Frizington Nursery School

Frizington Nursery School & Children's Centre Inspection report for early years provision

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EY221560 Unique Reference Number 27 February 2008 Inspection date Carol-Anne Shaw Inspector

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Main Street, Frizington, Cumbria, CA26 3PF Setting Address

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E-mail

The Governing Body of Frizington Nursery School & Children's Centre Registered person Childcare 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

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

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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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Frizington Nursery School and Children's Centre is managed by the Governing Body of Frizington Nursery School and Children's Centre. It was registered for childcare in 2002 and operates from a purpose-built building situated in Frizington, Cumbria. The building is used by a number of related services.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The head teacher has overall responsibility for the childcare, a manager is employed to manage the day to day management and other services available. This inspection covered the childcare offered by the children's centre, the nursery education inspection was completed as part of the school inspection.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Children have access to the main playroom which is partitioned into different age groups, with a separate area for children under two years. An enclosed outdoor play area is for exclusive use of the nursery. The older children have access to the other nursery area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 50 children from the local area on roll who attend for varied sessions. The nursery welcomes children with learning difficulties and disabilities. There are no children attending with English as a second language. The sessions are from 07.30 to 17.30 each weekday for 48 weeks throughout the year.

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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 provision employs eight staff including the manager, who all hold appropriate early years qualifications. Other ancillary staff are employed and there are two students who are training for a childcare qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children demonstrate a positive attitude to their well-being. The staff work to the clear policies and procedures in place which meet the children’s physical, nutritional and health needs. They provide the children with good guidance and support, younger children gain a good understanding of hygiene from following the nursery routines. The older children are confident in accessing the facilities, for example, washing hands before snack time and after creative activities. Children develop their independence in personal care and are becoming aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle, as they clean their teeth after the lunch club.

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Helping children to be healthy

The older children have good opportunities to extend and develop their physical control in the organised daily indoor and outdoor experiences. This is supported by the staff having a good awareness of individual children’s development through observations and assessments. They have a good understanding of how children develop physically. However, the access to fresh air for the younger children is limited. The older children are developing a positive attitude to physical exercise. They enjoy using the outdoor area with its changing challenges. The older children use the outside area to effectively support their learning, accessing a wide range of play activities linked to the curriculum.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have a very good range of healthy options throughout the day, they enjoy a choice of fruits at snack time. Lunch is a very social occasion with the cooked lunch served in small groups. The meals are healthy and nutritious, the cook provides a range of different menus that change with the seasons. Older children have a very good understanding of why they eat healthy foods and how it relates to their bodies. Effective liaison with parents ensures children’s individual dietary needs are fully met. Good attention is paid to managing children’s medical needs.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Risks of accidental injury to children are minimised because staff are vigilant and use comprehensive risk assessment systems to reduce potential hazards. The staff follow the available policies and procedures to ensure that children are protected. The children learn about protecting themselves, for example, the older children tidy resources and ensure the floor is mopped when they spill water from the water tray.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children access a wide range of good quality, safe and suitable toys, resources and equipment, all very appropriate to their age and stage of development. The equipment is effectively set out to enable the older children to freely access and make individual choices depending on their interests. The organisation of the ongoing provision for the children under three years old is not as effective.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are very well protected by staff, who all have a good understanding of safeguarding children and work to the policies and procedures. The required documentation to support

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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 safeguarding is readily available. The staff attend ongoing training and are fully aware of their responsibilities relating to safeguarding children and give a high priority to children’s welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children enjoy their time spent in the group. They are safe, secure and happy in the provision. There are good relationships throughout the setting producing a happy environment where the children enjoy their play. This increases the children’s sense of trust and helps them develop a strong sense of self. The good quality adult-child interactions build the children’s confidence and self-esteem.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff have a good understanding of the 'Birth to three matters' guidance and confidently follow this to provide the younger children with suitable care and education. The staff are sensitive towards children’s needs and recognise the uniqueness of each child. There are recorded observations and assessments of progress, and systems are in place to ensure children are progressing in their development. However, these are not used effectively to plan the short term learning programme, to match the possible next steps in children's individual development and learning. The long and medium term planning covers all areas of the curriculum.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The outside environment is not fully effective for planned purposeful activities to promote independent development and learning. The younger children had limited opportunities to access the outside environment at the time of the inspection.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The older children experience stimulating activities that are planned to be effective for their age and interest levels. This helps them achieve better levels of concentration, language and listening skills and fine motor controls. They have many opportunities to access robust physical activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All children enjoy singing time and happily join in with the familiar songs and rhymes. High priority is put upon imaginative play and children learn to play cooperatively with one another. Imaginative play is encouraged by the staff and the children talk on the telephones and make food in the play kitchen.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's personal, social and emotional development are good, due to the practitioners meeting the care needs of all the children. Opportunities are available for children to do creative work in the focus activities. Children are not able to access the full range of resources that support their creativity throughout the day.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff have carried out an audit of the continuous provision, this has highlighted areas to develop.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

There were no older children attending the out of school provision at the time of the inspection, however, the staff were able to demonstrate that suitable arrangements would be made for the older age group when attending.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are well cared for by staff who work exceptionally well with parents to meet children’s individual needs and ensure they are included fully in the life of the setting. Staff demonstrate

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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 awareness of equal opportunities, learning difficulties and disabilities, ensuring children’s individual needs are fully met and they feel included. All children are sincerely and warmly welcomed into the nursery, giving them a real sense of belonging.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Younger children are learning to work harmoniously with others as staff support them in sharing and taking turns. In routines, such as tidying resources, there is still work to be done with regard to staff consistency and expectations. Children make decisions as they choose from a wide range of resources. These resources reflect equal opportunities, helping children to become aware of a wider society, for example, a range of dressing up clothes, small world toys, books and instruments. There are positive images displayed around the provision and the setting celebrates the backgrounds of all the children and the local community.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The staff value children's individuality and respect parents' views and contribution to the care provided. Younger children’s home routines are fully discussed and staff support parents effectively. The children’s behaviour is mainly good, the staff working with the older children show a consistent and caring approach to managing behaviour. The older children follow simple rules and know the routines and boundaries in place. Children share and show respect for others, they take turns and show good manners, saying please and thank you. They learn to negotiate and take responsibility for their own behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is good. The key worker system provides parents with a consistent contact on a daily basis. The very good partnership with parents contributes significantly to children’s well-being in the group. Parents' views are sought through discussion, on a regular basis throughout the time their children attend. Effective systems are in place to ensure all parents are kept informed of how their child is progressing in their development and learning. Children benefit from the involvement of parents in projects and topics, which contributes to their good health, development and learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children’s care is enhanced by the good management of the setting. The organisation of the childcare provides a welcoming environment for children to play and learn. There is a wide range of effective policies and procedures in place to support the management of the provision. The premises in most areas are planned to support and promote children’s development and learning. All families are supported and individual children’s care needs are followed. The staff ratios ensure children have good support, allowing children to experience the many interesting and different activities available. The use of time, space and resources enhances children's learning in most areas.

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Organisation

Children benefit from the staff having a sound knowledge of how children learn. The management and staff reflect and review the provision and make plans to enhance the quality. This has shown that the nursery care for the younger children and the use of their outside area are not as effective as other areas, action plans have been completed to develop both the indoor and outdoor continuous provision.

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Organisation

Detailed procedures are in place for induction and the ongoing training of staff. They have a commitment to improvement and personal development, this underpins the care and welfare of the children in the setting. The staff show enthusiasm and work as a team to ensure the provision meets the needs of all the children who attend.

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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 centre manager is introducing services to encourage parents into the centre, the Peeps group aims to support anyone caring for a child from birth to 12 months old. Other outreach work for parents is managed from the centre, these link closely with school and the over three year olds who attend the school.

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Organisation

Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last childcare inspection there were three recommendations made relating to safety and organisation.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The group has completed comprehensive risk assessments and staff have attended training. The safeguarding policies and procedures have been updated and now contain the required information. The staff have attended training to update their knowledge of current safeguarding issues.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The group continues to keep Ofsted informed of changes to management.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This has improved the standard of care and safety for the children attending.

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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

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

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

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • use the audit of the different play areas to develop the ongoing provision, enabling children to have access to a quality continuous provision, both indoors and outdoors, within which children can develop and learn • evaluate the short term planning and how it links to the individual progress of children, to ensure a clear understanding of the possible next steps in their development and learning.

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The quality and standards of the care

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

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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