Kiddies Korner Nursery

Kiddies Korner Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY366264 Unique Reference Number 11 June 2008 Inspection date Jan Leo Inspector

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Kiddies Korner, Quarry Village Hall, 67 Quarry Road, Headington, OXFORD, OX3 8NX

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Setting Address

01865 766762 Telephone number triciasamed@hotmail.co.uk E-mail Patricia Margaret Medlicott Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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Setting Address

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?

Kiddies Korner Nursery is a privately owned provision, established in 1974 and registered under its present owner in 2007. It operates from the village hall in Headington Quarry, on the outskirts of Oxford. It serves the local community and surrounding area. The nursery has the use of all areas of the hall, including a fully enclosed garden for outdoor play.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

A maximum of 48 children may attend the provision at any one time and there are currently 47 on roll. Of these, 16 receive funding for nursery education. The setting supports a small number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

In addition to the nursery facilities for children up to the age of five years, the setting provides care before and after school and during the school holidays for children up to the age of eight years. The setting is open from 7.30 to 17.30, five days a week, for 51 weeks of the year. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are eight members of staff who work with the children; over half of these staff hold a recognised childcare qualification. A cook is employed to prepare a hot meal for the children at lunch times.

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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 benefit from fresh air and exercise in order to develop a healthy lifestyle and stay well. They play outdoors at regular intervals, donning sun hats and sun cream to protect them from harmful rays in hot weather. The staff encourage children to drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration and they provide nutritious and varied refreshments throughout the day. The children sit on the floor, picnic style, to eat their snack, thoroughly washing their hands beforehand to remove dirt and germs. However, they sit directly on the floor, touching it while they wait, which undoes their cleaning preparations. A cook provides freshly cooked food for lunch based on a three week menu plan. Lunch includes foods such as cheese pizza, cucumber, carrot and tomato, and the children eat well. Adaptations ensure the menu is suitable for children with special diets and staff hold ample supplies back for sleeping children to enjoy

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Helping children to be healthy

later. All children sleep according to their needs and staff watch them constantly to ensure they remain comfortable and safe. The staff build very close bonds with their key children to ensure all feel emotionally secure and settle quickly. In addition, staff get to know the other children to ensure security continues if key workers are absent. The children learn the importance of cleanliness and know exactly how to use soap to remove dirt, and which hand drier they prefer. They freely tell others how to clean themselves properly, taking pride in their own success. All members of staff have a first aid certificate to equip them with the skills and knowledge to administer assistance if children get hurt, and they have a large first aid box with up-to-date supplies. The staff keep accident and medication records to ensure they manage children's health issues appropriately, but some lack detail. For example, the time of accidents

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Helping children to be healthy

is missing from some records and occasionally records have no signature from a parent or carer to show they know about the accident.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The children are safe because the staff operate a secure entry system and provide a high level of supervision throughout the day. The provider keeps staff ratios high when completing the school run to avoid compromising safety for those in transit and back at the site. She ensures ample staff work at both ends of the day to cover any unexpected rise in numbers and provide parents with a high degree of flexibility regarding attendance times. The children benefit from daily safety checks to keep the environment safe but staff do not currently complete detailed risk assessments to identify changing hazards and determine how to overcome them. Every member of staff monitors the safety of resources to protect children as they play, and they remove damaged items immediately to prevent them from being re-used. The children practise fire drills frequently to become fully familiar with the evacuation process and staff use evacuation

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

cots to move babies to safety, involving them in the process to practise for emergencies. The children play with a very suitable range of equipment to challenge their skills and staff instinctively know when to stay nearby in case children need help. For example, they prop a baby up with a shaped pillow when sitting on the floor but remain close by with an arm outstretched to prevent them falling and having a fright. Older children dangle with confidence from a small climbing frame while staff watch. The adults leave the more cautious children to copy their friends but stand close by, ready to catch them should they slip and fall. The staff have a firm understanding of their responsibility to safeguard children from harm and they hold useful contact details at home in case they wish to refer child protection concerns in private. The safeguarding policy is clear for both staff and parents to understand, but includes

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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 some incorrect information. The provider knows to notify Ofsted about any allegations against the staff and is planning to revise the policy and remove the statement regarding notifying Ofsted only if a satisfactory solution cannot be found.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. All children join in activities with increasing confidence. The staff prepare the room before children arrive, to make it welcoming and provide a stimulating range of activities to choose from. The children freely decide what to do and most link with friends to begin play together or alongside each other. The babies receive high quality interaction consistently throughout the day, with staff making eye contact, giving cuddles and talking to them at all times to aid their development and help them feel valued members of the setting. Younger and less confident children watch their peers and copy what they do. The staff join in play to develop children's ideas and they interact skilfully to question children's understanding and reinforce what they know. For example, they ask very young children how many snails they have found. They ask older children which is the biggest and which is the smallest, while asking more advanced

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

children which two snails are the same. The staff seize unexpected learning opportunities to make learning relevant to the children and they show genuine interest in what the children say and do. Children attending after school have time to share their news with adults, talking freely about their difficult day and receiving a sympathetic ear when unloading their news. All feel better for some initial attention and swiftly go off to play, joining with children of all ages to play well together.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. The staff know the children well and find out their interests to introduce appropriate activities linked to topic work. This ensures the children are eager to participate and become enthusiastic learners. The staff introduce specific tasks to help address individual weaknesses and they systematically repeat aspects of learning to reinforce what children know. For example, they include colour work in discussion at snack time to reinforce orange, yellow, green, red and blue as they hand out coloured beakers to the children. They concentrate on red and black for younger children by making ladybird collages and use red dough on the craft table. The level of challenges appears to be right despite a weakness in recording observations and planning. The children remain happy all day with a constant buzz of harmonious activity present at all times. The staff make simple notes of

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

children's achievements but few contain any useful information to identify children's next steps. For example, they list what children do and what they like without recording details of success, difficulty, or information to suggest ways to adapt the activity in order to extend skills. The planning links to the early learning goals but does not include specific aims for individual children to increase their challenges and ensure they make consistently good progress even during staff absence. However, the current staff's ability and knowledge of the children overcomes this weakness, with all children remaining productively occupied and making good progress. Older children successfully write their names and recognise letters and numbers. All show an understanding of simple number work as they practise counting at snack time, successfully deciding how many boxes of milk they need and guessing how many they will have

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

left if 10 children take one when they have 11 boxes. The children listen attentively to stories and many comment about what they see in the pictures. Some chat freely about their home life, linking sociably with others and showing interest in what friends do and say. The staff join in play to extend ideas and they seize unexpected learning opportunities as they arise. They teach the children to be gentle when holding snails, to develop a caring nature while learning

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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 more about the natural world. The children learn mostly through play, following a relaxed approach to learning. A comment from a member of staff, to point out a woodlouse, sparks children's enthusiasm and one collects a whole bucket full of woodlice to show to others. They watch with interest as the bugs scurry away in the sand. The children thoroughly enjoy outdoor activities, shovelling sand into buckets to make sand pies and digging holes to sit in. They count 20 shovelfuls to fill their bucket, practising their counting as they play. Some steer a sand truck around the garden with ease while others run off to scale the climbing frame or wash the cooker. The children have good control over their movements and use equipment well. They organise their own games independently and focus for extended periods. The staff

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

help them develop their independence and value what children do, praising their achievements to raise their self-esteem. They listen attentively to children's opinions and encourage the children to speak freely at circle time, taking turns fairly. As a result, all children are confident, sociable, relaxed and happy. They enjoy attending and make good progress. However, children's progress records are currently underused, being completed only rarely and having no dates to indicate children's rate of progress. As a result, they contain scant information and have no value when staff plan children's next steps.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. All children feel respected and valued because the staff address them by name, show interest in their home life, and treat all with equal concern. As a result, all children settle quickly and feel fully included; some protest when they have to go home. The developing key worker system ensures children build close bonds with staff and all receive the support they need to join in fully. The staff work closely with parents of children with special needs and, with permission, involve outside professionals to help draw up individual development plans to ensure children reach their potential. Some staff have a limited knowledge of sign language but currently lack the confidence to use it routinely to extend communication skills for all children. The children play exceptionally well together and they show consideration for living things. For example, one says 'stop please', holding up his hand to prevent a child riding a car over a small snail,

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Helping children make a positive contribution

and another says 'you can sit next to me' when a friend arrives late. The staff praise positive behaviour to promote sharing, turn taking and being kind, and they act as good role models for children to follow. The partnership with parents and carers is good. Staff make policy documents available and provide newsletters to keep families informed of how the setting operates. They encourage parents and carers to visit and phone the setting as often as they wish to ensure they are completely happy with the service they receive. Essential information is on display along with long, medium and short term planning and children's folders are freely available for parents and carers to see. Staff make children's profiles easily accessible, but the lack of detail contained in these documents results in parents having no clear record of their children's rate of progress. Staff provide samples of children's work for adults to see and they

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Helping children make a positive contribution

make themselves available to discuss children's care and education at any time. They suggest ideas to help families continue children's learning at home and, as a result, parents value the setting highly. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. The leadership and management of the provision are good. The provider works alongside her staff in order to monitor the effectiveness of the setting. She does not include herself in staffing ratios to ensure

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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 she is always free to stand in wherever needed, providing additional support as necessary in all areas of the provision. The staff and provider work very well as a team, with ongoing personal development being encouraged in order to raise standards and make staff better equipped to do their jobs. The timetabling of staff hours is very effective to ensure children have a high level of support at all times and the staff concentrate on their duties, dedicating all their attention to the children. The children benefit from a varied day and learn about health and safety as they play, in order to develop some good habits for later life. They feel relaxed in the setting, despite it being a pack away group, which makes it difficult to offer a welcoming and comfortable environment. The staff work together to share ideas and they recognise their

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Organisation

weaknesses, involving outside agencies to suggest a different approach where they identify a need for improvement, for example, in planning. The staff readily adapt practice to make improvements but continue to search for workable solutions to suit the employees and meet the needs of the children. All the documentation required by regulation is in place but some lacks detail. The provider keeps a record of staff’s suitability checks, qualifications and training but she does not make a note of the attainment and attendance dates in order to monitor renewal requirements.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Not applicable: this is the first inspection since registration.

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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): • improve hygiene by providing a clean barrier for children to sit on when eating snacks picnic style • ensure all paperwork includes full and accurate details to be of optimum value

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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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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): • make better use of profiles to provide a clear record of children's rate of progress and help identify gaps in learning • develop planning to include expected learning outcomes and different levels of challenge for different abilities to ensure paperwork enables all staff to support any child's continued 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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