Woodlands Day Nursery

Woodlands Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY283891 Unique Reference Number 14 May 2008 Inspection date Fran Fielder Inspector

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Church Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 0RU Setting Address

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E-mail

Asquith Court Nurseries Limited 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?

Woodlands Day Nursery opened in 1997. It operates from four rooms in a converted church school building in Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

A maximum of 65 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08.00 to 18.00 five days a week, 51 weeks of the year excluding Bank Holidays. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 111 children aged from eight months to under five years on roll. This includes 45 children who are in receipt of nursery education funding. Children come from a wide catchment area and attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties and also a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs 15 staff who work with the children. Of these, 12 including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery also employs a cook and an administrator.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

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

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Effective daily routines ensure children learn and understand the value of good hygiene. Staff follow good hygiene procedures such as using anti-bacterial gel after wiping a child's nose. This helps prevent the spread of infection. Toddlers use flannels to wipe their hands and faces after lunch. This encourages independence and helps them develop good hygiene routines from an early age.

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Helping children to be healthy

Meals are prepared daily by a competent and knowledgeable cook. She uses flavourings such as herbs and garlic to prepare a range of nutritious meals. Children eat well and enjoy a variety of fruit at snack time. They enjoy midday meals such as roast chicken and vegetables, fish pie or lamb hotpot. At teatime, they have pasta salad, pitta pockets or savoury sandwiches. A vegetarian option is always available. Desserts include yogurts and fruit crumbles. Healthy eating for young children is a priority to ensure they develop good eating habits. Topics such has 'Keeping Healthy' help children understand that rest, personal hygiene, expression of feelings are just as important as a balanced diet.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff follow babies’ individual sleeping and feeding routines. This provides continuity of care. Delightful interaction and warm relationships promote babies and toddlers' emotional well-being. They receive good support from staff while learning to control their bodies and building physical skills.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children play outdoors every day ensuring plenty of fresh air that contributes towards their health. They ride around on wheeled toys and show good manoeuvring skills. They enjoy carrying passengers on the back of tricycles made for two. Babies enjoy crawling in and out of tents and practise walking using push along toys. Older children run up and down a small hill and love to dig for worms and other mini beasts.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children play in a bright and welcoming environment. Children enjoy talking about their contributions to the stimulating displays around the room. Children have easy access to a wide range of good quality toys made from a variety of materials. These are stimulating and suitable for children's age and stage of development. Staff clean and check all equipment regularly to ensure it is safe and hygienic. Staff organise the space very well allowing children to move around safely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The premises are secure with a buzzer entry system and coded keypads to each room. The security camera ensures only known visitors can gain access. Staff carry out regular risk assessments to minimise potential hazards. Regular fire drills ensure staff and children can evacuate the building effectively in an emergency.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Many staff hold current first aid certificates, which allows them to assess and treat minor injuries. Staff have also attended child protection training. They have a good understanding of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child in their care. This promotes and safeguards children's welfare.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

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

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are very happy, confident and independent. Babies and toddlers enjoy lots of positive interaction with their key worker. This gives them confidence to try new challenges. Staff work well with babies and toddlers to support early communication skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff use the ‘Birth to three matters’ framework to plan meaningful activities for babies and children under three. Young children enjoy many activities that stimulate their senses such as, playing with musical toys, sponge painting and feeling different textures. Individual plans ensure children learn and develop at their own rate.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy learning about and looking after Bert, the hamster. They visit the library to find books that show them how to care for Bert. Beautiful displays 'All about Bert' encourage children to share information about their own pets. Children can take Bert home for the weekend, which is particularly beneficial for children who have no pets.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. The person in charge of the pre-school is extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic and receptive to new ideas. The staff have a very good understanding of how children develop and learn. They plan a range of practical activities based on children's interests. This helps all children make good progress in all areas of learning. Staff create a stimulating environment where children’s work is beautifully displayed and labelled. This shows children’s work is valued and gives them a sense of belonging. Staff focus their energy on supporting children at all times. They ask relevant questions that help children organise their thoughts and extend their ideas. Regular observations enable staff to assess children's stage of development. Planning is good although it does not always show clearly how activities are adapted to suit different abilities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The programme for personal, social and emotional development is excellent. Children are extremely confident, independent and very well motivated. Children are very polite, kind, friendly and well behaved. They take turns when speaking and listen carefully to each other.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Listening to poetry and stories is part of the daily routine. Children respond very well to questions about the plot of stories such as 'Captain Pike looks after the baby'. The print rich environment helps children understand that written language conveys meaning. Children recognise their name and many are keen to practise writing showing very good pencil control.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

As well as planned activities there are many opportunities throughout the day for children to learn about number and simple calculation. They sing songs such as '10 fat sausages' and count the candles on a play dough 'cake'. Children plan and make models of space ships and draw the aliens and monsters they might meet.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Visits from the Wild Life Centre allows them to meet a range of animals such as hedgehogs. Children create their own rescue centre for wild animals. During their role-play they use mobile phones to call for an ambulance to collect a snake with a 'poorly tail'. They learn about the change of season through raking up dead leaves in autumn. Children love to hunt for mini beasts and are delighted when they find worms under a log. Children learn about the wider world and the way others live through well-planned activities that focus on a range of cultures.

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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 Children's artwork is wonderful. They create unique and carefully thought out designs. Delightful paintings and collages demonstrate the opportunities children have to express their thoughts and feelings. Singing, dancing and listening to music, play an important part in the life of the pre-school. Children love role-play and make excellent use of this well planned resource to extend their learning in all areas.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Staff set a good example by showing respect for children and adults alike. Staff encourage children to enjoy all resources and activities. Topics introduce children to different cultures and posters reflect positive images of all people in society. As a result, children develop a positive attitude towards diversity. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

There are good systems in place to support children who speak English as an additional language as well as those who have learning difficulties. Individual plans are devised in collaboration with parents to ensure needs are well met. Staff are consistent when managing children's behaviour. Praise, encouragement and good explanation help children understand the consequences of their actions.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents receive good information about all aspects of the nursery and the Foundation Stage of learning. Parents receive details of the nursery policies and procedures although not all are easily available.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

All relevant information is gathered on the registration form to ensure children are cared for according to parents’ wishes. Parents contribute to an initial assessment of their child to ensure staff have a good knowledge of individual needs and achievements. This enables staff to build on what children already know as well as providing appropriate care. There are both formal and informal systems in place for staff and parents to share information about children’s individual progress and development.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Staff organise space well to ensure children gain fully from all activities. Staff deployment is effective and ensures good supervision at all times. Generally, children play and work in groups according to their age. Staff also take account of children’s individual developmental needs before moving them to the next group.

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Organisation

Clear aims reflect a commitment to improving the quality of care and education. There are effective recruitment procedures in place. After a probationary period, staff can attend further relevant childcare training. Regular appraisals identify training needs and staff are encouraged to enrol on relevant courses. This means that suitable, experienced and qualified persons look after children. All required documentation is in place although some is difficult to locate. Some policies and procedures lack detail.

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Organisation

Leadership and management are good. The manager and her deputy are committed to supporting and developing staff. Staff feel able to approach managers and know they will take the time to listen. As a result, staff feel valued, motivated and keen to develop their professional knowledge. Having staff teams that are happy is crucial to the welfare of the children.

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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 Staff work well as a team in all rooms and clear communication and guidance allows them to provide a stimulating well-balanced programme. Teaching is monitored through observation and discussion. Staff evaluate the activities to look at how to improve the outcomes for children. The nursery meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection, the nursery was asked to ensure the children's resources, toys and equipment are well presented and in good condition. Staff have a system in place to clean all items used by the children. Risk assessments identify anything used by the children that is not in good condition. This ensures children have access to a range of good quality resources that are stimulating and appropriate for their age and stage of learning.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last education inspection, the nursery was asked to expand the information given to parents about the Foundation Stage. They were also asked to ensure supply staff have knowledge of the Foundation Stage. Parents receive good information regarding the curriculum and how children will learn. They receive leaflets that give parents ideas about how to support their children's learning. This ensures that staff and parents can work closely to support individual learning needs.

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Improvements since the last inspection

All staff working with the funded children attend planning meetings. They receive a Foundation Stage pack and are shown the value of observations. They also receive information and advice on how to carry out observations and how these are used to inform the planning. This ensures that all adults working with the pre-school children are aware of how to support children.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection, Ofsted received one complaint relating to National Standards 6: Safety, National Standard 7: Health and National Standard 12: Working in Partnership with Parents and Carers. Concerns were raised regarding the safety of children, the security of the premises, hygiene, communication with parents and the complaints procedure. Ofsted asked the provider to investigate and report back. Upon reviewing the provider’s response, Ofsted found that the provider had not responded to a written complaint, made by a parent. As a result, Ofsted raised an action under National Standard 12. The provider responded to the action outlining that a letter and customer satisfaction questionnaire will be sent to complainants once complaints are resolved. Ofsted was satisfied that by taking these steps the provider met the National Standards and remained qualified for registration.

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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 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): • revise policies and procedures and ensure parents have easy access to these • organise paperwork to ensure this is easily accessible

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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): • further develop the planning to make clear how activities are differentiated to meet all children's learning needs

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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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