St Mary Magdalene's Roman Catholic Primary School, Burnley

Olympus KeyMed Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 119489 Inspection date 09/12/2009 Inspector Patricia Mary Champion

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Setting address Keymed House, Stock Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 5QH Telephone number 01702 444215 or 616333 Email olga.dean@olympus.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

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

Olympus KeyMed Day Nursery is run by KeyMed (Medical and Industrial Equipment) Ltd. It opened in 1994 and operates from a purpose built, workplace nursery on the ground floor of the KeyMed complex in Southend, Essex. The nursery comprises of five play rooms and all children share access to four secure, enclosed, outdoor play areas. A maximum of 59 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery opens five days a week for 51 weeks of the year. Operating times are from 7.45am until 6.15pm.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 51 children aged from five months to five years on roll. Children aged three and four years receive funding for early education. Children attend for a variety of sessions or full day care. The nursery serves parents working for KeyMed and children come from the local community and wider areas. The setting supports a small number of children who have English as an additional language. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 21 staff to work with the children; all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. There is one member of staff that holds Early Years Professional and Qualified Teacher Status. There is one member of staff currently working towards a higher early years qualification. The nursery also employs a chef, two catering assistants and an administrator. The setting receives support from the local authority. The staff use the High Scope approach to teaching alongside delivering learning experiences within the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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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

Staff have been exceptionally successful in implementing the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) so that the emphasis on developing 'the unique child' is fully realised. Children are safeguarded through excellent supervision and extremely robust policies and procedures, which are understood and implemented by staff. The management and staff team rigorously evaluate their practice and seek their users' opinions, this means they continually look for ways to maintain and improve their already very high standards to promote very positive outcomes for children.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 developing further the links with other settings within the EYFS to enhance transitions and the continuity in children's learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Excellent attention is given to ensuring that children are safe and free from harm at all times. Extensive recruitment and vetting procedures and successful induction ensure that all staff are suitable to work with the children. Staff have a very secure knowledge and understanding of child protection issues. There are very clear procedures in place to ensure that concerns are dealt with appropriately and staff have confidence in their ability to record and refer information if necessary. Each day the management and staff meticulously check that the play rooms and outdoor areas are safe and clean before use. They record specific risk assessments regarding each activity or any new situations that arise to keep children safe. Comprehensive risk assessment is also conducted regarding every outing. The staff are extremely vigilant about the security of the children. There is a very secure entry system and no unauthorised person is allowed access. Identification

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the early years provision

documents of visitors are scrutinised and the visitors’ book is signed before entry.

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the early years provision

The organisation of documentation is superb and fully supports staff in their day- to-day work with the children. Regular reviews are made of the nursery policies and staff thoughtfully change procedures in light of new developments. The management team have developed rigorous systems to monitor the provision and continually strive for improvement. A variety of methods of self-evaluation have been carried out and there is a very good understanding of the many strengths of the nursery. Further ground-breaking areas for development have been identified. Staff are enthusiastic and highly motivated to attend training and development courses. Their skills and expertise are used very effectively; every role or responsibility seems to have just the right person leading. Also as a result of the commitment to continually improve knowledge of childcare issues, a highly innovative learning environment is offered. This in turn results in an outstanding

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the early years provision

Children’s individual needs are well known and the special educational needs coordinators work closely with families to ensure that children thrive and participate fully. Specific dietary requirements are particularly well-met as the chef adapts menus to meet individual needs. Staff share their knowledge of other languages with the children and additional resources are supplied to ensure that children with English as an additional language feel a sense of belonging. Children's knowledge of other cultures, customs and festivals help them develop a very good awareness of cultural and religious differences. For example, children learn about the variety of ways Christmas is celebrated in other countries. A wide range of resources depicting positive figures are in constant use so that children view images of diversity in the toys they handle everyday. These influences teach the children to respect and value other people and other ways of life.

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the early years provision

The procedures for involving parents and keeping them informed of their children’s development are comprehensive and extremely effective. Conversations with parents on a daily basis are complemented by written daily diary sheets and home- links books. The standard of written information is superb, with a strong emphasis on sharing details about the EYFS. Parents are involved in their children’s learning This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 in a variety of meaningful ways. Specific parents’ participation events are held when they join activities or attend special events such as a graduation ceremony for the children leaving to start school. Parents are very keen to express their satisfaction with the provision. They compliment the professional, personal and caring approach of all of the staff, appreciate the nutritious freshly cooked meals and feel safe in the knowledge that children are extremely well looked after and

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the early years provision

developing excellent social and cognitive skills.

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the early years provision

Staff demonstrate a very good attitude to working with other professionals on a number of levels, for example, the setting hosts cluster meetings with other early years practitioners and health visitors come into the nursery to hold consultations with families. The setting has started to link with the local schools to assist children’s transition into full-time education. However, these partnerships are still in the early stages of development.

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and outcomes for children

The nursery is a magical place for children to be and in its stimulating, caring and supportive environment they thrive and develop great enthusiasm for learning. Displays and photographic evidence show there is an extremely wide range of creative activity. Children are enchanted by the Christmas display in the entrance and the winter wonderland role play area outside provides highly imaginative learning opportunities. Children play a dynamic part in the life of the nursery. They are enterprising because their curiosity is skilfully nurtured. When children ask questions and demonstrate great interest in aspects of the world around them, staff use the ideas raised by the children to introduce topics. For example, the recent colour themes decided by the children were incorporated into many aspects of the nursery day. Children take a key role in deciding how their base rooms are organised and equipped and consequently, they take great care of their

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and outcomes for children

The outdoor play areas are used extremely well as children chose to move freely between indoor and outside for much of the day. The outdoor play coordinator has a passion for ensuring that children have free access to a wide range of activities. A specific outdoor resource book has been devised so that children can make more choices and this also includes ideas for adults to extend children’s learning. The older children are now taking greater interest in investigative, explorative and experimental outdoor learning opportunities. For example, when using real tools as they complete woodwork tasks, children listen attentively to safety instructions and can explain why they need to be particularly careful. Other activities are planned to promote children's understanding of safety issues in the wider environment and children learn about basic first aid and taking care of each other. Exceedingly high standards of cleanliness are maintained throughout the nursery and both children

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and outcomes for children

and staff demonstrate an extremely good understanding of effective hygiene routines.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making excellent progress towards the early learning goals given their starting points and capabilities. Their progress in relation to communication, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 numeracy and developing technology skills is exceptionally good. Consequently, children are all given excellent opportunities to develop the skills they need for the future. Staff frequently observe children in a variety of ways and record their achievements in beautifully presented ‘Learning journey’ books. Spontaneous observations are displayed so that parents can instantly see them and these notes are linked to areas of learning so that staff can immediately see the areas they need to work on or they can determine the children’s preferred learning styles. This ensures that activities meet each child's needs exceptionally well and assessment gives an excellent picture of individual children's progress. Key persons

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and outcomes for children

ensure that parents and carers are also involved in assessment. This means that families are extremely well-informed about how their children are doing.

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and outcomes for children

The younger children's and babies' welfare is extremely well promoted. They are cared for tenderly and with great affection and children share a special bonding with their key person. As a result babies feel secure, settle quickly and become extremely confident. Staff are very aware that moving to another room may temporarily affect children’s confidence. Therefore, superb attention has been given to the transition process as children move up into the next room and they are given excellent opportunities to get to know their new play environment and carers.

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and outcomes for children

Children communicate extremely confidently and staff promote children's language exceptionally well, often covering several areas of learning simultaneously as they prompt responses through questions and discussions. Children are absorbed and engrossed in their imaginative play. The many role play areas are imaginatively themed and props, resources and costumes are frequently changed. Children demonstrate high level of physical aptitude as they move confidently around the premises. They benefit because the communal area in the centre of the nursery is available in addition to their home base for indoor play. A music teacher visits the children and they sing or act out familiar rhymes and enthusiastically learn new Christmas songs accompanied by musical instruments. Football coaching staff from Southend United also visit the children to encourage them to exercise and develop their agility and ball skills.

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and outcomes 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 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 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 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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