as little upset as possible. Detailed information gathered from parents on admission forms ensures that children are treated with equal concern and have the opportunity to enjoy the full set of activities. Children have access to an extensive range of positive image play resources to help them learn about disability, diversity and the wider world. These include puzzles, dressing up clothes and role play resources, small world figures, dolls and books. The nursery has good systems in place ready to support children who may have learning difficulties

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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 and disabilities. New parent are provided with Bexley's Special Needs policy for supporting children in the borough. The named Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) attends Area SENCO meetings and will work closely with the Area SENCO and other professionals to provide extra support for children when necessary. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Strategies for managing children's behaviour are very effective and appropriate to children's age and stage of development. Children respond well to positive reinforcement strategies applied by staff who are kind and caring. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement to promote their self-esteem and are supported well to play together, to share, take turns and to show consideration for one another. As a result, children are confident and well behaved.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is outstanding. This contributes to children's care, well-being and development. New parents are provided with comprehensive information about the nursery, including details of curriculum planning, which is displayed in the policy folder in the reception area. The nursery is in the process of developing a wall display on the parent notice board to provide parents with detailed information about the Early Years Foundation Stage and has organised a parent evening in February where more information will be given. An open door policy ensures that parents are able to talk to the manager or their child's key worker at any time. Parents are encouraged to telephone the nursery during the day to check on how their child is settling and staff take photographs of children actively engaged in activities to provide reassurance to anxious parents. The nursery has very effective systems in place to ensure that

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Helping children make a positive contribution

parents are kept well informed about their children's daily routines. Regular news letters, parent notice boards, display boards and parent evenings ensure that parents are kept up-to-date with nursery events, changes, menus and children's progress and development.

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. Leadership and management are good. The nursery manager and proprietor are working with the committed staff team to build their skills and to provide good support through regular team meetings, appraisals, training and by being involved in planning. They ensure that staff have a good knowledge of the Foundation Stage and both have attended training on the new Early Years Foundation Stage. They demonstrate a clear vision and commitment to providing a high standard of care and education for all children attending the nursery. They spend time monitoring and evaluating activities and routines to identify strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum and work with the Early Years Advisory teacher.

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Organisation

Children benefit from being cared for by an experienced and enthusiastic team of practitioners. The nursery manager and proprietor demonstrate a very good understanding of the National Standards and of their ability to meet them by acting as good role models and ensuring children receive good quality care. Rigorous recruitment procedures are in place so that all adults working with children are suitable to do so and include an effective induction programme. As a result, new staff are well informed about the nursery's policies and procedures and issues such as health and safety and child protection. Staff work well together as team to provide children with a warm, caring and stimulating environment where they can grow and develop to their full potential. Children enjoy excellent adult support. Space within the nursery and play resources are extremely well organised, so that children can play safely and make independent choices.

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Organisation

Children's health, safety and well-being are fully promoted because the nursery has all legally required documentation in place for the safe and efficient management of the provision. A

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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 comprehensive operational plan, together with a full set of policies and procedures which promote children's care and education, are available in reception for parents. Records are professionally maintained and shared with parents as necessary.

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Organisation

The nursery meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since registration, 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 complaint record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • provide opportunities for staff to take babies on outings

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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): • provide children with daily access to the computer

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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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