Hugo and Holly Day Nursery

Hugo and Holly Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY275595 Unique Reference Number 27 February 2008 Inspection date Angela Cole Inspector

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3 Brunswick Square, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 1UG Setting Address

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E-mail

Hugo and Holly 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 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?

Hugo and Holly Day Nursery is one of two nurseries run by a private partnership, one of whom has teaching status with a specialist area of creative art. The nursery opened in 2004 and operates from a five-storey house in the centre of Gloucester. The setting has use of five base rooms, a creative room, expressive arts and gymnastics room, sleep room, nappy-changing and laundry area and associated facilities. There is an enclosed outdoor area with covered veranda and lawn. A maximum of 55 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery opens each weekday from 08.00 to 18.00 for 51 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 80 children aged from birth to under five years on roll. Of these, 23 children receive funding for early education. Children come from the centre of Gloucester and surrounding areas. The staff have experience of supporting children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs 11 full-time and seven part-time members of staff. Of these, seven hold appropriate early years qualifications and five are working towards a qualification. The nursery

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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 has regard to the Reggio Emilia educational approach and is working towards the Bristol Standards Quality Assurance scheme.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children develop a good awareness of health and hygiene through established routines, including those for handwashing. Effective procedures, such as staff wearing protective clothing, daily cleaning and regular washing of baby toys and mats, sustain good levels of hygiene and help prevent the spread of infection. Children receive good continuity of care through the sharing of information with parents about accidents and medication. Those who become ill are well cared for and the risk of passing on infection is reduced as parents are aware of the importance of keeping staff informed about their children's health.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children are regularly offered milk or water with food; drinking water is available in each base room so children can ask for a drink whenever they feel thirsty. They benefit from a varied, healthy diet as the three-weekly menu includes daily fruit and home-cooked recipes. Meals are well balanced and take good account of the individual and cultural needs of all children.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children effectively learn balance, co-ordination and spatial awareness through regular physical sessions and active play. They progress to keeping steady on logs, become adept at climbing stairs and energetically negotiate resources in the 'gym', including a tunnel and soft play equipment. The youngest babies have space to roll and crawl and are taken on walks; older ones enjoy the freedom of the nearby park and are active in the garden with small equipment, such as balls. Children become increasingly aware of the way activity affects their bodies and know when they need a rest. They gain good self-care skills in toileting, dressing and care of their own belongings.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in premises that are brightly painted, cheerful and welcoming with photographs, mobiles and displays of craft products. Space is used effectively to provide a broad range of play opportunities and experiences as children use different areas on a rotating basis, including the gym and garden. The baby rooms are spacious for the numbers cared for. Older children also use different parts of the building as space in their base room is restricted. When on the ground floor, children have free access to outdoor play all year round.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Babies and children safely access a wide range of new resources that are appropriate to their age and stage of development. They have opportunities to independently select activities from high quality toys and equipment that meet safety standards. These include indoor, 'gym' equipment and fittings for the light room. Young children explore the interesting contents of baskets and older ones also safely select toys, tools and materials from shelving around the rooms.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children play safely as staff are aware of potential hazards. For example, they check the premises daily and children copy staff to knock on doors before entering. Detailed risk assessment is completed for the premises and for outings. Children arrive and depart safely as outer doors and gates are kept locked and parents inform staff about authorised collectors. Younger ones

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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 are safe while they sleep and frequent checks are made. Children effectively think about how to keep themselves safe as they take small risks in controlled circumstances to negotiate stairs and play on logs. They hear reminders about how to move safely, take part in regular fire drills and practise crossing the road.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children's welfare is given high priority. For example, staff have secure knowledge about the recording of pre-existing injuries when children arrive. The group ensures that key staff receive up-to-date training and information. As a result, children are well protected by the staff's clear understanding of local procedures concerning child protection issues.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children settle to enjoy their time at the nursery. They feel secure in a flexible routine that includes their care needs and opportunities for active and quieter activities. The range and balance of activities helps children to make good progress in all areas of their development. This is because short-term planning is now based around the needs of children, the 'Birth to three matters' framework and the Foundation Stage curriculum. Interaction with adults is good as staff are relaxed, attentive, warm and responsive. They ask meaningful, open questions based on what the children say and do to extend their thinking, for example, about snack foods. Younger children and babies are happy, stimulated and interested in the varied activities made available to them. These include challenging construction bricks and exploration of different textures, such as paint, water and the tactile materials later used for mobiles. Children begin

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

to make good sense of the world around them as they explore the neighbourhood and collect items, such as leaves and twigs, to use later in a 'feely' game.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a growing understanding of the Foundation Stage and of how young children learn. The learning environment is planned to be suited to needs of children and to provide broad, balanced range of experiences across the six areas of learning. The nursery is currently adopting an extended system of planning for the short-term needs of children, though assessment is not clearly informing day-to-day planning to show how the interests of each child are being met. The teaching truly interests children as they have frequent choices and opportunities for decision making, for example, on where they want to play. As a result, they become focused, able to resist distractions and persist for long times, including when exploring craft materials and playing with objects on light boxes. Children are well challenged and supported to achieve as much as they can. For example, they are all

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

given time to collect their thoughts and speak at circle time and they think about answers to open questions, such as, 'Can we eat an orange unpeeled? What have we to do?' Children make good use of time as changes in routine are usually smooth and taken at each child's pace. They finish work to their satisfaction and are supported to return to favourite activities, if they wish.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children make good progress towards the early learning goals. They develop confident speaking skills to chat freely with adults and other children. They share ideas, for example, when serving 'meals' and telling their stories about 'fires'. They learn new words and hear correct pronunciations, such as 'yellow'. They enjoy rhymes, find their names and look at books in small groups. They enjoy making marks in sand and use writing, for example, to make their own shelf labels. One-handed tools are effectively used to gain neat skills with chalks, brushes and scissors. Children are very interested in numbers and eagerly attempt to count objects, such as 10 stepping stones. They hear and use numbers in conversation, for example, to discuss the figure

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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 on a toy car. They enthusiastically count in snack routines and often say they have 'one more'. Children are very interested in shapes and positions, for example, to say the cardboard house is 'square' and to mime 'under' and 'over' when on a 'bear hunt'.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are curious and explore objects and living things, such as snails and coloured ice cubes. They are interested in technology as they role play with a telephone and take digital photographs of their work. They select tools for their own purposes, including glue sticks, and enjoy constructing complex models from recycled materials. They gain a good sense of time and place to recall previous activities and to discuss details about the weather. Children enthusiastically sing favourite action songs and gain confidence to move to music. They effectively explore colour with powder paint and cellophane, and handle different textures, including shells. They make good use of imagination to use one object to represent another, such as stones for their 'food'. They are highly involved as they act out different roles wearing appropriate clothes and chalk on different surfaces, such as boxes and tree trunks.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children settle well in the nursery so they gain self esteem. They are cared for in groups with senior staff whom they get to know well so their care and developmental needs are effectively met. Children are supported as individuals in close liaison with their parents and other agencies, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. They make decisions in long periods of free choice and relate confidently to attentive key staff. Everyday tasks, such as fastening another's overall and helping to prepare and clear away snacks, give children a sense of responsibility. They are well behaved and polite in response to the expectations of staff who consistently support their behaviour with warm encouragement and praise.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

From early age, they become aware of other children as they meet in family play at each end of the day and at meal times. Babies develop by watching others and older children are careful of younger ones as they play more boisterous games. Children learn to share and take turns as they play alongside each other, increasingly join in group activities and develop to invite others to join them, for example, in imaginative play. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is good. Families are provided with clear information about the nursery and curriculum so they are suitably informed about their child’s care and education. Parents are well informed about their children’s progress in meetings and the attractive, daily diaries so they may support them at home. All staff encourage parents to share what they know about their child. This means that children can be supported effectively, though parents' comments are not regularly included on children's assessment to support learning. Families speak highly of the staff and are keen to recommend the nursery to others.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children are cared for by well-known teams of staff, of whom a good proportion are qualified or working towards an appropriate qualification. They are supported by a bank of friendly part-timers, for example, over the lunch period. Robust procedures are in place for appointing new staff and for checking their ongoing suitability to work with children. Non-vetted persons are never left in sole charge of children. 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 The operational plan works well in practice so that children receive appropriate levels of support. The key person system is well established and children are grouped appropriately as, for example, babies gradually join those in the older group with whom they are familiar. All regulatory documents are in place and these promote children's safety and well-being. The record for any complaint is compliant with requirements and includes the necessary information. Registration systems for staff and visitors are clear and where a child's arrival is not immediately recorded, this is promptly rectified in the manager's daily check. The group's day-to-day, operational plan works well and revised policies are updated to reflect the setting's good practice.

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Organisation

Leadership and management are good. The management has clear vision for the nursery with a strong focus on the personal development and achievement of all children. This is achieved through the regular promotion of staff's professional development and provision of good role models. A system of monitoring and evaluation of the curriculum to identify strengths and areas for improvement is worked out. The senior staff effectively support good team working and foster a sense of trust so that staff rise to the challenges of delegated responsibilities. The management and staff are highly committed and united in their desire to provide high quality education for children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This is the nursery's first education inspection. The previous care inspection recommended that the setting improved children's awareness of inclusion and the written permission for health care. The nursery welcomes and effectively includes children from varying backgrounds and with disabilities. They see and play with varied resources, including children's photographs and different dolls. They celebrate special days with families and visit the library for books, for example, on Eid. As a result, children are effectively supported to develop a positive attitude to others. Staff request written permission from parents on the children's registration forms to seek emergency medical advice or treatment. As a result, the provision for the children's health care is effective.

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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. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by the 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 AND 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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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): • make sure the system for registering children's attendance on a daily basis is completed as soon as each child arrives.

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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): • consolidate the links between planning and assessment that includes parents’ comments so that short term plans clearly show each child's interests are met.

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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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