Abracadabra Day Nursery

Abracadabra Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY298035 Inspection date 26/10/2009 Inspector Daphne Prescott

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Setting address 5 Tennyson Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 4BY

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Telephone number 01903 201824 Email mobile 07876722890 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 . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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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

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

Abracadabra nursery is privately owned. It opened in 2004 and operates from a detached house in Worthing, West Sussex. All children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 48 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The setting is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.00pm, all year round, except bank holidays. There are currently 97 children from three months to under five years on roll, children attend different times of the week. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register.

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Description of the setting

The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also supports children who speak English as an additional language. The setting is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 23 staff, of whom 14, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications and four staff are working towards an early years qualification.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are happy, confident and thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. They benefit from a wide range of interesting activities and are making good progress in their learning and development. Partnership with parents contributes significantly to ensuring children settle well and their individual needs are met. The setting promotes an inclusive environment where all children are respected and valued. The manager is highly motivated and good leadership and effective systems to support the staff to evaluate and reflect on their practice, provide a strong basis for their capacity to maintain continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure the blind cords in the children's play room downstairs does not pose a safety risk and is detailed in the record of risk assessments  further promote children's independence at meal times by enabling them to serve themselves. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are effectively safeguarded because the manager takes appropriate steps to promote children's welfare. They are protected by the staff's secure knowledge of their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. A number of staff have completed training in child protection and are aware of the inter-agency links in place to protect children. All staff are vetted to establish their suitability to care for children and security measures are efficient and prevent unauthorised access to the setting. For example, a buzzer security system is in place at the entrance of the nursery and CCTV is also installed. The setting maintains records of risk assessments including those undertaken for outings which identifies most hazards and enables the preventive measures to be put in place. However, the preventive measures for the blind cords in the children's play room downstairs are not always carried out and the hazard is not detailed in the record of risk assessment, which

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the early years provision

compromises children's safety. Good systems are in place for administering medication and several staff have attended first aid training to provide suitable treatment as the need arises.

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the early years provision

The manager and staff are dedicated to their roles and have worked extremely hard, implementing a number of changes which have resulted in improved learning opportunities for the children. They manage the free-flow play system well indoors, ensuring high levels of supervision. The rooms are divided into designated areas and children access the toys and play equipment from well presented, low-level storage containers. Staff work very well as a team and have a clear idea about what they want to achieve within the setting. Staff appraisals provide opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and develop their areas of interest. Furthermore, regular staff meetings are also a valuable opportunity for staff to feed back on any training workshops attended, ensuring ideas and techniques learnt can be used and developed in their practice to benefit the children in their care. Systems for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the setting are in

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the early years provision

place and identify areas for further improvement. All recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection have been addressed to benefit the children. In addition, the views of parents and children are sought verbally and through the use of a parent’s forum. Feedback from the parents is valued and addressed, resulting in improvements such as using fund raising money to buy equipment for the nursery.

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the early years provision

A strong emphasis is placed on partnership with parents/carers, which in turn benefits the children. The effective partnership with parents means that staff understand children's individual needs and they provide effective support to ensure they are met. Parents are very happy with the service offered and feel that the activities provided help their children to feel settled, happy and make good progress in their learning. They are fully informed about the provision through a parents' welcome pack. Regular newsletters are sent home and a notice board keeps parents well informed of nursery issues and what activities their child is doing. In addition, parents are kept well informed of their child's daily care and activities, both verbally and in writing. Parents have regular meetings with their child's key person to discuss their achievement records and contribute any This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

suggestions they may have. Partnerships with other agencies are in place and staff value the input from other professionals. Any additional support is identified to ensure that the individual needs of the children are met appropriately. Staff are beginning to develop links with other settings that the children attend, to ensure that children receive continuity in their care and learning. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of diversity and offer an inclusive and welcoming environment. Resources reflect diversity and encourage discussions about similarities and differences to help children understand and value the society they live in. Through themed activities, they are developing a good awareness and understanding of their own and other cultures. For example, they learn about the world they live in as they celebrate different festivals such as Chinese New Year, Diwali and Christmas. Furthermore, displays, photographs and posters throughout the

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the early years provision

nursery, promote positive images and builds on children’s self-esteem.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy a stimulating environment and arrive at nursery eager to play. They settle quickly and happily, chatting to staff and each other about what they want to do. Children feel secure in the care of the welcoming staff and having their own name cards and pegs provides a sense of belonging. They have built trusting relationships with all the staff and formed close bonds with their key person. The key person system works very well; staff obtain clear and detailed information from the parents about their child's home routines, likes and interests and use these to establish each child's starting points and as a base for individual planning.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy a wide and balanced range of activities that fully support their progress towards the early learning goals. Adults work extremely closely with them, listening to what they say and encouraging them to express their own ideas and follow their own interests. Children contribute their own suggestions for activities by making their own choices about what they wish to do and by using resources in ways that they decide. Planning for each child is unique to them and is organised around their individual interests and next stage of individual learning, which is determined through purposeful observations. The presentation of these records are good and staff clearly spend time ensuring that these are a professional and accurate account of each child's needs.

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and outcomes for children

Children make good progress in communicating, literacy and skills relating to information and communication technology, developing children's experiences and skills for the future. For example, they chat freely to each other and the staff and are introduced to new descriptive vocabulary through exciting activities such as hiding play insects in the flour. They enthusiastically explore tactile experiences and textures, gasping with anticipation as they find a play spider in flour. Children are beginning to write recognisable letters and words. They are developing a strong love of books and use books independently as well as having stories read to them. Children learn to operate computer programmes. They are proficient on the computer and have regular access to this and the use of programmable toys. Children count well, and can distinguish size and quantity as they fill up their buckets with water. They enjoy playing with a range of creative activities which

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 promotes children's free expression and choice. They explore colour, texture and shape as they paint and make models. Children have good opportunities to develop their imagination. They independently develop and extend their stories by the good props set up by the staff. Children are good at deciding their roles and sharing ideas. They speak with ease and play confidently with one another as they quickly learn to negotiate with each other, inviting others to take part in their games. Children are beginning to solve problems as they fit puzzles together, post shapes and build with different types of bricks and wooden train tracks. Babies have their individual needs met as they follow their home routines of sleeping, playing and eating. They enjoy cuddles and affection from the staff. Babies' attempts to communicate are encouraged as the staff chat to them, smile and

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and outcomes for children

offer calming words. Babies explore using all their senses and enjoy touch and feel as they discover and focus on objects around them and laugh with delight as they play with their own fingers and toes. Children have good opportunities to learn about their local environment as they go for walks to the beach and the local park.

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and outcomes for children

Children's understanding about developing a healthy lifestyle is promoted because they are cared for in clean, well-maintained premises and are encouraged to follow good personal hygiene practices to prevent the risk of infection. They all wash their hands regularly and they learn about the care of their teeth by brushing their teeth after meal times. Children enjoy a good variety of home-cooked, freshly prepared meals and snacks. At meal times staff sit with children in small groups and encourage them to make healthy food choices and to try new foods. Although children’s independence is generally fostered, this is not routinely the case at meal times for the older children. They do not regularly have the opportunity to serve themselves with their food or pour their own drinks. Suitable furniture is available for babies to enable them to sit comfortably and enjoy their food. Children engage in a range of physical activities, both inside and outside, increasing their

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and outcomes for children

understanding about the importance of regular exercise as part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Babies are encouraged to reach out for toys and crawl as they explore their indoor environment. Younger children enjoy being physically active as they crawl through a tunnel. Older children peddle bikes and scoot along in cars, skilfully negotiating their way around other children outside. They join in well with physical group activities as they learn to manage their body to create intended movements such as star jumps, sit ups and balancing on one leg with great laughs as they wobble over. Children are having great fun as they learn about how their bodies work and they are learning the vocabulary of different body parts.

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning to keep themselves safe as they tidy away toys, practise the fire drill and are reminded to use outdoor equipment safely. Behaviour is very good and, as a result, children learn to become responsible and contribute positively to the needs of a group. They play games to encourage turn taking and effectively use a sand timer to support children to share. Children develop a strong sense of belonging and establish friendships through their cooperative and caring interaction. The staff treat each child with respect and value them as individuals, providing positive role models for the 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 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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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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