Knightlow Childrens Partnership Ltd

Knightlow Childrens Partnership Ltd Inspection report for early years provision

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EY293495 Unique Reference Number 27 September 2005 Inspection date Sally Elizabeth Lee Inspector

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Hill Crescent, Stretton on Dunsmore, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV23 9NF Setting Address

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E-mail

Knightlow Children's Partnership Ltd Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of 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

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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?

Knightlow Children's Partnership Ltd was registered in 2004. The nursery is located in a purpose-built modular unit on the site of Knightlow Primary School in the village of Stretton-on-Dunsmore which is situated between Coventry and Rugby. The nursery serves children from the local rural area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The setting operates from three large rooms consisting of a baby room, toddler room, and pre-school and school club room. The children also have use of bathrooms, nappy changing area, and the fully enclosed garden for outdoor play. In addition the setting has a kitchen, staff room, disabled toilet, office, milk-kitchen, and storage cupboards.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The provision has sole use of the premises. The setting is registered for 54 children between the ages of 0 to 8 years, although children up to 11 years also attend. There are currently 114 children on roll, including 18 3-year-old children in receipt of funding. The setting is open from 08:00 to 18:00, from Monday to Friday throughout the year with the exception of Bank Holidays and the Christmas period.

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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 employs 12 childcare staff, 10 of whom have an early years qualification. The setting receives support from the Early Years Advisory Teacher from the Local Authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Children thrive because they have their physical, nutritional and health needs met extremely well. Staff carefully follow the excellent health and hygiene procedures which are in place, for example, disposable gloves and aprons are used for changing nappies, with different coloured aprons being used when babies are being fed. Outdoor shoes are not permitted in the baby room. Children learn very well about the importance of washing their hands before meals, cookery activities and after using the toilet. They chat with staff while they are washing their hands and learn about germs. Individual flannels are used to wipe faces to prevent the spread of infection.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children explore, test and develop their physical skills in the stimulating daily outdoor experiences. All children, including the very youngest, are offered physical challenge by staff who have an excellent knowledge of the 'Birth to three matters' training framework as well as the Foundation Stage for children's learning. Staff have truly embraced the idea of the outdoor classroom and this has been further stimulated by the development of the Forest School Initiative. Children take enormous delight and satisfaction in building dens, rolling down banks and climbing trees, as well as lighting fires under very careful supervision. All children have access to climbing frames and babies are protected from the sun by the canopy covering their attractive outdoor area.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are very well nourished by the healthy meals and snacks provided. They learn about the importance of a healthy diet while they grow, harvest and cook vegetables for their lunch. They enjoy the wide range of fruit offered to them for their morning and afternoon snack and older children are able to access drinking water from the dispenser at any time. Babies nutritional needs are met very well because staff are very careful to ensure their meals meet all nutritional guidelines, with special regard to salt intake, and all dairy produce provided is organic.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a very well designed, child-centred setting where they are safe, secure, happy and settled. The building meets the needs of the children very well and they are able to move around independently and have access to outdoor play at all times. Clear policies, procedures and risk assessments together with a high level of staff awareness ensure risks are minimised very well and children stay safe. Older children learn about keeping themselves safe by talking about potential dangers, especially while in the forest school area, and by practising regular fire drills.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children use a broad range of high quality, inviting equipment for both indoor and outdoor play. Careful thought goes into the purchase of new equipment to ensure it fully meets the needs of the children, for example a large, very low table in the toddler room enables young children to sit or kneel on the floor while playing but prevents other children walking over the resources and disrupting play. Children benefit because the resources and play materials are cleaned and checked regularly for safety.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Children are further protected because all staff undertake child protection training and there is a clear policy and procedure in place.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at the setting. They achieve well because staff are highly skilled and use their sound understanding of early years guidance, such as the 'Birth to three matters' framework and the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage, to provide high quality care and education.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children arrive happy and eager to participate. The babies and very young children make good progress because staff recognise the uniqueness of each child and are sensitive to their individual needs. Close and caring relationships increase children's sense of trust and help them to develop a sense of self. Staff clearly enjoy the company of the children in their care and spend time talking to them, laughing and playing with them. Early communication skills are very well supported through high-quality adult-child interaction. Children begin to make sense of the world and express their ideas as they join in a diverse range of exploratory and sensory experiences, for example, growing, harvesting and eating vegetables.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children are happy, active learners and have a positive attitude to nursery. They are motivated and independent, working well together in groups, both with and without adult support. They revel in the outdoor environment, testing their physical skills and learning to co-operate with other children to achieve their goal. For example a group of children were making a den in the Forest School and learned that to move the heavy tree branches they had to work as a group. One child wanted to move one of the logs to make a table for the den and he discovered he could move it more easily by rolling it. The children behave well and are learning to accept responsibility for their own actions.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are eager to learn and happy to try new experiences. They enjoy using marks in a range of situations as they record their observations in the garden on clipboards or 'write' the menu for the role play café. They do not benefit from having regular opportunities to listen to books and stories in large or small groups.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff use effective systems to observe, monitor and record children's achievements and to plan experiences that help children take the next step in their learning. They use children's own experiences and interests well to capture their imaginations and to extend their learning. For example, one child had recently had a baby brother and this was incorporated into the current theme of 'All About Me'. Time and resources are generally well organised to support children's learning but snack time is lengthy and children are sometimes distracted and not focussed. Overall children make good progress towards the early learning goals.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children feel welcome and are able to play a full part in the setting because staff value and respect their individuality. They behave very well. Staff support younger children in learning to share and take turns. The consistency throughout the nursery of the four golden rules helps children to develop an understanding of right and wrong.

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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 Children have many opportunities to learn about themselves, each other and the world around them from the planned activities and links with local groups such as Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and Ryton Organic Gardens. They are encouraged to be independent and to respect and value themselves and each other, and this approach fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

A very good partnership with parents and carers throughout the nursery contributes significantly to children's well-being. Information about children's routines, needs and interests is actively sought before care begins. Staff ensure parents are well informed about their children's care and achievements through daily diaries, weekly newsletters and parents evenings as well as day to day discussion. Children benefit because their parents feel confident and able to approach staff to discuss any concerns or to talk about their daily care and achievements.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children benefit from the commitment of the staff and management of the nursery to developing and improving standards in care and nursery education. Staff are positively encouraged to undertake regular training and to bring in new initiatives, for example the Forest School. Training is done as a whole staff team where possible to ensure continuity throughout the nursery. Managers spend time monitoring the standard of the nursery education and staff are encouraged to contribute to the development plan. The leadership and management of the nursery education is good.

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Organisation

The premises are very well organised. Indoor and outdoor space is designed to maximise play opportunities for children and there are key staff in each room. However children in the baby unit are not currently allocated to a key member of staff within that room.

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Organisation

All legally required documentation, including comprehensive policies and procedures, which contributes to children's health, safety and well-being is in place and is reviewed regularly. The regulator, Ofsted, is not always informed of significant events within the nursery setting. Overall the setting meets the needs of the children who attend.

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Complaints since the last inspection

A complaint was received in October 2004 relating to Standard 2 Organisation and Standard 1 Suitable Person. The complaint concerned staffing ratios, qualifications and the use of unvetted staff. Ofsted made an unannounced investigation visit and discussions and observations indicated that ratios and minimum qualifications were being met and that unvetted staff do not work with the children unsupervised. The registered provider remains qualified for registration.

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Complaints since the last inspection

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 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

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure every child is allocated to a member of staff within their key group who is their key worker and is mainly responsible for their well-being on a daily basis • inform the regulator of any significant events or accidents which may occur

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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): • establish more regular opportunities for children to enjoy books and stories • improve the organisation of snack time to provide a calmer, more focused experience for the children.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) 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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