Ysgol Gynradd Abersoch

Jitterbugs Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 400096 Inspection date 03/09/2009 Inspector Christine Tipple

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Setting address 5 & 7 Trinity Road, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 2TD Telephone number 01723 370977 Email jitterbugs@btconnect.com Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Jitterbugs Day Nursery and After School Club is privately owned and managed and was registered in 1999. The nursery is a designated part of the second phase programme Children's Centre provision for the area. The nursery operates from two adjoining terraced buildings situated on the south side of Scarborough. The ground and first floors are used for the nursery provision. The area used for the after school and holiday provision is on the first floor and is sometimes used as a crèche during school hours. There are two enclosed areas at the rear of the property for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local and surrounding areas. Children attend for a variety of part time sessions or for full days. The nursery is open Monday to Friday throughout the year except for bank holidays. Opening times are 7.45am until 6pm. Children are transported in the nursery mini bus.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered for a maximum of 64 children. There are currently 120 children on roll, of whom 106 are in the early years age range. The nursery has children attending with special educational needs and/or disabilities and who speak English as an additional language. Children aged from five to 11 years attend the out of school service. The nursery is also registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary Childcare Registers.

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Description of the setting

There are 15 staff employed to work with the children. Of these, 14 hold relevant childcare qualifications at levels 2 to 5. Additional staff are employed for cooking, cleaning and administration duties. The nursery has completed the bronze and silver award through the Local Authority Accreditation Scheme and is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The nursery is highly effective in ensuring the outcomes for children are very well managed. The staff ensure children have optimal challenges relevant to their individual needs which fully support their progress and development. The management work very well with the staff in ensuring they are actively engaged in driving improvement and quality. They fully contribute to the ongoing evaluation of the nursery in all areas which ensures they continue to maintain the very high standards set. The excellent working partnerships with parents and other agencies fully promote a consistently high commitment to children's individual needs and their protection. The positive links established with the wider community fully complement and enhance children's knowledge and understanding.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  further extend opportunities for parents to contribute to their children's learning and development.

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the early years provision

The nursery management and staff have an informed understanding and awareness of the importance of safeguarding the children in their care. The detailed policy and procedures are implemented consistently and ongoing reviews are established to ensure practice and staff training remains up to date. The working with other key agencies is a key strength of the nursery in promoting children's needs and welfare. All safeguarding information is fully shared with parents and support is provided through the highly effective systems in place. The recruitment and selection process is robust and ensures staff working with the children are suitable to do so. The clear and supportive induction programme fully informs staff of all aspects of the nursery in relation to the high standards in place and ongoing expectations. Staff appraisals are carried out twice a year and these are used very effectively as a tool for staff to progress and build upon their skills.

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the early years provision

This is fully supported by the management with an ongoing training programme. The staff and management work very well together as a team with a shared vision and approach to the continuous development and improvement of the nursery in all areas for the children. They contribute fully to the self-evaluation process which provides a clear programme, including reviewing the way staff record observations and assessments. This is to ensure they fully encompass and extend on children's ongoing interests and to identify any gaps in their learning at the earliest stage. The detailed systems for ongoing planning and progress for the nursery incorporate the efficient use of staff in their deployment in the nursery. The well presented range, quality and distribution of the resources and equipment fully enhance and promote children's learning, development, safety and well-being to a very high standard.

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the early years provision

The range of comprehensive and detailed policies and procedures and other relevant documentation is reviewed as part of the nursery's overall evaluation process to ensure children's safety, welfare and health are rigorously maintained and given high priority. Risk assessments are completed for all areas of the nursery, including outings and the use of the nursery mini bus, which are checked and review timescales are completed. Through the review process a new security system was installed. This enables children to safely engage and participate fully in continuous free flow provision both indoors and outdoors. The excellent partnerships with parents are highly valued by both the staff and parents. The daily contact and sharing of information is seen as key to ensuring children's varied changing needs are supported and celebrated. The information sought from parents starts on registration and provides staff with children's starting points,

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the early years provision

interests and routines. The allocation of a key worker provides a consistency which builds very effective relationships for children and parents. Parents overall are positively engaged with their children's development and learning. This is through the daily diaries, children's learning story files, ongoing observations and children's displays and photographs. There are open sessions for parents to attend nursery where they can speak with their child's key person and discuss their progress. The This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 informative and extensive range of other information is shared through the parent pack, regular newsletter, notice boards daily contact with staff and the comments they make in their child's file. The addition of the 'weekend bear' which all children rotate to take home with the diary book, has provided an excellent format for

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the early years provision

feedback and information of what children do when not at nursery. The current home link with parents to contribute to their children's learning and development is positive overall. However, this is not yet fully explored by staff to promote more opportunities for parents to share in their children's learning. Other feedback from parents on the nursery is very good and offers high praise for the staff's commitment, the wonderful range of activities and experiences their children receive and how this impacts on their ongoing learning and progress.

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the early years provision

The management and staff have developed very good links with schools to provide and share information through the transitions books from the schools and the children's on track details. There are visits established to enable the teacher to come into the nursery and for children to go to their relevant school with staff and parents as required. This is very well received from the schools and parents and provides a well managed and supportive transition for the children into school. The nursery takes a pro-active role in the community to offer a range of support packages for children who have additional needs. Information, support and resources for children for whom English is an additional language is very good. This excellent approach by the nursery offers a consistent and inclusive environment which promotes positive communication with other agencies and parents to enhance children's abilities to reach their potential.

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and outcomes for children

The staff have an excellent insight and understanding of how children learn and progress. The staff offer children a rich stimulating free flow indoor and outdoor learning environment with a wide range and selection of very good quality resources. The nursery has clear aims and objectives in supporting all children to develop in an environment which they have free access to both indoors and outdoors, to offer excellent learning opportunities through the children's play and real life experiences. The outside is an extension of the inside in providing wonderful opportunities and choices. The long term planning is based on continuous provision and incorporates very effectively the six areas of learning which fully promote children to achieve within the Early Years Foundation Stage. Through the staffs' positive use of observations, children can revisit their interests and the resources they used in their continuous play as they want. This is highly

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and outcomes for children

effective in extending and supporting individual children's learning. Staff promote a balanced approach to adult and child-led play based activities. This includes positive group times which children thoroughly enjoy where they share information, such as a topic, news or something a child has brought from home. The information sought from parents and as children move through the nursery ensures their starting points, routines and related interests are recognised and fully developed. Staff are skilled in ensuring activities are adapted or modified so all children are included and take part. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The nursery environment is very welcoming and promotes a child centred approach which enables children to be self-assured, independent and secure. The nursery has established a key worker system which also includes a buddy back up system to ensure consistency for children and parents. Children have caring and

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and outcomes for children

nurturing relationships with the staff which enables the forming of close attachments and promote a strong sense of belonging. The consistent boundaries and the routines in place provide all the children with a knowledge of acceptable behaviour. This is managed in a shared way by staff. Children like to see their work displayed around the nursery and this promotes a sense of pride and being valued. Staff use stickers and certificates which recognise children's contributions, such as helping each other and to tidy up. All children are included. The nursery actively promotes a clear understanding of equality of opportunity. Management and staff are highly effective in providing an integrated service within their community which takes positive steps to support all children who attend. This approach places a strong emphasis on the importance of working with other agencies to ensure outcomes for children are fully promoted.

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and outcomes for children

The babies and toddlers have space and excellent provision to explore and respond to their surroundings. This includes their own area outside. The selection of very good resources enables them to develop their ability to make choices. The variety and range of tactile materials captures children's interests and engages them, such as the treasure baskets, foam and paints. The babies and toddlers use the furniture around them to pull themselves up and to access resources at a higher level. Singing and music are also a key part of their enjoyment. The babies feel safe due to the close relationships formed with staff. They enjoy being held, cuddled and rocked to sleep depending on their needs. The positive and pro-active approach by staff with the children in managing their personal hygiene routines is exemplary. Children are well informed and this extends to cleaning their teeth after lunch. Clear procedures are in place and fully shared with parents to work together

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and outcomes for children

to minimise cross infection in the nursery. Snacks and meals are all provided by the nursery. These are cooked from fresh on site and weekly menus are displayed. Meat, fish, fruit and vegetables are all sourced from local suppliers. The range of foods offer an excellent selection of healthy and nutritious meals which the children thoroughly enjoy. Parents commented on how much better their children eat and try different foods at nursery.

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and outcomes for children

The creative areas are excellent. They offer children a wide selection of materials to use as they want. This promotes their ideas exceedingly well and enables them to extend their imagination, explore colour and textures, and to manipulate, shape, build and construct. Role play is directed by the children and their interests, such as the setting up of a shop or the doctors. Children have ongoing opportunities to communicate, use books and be part of the home book lending service provided in pre-school. Staffs' effective use of open questioning promotes the children to think. Listening skills are enhanced through group times for children to value what others say. The older children enjoy their French language sessions and words in other languages are displayed to ensure all children are included and can communicate confidently. Number skills and problem solving are managed very effectively through the children's daily activities. They count, make connections, sort objects,

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and outcomes for children

sequence and use weights and measure, such as with baking and in the role play shop. Simple skills in relation to more and less are incorporated well into children's This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 play. Games and action songs all reinforce children's understanding. The children fully use the outside garden to grow herbs, vegetables and fruit which they prepare and eat. The opportunity for children to see and touch different animals is managed through outings and the visit from the zoo lab and the nursery's own pets. Being outside throughout the year involves the children in the changing seasons and what that means to the plants and animals. This includes children engaging fully in physical activities, providing children with daily exercise and fresh air. The varied opportunities for the children to use the wide range of equipment and resources fully promotes their physical play and skills and is excellent in

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and outcomes for children

developing their confidence and independence. Children enjoy visits from people who help us, such as the community officer, nurse and emergency services. This was extended to the lifeboat service and children visiting the launch site on the beach. Being safe and enabling children to take positive levels of risk is managed very well by staff. This enables children to be confident in using tools and equipment and to be informed about safe practices and protecting themselves. 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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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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Stage

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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