Sunny Days Nursery

Sunny Days Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY364887 Unique Reference Number 20 June 2008 Inspection date Jennifer Devine Inspector

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Kenton Baptist Church, Streatfield Road, HARROW, Middlesex, HA3 9BS

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Setting Address

0785 3238031 Telephone number janicewoodvine@aol.com E-mail Janice Frances Woodvine Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional 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?

Sunny Days Nursery opened in 2007. It is owned by a private provider and operates from Kenton Baptist Church in Kenton in the London borough of Harrow. The nursery has use of two large playrooms and there is a secure garden for outdoor play. A maximum of 36 children from two to under five years may attend at any one time.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 09.30 to 12.30, during term time only. There are currently 32 children on roll, 28 of whom receive funding for nursery education. The nursery employs five staff. Four staff hold appropriate early years qualifications and one member of staff is currently working towards a qualification. The nursery is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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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's health and well-being is promoted well within the nursery. Children are cared for in a warm, clean environment where staff are aware of good hygiene practices. Children learn about the importance of good personal hygiene and know to clean their hands with baby wipes before they sit down for their snack. The nursery has procedures in place to reduce the risk of cross-infection, for example, children do not attend if they are unwell.

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Helping children to be healthy

Suitable procedures are in place for recording accidents and, although the nursery does not administer medication, there is a medication book available to record this if required. Two staff are first aid trained and this enables them to confidently deal with a medical emergency.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children learn about the importance of healthy eating as they are provided with snacks such as various fruits, yoghurts or crackers and help themselves to a drink of milk or water. Fresh drinking water is available for children to help themselves to throughout the morning. Staff are aware of children's individual dietary needs.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have daily opportunities for physical activity, which promotes their good health and development. The outdoor area provides children with opportunities to run, ride tricycles and release energy, while getting regular fresh air. They also participate in organised games, such as throwing and catching the bean bags or playing with hoops, which all help develop their coordination.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Staff provide a warm welcome to the children and parents, who bring their children into the nursery to settle them. The nursery is clean, well maintained and attractively decorated with children's artwork. The environment is well organised, comfortably furnished and equipped, enabling the children to make good use of the child-focused space. The two playrooms are set out with a good range of activities which enables children to independently select their chosen play.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are cared for in a safe and secure environment. Good security measures are in place to control access into the building. The front door is kept locked and parents or visitors ring the doorbell to gain entry. Risk assessments are carried out regularly to ensure the premises remain safe. Regular fire drills are conducted and this ensures children gain an understanding of evacuating the building safely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have a good knowledge of the signs and symptoms of child abuse and understand the child protection procedures to follow if they were concerned for a child's welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at nursery, where they are making good progress in their development. Most children are happy and settle well on arrival. They find their name cards and confidently say goodbye to their parent or carer. Parents are welcomed to stay longer if their child is

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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 unsettled to enable them to develop their confidence with the routines. Children enjoy a range of interesting activities where they acquire new skills and knowledge in a supportive, stimulating environment. Activities are varied throughout the morning, having a balance of active and quieter times to keep children focused. A strong emphasis is placed on children accessing the outdoors everyday which children thoroughly enjoy being able to run freely. Although the staff team plan different physical activities, this is not fully extended to include all areas of learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff are highly skilled in storytelling techniques and are able to capture the children's imagination. The children listen intently and join in with the actions when reading the story 'We're all going on a bear hunt'.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff are kind and affectionate to the children and support their learning well. They provide guidance and support as required and spend time with individual children or small groups to encourage learning further.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have a good knowledge of the Foundation Stage and how children learn and develop. Overall, they plan a well balanced curriculum which motivates and excites children to learn. Staff have good methods in place for observing children's development, recording it in their individual files and identifying the next steps for learning. Staff work directly with groups of children, encouraging and developing their thinking further. However, some creative activities are too adult directed and this prevents children from developing their own imagination and ideas fully.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's attitude to learning is generally positive. They are motivated and eager to participate in activities, spending fairly long periods of time at their chosen task. They are learning to be kind to each other, sharing and taking turns with toys. Most children are beginning to speak confidently with adults and they enjoy sitting with an adult in the book corner to read a story together. Children enjoy mark making and some are beginning to recognise and attempt to write their own names. Although paper and writing implements are always available, the resources for this area are uninspiring. For example, pencils are not sharpened and crayons are old. This impacts on children not choosing this play often.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are developing their number and problem-solving skills in various activities. They confidently count up to five when sharing a book with an adult and count how many cups they need at snack time. They learn about shape and size as they fit puzzles of varying shapes and sizes together. Children use the computer confidently, being able to follow simple programmes and control the mouse. They have opportunities to explore and investigate their environment when they plant in the garden and go on nature walks to examine their local area.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children freely access the easel painting area and use their imagination well to create their own pictures. However, there is less opportunity for children to develop their creativity with other craft activities as these tend to be more adult directed.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children benefit from being cared for in a warm, child-friendly environment where staff are fully informed of their individual needs. Children's confidence grows through having the opportunities to make choices and through the respect and care shown to them. Staff are

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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 sensitive to the needs of children who may be unsettled and find methods of working with these children to develop their self-esteem and confidence in larger groups.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The staff team is representative of the cultural diversity of the local community and this supports children and families who speak English as an additional language. Children develop an understanding of other faiths and cultures within society and take part in many celebrations throughout the year. Children take part in daily prayers and listen to a short Bible story during the session.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's behaviour is generally good and appropriate for their ages. Staff give the children clear and consistent boundaries, they praise them and celebrate their achievements, which helps build up self esteem. This positive approach fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The nursery has a thorough understanding of the needs of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The staff all have extensive knowledge and are passionate about ensuring children are fully included in the nursery and that they receive any additional support if required.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is good. There are effective systems in place to keep parents well informed about their child's morning at nursery. Staff are friendly and make themselves available to discuss any issues with parents. More formal meetings are arranged every term with parents to discuss children's progress further and share written records. Regular newsletters and the notice board also keep parents well informed about nursery life.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Four staff working directly with the children hold a recognised childcare qualification. A number of students also work at the nursery whilst completing their studies. Robust recruitment procedures are in place to ensure all staff are suitable to work with children. Children are happy and settled as the staff ratios are well maintained and staff are effectively deployed to support children in their care, learning and play.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of nursery education is good. Children's care and learning is enhanced by the staff's good understanding of the Foundation Stage and child development. The manager is committed to further development and actively encourages staff to attend further training. Staff meetings are held regularly where the staff team review practices and identify areas for development. Staff work very well as a team. They are enthusiastic and motivated to provide an exciting and stimulating environment.

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Organisation

The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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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. 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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Complaints since the last inspection

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 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): • develop the planning for the outdoor area to ensure it includes all aspects of learning (applies to nursery education also)

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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): • improve the opportunities for children to explore and experiment with creative activities independently (applies to care also) • develop the pre writing area to ensure the resources are of good quality and interesting for children to use (applies to care also)

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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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