Serendipitys Day Nursery and Pre-school

Serendipitys Pre-School Day Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Serendipitys Pre-School Day Nursery

Unique Reference Number 253399 Inspection date 04 October 2005 Inspector Angela Hufton

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Serendipitys Pre-School Day Nursery

Setting Address 32 Nottingham Road, Bingham, Nottinghamshire, NG13 8AT

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E-mail

Registered person Serendipitys (Day Nursery) Child Care Services Ltd 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?

Serendipitys Pre-School Day Nursery is a privately run provision which has been operating since 1998. The nursery operates from a converted bungalow in the centre of Bingham. The premises consists of 4 playrooms for different ages, a kitchen, office and toilet facilities. There are enclosed outdoor play areas. There is a car park for staff and parents at the front of the building. Children attend from the town and surrounding villages. There are currently 100 children on roll. This includes 36

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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 children who are in receipt of nursery education funding for 3 and 4-year-olds. There are children attending who have been identified with special needs and all children speak English as their first language. The provision receives support from the local authority. The nursery is open each week day throughout the year from 07.15 until 18.00, with the exception of bank holidays. The nursery employs 14 members of staff on both a full and part-time basis. Of these, 12 staff have completed childcare qualifications with some staff working towards higher level awards.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are well cared for in clean and well-maintained premises. Their good health is promoted because staff follow effective hygiene procedures. For example, when changing nappies staff use disposable gloves and aprons, helping to minimise the risk of cross-infection. Children learn the importance of personal hygiene through daily routines at the nursery, including hand washing after using the toilet and before meals. Children receive appropriate treatment in the event of accidents or illness because sufficient staff have first aid training and recording procedures are in place. Most accident and medication records are sufficiently maintained and usually shared with parents to keep them informed, promoting their child's welfare. Children have their dietary meals met because staff work well with parents. Children enjoy a good range of healthy meals that meet individual requirements. Meal times

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Helping children to be healthy

are social occasions; children sit within their own group rooms and enjoy each other's company. They learn about healthy foods and appropriate table manners through support and encouragement from staff. Older children help themselves to drinks, as they require, whilst younger children and babies are offered drinks regularly to ensure they do not become thirsty. Children enjoy daily exercise and fresh air within the enclosed safety surfaced playgrounds. The outdoor areas are used on a rotational basis to enable all groups of children to have the opportunity for physical exercise. Children use a wide range of outdoor equipment, such as, wheeled toys, a climbing frame, balls and hoops. They develop their large muscles and co-ordination through these activities and older children understand the need for exercise to stay healthy.

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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 bright, welcoming, safe and secure indoor and outdoor environment. They are grouped in rooms according to their age and ability, where space is used well to allow them to play, eat and rest safely depending on their needs. Children's art work is displayed around the nursery, this makes the nursery attractive and helps the children to fell valued. Children access a good range of play materials, which are clean, safe and suitable for their interests and age range.

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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 stay safe in the setting because staff maintain good levels of supervision and take positive steps to minimise any identified hazards. They carryout daily risk assessments of all areas used by the children. Appropriate safety equipment is used in the nursery, such as gates and socket covers, to promote children's welfare. Children are prevented from leaving the premises unnoticed because good security precautions and procedures are in place. Children learn to take responsibility for keeping themselves safe through routines, such as fire evacuation procedures and staff skilfully explaining safe practices. For example, they gently remind children to be careful using the ball pool or to mind they do not bump their heads when playing under tables. Children's welfare is promoted in

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

the event of child protection concerns as staff have a sound understanding of their role and the procedures to be followed.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. All children are very happy and settled in the nursery. They are confident in their dealings with familiar staff and begin to develop close relationships with their peers. For example, children enjoy playing with and alongside one another and making friendships within their groups. Staff are developing their awareness of the 'Birth to three matters' framework and are using this to plan a range of activities for children aged under three. However, planning is not sufficiently linked to the 'Foundation Stage' curriculum to ensure children reaching three, or more able children, are sufficiently challenged. Babies receive good attention from staff enabling them to take part in a range of activities, including sensory play with materials such as play dough or baked beans. Children rest and sleep in accordance with their individual needs. Children participate readily in the range of activities available, sometimes choosing to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

play individually. For example, with jigsaws or when looking at a book, sometimes beginning to cooperate with others when sharing equipment. Staff are directly involved with children according to their needs and preferences. They are effective in leading group sessions, such as music or story telling, to engage all children. Nursery education. The quality of teaching and learning is good. The room leaders have a good understanding of the 'Foundation Stage' curriculum and understand the different ways children learn. Planning links to the stepping stones provides children with a good broad and balanced range of activities and experiences across the six areas of learning. Assessments and evaluations of children's learning are carried out, however, these are not sufficiently developed to clearly differentiate learning for each child and plan for their next steps. Consequently, children do not always receive

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

enough challenge to fully extend their learning and maximise their potential. Children are extremely confident in their groups and show very good attitudes towards learning. They enjoy sharing their experiences with staff and one another; being self-assured to ask questions of visitors. Children make good relationships,

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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 with older children having special friends. For example, two children engrossed in role-play with 'Power Rangers' and sharing toys brought from home. They enjoy using their imagination within role play, which is often set up to provide different types of play situations, such as, a hairdressers. Children enthusiastically brushing and styling each other's hair and involving staff, whilst other children answered the phone and made appointments. Demonstrating their understanding of communication and providing opportunities to practise mark making, effectively supporting their emerging writing skills. Children thoroughly enjoy singing their favourite songs, including in French. They demonstrate a knowledge of counting as they join in with number songs in French and English. Older children are very confident counters and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

consolidate their mathematical skills through the daily routines. For example, counting out cups and plates for snack time and matching this to the number of children on the table. Children are developing their skills for early writing and generally have good access to a wide range of mark making materials, such as pencils, crayons and paint brushes. Older children are beginning to form letters and recognise their own names, with some children writing their own name and sounding out letters to write new words. They have good access to a range of table top craft and design making activities, however, there are limited opportunities for children to construct using a challenging range of tools or to design on a large scale.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children become aware of their own and other cultures through access to a satisfactory range of resources reflecting some areas of diversity. Theses include books, dolls and jigsaws. However, there are insufficient activities and resources in some areas to fully extend children's understanding of all aspects of the wider world. Children with identified needs receive good levels of care and support, enabling them to be fully included and make progress. The nursery fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Children behave very well within the nursery, they have clear and consistent boundaries and know what is expected of them. They begin to learn to treat each other and their belongings with care and concern. For example, staff encourage children to take turns with equipment and at the end of activities children help to tidy away. Staff are familiar with agreed policies for behaviour management, they are

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Helping children make a positive contribution

calm and affectionate when dealing with incidents such as gently explaining the need to share. All children receive high levels of praise and encouragement for good behaviour ensuring they continue to behave well. The partnership with parents and carers is good. Children are cared for by staff who work very closely with parents to meet individual needs and ensure they are fully included in the provision. Parents and children are welcomed on arrival and staff give time to discuss any concerns if needed. Parents of babies and younger children are provided with a daily diary sheet to ensure they are well informed and their child's routines are followed. All children's developmental records are available for parents

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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 to view when required. Current planning is displayed throughout the nursery ensuring parents are aware of activities, enabling them to support their child. Ample information is available to parents of children receiving funded education through an informative prospectus, written assessment files and parents evenings.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children are very contented and settled in the nursery, where space is used well to meet individual needs. The manager and staff are enthusiastic, have high regard for and value all children and therefore consistently promote their welfare. Children have good role models in the staff and they work as a committed team under the clear direction of the manager. The effective recruitment and deployment of staff ensures that children are fully protected and staff have a clear understanding of their individual roles, and that children are supervised and well supported. Policies and procedures are in place and are mostly used well in practice, with records available for parents. However, the wealth of materials in the operational plan does not ensure this is effectively shared to keep parents fully informed about all aspects of the provision. The leadership and management of the nursery education is good. The pre-school

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Organisation

room staff work well together, although planning and assessment is not clearly linked between the two rooms. The provider, manager and staff are very committed to improving the care and education for children and have systems in place to monitor and evaluate the nursery. Effective staff appraisals clearly identify training needs to specifically support those working with the funded children. Overall, the nursery meets the needs of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last Children Act care inspection the setting agreed to four recommendations. The setting have developed their policy and procedures if a child becomes lost and have improved their child protection procedures in the event of an allegation being made against a staff member. These improvements promote the safe care of the children. The setting have improved the organisation of the after school club to ensure children have appropriate snacks and regular access to the outdoor play areas. The pre-school rooms have been re-organised to ensure they meet the needs of children currently attending. At the last funded education inspection the setting agreed to three key issues. Further opportunities have been provided within role-play activities enabling children to practice writing for different purposes. The nursery has improved planning to ensure children have more regular access to activities that help them practice

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Improvements since the last inspection

balancing skills and understand the changes to their bodies through being active. The nursery further agreed to improve the organisation of resources so that children are able to freely access a wide range of tools and materials when designing and making. Whilst progress has been made it remains an area for further improvement and has been carried forward to ensure children's learning is promoted.

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Improvements 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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Complaints since the last inspection

Since April 2004 there have been 4 complaints to Ofsted. An unannounced visit was carried out with regard to 3 complaints relating to insufficient staff (Standard 2 - Organisation). There was no evidence to suggest a breach in standards. A further complaint relating to staffing levels not being maintained (Standard 2 - Organisation) was investigated by an unannounced visit. There was evidence to suggest the setting were not meeting ratios and staff were not appropriately qualified for their role. The setting were given an action to ensure staff are effectively deployed and a recommendation to ensure staff are suitably qualified. The provider remains qualified for registration. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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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): • develop activities and resources to extend children's understanding of diversity and the similarities and differences between others (also applies to nursery education) • continue to develop policies, procedures and record keeping to ensure they contain sufficient detail, are accurate and up to date and promote the welfare and safe care of the children.

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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): • improve observation and assessment to clearly identify each child's next steps in learning and continue to develop planning to provide appropriate challenges, especially for older or more able children (also applies to care)

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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 • extend the range of opportunities for children to work creatively on small and large scale using a wide variety of tools.

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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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