Newfield Primary School

Twin Gables Day Nursery Ltd

Inspection report for early years provision

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Twin Gables Day Nursery Ltd

Unique Reference Number 101522 Inspection date 24 November 2005 Inspector Shirley Ann Jackson

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Twin Gables Day Nursery Ltd

Setting Address 102 Eastern Avenue, Gloucester, GL4 4LW

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E-mail

Registered person Twin Gables Day Nursery 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 satisfactory. 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Twin Gables Day Nursery opened in 1975. It operates from six rooms in a large, detached property in a residential suburb of Gloucester. The nursery is privately owned. It serves the local area. There are currently 91 children aged from 9 months to 4 years on roll. This includes funded three and four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The

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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 nursery currently supports children with special needs. There are no children currently attending who have English as an additional language. The nursery opens 5 a week all year round. Sessions are from 08:00 until 18:00. Children are cared for by 14 staff. Of these, half have early years qualifications to at least level 2. The group receive support from the Local Authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children observe how staff help to prevent the spread of infection by cleaning the tables before and after meals. They begin to understand the importance of good hygiene through established daily routines, for example, hand washing. Children's health is supported as staff have clear procedures in place for dealing with accidents and administering medication. Nappy changing is done within the nursery routine and not according to the child's individual needs. Children are offered a healthy and balanced choice of home cooked meals and snacks in adequate quantities for their needs. Staff take into account the wishes of parents and children's choices to provide nutritious meals that appeal to children and meet their dietary requirements. Babies feeding routines are consistent with those followed at home, ensuring consistency of care. However, organisation of lunchtimes is ineffective in some rooms. Staff are busy serving food and tidying up, so children

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Helping children to be healthy

are not always appropriately supervised and food swapping and eating from one another's bowls takes place. This poses a potential risk of cross infection and possible allergic reactions to the children. Children have regular opportunities to play outside where they enjoy fresh air and physical activity. They learn balance and co-ordination as they ride bikes and play on wheeled toys. Children take part in activities which develop their hand-eye co-ordination, such as painting and playing with construction bricks.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a well maintained setting which has good security precautions in place. This helps to ensure that children cannot leave the premises unsupervised and helps to prevent unauthorised access. A fully enclosed garden area is available for children to use. Staff have a sound understanding of possible risks to children's well being. However, some areas have been neglected, for example, the radiators in some of the rooms are very hot to touch and this puts children's safety at risk. Sleeping children are regularly checked by staff to ensure their safety and well-being. Children are well settled within their surroundings and older children can safely

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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 access some suitable resources. Indoors and outdoors, a satisfactory range of good quality, safe, developmentally appropriate resources are offered. Children learn to take responsibility for keeping themselves safe as they listen to regular reminders about being careful when riding bikes and playing on wheeled toys. Staff have a clear understanding of possible risks to children's well being and this helps to protect children. A number of staff are trained in first aid and child protection and are aware of how to put the correct procedures into practice.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Most children settle reasonably well and most are content to engage in the activities offered. Babies under 2 years have access to some activity toys. Staff are beginning to offer them more opportunities to try creative activities, such as, paint prints and shaving foam. However, many of the resources for the younger children are plastic, with few natural materials. Older babies are not sufficiently challenged and stimulated and can become bored, when their behaviour becomes challenging. Babies benefit from routines which are consistent with their experiences at home, ensuring consistency of care. Staff working with the youngest children are caring and sensitive to the needs of the children. Those who are unsure or unsettled are well supported and given individual attention. Children between the ages of 2 and 3 years are confident in their relationships with staff. They begin to play happily together, for example, in the role play area. They

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

also enjoy looking at different resources with staff, such as, looking at household equipment. However, plans are not linked to their stage of development and level of understanding. So, some activities offered are unsuitable for their stage of development, for example, the use of worksheets. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is inadequate. Children do not make enough progress because staff have a limited knowledge of the Foundation Stage. Plans are in place for the whole year, so there are few opportunities to follow children's interest or to build on what they already know. Staff use the stepping stones within the planning but do not use individual assessments to inform planning. The lack of evaluation of the provision means that staff are unable to recognise where they are successful and which areas require improvement. Many activities lack challenge and stimulation for older children. Other activities are not at an appropriate level for the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

younger children in the group. This can lead to the children becoming bored and unfocused. Children are generally engaged in their play as they carry out activities and assume responsibility for personal care. Children are friendly and seek others out to share experiences. They listen to stories with increasing attention and handle books carefully. Children have few chances to distinguish one sound from another and to recognise rhythm in spoken words. Some children begin to form recognisable letters and can write their own names, but staff do not routinely encourage children to name

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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 their own work. The book area is within the ball pool room and is not always available to the children to select books independently. Children show an interest in numbers and counting, for example, a child counting the shapes on his painting. Children gain some experiences that encourage them to show an interest in the world in which they live, such as looking at bugs and insects. Staff provide some chances for children to begin to operate simple equipment, but this isn't always appropriately supported. There are few chances for children to spontaneously create using different materials and to explore using their senses.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Most children settle well into the nursery with effective support from staff. Children have positive relationships with staff and with each other. Some activities offered to the younger children do not stimulate and interest them, therefore behaviour can become challenging. This is not always dealt with appropriately by staff, considering the stage of understanding of the children concerned. Pre-school children's self esteem is promoted when staff praise their helpfulness using stickers, for example, after tidying up. A satisfactory range of resources which reflects positive images of the wider community begins to raise children's awareness of diversity. The staff member with responsibility for special needs is adequately trained to support her in this role. Consequently children with special needs are well supported in the nursery. Children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is satisfactory. Parents are given an information booklet which outlines the nursery's policies and procedures when they first contact the nursery. Information is ongoing through daily sheets for younger children, chats to staff, notice boards and end of year reports. Parents of pre-school children are given a separate booklet which details information on the Foundation Stage and how the nursery implements it. Parents are not involved with their child's ongoing assessments.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The nursery's documentation is well organised. All legally required records are well maintained and organised. Confidentiality is highly regarded concerning the personal details of children and adults. Policies and procedures are in place. All children receive satisfactory care. Children feel at home and at ease within the nursery environment. This means they are confident to initiate some of their own play and learning. The routine and structure of the sessions provides opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors. The staff team work well together giving children the support and encouragement to

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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 play and learn. Staff attend training for their own professional development. However, the organisation of lunchtimes and transition times is not always used effectively and this sometimes has a negative impact on the children's learning. Leadership and management of the nursery is inadequate. A number of staff are appropriately qualified in the Foundation Stage. However, the leader in the pre-school group has only been in post for a few weeks. She has not completed any training in the Foundation Stage and her experience with this age group was a number of years ago. The lack of clear direction and systematic monitoring of teaching and learning means gaps in the children's learning goes unnoticed. Recording systems, although in place, are not effectively used so staff are not

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Organisation

helping to move children on to the next stage in their learning. This hinders children's learning. Overall, the needs of the range of the children attending are not being met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the nursery was asked to; ensure behaviour management strategies are consistently applied by all staff, ensure children have access to a sufficient choice of equipment to allow them to develop their own ideas and to provide domestic style furniture to assist babies in developing mobility and to continue normal life experiences. The nursery has made some progress in addressing these issues. Babies are assisted in their mobility as 2 chairs are now in place in the baby room. Children can now begin to develop their own ideas as staff give them some opportunities to choose their own resources. Staff do not always follow the behaviour management policy and this can humiliate and have a negative effect on children's self-esteem and confidence. At the last education inspection the nursery was asked to; improve teaching skills, to make interaction better, avoiding over-direction or interrupting children's play and to

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Improvements since the last inspection

extend children's knowledge by using the developmental stepping stones of the Foundation Stage to offer better challenges to those who learn quickly, plan making the best use of time, limiting waiting time between activities, giving greater access to books, writing materials, tools and physical play equipment, role play and role play resources, create more opportunities for children to examine and explore objects, to gain awareness of the cultures and beliefs of others, to operate simple equipment and use mathematical ideas such as ordering by length or weight, sequencing and re-creating simple patterns and to encourage the children to use their imagination in role-play and craft activities. The nursery has made limited progress in these areas. The nursery is in a period of transition and staff knowledge in the Foundation Stage is still weak. Therefore some older children are not moving forward in their learning. Children have greater access

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Improvements since the last inspection

to writing materials but are not always encouraged to write in meaningful situations, such as, naming their own work. Access to books is still weak as the book area is in the ball pool room, and children can only use this in very small numbers. Children's access to role play and physical play equipment has improved as children have some opportunities to use these resources, but this is restricted to specified times of the

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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 day. Staff give children more opportunities to operate the computer, but they are not always adequately supported. Children's mathematical development is still lacking due to staff missing opportunities to develop this in everyday routines.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since April 2004. 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 satisfactory. 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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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 plans for children under 3 are offered at a suitable level for their stage of development • develop staff’s awareness and understanding of effective ways to manage children’s behaviour, taking into account their age and stage of development

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education, the registered person must take the following actions: • improve staff's knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage to ensure that children are making progress in their learning • ensure that individual children are successfully challenged and supported in their learning • improve leadership and management to ensure that the setting is regularly monitored and evaluated and that it supports the individual needs of the children

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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 These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice. The Department for Education and Skills and the local authority have been informed.

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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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