Abbs Cross Day Nursery

Abbs Cross Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY359521 Unique Reference Number 15 July 2008 Inspection date Caroline Preston Inspector

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156 Suttons Avenue, Hornchurch, Essex, RM12 4LY Setting Address

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01708 458022 Telephone number abbscrossdaynursery@yahoo.co.uk E-mail Anne-Marie Paul 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 good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Abbscross Nursery is one of four day nurseries owned by the provider in the London boroughs of Havering and Thurrock. It opened in 2007 and operates from a converted doctor's surgery. It is situated in Hornchurch in the London borough of Havering. A maximum of 32 children aged three months to under five years may attend at any one time. The nursery is open from 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday, all year round. Children may attend all day or for a variety of sessions. There are currently fifty children aged from zero to under five years on roll. Of these, nineteen receive funding for early education. The nursery currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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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 learn about hygiene throughout the day, as they are encouraged to wash their hands before and after eating and after using the toilet, they also help to tidy away before lunch. Staff follow good hygiene procedures each day as they wear disposable gloves when changing nappies, clean all equipment regularly and ensure they always wash their own hands. This limits any risk of infection and shows children the importance of daily hygiene. All staff are first aid trained and most hold food hygiene certificates, the first aid box is stocked and accessible and all accidents and administration of medication is recorded and checked. This supports the well-being of children.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy the home made food offered to them each day, which is healthy and nutritious and varied. Menus are displayed for parents to see and any special dietary requirements children may have are adhered to. Foods include water at all times, cereal, toast, chicken curry and rice, macaroni cheese, fresh fruit lasagne and liver. Children sit together at lunchtime and enjoy their meal of chilli and potato wedges followed by jelly and ice-cream, staff sit with children, offering support when needed, they chat and encourage a relaxed social environment.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have very good opportunities to use the outside play area, which has been designed and organised to allow children maximum learning and fun. They walk up the small hill, rolling small balls in the wooden water fountain and watch what happens when the balls collect at the bottom in a large bucket. They splash and stamp, laughing in the wet mud, then make footprints on large sheets of paper. They splash the wet mud up the wall onto paper, looking at and admiring their designs. They paint with water on the floor and collect water in small buckets from the water tap, showing independence and confidence. Children use skill to walk across the balance beams, they run, jump and climb around the garden, enjoying the fresh air and range of activities available to them.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children’s safety is promoted well as CCTV in most areas of the nursery ensure consistent good practice and who is on the premises. Staff undertake regular risk assessments of all the play rooms and outside play area, these are written and signed when completed. Staff are vigilant during everyday activities, ensuring all possible hazards are removed. All fire fighting equipment is checked and working, all visitors sign in and out and regular fire drills are carried out. Current public liability is in place and displayed alongside the certificate of registration. Staff show a good awareness of child protection issues and most have attended recent training, this supports children if abuse was suspected.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have access to a good range of play resources in all playrooms, these are age and stage appropriate, safe and clean. They are organised so that children can choose and develop independence, downstairs children can move freely between two well resourced rooms. Upstairs babies can move freely around the room and choose from small boxes laid out around the room, including a soft play area. The nursery is well maintained and organised to give children good space and access to resources, there is plenty of natural light and good ventilation. Play resources have been set out so that different types of play encourage learning, for example, different types of creative play. Children can access paint, play dough, sticking and gluing, dressing up,

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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 role play, cutting out, sand and water play. Children have their own coat pegs, photographs are displayed all around the nursery and the parents information board and children's work ensure the environment is child centred.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Small babies are happy and content because they laugh and smile, they begin to chatter with each other and staff and move freely around the room. They listen to nurseries rhymes as they play, taking out all the soft toys from a box and lining them up, then cuddling them. They play with the programmable toys; pushing buttons and watching the toys spin around. Small babies take part in many creative play activities as planned for weekly, these include making patterns with corn flour, feeling and touching sand and water, bingo dotters, musical instruments and making pictures with sequins. However, systems to identify babies starting points are not effective, therefore it is not clear how well they have progressed.

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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 understanding of how children learn and are aware of the Foundation Stage curriculum. They use effective planning and assessments, however, do not have clear systems to monitor children’s starting points when they start at the nursery. Children learn to be creative as they paint and design pictures with different shaped and coloured felts, they put their hands in the covered water tray and feel the different shaped sea animals inside. This promotes discussion about the animals that live in the sea. They learn to care for others as they role play being a doctor, they use the doctor’s tools to check if their patient is well. They use developing writing skills to record the patient’s details and carry around notebooks and pencils from the pretend office. They also have access to a well resourced writing area with different shaped pencils and child friendly scissors. They

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

dress up in different costumes, acting out Disney characters such as Tigger and princesses. They listen intently to stories and follow the storylines, recognising print has meaning and writing as a form of communication. Children count how many children are present during registration developing mathematical skills, they learn to use the many different sized sand timers. They learn about growing things as they plant seeds and monitor their progress in the garden.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children learn about the wider world through handling different play resources every day. They handle a variety of books promoting different cultures and disabilities; they handle dolls, dressing up clothes, small world figures. They can see the many posters and dual language posters in the nursery and take part in celebrations of different festivals. Children with learning difficulties are supported well, and the views and needs of the parents are always adhered to concerning every child. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. They show delight splashing in the wet mud and growing plants, they behave well and learn boundaries of behaviour, they play well together and learn about the differences people have positively through activities.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff are good role models and work well as a team, are respectful and friendly and encourage children to behave well, using consistent strategies and praise good behaviour. Positive relationships have been built with parents, who are fully informed about the service offered. They receive regular newsletters and policies and procedures are available to them. The nursery

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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 uses many forms of communication with parents, through daily contact, written information and via email. This supports good partnership.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents of children who receive nursery education is good. They are able to attend parents evenings and are given written reports of their child’s progress and topics to be covered are written in the regular newsletters. Parents are also informed about the curriculum, as meetings are organised for parents where information is given to them by outside professionals.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children are offered good care and education, as staff are competent and knowledgeable. All staff have undergone suitability checks and are suitably trained, this supports the well-being of children. All ratios are maintained and staff supervise children well and work effectively as a team. All mandatory records are in place to ensure the smooth running of the nursery and a good range of well written polices are available to parents and staff.

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Organisation

Leadership and management of the nursery education is good. The management team works very well together and is committed to offering children good education. It is very clear to staff who are the senior staff within the management system and staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities. Good systems are used to monitor the delivery of the nursery education, these being regular meetings with staff to discuss training and areas to improve.

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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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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): • make improvements as indicated in the nursery education below

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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): • develop systems to clearly identify children's starting points on entry to the setting ( also applies to care )

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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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