Dicky Birds Pre School Nurseries Ltd – Claremont Hall

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. Claremont Hall Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY382955 Inspection date 27/05/2009 Inspector Amanda Jane Tyson

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Setting address Claremont Hall, Claremont Road, SURBITON, Surrey, KT6 4RL Telephone number 020 8942 5779 Email headchick@dickybirds.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

Claremont Hall was registered in January 2009 and operates from a single story converted church hall in Claremont Road, Surbiton. The premises, which has a ramp to support easy access, is located close to Surbiton station. The nursery is one of five privately owned by a single provider. The nursery is open from 08:00 - 18:00 daily throughout the year, apart from one week at Christmas. Children are grouped according to their ages, although they have opportunities to mix with other children within the nursery at meal times. All rooms have direct access to a secure outdoor play area. Meals are prepared and cooked on the premises

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register to provide care for 65 children at any one time, of whom no more that 49 may be aged under two years. Children may attend from age three months to the end of the early years age range. There are currently 114 children on roll of whom only one is currently in receipt of funding for nursery education, and of whom four speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

Overall a total of 28 full and part time staff are employed, of whom 18 hold relevant childcare qualifications, and 10 are working towards a Level 3 and two towards Level 2 qualifications. Ten staff hold valid first aid qualifications. The registered provider is currently managing the nursery. Every room is led by a Level 3 qualified practitioner. The manager and deputy are supernumery. Music, ballet and swimming are additional curriculum activities and children have regular outings within the local community. Two members of staff are qualified teachers.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good. This newly registered setting is well on the way to achieving management's vision of overall excellence. This is best demonstrated by their comprehensive and operational action plan for identifying and prioritising areas for improvement. Outstanding attention is given to promoting and supporting children's welfare. The quality of the activities, resources and environment are key to the superb progress that children are making towards the every child matters outcomes. Staff demonstrate high levels of commitment towards the children and the delightfully happy environment fosters a strong sense of belonging and security in children. Activities and experiences are very open- ended and therefore highly inclusive. The system for monitoring children's progress and development through the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a work in progress, as is the use of whole team self-evaluation.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the systems for monitoring and evaluating children's progress and development by ensuring that a record of their full learning journey is This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 maintained to provide the neccessary information to inform assessments.  involve the whole team more in the process of self-evaluation with a view to developing their knowledge and skills and securing a shared vision for the continual development of the setting.

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provision

Leadership is strong and highly astute. Procedures for supporting and enabling staffs professional development, through a highly effective appraisal system and excellent training opportunities, are fundamental to the outstanding outcomes already achieved in many aspects of the provision. Management drive improvement through a carefully planned approach which has, to date, prioritised the building of a committed and consistent team and developing their knowledge and skills to deliver the EYFS. The effectiveness of this is epitomised by the harmonious relationships evolving between staff and the way that they are embracing the concept of heuristic, open ended, sensorial and creative, and free- flow play together. However, management do not fully include all the staff in the setting's self-evaluation processes and missed opportunities to develop these valuable skills impact on the quality and effectiveness of children's progress and

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provision

Children are exceptionally well safeguarded by robust policies and procedures, such as for conducting risk assessments and recording accidents and administered medication. Key to children's high levels of contentment and emotional security is the setting's practice of visiting new children and parents in their own home to plan an individually tailored settling in experience. This takes excellent account of parent-child separation anxieties. Children benefit greatly from the value that the setting place on providing parents with information during home visits and parent workshops, for instance to explain the EYFS and the concept of learning through play. Policies and procedures are clearly explained in user friendly written information. Regular newsletters keep them informed of special events and photographs of children at play provide the 'fly on the wall' information that is so much appreciated. Parents are exceptionally well informed about their child's

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provision

activities, dispositions and care routines at the end of the day and this helps to ensure consistency and continuity of care for children. Parent evenings provide opportunities for them to discuss their child's progress and development. Their views are sought through questionnaires and the decision to appoint three parent representatives demonstrates managements commitment to engaging parents in social aspects of the nursery. The setting are committed towards working in partnership with children's other EYFS providers, but the process for this is still in the early stages of development.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The organisation of play and learning resources, furnishing and equipping of the environment and use of the outdoors is inspirational and fundamental to the many outstanding outcomes for children. Armchairs make bottle feeding a very comfortable experience for babies and their key person. Role play areas provide This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children with a special place which reminds them of home and cosy book corners are enticing. Children are well looked after if they become unwell because the high adult to child ratios enable staff to provide one to one care until parents arrive. Behaviour is exemplary, even between toddlers because there is so much to do therefore no time or need to squabble. Children use common courtesies, such as please and thank you, and enjoy being asked to help with routine tasks such as cleaning the tables after lunch. Children are consistently engaged in a hive of

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

activity that promotes and encourages their natural impulse to explore, experiment and discover using their senses and imagination. Activities are highly inclusive in that they provide access to all areas of learning and for wide-ranging abilities and interests. Staff know their key children exceptionally well and they plan activities to support their individual interests and ever changing experiences. For example, to help prepare them for the birth of a sibling, or to expand on holiday experiences by taking them to visit a travel agents. However, although it is clear to see that children are achieving well beyond the expected average for their age, their starting points for learning are not clearly identified, which means that the progress made since they started cannot be accurately measured. This is best demonstrated by the lack of record keeping during children's settling in period; to show the beginning of their learning journey. Although staff record observations of

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

children at play, these are not always astute enough to be really useful.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children benefit greatly from the emphasis given to providing an equal balance of commercial toys and equipment, such as construction and dolls, with ethnically and culturally diverse resources and real and everyday household objects. For example, babies imitate drinking when they pick up an empty plastic water bottle, toddlers become immersed in concentration as they discover that 'whisk spindles' move and older children use the whisk contextually in pretend kitchen play, or to create bubbles in the water. Role play provides for all children to act out their real experiences because resources are carefully chosen to reflect ethnic and cultural diversity, for instance alongside metal saucepans are wok's and chappati pans. The labelling on packaging introduces children to purposeful print as well as helping them to understand their immediate world, for instance what washing up liquid is used for and how to work a peppermill. Children get messy with a phenomenal

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

range of malleable substances using different tools. They enjoy making patterns with their fingers in shaving foam, painting with different sized brushes and moulding with clay and dough, which they make themselves. This encourages well children's small and large muscle skills.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Visitors to the setting provide children with invaluable first-hand experiences which are well extended within the nursery through innovative activity planning. For example, babies looked with awe and wonder as they made physical contact with a Shetland pony for the first time. Toddlers enjoyed brushing the coats of piglets and preschool children learned to be gentle when holding the chicks; all brought to the setting by a mobile farm. Opportunities such as these bring learning to life and this was well demonstrated when children mimicked their experiences with small world farm play. They have excellent opportunities to find out about the working and technological world. They know that torches create light and enjoy using them to explore the darker areas of the corridor and to create light differentiation when combined with fibre optics in the sensory room. Children have access to calculators, cameras and tape recorders. Babies touch, twist and push buttons to

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 make objects pop up, or to create music and sounds. Sewing machines and woodwork equipment have been purchased to extend older children's learning.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children are developing highly competent self-help skills as they try repeatedly, and then successfully, to fit a hats to heads (very young toddlers) and serve themselves lunch from a communal serving dish at lunchtime (older toddler's and three year-olds). Children thoroughly enjoy outdoor play and excellent use is made of community facilities. For example, children enjoy digging and planting in wheelbarrows and tubs and experimenting by posting objects into zig-zag fixed drainpipes. Weaving silks into the mesh fixed grid and parking bikes in the correct numbered bay help to provide continuous challenge for children. The abundance of fresh air, provision of sumptuous fresh meals and snacks, along with opportunities to grow their own fruit and vegetables in the newly acquired allotment nearby is laying the foundations for children to adopt health lifestyle habits. Children learn about road safety during the frequent trips out into the community and through

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

fun activities led by the visiting road safety team. As they mature and develop children will learn to use sewing machines and woodwork tools safely. Sleep times are particularly tranquil and epitomise the strong sense of belonging and contentment in the children, particularly the babies and young toddlers who are delightfully snug in their cots and alternatives which present as a giant 'moses style' bed with sides that help children to feel secure and safe. 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? 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? 1 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

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