Little Petals Day Nursery

Little Petals Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY391206 Inspection date 28/10/2009 Inspector Teresa Ann Clark

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Setting address 142 Derbyshire Lane, Stretford, MANCHESTER, M32 8DU

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Telephone number 0161 865 7575 Email 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

Little Petals Day Nursery was registered in 2009 and is privately owned. The nursery is situated in the Stretford area of Trafford close to motorway links. Opening times are from 08.00am until 06.00pm each week day. The nursery operates for 51 weeks of the year and is closed on Public Holidays and during the Christmas period. Children have access to three playrooms, and associated facilities. There is a fully enclosed area for outdoor play. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register to care for a maximum of 35 children at any one time. There are currently 32 children on roll. There are eight members of staff employed to work with the children. Of these, six hold an appropriate early years qualification. Two staff are working towards higher qualifications including Earl Years Professional status.

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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

The staff team are well-organised in relation to children's welfare and with on going support are developing systems to maximise children's learning and involve parents. Children’s welfare is given positive support to ensure they feel safe and their health is well promoted. Although the nursery is in its infancy, the manager has started to develop an understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development to further improve the children's learning. However, self-evaluation systems are not entirely inclusive or secure at this time.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve the key person system to ensure a genuine bond develops between the child and their key person (and the child's parents) in order to offer settled and close relationships  take steps to improve the environment both indoors and outdoors to make it more child centred and accessible, for example, by organising and labelling toys and equipment which children can explore and investigate for themselves  improve opportunities for children to develop their communication, language and literacy skills by providing an environment that is rich in symbols, numbers, words and rhymes and provide a wide range of mark making materials indoors and outdoors to encourage children to write for a purpose  ensure all children are supported in their progress towards the early learning goals by using identified learning priorities to plan relevant and motivating learning experiences for each child  continue to develop systems for self-evaluation to ensure strengths and areas

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further?

for improvement are clearly identified and consider ways to seek staff, parents and children’s views in order for them to contribute to the settings This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 self-evaluation.

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the early years provision

Staff are building an effective and supportive team to ensure children are happy and safe. The helpful leadership from the proprietors alongside an enthusiastic, caring staff team helps to ensure children enjoy their time at nursery. Documentation which is required for the safe and efficient management of the setting is generally well-organised to promote positive outcomes for children. Procedures are in place to ensure the suitability of staff is maintained and to promote the children's safety. Staff have a good understanding of child protection to enable them to effectively safeguard the children in their care. Staff are well deployed and pay close attention to children.

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the early years provision

The nursery has made a good start since opening and continues to work hard to promote better outcomes for children. The management is committed to the continued professional development of the staff team and ensures staff are given designated time to work on children's records. Risk assessments are in place and staff take effective measures to manage and eliminate risks within the setting. For example, daily checks of the premises both indoors and outdoors at the beginning of each day. The nursery is welcoming and security is good as children are only allowed to go home with those people included on the registration forms by parents. The management and staff team demonstrate a clear willingness to improve the service as they value the support they receive from their local authority. The manager is beginning to use the self-evaluation process, and recognises the need to include staff, parents and children in this.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from the ongoing liaison staff maintain with their parents, and which effectively contributes to their continuity in care. Parents are kept well informed of their child's activities and events within the nursery through regular newsletters, development files and daily exchange of information. This encourages their involvement and the sharing of information, which helps staff support children's overall care and learning. Parents say that they are very happy with the provision and that they feel their children are happy, and in the main making progress. Parents make many positive comments about the nursery including the fact that 'staff are very kind and very patient' and that their children have settled really well. The setting demonstrates a strong commitment to providing an inclusive service and children and families learning English as an additional language are welcomed, valued and well supported to integrate into the nursery.

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the early years provision

The nursery is beginning to develop links other providers to ensure continuity of learning for those children attending them.

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and outcomes for children

Children and babies make sound progress in their learning and development under the Early Years Foundation Stage because staff plan and provide an adequate This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 range of activities. Staff and the manager are caring, considerate and genuinely enjoy the children's company which ensures children are secure at this setting. However, the key person system is not fully developed to ensure children form secure attachments with their special adult. For example, nappy changing is carried out on a rota system, not by the child's key person. Children's progress towards the early learning goals is monitored in their development files. These include information about children's developmental starting points from parents on entry. Detailed observations are used to identify next steps for individual children. However, systems to plan for children's individual learning are not effective. For

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and outcomes for children

example, a large group activity involving play dough did not meet the needs of all the children. The lack of sufficient resources for children to be fully involved results in children waiting turns to make shapes in the dough. Consequently, younger children are easily distracted and older children are not sufficiently challenged.

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and outcomes for children

Children have fun in their play and enjoy being with their friends. They settle easily in the welcoming play environment and they go easily to staff for support or to ask for activities they want. Children are developing skills for the future; they are very busy exploring and investigating as they find out how things work. For example, they understand that toys require batteries to work and press buttons and levers to make things work. Children are using their imagination as they stick with a variety of materials and explore textures when creating their self portraits. They do not however have independent access to creative and writing materials to support their understanding of mark making, print and creatively linking ideas. Staff do not always make sure that resources are organised to encourage children to be active independent learners. For example, the lack of plates and cups in the home corner

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and outcomes for children

and the paint easel set up without paper. Children are not encouraged to mark make in all areas of their play or see sufficient print in their environment, such as their own and each other's names.

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and outcomes for children

Children are confident communicators. They are eager to introduce each other to the inspector, and say how old they are. They talk about their home and families and one child tells the inspector about her pink bedroom. Another is keen to show how she has matched picture lotto pieces using textures. Problem solving and numeracy skills are promoted through conversations and daily activities. Children build towers with play blocks, as they do, staff ably support them to count how many blocks are in the tower and to use mathematical language, such as small, big and tall. Children are beginning to learn about team work and cooperation, vital skills for their future. They are caring and considerate towards friends as they offer toys to them when they have finished using them. They learn to keep themselves safe through the appropriate expectations of staff. They learn not to run indoors in case they fall over and manage the stairs well as they hold on to the

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and outcomes for children

Children's good health is maintained well. They have regular opportunities to play outside where they benefit from fresh air and use up their energy while having fun. For instance, they climb, jump into different coloured hoops and use wheeled toys. Children are developing an understanding of healthy lifestyles; they are able to explain why and when it is important to wash their hands; 'to get rid of germs before we have our dinner'. A nutritious menu helps children to eat well at This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 breakfast, snack time, dinner and tea. The availability of drinking water at all times ensures children can refresh themselves when needed. 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 2 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 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 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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