Tops Day Nurseries - Portsmouth

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. Tops Day Nurseries Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY281231 Inspection date 25/03/2009 Inspector Lynn Reeves

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Setting address Queen Alexandra Hospital, Southwick Hill Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 3LY Telephone number 02392 215786 Email info.portsmouth@topsdaynurseries.co.uk 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 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

Tops Day Nurseries opened in 2004 and forms part of a chain of nurseries which operate across the south coast, it is privately owned. It operates from a purpose built building in the grounds of Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, Hampshire. The provision accept children from the employees of Queen Alexandra hospital and also children from the surrounding areas. There are fully secure outdoor play areas for all ages of children. The nursery is open Monday to Friday 06:30 until 19:30 all year round and in addition to this a holiday club operates during all school holidays. This operates with the same opening hours and provides care for children up to the age of eleven years. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is registered to care for 99 children and there are currently 158 children on roll, of whom 122 are in the early years age group.

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Description of the setting

The organisation employs 26 staff to work with the children, of these 20 hold appropriate early year's child care qualifications, the remainder are working towards a recognised qualification. In addition to this the organisation employs an on site NVQ assessor. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the quality of the provision is good. The nursery works effectively to ensure the promotion of children's welfare, learning and development. Children of all ages are happy and settled within the nursery. They enjoy their time at the nursery and are making good progress in their learning whilst taking part in a wide range of imaginative activities that provide many learning opportunities. The management and staff of the nursery ensure continuous improvement within all areas of the setting because self-evaluation of the setting is completed and used to identify areas for further development. All recommendations from the previous inspection have been fully implemented. Children enjoy a good level of support from enthusiastic staff and the nursery environment is organised well. The policies and procedures are implemented effectively, as a result, the setting is inclusive to most children and they are making good progress in their learning.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the learning environment, resources and teaching methods to enable children to develop and use their home language in their play and learning whilst providing meaningful context in which children have opportunities to develop English  continue to develop observations and assessment systems in order to identify learning priorities for each child  further develop children's learning of technology by ensuring all children have access to appropriate resources This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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provision

The management and staff team work well to ensure the outcomes for children are good. Very good progress has been made since the last inspection and all staff have attended a conference on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to develop their knowledge and understanding of the new framework. Most staff implement this well to ensure all children receive a well balanced curriculum. Staff are deployed effectively between the rooms and the teams work together to evaluate practice, continually monitoring and reviewing procedures to drive improvement. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures are implemented well, ensuring all adults working with the children are suitable to do so. All staff receive an induction programme, which include Health & Safety Go Find, Mentor sheets and policy overview with the trained representative. The day to day manager and the nursery's in-house assessor observes and gives supportive feedback to staff

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provision

and the continual training and annual appraisals ensures children are well supported. The nursery welcomes all children into the nursery including those with additional needs. However, the learning environment, resources and teaching methods are not thorough to promote a fully inclusive environment for all. For example, to ensure children who speak English as an additional language having their needs fully met.

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provision

The premises have its own security system with coded key pads and passwords are also used to ensure the safety of the children at all times. Thorough risk assessments are carried out to ensure the nursery is safe, for example each room has its own tick lists that staff complete daily to identify any potential hazard. Policies and procedures are reviewed and updated regularly to ensure they reflect practice. The staff team all have a good understanding of child protection procedures and a secure knowledge of where and how to make referrals if they have any concerns regarding a child's welfare.

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provision

The nursery places a strong emphasis on working closely with parents and carers. Parents are fully involved with their child's learning as staff share children's learning journals and observations with them on regular basis so that parents are aware of their child's progress. Parents are invited to attend one to one meetings with key workers and/or management, parents' evenings, regular newsletters and a suggestion box enhance these relationships. Parents are invited into the nursery at any time, photographs of the children are displayed, alongside evidence of their work and creations. This enables parents to see the things their children do at the nursery and learning can be continued within the home environment. Home daily diaries are used for babies and toddlers to record and share information regarding their child's food intake, sleep and nappy changing patterns.

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provision

All the required paperwork and documents are in place and are maintained well, ensuring all the welfare requirements are being met and the children are protected. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children have access to an extensive range of activities and resources in a stimulating and well-organised environment. Curriculum planning follows children's interests and ideas so that they are motivated to learn. Children are valued for their efforts and evidence of their own artwork and creations are displayed around the rooms. Photographs of children's play, learning posters and clearly labelled resources enhance children's learning. Children are enthusiastic to investigate and learn as they enjoy a wide range of activities, although some rooms lack resources to promote children's learning in technology. Children laugh and giggle as they play in the water and sand tray and use their imagination well as they act out characters in dressing up clothes. Children handle books with care and enjoy listening to stories, often predicting what will happen next. Opportunities are provided for children to mark make and attempt their writing skills in various ways.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Younger children use chalks and crayons to make marks, for example, drawing around their hands and feet, whilst more able children attempt to write their own names on their creations. Older children are demonstrating high levels of independence as they attempt to put on their own coats and take themselves to the toilet. In most areas of the nursery children are developing their understanding of how things work as they play with programmable toys and everyday technology. Older children demonstrate good mouse control when using the computer. Children express themselves well during creative play using a varied assortment of collage materials and show great delight as they sprinkle glitter onto the glue to make patterns.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Staff respond to young babies' babbles which ensures they feel valued for their communications. They gurgle and giggle as staff use props, such as finger and hand puppets to stimulate children playing peek a boo. Staff encourage children and babies to develop problem solving skills, for example, young children work out how to screw the tops on the bottles as they pretend to feed babies and enjoy splashing in the water tubs as they wash the dolls. Young children use their senses in a variety of ways as they play and experiment with resources in treasure baskets, dipping their hands and feet in paint and running the sand through their fingers.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Most staff have a good understanding of the early learning goals and are skilled at asking open-ended questions to extend children's thinking. For example, as children play outside, they talk about the wind blowing over the plastic skittles, so staff provide them with scarves to see how high they will fly in the wind. Staff make themselves available to interact when asked and know when to stand back to let children's own play and ideas develop. Staff make observations about what the children can do and use this information to identify their next steps, although systems need to be further developed to ensure these observations and assessments are used in order to identify learning priorities for each child. Next steps sheets are displayed on the walls to enable all staff to monitor children's progress and extend their learning. This is especially useful as staff often move around the different rooms to ensure ratios are maintained or to provide additional

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

help with specific activities. Children's behaviour is good because they are kept very busy and staff take time to value their efforts by rewarding them with This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 stickers, praise and encouragement. Children are encouraged to create their own 'golden rules' and new children are paired up with a buddy to help them settle. Staff implement clear rules and boundaries consistently, ensuring the children know what is expected from them. Children are developing their understanding of the wider world as they celebrate a range of festivals, dress up in different costumes, take part in cooking and food tasting activities. They learn about their own community as they often visit the local shops to purchase ingredients or additional resources for their activities and see a range of visitors.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children foster an understanding of good hygiene procedures through practical experiences. They happily talk about the germs they may have on their hands and why it is important to wash them before eating. Staff implement good hygiene procedures, such as wearing disposable gloves for nappy changing, washing down table tops with anti bacterial sprays before food is served and using food temperature probes on children's lunches to ensure they are hot enough. The nursery provides a wide selection of snacks and cooked meals for the children and menus are prepared and displayed to ensure parents know what their child is being offered. Children are also provided with natural, uncooked fresh vegetables and fruits as snacks and organic food is used whenever possible. Water is always available for the children to ensure they remain hydrated. Children enjoy the fresh air daily, as each room has its own access to outdoor play areas. Children have

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

opportunities to climb, balance along beams, play on bikes and scooters and develop use of their large muscles as they bend, skip and hop to songs and nursery rhymes. Children learn how to stay safe as they regularly practise fire evacuation drills. The organisation of the nursery is well planned and enables the children to make their own choices of play. Resources are easily accessible on low level storage, which is clearly labelled, increasing their decision making skills effectively. 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? 3 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? 2

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 2 How well are children helped to be healthy? 2 How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? 2 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

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