Glebe Kids

Glebe Kids Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY295453 Inspection date 09/11/2009 Inspector Susan Ennis

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Setting address 30 Glebe Road, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6 1DR Telephone number 01462 686683 Email kent@glebekids.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

Glebe Kids registered in 2005 and operates from two self-contained buildings in a residential area of Letchworth, Hertfordshire. Both buildings have fully enclosed, secure outdoor play areas.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 44 children in the early age group may attend the setting at any one time and there are currently 76 children in this age range on roll. The setting is open from 9:00am to 3.30pm five days a week, during school term time only. The morning session is from 9:00am to 12:00pm with Lunch Club from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. The afternoon session is from 12:30pm to 3.30pm with themed afternoon play sessions from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Children are able to attend a variety of sessions. The setting offers care to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and to those who speak English as an additional language. The setting also offers the flexible funding scheme for funded three and four year olds.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs 10 members of staff, seven of whom hold early years qualifications and two of whom are working 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

Staff create a very welcoming and safe environment in which children thrive. Planning is flexible, taking into account children's likes and dislikes, enabling them to enjoy their time at the setting and make good progress in their learning and development. The staff build excellent relationships with the parents and carers and keep them well informed about their child's development and the day to day running of the setting. Senior staff lead a culture of reflective practice where all staff work together, to review the settings strengths and areas for improvement and are committed to continuous improvement for all children and families in their care.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the use of starting points to more efficiently assess where children are in their development and to plan for their next stage of learning  develop further the use of observations, assessments and planning to meet the individual needs of the children, plan their next steps and identify areas of concern or further challenge  develop further the relationships with others involved in the children's lives promoting consistency of care and developmental progress. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The knowledge and enthusiasm of the senior staff ensures that all aspects of the provision are well led. The effective implementation of the setting's comprehensive policies and procedures support the daily running of the setting and ensure that children are offered a safe and secure environment. For example, there are robust procedures in place for checking staff are suitable to work with the children and a rolling program of training to further increase their childcare knowledge. Staff also have an appropriate knowledge of the procedures to follow relating to safeguarding children ensuring their welfare is promoted and that they are fully protected at all times. Children are able to move confidently around the setting because staff take effective steps to minimise the hazards. They carry out daily safety checks of the premises and outside play areas and complete comprehensive risk assessments at least once a year. Ongoing explanations from staff help the

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the early years provision

children to gain a good understanding of safety issues, such as learning why it is important to climb the slide from the right side and why it is safer to walk when inside rather than to run.

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the early years provision

Staff show a genuine desire to promote the best care and opportunities for the children. The ongoing monitoring and reflective practice in place helps to highlight their strengths and areas for improvement. They use feedback from staff meetings, action plans and parent questionnaires to implement changes to further improve the outcomes for children. For example, notices were moved so that they were more convenient for the parents to see. Also an open day was held in the nursery building for the parents of pre-school children moving over to the nursery room before the children actually moved following feedback from parents who wanted to meet the staff before transition.

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the early years provision

The setting effectively and actively promotes equality and diversity enabling them to offer a service that is inclusive for all children and their families. The staff know the children very well and gain a thorough understanding of each child's background and needs. All children are well integrated and their development in relation to their starting points is good. The setting effectively helps the children learn and understand the society in which they live, for example, introducing sign language into the daily routine, providing resources such as books and puzzles reflecting positive images and celebrating festivals including Diwali and Bonfire night.

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the early years provision

Children's individual development is effectively promoted because the setting has good procedures in place to support, monitor and evaluate their progress. The wide and interesting range of available resources are enthusiastically used and the inclusive child-friendly environment is conducive to children's learning. For example, low-level labelled storage encourages the children to freely choose what to play with and child-sized furniture ensures that they can sit comfortably while they play and learn. The setting actively plans their ongoing sustainability by offering flexible attendance arrangements to meet the childcare needs of more families and by using community projects such as the toy and book libraries. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The setting's dedication to maintaining trusting and professional relationships with parents ensures that children are consistently cared for and that parents are fully

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the early years provision

informed about the ethos of the setting and their good working practice. A comprehensive and user friendly website containing all the setting's policies, procedures and, for example, news letter enables parents to easily find all the relevant information they may need whilst reducing the effect on the environment. Hard copies are available for those without internet access. Parents are continually informed about their child's development through ongoing interaction with staff and parent consultations which are regularly held throughout the year keeping them fully involved in their child's learning.

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the early years provision

Wider partnership working is developing as the setting is building trusting and professional relationships with the local school and other settings in the area. They share relevant information where possible and work effectively to provide a consistent quality of care for the children. However, further improvement is required to build relationships with other carers involved in the children's lives.

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and outcomes for children

Children are offered interesting and stimulating opportunities to help them effectively progress and develop across all areas of learning. Useful information is gained from parents about children's home lives, their position in the family and their likes and dislikes. However, little information is gained regarding the children's developmental progress. Also as this information is not used immediately to feed into children's initial assessments areas of concern or for further challenge may not be highlighted. Staff get to know the children well and use this information to plan activities linking to their preferences. When younger children show an interest in space staff read them the story 'Whatever next' and provide props such as boxes and a colander like the teddy in the story uses to visit space. Staff extend the activity and the children's creative skills by encouraging them to make rockets and a space landscape where they enjoy gluing pieces of newspaper

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and outcomes for children

to stick on. Some experience the sensation of squeezing the glue through their hands which they have also covered in glue. As the activity is so thoroughly enjoyed by the children staff use their flexible planning to carry the resources over to the following week where children further demonstrate their imagination skills by using one of the boxes as a car to go and buy 'cakes'. Staff record children's attainments through use of visual and recorded observations and assessments. However, as these are not always kept up to date, areas of progression and children's next steps are not quickly identified and therefore children's development is not optimally promoted.

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and outcomes for children

Children's learning is actively encouraged through focused activities as well as spontaneous free play. When staff notice that children are putting small items from around the nursery into bags they decide to convert the home corner into a grocery shop. They fill it with items and baskets so that the children can shop for the food of their choice. They use their good childcare knowledge to extend the children's thinking by asking them what they are shopping for and the children use their imagination skills and resourcefulness by using the equipment to go for This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 picnics and have their friends round for tea. Children's emotional development progresses as they talk about what makes them happy and sad, holding up sad and happy faces to express how they feel and some saying 'when my friends give me a cuddle it makes me happy'. They then use their information technology skills

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and outcomes for children

to take photographs of themselves and their friends to display on the wall. Their knowledge and understanding of the world is actively developing as they nurture butterflies and stick insects from eggs and participate in holding the stick insects learning to be very gentle as they do so.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy their time at the setting, forging friendly relationships with the staff and each other. Show and tell sessions encourage their self-esteem and confidence and they fully participate in conversations about, for example, their own experiences of Halloween when they inform the group that they were dressed up as a 'Human pumpkin.' Their behaviour is good as they learn the setting's rules with the staff, who act as positive role models, supporting them to make the right choices.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health is exceptionally well promoted as staff encourage their understanding of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. They learn how their bodies react to physical exertion as they participate in exercise and music and movement activities feeling their hearts beating and talking about their growing muscles. They also learn about their own body's needs as they are asked at circle time 'what do we do when we're thirsty?' to which they confidently reply 'get a drink.' Their understanding of healthy eating is comprehensively encouraged as they grow vegetables such as beetroot and radishes in the garden and then try them for snack. They also actively participate in hollowing out a pumpkin to make soup for everyone and look forward to the weekly cooking sessions. Their independence is developed as they choose when to have snack, pouring their own drinks and helping to cut up the fruit. 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 1 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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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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