Cliffe House Day Nursery Ltd

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. Cliffe House Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY232708 Inspection date 26/11/2008 Inspector Dawn Bonica Brown

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Setting address Main Street, Burley in Wharfedale, LS29 7DG

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Telephone number 01943 865007 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration whichever is the later, which require Ofsted or the provider to take action in Annex C.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Cliffe House Day Nursery was registered in October 2002. It is situated in a converted church hall in the centre of Burley-in-Wharfedale, West Yorkshire. The nursery serves the local community and surrounding areas. It is privately owned and is part of a group of three nurseries. Children are accommodated over two floors; babies occupy two rooms on the ground floor and children aged two to five years occupy two rooms on the first floor. Access to the setting is from the back of the premises. All children have access to a secure outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register to care for a maximum of 64 children, of which 27 may be aged under two years. The nursery currently has a total of 85 children on roll and children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

The nursery currently supports children with English as an additional language and children with disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday for 51 weeks per year from 07.45 to 18.15. There are 28 members of staff working directly with the children, of these, 23 hold early years qualifications and one member of staff is a qualified teacher specialising in early years. A total of six members of staff are currently working towards a qualification in early years, two of whom are working towards higher qualifications.

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Description of the setting

The nursery receives support from the Local Authority.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The setting is highly motivated to deliver good, and in some aspects excellent, provision. Children make very good progress in all areas of learning so that parents are happy with their standards of achievement and how well prepared children are for school entry. The quality of care provided for children is exemplary; provision for their physical and emotional well-being is excellent.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The setting has established good links with external agencies to make significant improvements, so that their individual needs are identified and met in all aspects of care and education. Many members of staff are highly skilled professionals and the setting has good monitoring systems which are very effective in almost all areas of the provision. Plans for future development are well targeted to bring about further improvements that will have a positive impact on outcomes for children.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 maintain consistency in observations and assessment to ensure that This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children's capabilities and the next steps in their development are clearly identified.

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provision

The setting promotes children's welfare to an exceptionally high level through the rigorous maintenance of records, policies and procedures that cover all aspects of the setting. For example, staff are selected and recruited through excellent systems that include thorough induction programmes, ongoing appraisals and continuous training that is relevant and successful. Safeguarding children is given the highest priority as all staff are trained in child protection and retain relevant and current first aid certificates. Risk assessments are comprehensive and robust. Staff receive regular practise in the use of fire fighting and safety equipment and they remain alert and vigilant about children's safety.

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provision

Exemplary management skills help to retain highly skilled and qualified practitioners who are extremely well motivated and whose dedication to the children they care for is evident in all areas of the setting.

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provision

The nursery has an exceptionally high capacity for improvement, which is demonstrated through the excellent improvement achieved since the last inspection. For example, the range and quality of resources and the effectiveness of its deployment throughout the setting has a significant impact on children's access to them and consequently, the enjoyment of their play. Continuous staff development programmes have improved staff effectiveness in behaviour management and raised the quality of teaching to a very high level. Monitoring systems for self-evaluation purposes are extremely effective and the setting takes into account the views of children, parents, staff and other professionals in its self evaluation process.

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provision

Staff work together extremely well to provide integrated care for all children in the setting. Liaison with parents, carers and external agencies is good in all aspects and exceptional in some areas. From the start, parents are involved in all areas of their children's development and an effective exchange of information ensures that the unique capabilities of each child is recognised and promoted effectively.

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provision

Inclusive practice is promoted well. Children with additional learning needs or disabilities follow individual educational programmes developed in consultation with specialists and parents. Its delivery is monitored by specialist staff within the setting to ensure that children make good progress from their original starting points. Staff work with parents, carers and other professionals effectively to identify, monitor and promote their development. Children with English as an additional language are well supported within the setting.

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provision

The setting has well-established links with specialists and other professionals to develop its practice. For example, they make excellent use of the local authority training programmes for staff development. They also visit centres of excellence to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 see how they can adapt examples of good practise for the benefit of children in their nursery.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children enjoy their time in the setting and demonstrate very good relationships with the staff and with each other. This is promoted well through the effective organisation of high quality, exciting resources that invite children to play together. Young children's independence is fostered well through the use of well-designed and constructed resources. For example, low chairs that support babies to sit comfortably are placed at low tables so that they learn to feed themselves alongside their peers. The setting provides a warm, welcoming environment with child-height photographs and posters. There is plenty of information, strategically placed around the setting for parents such as, the range of food provided for children overall. This also includes a daily menu, with alternatives, so that parents can see what their children will be eating on arrival each day.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Staff are knowledgeable about child development and provide well planned, purposeful activities which allow children to explore and to make discoveries that stimulate their interest in learning. The activities provided help children to become active learners and promote critical thinking and creativity. Children of all ages receive appropriate challenges. Babies develop trusting relationships with staff who know how to provide the right challenges at each stage of development. For example their awareness of object permanence is promoted through activities such as, staff hiding their faces behind a scarf so that babies pull the scarf away to show that the member of staff is still there, then laugh with reassurance at the familiar adult presence. Children aged under three years use a computer mouse skilfully when engaged in interactive games such as, following a programme on familiar nursery rhymes to change the endings.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

There is a very good balance of highly effective adult-led and child initiated activities. For example, an activity on light and dark begins with a story about a bear hunt, then adults ask children how they would create a cave and what they would need to help them to see in the cave. The activity then develops into an exciting cave building exercise with children finding resources to create darkness and torches to create light in the cave.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children's development is observed, assessed and monitored well in almost all instances. For example, all staff are involved in monitoring progress through observations, supported by annotated photographs. Some children's profiles are maintained extremely well, with staff showing an excellent understanding of significant milestones and how to help children progress to the next stage in their development. However, this is not consistent across the setting as some children's profiles do not identify significant milestones or identify how the next steps will be promoted.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Staff work well with parents, carers and other professionals to identify, monitor and promote the development of those children with disabilities or additional learning needs. Children with English as an additional language are supported This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 within the setting through staff working with parents to focus on the areas of development that parents especially want to promote.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Parents express extremely positive opinions of the setting and praise the staff and the setting in glowing terms. They feel that the setting is "not just somewhere to drop children off; it operates as an extension of the family". Parents report that children settle into the nursery extremely well and want to "get down and play" on their initial visit. A significant aspect of the 'settling-in' process, and one that parents particularly appreciate, is the children's 'all about me' book. This is a laminated book produced by staff about the children and includes photographs of them with their 'special people' engaged in activities that they enjoy doing at home. Children aged under three years use this book effectively to show adults things about themselves and talk about the photographs in the book with other children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

How well does the provision promote inclusive practice? 2 The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement.

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Foundation Stage led and managed?

How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement? How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others? How well are children safeguarded? 1

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 1 How well are children helped to be healthy? 2 How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? 1 How well are children helped to make a positive contribution? How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being?

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted

This section of the report includes details of any complaint/s made to Ofsted when:  we took action for the provider to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or  we asked the provider to take action in order to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or  the provider had already taken any necessary action to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register.

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Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted

We will not report on any complaint where the provider met the requirements of the Early Years Register or did not require any action by Ofsted or the registered provider.

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Detail of the complaint/s

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted.

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Detail of the complaint/s

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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