Leos Day Nursery

Leos Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY346312 Unique Reference Number 05 June 2008 Inspection date Diana Pidgeon Inspector

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Leos Nursery, 66 St. Albans Road, Arnold, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG5 6GS

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E-mail

Leo's Childrens Nurseries Ltd 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?

Leo's Day Nursery first opened in 1990. It was taken over by the present owners in 2007. It operates from two converted Victorian houses and a ground floor extension. There is a large secure garden with tarmac and lawned areas that are shaded by trees in summer. The nursery is within walking distance of schools, shops and Arnold town centre. Children are cared for in four separate areas according to their age and stage of development. The nursery serves the local and wider communities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

A maximum of 42 children may attend the nursery at any one time. Currently, there are 103 children from eight months to 10 years on roll. Of these, 22 are in receipt of funded education. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year, closing for one week at Christmas and all bank holidays. Opening times are from 07:45 until 18:00. The nursery offers before and after school care and holiday care for children from the local schools. The nursery employs a total of 22 staff who work directly with the children. Of these, one is qualified to Early Years Professional Status and 12 hold appropriate early years qualifications. A number of staff are training towards a qualification and some work part-time. The nursery is a member of the

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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 National Day Nurseries Association and receives support from the Nottinghamshire Local Authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children take part in regular exercise and eat healthily, which encourages them to develop an understanding of how to lead a healthy lifestyle. They regularly play outdoors and use a good range of toys and equipment that supports their physical development. For example, children enjoy climbing on the fixed structures and riding wheeled toys. Staff ensure there is always lots to do outdoors, such as playing in the play house or digging in the sand pit, so that children have a full experience whilst in the fresh air. Active games continue indoors as children benefit from joining in parachute games and movement and dancing sessions. Young babies and new starters develop a sense of emotional well-being through having their care needs met by consistent and familiar staff.

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Helping children to be healthy

Helping children to eat healthily is given high priority in the nursery. All meals are home cooked and accompanied by fresh seasonal vegetables or salad. There is a fruit bowl in every room and children frequently eat fresh fruit for their snacks. Children's awareness of healthy eating is raised through the conversations staff have with them and completing the '5 a day' chart in each room. Older children clearly identify the foods that are good for them and know that milk makes their bones and teeth strong. All children have access to drinks throughout the day and preschool children quench their thirst by helping themselves to water when they wish.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children learn the importance of personal hygiene through daily routines. For example, they understand when to wash their hands and how this contributes to keeping them healthy. Staff effectively implement the health and hygiene policies and procedures and so ensure the environment is clean and safe. For example, toilet areas are cleaned regularly throughout the day and staff wear appropriate protective clothing when changing nappies. Children's health is further safeguarded as staff are alert to the signs of children becoming unwell and take appropriate action to make them comfortable. Parents give prior written consent for any medication to be administered and this ensures children receive the correct dosage according to their needs. Any accidents to children are dealt with swiftly and appropriately by staff who are trained to administer first aid. This ensures their immediate needs are met. Records of any

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Helping children to be healthy

accidents are made and shared with parents. However, accident records are not always labelled with the child's full name or sufficiently detailed in relation to recording the circumstances of the accident and any injury sustained to fully protect children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children remain safe whilst they are in the nursery through good safety procedures. Thorough risk assessment is undertaken and regularly reviewed in the event of any changes. Areas are checked daily before they are used by the children and staff remain vigilant during the day. For example, the garden is checked carefully after rain and any standing water removed to ensure it is safe before the children venture outside. Children are learning to keep themselves safe as they all take part in regular fire evacuation practises. Older children demonstrate how to go up and down the stairs safely as they move around the nursery. All children are protected

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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 from the adverse effects of the sun by wearing hats and suncream when they go outdoors. Staff ensure children can play in shady areas by positioning activities appropriately.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children and parents are warmly greeted by friendly staff. All areas of the nursery are secure and staff monitor the access of any visitors. Full signing in procedures ensure a record is held of all persons on the premises at any time and therefore children are protected. Children are comfortable in their base rooms as staff make sure these are welcoming and monitor temperatures so that children are not too hot or cold. A good range of age-appropriate resources is available to the children in all areas and staff ensure children are able to make choices in what they do. Babies benefit from having some soft furnishings in the room that allow them to be nursed when feeding and to pull themselves up against as they learn to stand.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is safeguarded because staff have a secure understanding of their responsibilities towards child protection. They show a good awareness of the signs of abuse and know what to do if concerned about a child in their care.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy and enjoy their time in the nursery. Staff interact well with the children and form friendly relationships with them. They use their understanding of child development and the relevant curriculum guidance materials to plan appropriate activities for the children and to support their free play. This ensures children benefit fully from the practical activities provided. Children's achievements are recorded in their 'Magnificent me' books so that their next steps in learning are identified.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Babies develop warm and trusting relationships with their carers so that they are eager to explore their surroundings and extend their abilities. The good range of toys, resources and equipment in this area is used effectively to help children gain mobility and to learn through their play. Babies smile happily as they investigate toys and sway rhythmically to the music as it plays. Feeding and sleeping for babies takes place according to the children's individual needs so that consistency with home routines is maintained. Toddlers begin to develop a strong sense of self and are confident to initiate and to extend their own play. Activities such as group parachute games help the younger children to learn to cooperate with others while having lots of fun. Slightly older children become enthralled with 'Leo's shoe shop' and enjoy trying on new pairs of shoes and chatting about what they are doing. Children eagerly search for shoes

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

that match to make a pair and guess whether they will be too big or small for them.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children are happy and develop positive attitudes towards learning. They get involved in activities and respond well to challenge. Daily routines provide a good balance of adult-led activities and child-initiated learning. Children play an active role in choosing some of the resources set out each day and benefit from periods of free play where they can initiate and extend their own ideas. Children particularly benefit from the high quality input from the adults who work with them. Staff skilfully follow through on children's interests and incorporate learning opportunities through effective questioning and encouraging problem solving. Adult-led activities are well planned and executed so that children are eager participants and remain fully engaged. For example, children really enjoy group music and singing sessions and story times.

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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 Staff have a good understanding of children's individual abilities based on the regular observations undertaken in the setting. They use these to inform their future planning and are beginning to introduce a system of targeted learning. This is still in the early stages of implementation and is not used to link any activities that children take home to share with their parents with their own targets. Hence, the opportunity to support these targets is not maximised.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have good relationships with the staff and each other. They play amicably together and are confident to make choices in what they do. Many children are able to organise themselves, for example, to play a board game and do not need adult input to play fairly. They have good self-esteem that is constantly boosted by the praise and encouragement they receive from staff. Most children communicate confidently and are eager to express their ideas and opinions. They sit attentively at story time and eagerly join in repeated phrases and guess what will happen next from the picture clues. Their vocabulary is constantly increasing because staff ensure they name new objects for children as opportunities occur. Most children readily recognise their own names in the room and talk confidently about the sounds some letters make. They enjoy a wide variety of mark making activities such as making shapes and letters in damp sand

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident to use numbers. They count themselves in when singing and many children can count the number of children present at group times. Through joining in with a number of different songs, such as '10 in the bed', children become familiar with the idea of taking one away. They begin to solve problems as they help to lay the tables for lunch, ensuring they have the required number of place settings. Children learn about the natural world through a wealth of activities. They keenly observe some tadpoles in the tank and look for the first signs that they are growing legs. Several children find worms and insects as they dig or play in the garden and understand how to observe them and treat them with respect. Daily use of the computer helps children to access all areas of learning. They enjoy listening and responding to instructions and quickly develop mouse control.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Good access to outdoor play provides children with opportunities to promote their physical skills. Children are able to choose what they wish to do from many activities available. For example, children delight in climbing on the wooden frame and balancing on the crates. Further challenge is provided all year round for the older children when they visit 'Tumble Town', a soft play venue. Staff ensure children have some physical play every day even when the weather is poor. Children thoroughly enjoy an indoor activity where they balance a sponge on different parts of their bodies and then act out scenarios such as washing a car. They use a variety of tools such as scissors to develop their fine motor control. Children use their imagination well during their play. For example, they make up scenarios and look to add to these by making helmets from a construction toy. Many children like to paint and give meaning to their pictures.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

They are beginning to understand how colours mix so that they can achieve the shade they require. Children take pleasure in music and singing and have a large repertoire of songs that they know. Overall, they enjoy expressing themselves creatively and being able to display some of their work in the room.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children show kindness to others as they willingly share resources and take turns in activities. Preschool children show an understanding of fair play as they use a board game with minimal adult supervision. Younger children learn to cooperate with others as they enthusiastically join

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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 in parachute games and work together to make it rise and fall. All children begin to show an understanding of what is expected of them and benefit from staff who guide them sensitively to resolve any disputes. Staff provide lots of praise and encouragement, which boosts children's self-esteem. They deal with any incidents calmly and promptly so that children of all ages learn what kinds of behaviour are expected of them.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's individuality is valued within all areas of the nursery so that they enjoy experiences and routines that meet their needs and interests. Through a variety of activities and projects children learn about the local and wider community. This enables them to think about others and to appreciate diversity in ways that are meaningful to themselves. Good systems are in place to ensure children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive appropriate support to enable them to fully participate in the life of the nursery and to achieve well. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The nursery clearly fosters good relationships with parents and treats them with respect. Clear information is provided when children first start and they are kept up to date through notices and newsletters. Displays in the hallways and rooms ensure parents have most relevant information about day to day issues, so that they are well informed. Staff share information at the end of the day regarding the children's care and their developmental progress. The partnership with parents and carers of funded children is good. Systems are in place so that parents are aware of the current topic and how they can contribute to this. For example, parents dress children appropriately for 'the yellow day' and help them to find items for 'show and tell'. Many parents enjoy the opportunities to share activities at home with their children such as taking home a book or activity. Children's developmental files are available for parents to

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Helping children make a positive contribution

consult at any time and supplement more formal ways to learn about their child's achievements. This helps parents to feel fully involved in their children's learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children's care, learning and welfare is promoted through the positive interactions of the motivated staff team. Many staff have worked at the nursery for some time and have a wealth of relevant experience as well as appropriate qualifications. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that all new staff are carefully selected and good systems are in place to support them through their induction. All staff are encouraged to access further training to ensure their skills remain up to date. Staff deploy themselves well to ensure children have sufficient adult attention to meet their needs. At times, children move between rooms and this is mostly to enrich their experiences and to help them with transitions. However, staff do not always allow children time to complete the activity they are involved in before moving them. For example, on one occasion they are moved in the middle of story time. This affects their

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Organisation

The leadership and management is good. All of the staff involved in the delivery of the educational programme for preschool children work closely together and share their expertise so that children's learning is effective. They take on board new ideas and continuously strive to improve their own practice. Management have a clear plan for the ongoing development of the nursery and regularly reflect on their own practice to ensure standards are maintained.

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Organisation

All of the legally required documentation is in place and mostly maintained to promote the welfare of the children. A good range of policies and procedures is in place and regularly

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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 reviewed to ensure they reflect the current requirements. Overall, the provision 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 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

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure accident records always contain sufficient detail • ensure that any movement of children between groups in the course of the day is organised to meet their needs.

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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): • continue to refine the systems for identifying targets for individual children and link these more closely to the work children share at home with their parents or carers.

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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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