The Joint Colleges Nursery (Cambridge) Limited

Joint Colleges Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 221578 Inspection date 02/12/2009 Inspector Emma Bright

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Setting address Joint Colleges Nursery, 6b Chaucer Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 7EB Telephone number 01223 315084 Email head@jnc.org.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

Joint Colleges Nursery is a registered charity, managed by a committee of parents. It opened in 1987 and operates from purpose-built premises close to Cambridge city centre in Cambridgeshire. The nursery is open five days a week from 8.30am to 5.30pm all year round, closing only during Christmas week. All children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 57 children may attend the nursery at any one time and there are currently 59 children on roll who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The nursery currently supports children who have English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 16 staff, of whom 15 hold appropriate early years qualifications and one is training towards a 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 play and learn in an interesting and nurturing environment, where they are valued and acknowledged as individuals. Staff work extremely closely with parents to ensure that overall all children’s needs are effectively met. Children enjoy a good range of activities and challenging experiences which help them to make very good progress in their learning and development. Resources are very well-deployed to ensure children’s safety and enable them to become active learners. The leadership and management of the setting is a key strength; effective monitoring and evaluation of the provision enables staff to identify areas for improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve the use of information gathered about children's learning to enhance their good progress towards the Early Learning Goals  develop further opportunities for children to use, hear and see their home language in their play and learning.

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the early years provision

Rigorous recruitment and induction arrangements ensure staff who work with children are suitable to do so, including the supply staff. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of safeguarding children procedures and help children to understand how to keep themselves safe. They attend child protection This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 training regularly to ensure their knowledge is up-to-date. Systems are in place to effectively monitor and evaluate the provision to identify priorities for improvement which involves staff and parents. For example, parents’ suggestions led to the introduction of overshoes in the baby rooms which further promotes healthy outcomes for children. There is a very strong emphasis on raising standards, continually improving the provision and self-evaluation is good.

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the early years provision

Staff have clear strategies in place to care for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work with parents, carers and other agencies to support the children's needs so that they are included in the life of the setting. The nursery manager provides strong and effective leadership which means staff work very well together as a cohesive team, presenting positive role models for children. The provision is very well-organised and staff are effectively deployed so children are safe and supervised at all times. Clear risk assessments are carried out on a regular basis to ensure that hazards are identified and minimised to safeguard children. Comprehensive documentation is in place for the safe running of the nursery and underpins the good practice at the setting; policies and procedures are implemented effectively by all staff and shared with parents.

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the early years provision

The nursery works extremely well in partnership with parents and carers; parents speak very highly of the setting and in particular of the welcome that each child and their family receives. Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of the benefits of working closely with parents; they strive to provide frequent opportunities for parents to become involved in their child's learning. For example, they take part in ‘brain week’ helping children to learn about food that is good for their brains or sharing their cultural traditions with the children in the nursery. Very good settling-in procedures that are based around their individual needs helps to support children in the transition between home and the nursery. For example, staff complete home visits before children begin at the nursery, which enables them to gather good information to be used as starting points for care and learning. Parents are very well-informed about their child's progress and

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the early years provision

achievements and they have regular opportunities to share what they know about their child. The nursery ensures that parents have access to all policies in home language if required . Although staff ensure that they find out about the children's home language and gather key words, children have fewer opportunities to use, hear and see their home language in the setting to help them confidently use their own language outside the home and build strong bilingual foundations when learning English.

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the early years provision

The setting has a positive attitude to liaising with other settings delivering the EYFS and made good links to other providers in the area. In addition, they have good systems in place to share information when children move away from the local area.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the EYFS; this enables them to offer challenging activities and practical experiences to support and extend each This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 child’s learning and development. Flexible planning is in place and is based on children’s interests which means staff can be responsive to children's changing needs and interests. Staff carry out regular observations of the children as they play and these are added to children’s individual assessments to inform planning. However, this information, and information gathered from parents is not always used to clearly identify the next steps in each child’s learning.

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and outcomes for children

Staff clearly recognise the importance of all the outcomes for children and how they impact on each other. For example, staff help children to keep safe and adopt healthy lifestyles through meaningful, practical experiences such as learning about first aid for children and looking at germs through a microscope. These activities clearly link into the areas of learning which ensures children are active learners, creative and think critically. Children are provided with a good range of meals and snacks which are healthy, balanced and nutritious. Food is organic where possible and locally -sourced including vegetables and herbs that have been grown by the children in the garden.

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and outcomes for children

Children are relaxed and confident in the nurturing care of staff; they are confident and developing good self-esteem because staff are attentive and value their contributions. Children develop good relationships with one another and their behaviour is very good. They sit together and take turns, explaining that the egg timer is used ‘so we know whose turn is next on the computer’. Babies are readily soothed by staff who cuddle them closely as they feed from their bottles which helps babies to feel safe and secure. Children explore their creativity in a good range of art and craft activities because a strong emphasis is placed on developing children’s self–expression. They freely produce drawings and pictures to represent their ideas and these are displayed for others to admire and enjoy.

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and outcomes for children

Children count with confidence and demonstrate good problem solving skills as they persevere in building a ‘marble run’. Babies and toddlers develop coordination as they begin to feed themselves and older children competently use knives and forks. Babies who are mobile explore their immediate environment with growing curiosity and excitedly reach out for bubbles as they float by. Children and babies have daily opportunities to share and enjoy books, rhymes and songs. Older children are confident communicators because staff are responsive to them and listen to their ideas and opinions. They initiate conversations with visitors, eager to share their knowledge and demonstrate what they can do. For example, they display the photographs on the digital camera and explain that they took pictures of their chalk drawing outside. Babies enjoy push and play or pop-up toys, whilst older children confidently use the computer and competently print off their work.

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and outcomes for children

These activities significantly support the children’s future economic well-being. 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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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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