Happitots Day Nursery

Happitots Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY315851 Inspection date 03/12/2009 Inspector Melissa Cox

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Setting address 1-3 Winnersh Grove, Reading Road, Winnersh, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 5EQ Telephone number 01189 9770811 Email vanessa@completechildcare.co.uk 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

Happitots registered in 2006 and is part of the chain of nurseries managed by Complete Childcare. It is situated in Wokingham and operates from a purpose built premises based in two buildings at the same site. Children have access to enclosed outdoor area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8.00am to 6.00pm for 50 weeks of the year and a variety of sessions are offered.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is registered to care for a maximum of 83 children. There are 73 children up to the age of five years on roll. The nursery makes provision for children with special educational needs/ or disabilities and for those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 14 members of staff including the manager and the cook, 12 of the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives support from the Local Authority.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is inadequate.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The manager and staff team demonstrate a poor understanding of safeguarding and their responsibilities. Risk assessment procedures are in place but they do not extend to specific activities and staff do not always monitor daily risks. A satisfactory working relationship with parents ensures some children's individual needs are met. However, the setting's approach towards valuing children's home language and diversity is poor and these groups of children are not well supported. Hygiene routines within the nursery are ineffective as staff do not consistently follow these to support children's health. The nursery lacks an effective self evaluation system.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the early years provision requires significant improvement. The registered person is given a Notice to Improve that sets out actions to be carried out.

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further?

To comply with the requirements of the EYFS the registered person must take the following action by the specified date:

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further?

 ensure that all members of staff understand the safeguarding policy and procedure and this is implemented appropriately (safeguarding and welfare) 11/01/2010

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further?

 ensure effective systems are in place to support parents and children for whom English is an additional language and extend staff knowledge of how to ensure children's cultural identities are recognised and 11/01/2010 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 valued (safeguarding and welfare)  develop the systems of self-evaluation to identify the setting’s strengths and priorities for improvement,with particular regard to risk assessment of activities, organisation of resources and mealtimes (Qualifications, training, knowledge and skills) 11/01/2010

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further?

 ensure suitable hygiene procedures are consistently followed with all children and in all areas of the provision (promoting good health) 11/01/2010

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further?

 ensure an accurate daily record is kept of the names of the children looked after on the premises, their hours of attendance and the names of the children’s key workers. (Documentation) 11/01/2010

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 ensure flexibility in planning for the group, while keeping a focus on children's individual and present learning needs or interests and achievements  introduce systems to strengthen the partnership with parents and other providers, with emphasis on ensuring that each key worker consistently communicates with them on all matters  develop the records of observation and assessments to ensure children’s progress in all areas of learning are consistency recorded and used to plan the next steps in their individual developmental progress

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the early years provision

Safeguarding procedures are inadequate. Although policies are in place, staff have a poor understanding of their responsibilities as they have failed to follow procedures or liaise with local statutory children’s services agencies as appropriate and as a result children have not been safeguarded. Risk assessment procedures are adequate, but although staff use daily risk assessment checklists, these are not always completed and do not include assessing specific play activities, such as those that may involve use of different resources like sand or water. The attendance registers in some rooms are not accurate or information has not been promptly recorded. This is a breach of a welfare requirement.

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the early years provision

The nursery has developing links with parents with an 'open door' policy to ensure parents feel welcome and encourage sharing. Information is shared through verbal discussions with staff and the use of daily diaries for younger children. Whilst parents receive policies and necessary information on admission, opportunities for parents to have regular access to and meaningful involvement in their child's learning journey are limited. Support for parents and children for whom English is an additional language is poor as staff lack knowledge of how to value children's cultural identities and fail to ensure that they are recognised. In addition, the process of sharing relevant information to ensure continuity of care and progression for children who attend more than one setting, is very basic. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The nursery rooms are suitably organised and the majority are resourced with

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the early years provision

good quality equipment to support children's learning across areas of the curriculum. However there is a lack of suitable sleeping mats for children at nap time and in some rooms children are made to sleep on the floor. Provision of natural and everyday objects and materials and a range of information and communication technology equipment in the pre-school room enhance the quality of learning opportunities for the children. Children have use of an outdoor area linked to their rooms, but these areas are mostly used in dry weather and some of the resources cannot be fully utilised by the children as they are broken.

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the early years provision

Recommendations raised at the last inspection have been partly met, but overall the commitment to ongoing improvement within the main nursery is poor with a lack of clear direction for improvement. The recent appointment of a deputy to the senior management team has raised standards considerably within the pre-school room and within this area of the nursery there is a clear commitment to improvement and plans for the future are well targeted.

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and outcomes for children

Children in the main nursery do not have clear and defined starting points for their learning and as a result are only making satisfactory progress overall. Observations of children's progress is developing but staff lack the necessary understanding to identify clearly the children's next steps. Staff are beginning to plan activities to support future learning, but do not always effectively link information from assessments into planning. As a result, children may revisit skills they already have rather than attempt new ones. Planning does not fully incorporate all six areas of learning from the EYFS fully. Staff plan a range of mostly suitable activities for children although they do not always take into account children's individual and present learning needs or interests.

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and outcomes for children

Children are generally split into age groups to ensure that activities and toys are appropriate for their age. Babies happily explore their surroundings while receiving some encouragement to climb, stand and move around the room. The staff sit on the floor to develop a sense of nearness and routinely join in play to help children develop and learn. They clap to show pleasure in young children's achievements, talk softly to children using their name, use eye contact to ensure all feel special, and cuddle the children to help them feel loved and secure. As a result, babies are relaxed, developing curiosity about the things they see, and becoming confident in what they do. They experience brightly coloured toys with buttons to press, developing hand control and an understanding of cause and effect. In the older rooms, threading beads, craft utensils and jigsaws provide opportunities for children to develop hand control needed for future writing skills.

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and outcomes for children

Children explore some cultural activities, helping them understand about the world around them, although the nursery have not fully considered the cultural back ground of all those in the group as a method of valuing and celebrating differences. As a result, opportunities for children to celebrate and show respect This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 for each others' home language and cultures are insufficiently valued and staff's awareness on how to promote this further is poor.

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and outcomes for children

Children in the pre-school room are confident and enthusiastic in their play. They begin to make friends with their peers, and are developing good relationships with the adults caring for them. Staff have received training and are familiar with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. They make relevant observations of children at play and use these to formulate assessments of children's progress towards the early learning goals. Information from the observations is also used to inform future planning, together with staff's knowledge of children's individual interests. Children's work is displayed around the setting, helping to create a sense of belonging for them. Useful storage solutions display resources, whilst enabling children to select items for themselves. Older children are able to independently select craft materials for themselves, in order to extend their activities and develop

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and outcomes for children

their own ideas. Organisation of staff deployment during daily routines ensures that ratios are met and children are well supported by staff. Older children use information technology well to support their learning, for example, they take turns to use programmes on the computer to create their own pictures and play games. Children confidently ask for help when necessary but are becoming increasingly independent. They help pack toys away before lunch, use the toilet and wash their hands without help, and successfully develop their own games to remain productively occupied.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health is not well supported as staff have failed to implement thorough routines to prevent cross infection, for example washing hands between nose blowing and individual named drinks bottles in some rooms. On the day of the inspection, areas of the nursery had not been cleaned and some children were offered dirty cushions to sleep on at nap time. Although individual dietary requirements are catered for, some children fail to enjoy their meals as they are offered different food to their peers which is unappetising and lacks nutritional value. Staff use placemats which detail dietary needs but fail to ensure that they link to the right child and as a result agency staff are not secure in providing the right meals for 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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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 4 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 4 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 4 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 4

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 4 The extent to which children feel safe 4 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 4 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 4 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 4

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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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