Corner House Nursery School

Corner House Nursery School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 300724 Inspection date 14/12/2009 Inspector Yvonne Victoria Facey

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Setting address 130 Wadsley Lane, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S6 4ED

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Telephone number 0114 233 3349 Email cornerhouseltd@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 0300 123 1231, 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: 0300 123 1231 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

Corner House Nursery School opened in 1993. The nursery operates from a large detached house and outbuildings in Wadsley, Sheffield. The children use the whole of the ground floor accommodation, two annex classrooms and three rooms on the first floor. There are three fully enclosed outdoor play areas available. The nursery serves the local community and the wider Sheffield area.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered to care for a maximum of 84 children in the early years age group. There are currently 141 children on roll. There is provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and for children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is open Monday to Friday all year round, with the exception of public holidays and one week at Christmas. Opening times are from 8am until 6pm and children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 28 staff. This includes five ancillary staff and 23 staff involved in the care of the children. Of these, 22 hold childcare qualifications. They are members of the National Day Nurseries Association. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children enjoy their time at the setting and benefit from the warm interactions with the staff. The setting have a satisfactory understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are continuing to develop overall systems to ensure all children make good progress towards the early learning goals. The setting demonstrate a positive attitude to continuous improvement but a focused approach and clear reflection of the service is not strong enough to ensure a positive impact on the overall quality of the early years provision, and the outcomes for children.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 keep a record of risk assessment so that it includes information on who conducted it, date of review and any action taken following a review or incident. (Safeguarding and welfare) 27/01/2010

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further?

 ensure all written complaints relating to the requirements are fully investigated and recorded, complainants are notified of the outcome within 28 days and a written record of complaints is available to Ofsted on request.(Safeguarding and Promoting Children’s Welfare) 27/01/2010 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 continue to consolidate links between observations, assessments and planning to identify learning priorities and plan suitable play experiences for individual children  develop the planning and provision of outdoor play experiences to fully promote all areas of children's learning  develop the use of self-evaluation, involving staff and parents in this process, in order to build on strengths and target areas for further improvement.

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the early years provision

Overall, children's welfare is safeguarded appropriately. Designated staff have attended relevant training to ensure they have up-to-date knowledge about child protection issues. There are suitable policies and procedures in place which are shared with staff and parents. However, the system to log complaints was not in place on the first day of this inspection but was made available on the second day. This is a breach of requirements. Staff hold appropriate first aid certificates and systems for recording accidents and medication are sound. Good recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Children's security is given high priority in the setting by means of intercom systems at the main door and all visitors sign in and are shown to their designated area. Other safety measures include stair gates on all stairways and guards on heating systems. The staff complete daily checks of the premises to ensure children are

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the early years provision

kept safe. However, the required risk assessments are not in place. This is a breach of requirements.

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the early years provision

The quality of the environment and resources are adequately managed and the setting uses space suitably within the provision. However, the outdoor space is not consistently used to effectively enrich children's learning in all areas. There are opportunities for children to freely access their toys and choose the activities they wish to take part in. However, staff sometimes lose sight of the quality of resources they are providing for children. For example, children cannot scoop water in the water tray and pencils are not sharpened. As a result, children get frustrated and lose interest as they are not able to complete their chosen task.

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the early years provision

There are positive interactions and required information is gathered from parents. For example, when children are starting a placement, the setting gains information, such as children's daily routines, personal details and likes and dislikes. However, information is not gathered regarding children's starting points and capabilities.

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the early years provision

The setting has begun to evaluate their service, parent questionnaires are completed and the setting ask for children to comment how they feel at the setting. However, the setting do not have a clear reflection on their strengths and areas for improvement. There are inconsistencies with the managements This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 expectations of how the setting is progressing and the reality of the actual practice on a daily basis. As a result, outcomes for children are not strong.

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and outcomes for children

Children's starting points in learning are not suitably considered to ensure continuity of children’s learning. For example, the system to link with other providers is not consistent or clear and discussions with parents regarding children's learning at the start of the placement is basic. Assessments for transition to school are in place and these are satisfactory. Activities are generally appropriately planned and the setting continues to improve the quality of observations, assessments and planning for individual children. However, the systems to monitor the quality of these areas lacks consistency and as a result, there are gaps in children's progress towards the early learning goals.

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and outcomes for children

Children mostly enjoy their time at the setting, although the balance of child- initiated and adult-led play is not always fully considered to support children's interest and individual learning needs. For example, some activities are over challenging or not challenging enough. There are suitable opportunities for children to learn about healthy lifestyles. They wash their hands before meals and after messy play. However, there are not enough frequent meaningful discussions with children in daily routines about what makes them healthy. There are satisfactory opportunities for children to engage in physical activities as they use bikes and balancing in the outdoor play area. Children are beginning to understand how to keep themselves and others safe. For example, they role play road safety, explaining to each other what the different colours of the traffic lights mean.

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and outcomes for children

The setting acknowledge the importance of planning for different groups of children to ensure they are all making progress towards all areas of learning. However, this is not strong enough at this time to have a significant impact on all children's learning. Children are beginning to respect their differences and develop an understanding of diversity, although this is not fully extended for children to have a true sense of themselves and others. Children thoroughly enjoy stories and rhymes because most staff are detailed storytellers and use props to enhance children's involvement and interest. For example, they use soft toys for the characters and change the words to popular rhymes, such as 'Incey wincey spider in snow' and 'Incey wincey spider in the bath'. As a result, children's communication skills are developing. Older children can recall stories accurately. There are suitable opportunities for children to improve their skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Older children give meaning to their marks explaining that they have drawn people that are important to them. For example, their mummy and Daddy. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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