Parrock House Day Nursery

Parrock House Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY343343 Unique Reference Number 14 May 2008 Inspection date Cynthia Walker Inspector

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26 Parrock Road, Barrowford, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 6QF Setting Address

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01282 447414 Telephone number mds123@btinternet.com E-mail Parrock House Day Nursery 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 satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Parrock House Day Nursery was registered in 2007 and is privately owned. The nursery operates from a purposely designed building in Barrowford which includes five playrooms. Three rooms on the ground floor are used by the older children and an additional room accommodates children under two years. The younger babies use a room on the first floor. There is access to two enclosed outdoor play areas. The nursery serves the local and wider community. It is open each weekday from 07.30 until 18.00, for 51 weeks of the year.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is registered to care for 24 children under five years. Currently there are 21 children attending the nursery throughout the week, of these, two children are in receipt of nursery education funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery is supporting children with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs seven childcare staff and all staff have appropriate early years qualifications, three members of staff are to work towards further qualifications. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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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. Children are well nourished and enjoy a variety of cooked meals and snacks which incorporate a good selection of fruit and vegetables. Detailed procedures are in place to ensure children have healthy options. Children enjoy good social interaction as they sit down for both snacks and meals with staff support. The children's dietary needs are discussed with the parents and efficiently recorded to ensure the individual children's needs are met. Children are able to access drinks regularly throughout the day which includes the option of water. Clear induction procedures for children which are completed by parents establish the children's routines, to enable staff to ensure children have appropriate rest or sleep.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are developing an understanding of personal hygiene as they wash their hands before eating and after going to the toilet. They explain that they are washing their hands to get the mud off. Staff demonstrate that children are suitably cared for if they have an accident or need medication because they follow appropriate procedures. A sickness policy is in place to support children if they become ill whilst at the nursery.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy physical exercise through regular access to the outdoor area during the day. They develop their physical skills, confidently negotiating the large climbing frame as they climb up it and crawl through the central tunnel. Children skilfully control large balls as they kick them to the adults whilst others bounce them to each other. They become enthusiastically involved in singing games as they confidently sing 'Ring a ring a roses' and actively participate in the game of 'Mr Wolf' with great excitement. Children enjoy running and chasing around as they negotiate space and confidently control wheeled toys as they ride around the climbing frame.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a warm, safe and welcoming environment which is creatively arranged to allow children to move independently and spontaneously around all areas of play and learning. Displays throughout the nursery, which include children's artwork, ensure it is a bright and cheerful place to be. Children are accessing a good range of resources which are appropriate to their ages and stages of development and actively support learning. Resources are constructively arranged around the individual areas which allows children to make decisions about what resources they will use to support their play and learning. There are clear procedures in place to monitor the safety of the equipment and resources and there is a regular cleaning programme.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's safety is maintained at all times because detailed risk assessments are in place to identify and minimise risks within the nursery and in the outdoor area. Children are learning about keeping safe as staff give clear explanations about the dangers of using knives during a supervised activity and whilst using the equipment in the outdoor area. There are detailed procedures in place which ensure children develop an understanding of fire safety.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are effectively safeguarded by staff who have a good understanding of child protection procedures which are in line with the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

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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 satisfactory. Children enjoy their time at the nursery and arrive happy and eager to participate. Regular observations are being completed on children under three and future learning is identified for most children. The key workers are developing an effective understanding of individual children's needs and are linking this information informally to future planning. The children's daily diaries highlight activities children have been involved in, for example, exploring and playing with bubbles. Staff explain that last week, activities included painting and exploring shaving foam.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children under two years enjoy playing with a variety of resources as they turn toys over in their hands and carefully examine them. They become absorbed as they watch computer discs suspended in the window and the branches of trees blowing in the breeze, and put their noses to the surface of a mirror as they become fascinated with their reflections. Children are finding a voice as they chatter to resources on an activity bar and develop their physical skills as they actively roll around the floor examining resources in their path. They use their senses as they pour water into different containers using a variety of resources. Children under three years respond with great excitement as they enthusiastically recognise the characters from a book as they listen to a story and shout 'see him, it's the shark'. They enjoy moving a toy boat around the channels in the water tray and pouring water on to the waterwheel to turn it around.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children use their imagination as they put on bear headdresses and put on a gingham skirt to re-enact a fairy story explaining that they are 'a scary bear' and even find the wooden spoons and bowls to eat their porridge.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. The provider and the newly established staff team are developing their knowledge of and confidence in the new guidance and procedures. Observations clearly establish the children's starting points and regular assessments identify the children's next steps for learning. This information is being used to support and plan individual children's learning, for example, linking letters to phonics with pictures and moving towards recognising letters with no pictures. However, although files are in place to plan the children's learning, these are not yet being formally recorded. Plans are in place to support the enhancement programme which is rotated every three weeks. Staff have established positive relationships with the children and actively praise them for their achievements. They use effective questioning in most areas, although this is not reflected in all areas of mathematical

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

development. Staff use a variety of teaching methods to sustain children's interest including working as a whole group, planned activities or free play. They provide a stimulating environment with constructively arranged resources which enable children to progress.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have a positive attitude to learning and are interested in the range of activities provided. They use their initiative and take responsibility for their own play. Children concentrate well during circle time and at a planned activity as they examine a melon. They confidently initiate interactions with the adults and other children within the nursery and are good communicators. They use language as they share experiences from home about their parents and which football team they support, and children negotiate with each other as they complete a large floor jigsaw. Children explain that the trees are wobbling as they describe the weather. Good use of phonics enables children to confidently recognise letters, and named place mats encourage children to recognise their own names. Children confidently contribute to the story showing good anticipation and link the three bears to a factual book about different types of bears. The

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

introduction of finger rhymes encourages children to count, and children confidently use shapes

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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 as they complete jigsaws. However, there are few opportunities within the daily routine for children to develop their mathematical skills including counting. Children make interesting comparisons between items in the role play area such as spoons and a colander, stating that they were both shiny and made from the same material. They agreed they were not wood or plaster and considered glass, they dropped the spoons to see if they would break and decided that the items were made of metal just like robots. Children use their senses to examine the properties of gloop which had dried out and describe it as 'crunchy and crumbly and looks like powder'. They experiment with a water spray to see and feel how this changes the mixture. The children's individual files reflect a range of children's artwork including interesting rainbow

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

fish, individual drawings and paintings. Children enthusiastically participate in singing a variety of songs which incorporate a range of finger puppets.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children behave well in response to the calm and consistent explanations from staff. They play harmoniously together at activities as they assemble a large floor puzzle, and take turns as they examine a melon or share resources whilst playing with the small world toys. Children are developing positive relationships with each other, and younger children are developing self assurance from close and effective relationships with staff. They are beginning to distinguish between right and wrong as children explain that, 'it wasn't a bad game they were just trying to get in front of me'.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are developing a positive attitude to others through the provision of a wide range of resources which include dolls, small world figures, dressing up clothes, displays, books and jigsaws which are supported by items from the resource centre. The nursery has participated in activities to celebrate the cultures of children within nursery, for example, Italian. Children's individual needs are clearly established by the completion of a detailed induction form by their parents. The nursery has effective systems in place to support children with learning difficulties and disabilities. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents are actively welcomed into the nursery and the ongoing needs of the children under two are shared through detailed daily diaries in which parents are encouraged to share information about their child. Although the nursery informs parents that policies and procedures are in place, these are not easily accessible to parents as they are not contained in one document.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is satisfactory. Parents receive effective information about the nursery through an information booklet, a comprehensive starting nursery pack and noticeboards. The ongoing needs of the older children are shared verbally through the key worker system and parents are made aware that they can discuss their children's achievements at any time, this information is to be clarified in a newsletter in the near future. Although there is a white board in place to share general information, there are no systems in place to enable parents to become involved in their children's learning or share relevant information about their own children.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. All the required documentation which contributes to children's health, safety and well-being is in place. Effective recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to determine the suitability of the staff members to safeguard the children attending the nursery. Documentation is

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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 presented in clear operational files and include policies and procedures which are reflected in daily practice, for example, behaviour. There is a positive attitude to training and all the staff team have appropriate early years qualifications to maintain the care and learning of children. Space within the nursery is creatively organised to enhance the play and learning opportunities for children.

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Organisation

Leadership and management is satisfactory. Clear staffing procedures are being used effectively to establish and support the new staff team. Regular staff meetings ensure consistency in maintaining outcomes for children. There are no systems in place to evaluate the overall setting and procedures are not in place to monitor and evaluate the provision for nursery education. The nursery liaises with advisors from the local authority to improve the quality of education for the children they are providing.

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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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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 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 satisfactory.

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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): • ensure all children's assessments identify their future learning and these details are used to inform future planning • improve the system for sharing information about all the relevant policies and procedures with parents.

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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):

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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 • continue to develop understanding of the educational programme to ensure information from assessments is used to inform planning • increase the opportunities for parents to share information on their children and be involved in their learning • develop systems to monitor the effectiveness of the nursery and implement a system for evaluating the provision for nursery education to ensure all areas are being covered particularly mathematical development.

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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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