Wells House Kindergarten

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. Wells House Kindergarten Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 316028 Inspection date 01/04/2009 Inspector Susan Janet Lee

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Setting address Ringley Road, Stoneclough, Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 1FS

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Telephone number 01204 571 777 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 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). This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Wells House Kindergarten opened in 1996. It operates from a detached property on Ringley Road in Stoneclough, Radcliffe. The setting is run by an organisation. The provision no longer operates an out of school facility. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 07.30 until 18.00 for 51 weeks of the year. Children attending the nursery have access to five playrooms located on the ground and first floor, bathroom facilities and an outdoor play area. Access to the property is gained at the front of the premises on the ground floor level.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register. The nursery is registered to provide care for a maximum of 54 children at any one time. There are currently 90 children on roll. Of these, 22 children receive funding for nursery education. The setting currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The provision employs 16 staff. Of these, 15 staff hold appropriate early years qualifications and one member of staff is working towards a qualification. The setting has completed the Quality Counts assurance scheme.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the quality of the provision is good. Effective policies and procedures ensure the safety and welfare of children who attend the nursery. The excellent partnerships with parents and others involved in the lives of the children ensure that everyone works together to support the children effectively. Staff place a very strong emphasis on valuing children and their families and they ensure that the environment is warm and accepting of everyone. Effective procedures are in place in relation to self-evaluation.

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further?

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

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further?

 continue to develop planning and assessment to include written evidence of next steps in learning for the younger children.

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provision

The nursery benefits from a low staff turn over and staff clearly enjoy their roles. The ethos and vision is shared by the staff team and they all have a common sense of purpose as they work together. Staff organise space, time and resources well to effectively meet children's needs. The key person system works well in practice and ensures that the children are cared for by familiar and trusted adults. Staff have high regard for children's well-being and they attend lots of training to further develop their childcare practices. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The management and staff team are enthusiastic childcare practitioners. They demonstrate a good capacity to maintain continuous improvement. The manager completes a monthly self assessment and this gives a clear outline of the settings strengths and areas for development. Parents are fully involved in the evaluation

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provision

process as they complete questionnaires and their feedback is acted upon. For example, the setting introduced a shorter daily session for the children. Recommendations from the last inspection have been successfully met. The writing area has been developed to look more interesting and this is now well used by the children. Each playroom now has a lovely range of natural play materials to encourage the children to explore using their senses. Future plans are well targeted to bring about further improvement to the setting and outcomes for children.

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provision

The nursery is very successful in celebrating each child's uniqueness and every possible effort is made to ensure that no group of children or individual child is disadvantaged. Staff work exceptionally well with parents and other professionals to ensure that each child, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities receives enjoyable and challenging experiences across all areas of learning. Staff recently introduced children's male relatives to spend time in the nursery with the children; helping to break down barriers, giving the children opportunities to see positive role models and helping male relatives feel valued and welcome. Staff share excellent relationships with parents and this ensures a very effective and ongoing two-way flow of information, knowledge and expertise. Parents are provided with an extremely good source of information about the setting and their children's daily activities and developmental progress. They are fully involved in

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provision

their children's learning. Each playroom produces a monthly news letter detailing what the children will be doing at nursery and how parents can help in their children's learning at home.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The enabling environment is rich and supports children's learning well. This gives the children confidence to explore in safe and secure indoor and outdoor areas. Staff gather a wealth of information from parents about their children's starting points. Staff are currently working with various systems regarding planning and assessment to find the one that works best. Staff recognise that each child has a unique range of needs and abilities and play plans clearly show how they meet children's individual needs through the use of differentiation. Staff observe the children at play and use this information to chart their progress and plan next steps in their learning. However, staff working with the younger children do not record children's next steps in learning.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Staff support children's learning well. They share warm relationships with the children who feel at ease and are secure in their care. This positive sense of well- being gives the children a secure foundation on which to play, explore and develop. Staff dedicate time playing and talking to the children. They value the children as individuals and respond positively to children's interests and interactions. The children clearly enjoy their time at the setting and they thrive on This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 staff's interaction and attention. Staff work closely with parents and they follow babies' individual daily routines and this helps to provide a secure and familiar environment. Staff nurture babies' attempts to communicate. They listen when the babies babble and respond in gentle tones to reinforce early speech patterns. The children enjoy exploring custard. They use their fingers and hands to spread the

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

custard and make swirling patterns with their fingers.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The children enjoy joining in with songs and actions to nursery rhymes. They develop hand eye co-ordination and their fine manipulative skills as they build and use scissors. The older children play on the computer and are able to use equipment and complete simple programmes. Staff understand the importance of children developing good listening skills and the children explore environmental and musical sounds. The children are able to re-enact their own experiences through a variety of role play situations and this helps them to develop their understanding of the world in which they live. The children use language well to recreate roles and to interact with others. They are able to listen to their friends and take turns during conversations. The children enjoy using tools to make marks and older children are able to write their own names. They use number language in their play and they recognise shapes and colours. The children begin to problem

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

solve. For example, they have made shakers and have used different fillings such as sugar, rice, pasta, and small bricks. The children pick up a shaker and shake it and guess which filling it has inside. The children are also able to say if the shaker is heavy or light.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The children have lots of opportunities to enjoy and develop their physical skills. They play outside each day and have access to a wide range of outdoor play equipment to help them learn about their bodies and develop control and co- ordination. The children also benefit from going swimming and taking part in music and movement and football training. Such activities help keep children physically fit and help them to become aware of different parts of their body.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The children have lots of opportunities to learn about themselves, their local community and the wider world. Staff also work closely with parents to ensure that children's family backgrounds are respected. For example, some parents speak French and Urdu and they donated music and literature such as magazines, newspapers and catalogues in their own language for the children to access. The nursery is committed to becoming more environmentally friendly and the children are learning how to recycle. The registered person has chickens. She has attended training on how to keep them in a healthy environment and introduce them to the children. The children met the chickens for the first time today and they will help to care for them and collect the eggs.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Staff implement strategies to promote all children's social, physical and economic well-being. They actively exercise good hygiene practices to minimise the risk of cross infection. The children are well nourished as the setting provides a menu that is healthy and nutritious to aid children's growth and development. Robust written risk assessments are in place and eliminate risks to children. The setting is very safe, secure and well-equipped and the safe and supportive environment enables children to thrive. Staff have a secure understanding of child protection matters and procedures ensuring children's welfare is effectively safeguarded. 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? 1 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? 1 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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