The Jesmond Nursery

The Jesmond Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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The Jesmond Nursery

Unique Reference Number 319314 Inspection date 20 September 2005 Inspector Kathleen Snowdon

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The Jesmond Nursery

Setting Address 8 Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE2 2AA Telephone number 0191 281 7836

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E-mail

Registered person The Jesmond Nursery Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Jesmond Nursery operates from a large three story detached house in the Jesmond area of Newcastle. It takes children from birth to 5-years-old from a wide geographical area. It is well organised having seven groups accommodating children of differing age groups. The youngest children are based on the ground floor, the first floor accommodates the middle age range and the oldest age group are on the second floor. All children have access to a secure outdoor play environment.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The nursery is registered to provide 75 places and there are currently 84 children on the register, 25 of whom are funded. The setting supports children with special educational needs and children with English as an additional language. Support is provided by a community nurse who works closely with the staff. The children also work with French and yoga teachers on a regular basis. The nursery is open Monday to Friday, from 08.00 to 17.45, 51 weeks a year. The nursery is overseen by the nursery principal; day to day responsibility of the nursery is passed to the manager. There are 31 full and part time members of staff employed; all staff have relevant childcare qualifications. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. The children eat healthy and nutritious snacks and meals which are prepared on site by staff who hold basic food hygiene certificates. Children and staff sit together during these times. This encourages the children to develop good social skills and ensures that the children eat a well-balanced diet that has been prepared and served hygienically. Sensible practices, such as cleaning tables with antibacterial spray, contribute to the good standard of hygiene in the setting. Alongside of this, there are effective arrangements in place to deal with children who are ill. This helps to ensure that the children are protected from infection and common illnesses. Staff encourage the children to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. The children brush their teeth after lunch, supported by the staff, but encouraged to do as much of this task for themselves as possible. This promotes the development of good hygiene

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Helping children to be healthy

practices, encourages independence and helps the children to understand that they have a part to play in being healthy. The children handle regularly a range of malleable materials, such as play dough and clay. Manipulating media such as these provides the children with opportunities to develop fine motor skills and to refine their hand-eye co-ordination. The children move freely and confidently, with growing competence, throughout the nursery environment. They explore the range of movements that they are capable of making during yoga sessions. During these periods, the children stretch, bend and sway. This helps to promote their physical development, teaches them effective ways to relax and allows them to experiment safely with position. On a daily basis, the children propel themselves back and forth with vigour and enthusiasm, using a variety of equipment, such as cars and bikes. This ensures that they benefit from

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Helping children to be healthy

exercise and have fun. There is comfortable nursery furniture throughout, cots, sofas and soft chairs, for example, which allows the children to rest and relax when they feel tired. Vigilant staff make regular checks on sleeping children to ensure that they remain fit and well. The children have close relationships with staff and their peer group, demonstrated when they approach adults and other children for comfort and reassurance. Establishing bonds like these gives the children a sense of security and belonging,

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Helping children to be healthy

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 and conveys to them that they are valued and cherished This equips the children with the skills necessary to form relationships and nurtures their emotional wellbeing.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The children are learning effective ways to stay safe through the useful guidance they receive from staff. For example, the children know that they must not run while they are in the setting. Instead, they walk in order to move from one area to another. This helps the children to understand that sensible behaviour helps them and others to stay safe. The children are learning ways to stay safe while outside, when they talk about road safety, for example. Frequent participation in fire drills, with follow-up explanations from staff, helps the children to learn how to stay safe even in emergencies, and teaches them the importance of listening to instructions to achieve a common goal. The children are well protected through routine checks. For example, staff carry out daily risk assessments inside and outside of the nursery to establish that the children will be safe while they play there.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children's risk of injury is minimised in the well-organised setting, which has good safety and security precautions in place; the secure external door, for example, prevents unsupervised exit from and unauthorised entry to the nursery. Wall posters throughout the nursery warn of potential hazards indoors and out, such as "hot spots" in the babies' bottles and the risks posed by the car park. These act as highly effective reminders to staff and parents and help to keep the issue of the children's safety high on the agenda. The children are encouraged to tidy up at set times during the session and they do so happily. This helps them to understand that they can contribute to the safety of their environment. The children's accidents are recorded by staff to ensure that their parents are made aware of the mishap. This enables parents to take further action should they need to. All staff hold current first aid certificates

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

which ensures that the children receive appropriate treatment in the immediate aftermath of an accident. The children's welfare is further protected by clear and detailed child protection procedures, of which staff have a good understanding. Children choose from an interesting range of good quality resources that are judiciously placed to allow them safe and independent access. They play with toys and equipment which are very well maintained through routine checking by staff for breakages and other potential problems. Giving the children easy access to clean and well-maintained equipment minimises the risk posed to them from having to reach too far for items of interest and from minor injuries caused by damaged toys. Staff ensure that the children are safely and securely strapped in to low chairs and buggies. This keeps the children safe during meal times and outings.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The well-organised nursery rooms, with their very well defined and resourced play areas, enable and encourage the children to focus fully on their chosen activity. This

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 encourages the development of good levels of concentration. The children immerse themselves in role play, when pretending to be customers in a restaurant, for example, using a very good range of props and dressing up clothes with enthusiasm and flair. This encourages the children to use their imagination and gives them ample opportunity for fun and enjoyment. Thorough planning by skilful staff ensures that the children benefit from a very wide range of activities, which helps them to make progress in all areas of their development. For example, the very young children are riveted when they explore "treasure baskets". Staff capitalise on the children's intense curiosity by encouraging them to explore the objects within. Consequently, the children scrutinise, smell, taste

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

and manipulate a range of materials and objects, such as pine cones, paper and velvet with wonder and amazement, using all their senses. This encourages their sensory development and promotes the children's physical and intellectual development overall. Throughout the session the children share their personal experiences with their peers, staff and other adults, when they tell them about forthcoming holidays, for instance. They seek the opinions of their friends about a range of issues and show amusement at their responses. Opportunities such as these help the children to form secure relationships and encourage the growth of competent social and communication skills. Nursery Education The children are highly motivated and keen to take part in the very interesting range of activities available to them. This enables them to spend their time in the nursery in a productive and enjoyable way. For example, they observe the resident guinea pig

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

and goldfish to help them to understand how living things react and behave. Planting seeds and flowers, counting along as they go, gives the children the chance to observe growth, grapple with the concept of quantity and to understand cause and effect. There are ample opportunities for the children to use pens, pencils, paintbrushes, computers and other items that encourage the development of good hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills. The children use these tools both spontaneously and in planned activities with growing competence, such as when they practice writing lists and letters, and when they play computer games. The children handle books correctly. They turn the pages one by one, for example, and look at illustrations with interest and amusement. The children stock the bookcase with books of their choice. This helps the children to develop confidence in their own decisions, although some guidance from staff is needed when they carry out this task

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

to prevent the bookcase from overload. Frequent outings in the local and surrounding communities build on the children's interest in the world in which they live. During these trips, the children identify places of interest and significance, such the post office, the park and shops. This encourages the children to observe what happens around them and fosters in them a sense of belonging. To supplement their knowledge and understanding of the world, the children talk with each other and staff about this country and others, after reading books, for instance, or having been on holiday there. The very good range of resources available to the children, such as books, dressing up clothes and other role

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 play props ensure that they see pictures and images which help them to form positive views of culture and ethnicity. The children listen with obvious pleasure to songs and rhymes. They sing with gusto as a group and softly, to themselves, often when busy with other activities. A wide range of musical instruments readily available to the children gives them the chance to appreciate a variety of sounds and teaches them about rhythm, pitch and tone. The children construct models with growing dexterity and collaborate with one another to achieve a common goal, such as when they play with building blocks to build a "castle" for example. This teaches the children that working in harmony with others gets good results and gives them the opportunity to use mathematical language correctly, when they describe the size and shape of their project, for

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

example. Overall, the children make good progress towards the early learning goals given their capability and starting points. The quality of teaching is good so the children make good progress. It motivates the children who are eager to learn new ideas and skills. Staff build very secure relationships with the children and understand their needs and preferences. The staff have high expectations of the children and use consistent, sensitive and effective methods to manage their behaviour. The staff make regular observations and use these when planning interesting and stimulating activities which offer sufficient challenge to children of varying abilities. Staff use a range of teaching methods to keep the children interested and engaged. Good staff deployment ensures that the children receive help, support and guidance when it is needed. Staff are very enthusiastic about their work and show a strong awareness of how children learn.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

They monitor the quality of their teaching when they meet weekly to discuss issues and strive to improve their practice by attending relevant training courses and seeking the views of parents. Very well defined play areas encourage the children to focus fully on their chosen tasks. The staff ensure that the children's art work is displayed on the walls which helps the children to feel valued and gives them a sense of pride. Resources are used well and are organised in a way that gives the children easy access to them. This directs the children towards independent learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The children behave very well through the sensible and effective strategies used by the staff to help the children to understand boundaries. For example, the children are reminded that aggressive behaviour is unacceptable and are told why. To consolidate the message that positive behaviour is best, the children are taught that being kind is good, as are helping others and sharing. They are praised when they demonstrate these qualities which influences future behaviour and which helps the children to develop good self-esteem. In addition, this approach helps to ensure that the children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered appropriately. The children form very good relationships with staff, demonstrated in the affectionate way that they interact with them. Staff use very effective ways to

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 convey to the children the message that they are important, such as personalising songs and rhymes so that the children think they are the subject. This helps the children to feel valued and cherished as individuals who contribute to the welcoming and industrious atmosphere within the setting. Family ties within the nursery are strengthened when older siblings are invited to visit and play alongside the younger age group where their brother or sister is placed. This consolidates the bond between them and helps to bridge the gap between home and nursery. Careful positioning of resources, wall mirrors for example, enables the children to see their reflection at any time during the session, to develop a sense of their own identity. Staff capitalise on opportunities like these to encourage the children to

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Helping children make a positive contribution

observe others for similarities and differences, such as eye colour or height. Staff help the children to extend the topic by looking at pictures of, and talking about, people of both gender who live in different countries and cultures, and who have a range of abilities. Such activities help the children to understand that they are part of a wider world and helps them to develop a positive view of diversity. Partnership with parents is good. Parents have extremely positive views about the staff, their skills and commitment. They think that their children benefit from attendance at the setting and state that it has helped them to make good progress in all areas of their development. Parents can look through their child's progress file at any time, on request. Staff give parents ample opportunity to express their views and opinions through daily discussion, parents' meetings and the use of questionnaires.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

General information about future plans and events is available on a dedicated parents' notice board and on the nursery's web site. Parents appreciate this and state that these sources of information help them to remember important dates, such as holiday times. Further information is available to guide parents in supporting their children's learning at home. Using parents' first-hand knowledge of their child enables the staff to plan effectively to ensure that the children's individual needs and preferences are taken into account.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The children's needs are met well through the nursery staff's experience and their very good knowledge of child development. This is consolidated by frequent attendance at relevant training courses, such as child protection, equality and diversity and first aid. This ensures that staff keep abreast of current issues and requirements and helps them to keep the children safe and secure during their time at nursery. Staff understand their roles and responsibilities and have a sound understanding of child development and how children learn. The key worker system works well and ensures that staff provide for the children's individual needs and preferences to help them to develop well in all areas and to make sound progress towards the early learning goals. Staff are positive about and receptive to new ideas and approaches. For example, they are currently implementing the Birth to three

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Organisation

matters framework in the nursery to support and inform their work with children under 3-years-old.

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Leadership and management is good. It underpins the effectiveness of the nursery and is demonstrated in the regularity of staff meetings and staff appraisals. These opportunities offer staff the chance to discuss and resolve issues concerning individual children and any other business which affects and influences their practice, such as the availability of relevant training. A thorough and effective induction programme ensures that new staff become familiar with, and are enabled to put into practice, the effective written policies that are in place. The staff work well as a team and are clear about their roles and responsibilities. This produces a pleasant and friendly atmosphere and ensures that the nursery runs smoothly and efficiently on a day-to-day basis. Essential documentation is kept securely on site. It is highly

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Organisation

organised and monitored effectively, to preserve confidentiality and to ensure that information remains accurate and up-to-date. The nursery is well lit, well ventilated and thoughtfully furnished to ensure the comfort and relaxation of both the children and the staff. Some rooms need redecoration, however, to ensure that the nursery remains bright and welcoming to young children and their parents. Staff are effectively deployed in the stimulating nursery environment which has very well defined play areas. This enables the staff to work directly with the children most of the time to ensure that the children remain well supported in their chosen activity. Children access resources easily to encourage them towards independent learning. The well-balanced daily routine, with a good mix of quiet and busy times, child-initiated and adult-directed activities, helps to ensure that children of all abilities are sufficiently challenged.

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Organisation

Overall, the provision meets very well the needs of the children who attend.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last inspection the nursery staff carry out risk assessments, indoors and out, on a daily basis. These are retained and monitored to identify emerging patterns. There are comfortable chairs and cushions in all rooms, including the Ladybird Room, to enable the children to relax and rest during their time in the nursery.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • continue the implementation of the Birth to three matters framework • maintain a good standard of decoration to ensure that the nursery environment remains warm and welcoming to the children (also applies to nursery education.)

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • make improvements as indicated in the care section above.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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