Marton Children's Day Nursery

Martonside Childrens Day Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Martonside Childrens Day Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY281718 Inspection date 01 November 2005 Inspector Josephine Ann Northend

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Martonside Childrens Day Nursery

Setting Address Martonside Way, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS4 3BU

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E-mail

Registered person Nunthorpe Nurseries Group 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 good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Martonside Day Nursery operates from a new purpose built building on Marton Road in Middlesbrough and has been registered since August 2004. The nursery is part of the Nunthorpe Nurseries Group. There are four main childcare rooms, with separate staff facilities, a kitchen and a laundry. The nursery serves the local community offering childcare for children aged between 0-8 years. The nursery is currently open 07:30 to 18:15, Monday to Friday all year

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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 round. There are currently 62 children on roll attending for a variety of sessions, of these, two children receive funding for nursery education. Staff support children with special needs and those who speak English as an additional language. There are 15 staff in place, all have childcare qualifications and of these 10 are working towards further qualifications.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children's physical development is supported well, with opportunities to use large outdoor equipment each day. Children move with increasing control as they balance on beams, climb up the steps to the slide and peddle tricycles. Children rest and are active according to their individual needs. Children are beginning to learn the importance of good hygiene through daily routines. They are encouraged to wash their hands regularly throughout the day. Staff set a good example as they use separate protective clothing when serving food and during nappy changing procedure. This prevents the spread of cross infection. However, during meal times good hygiene practices are not always implemented, resulting in children's health needs not being fully promoted. For example, the residue of food was not wiped from tables between courses and crockery and cutlery were re-used after falling on the floor.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children begin to understand the benefits of a healthy diet, through the promotion of nutritious meals and snacks, including fresh fruit and vegetables. Drinking water is readily available throughout the day. The cook and nursery staff work well together to ensure children's individual dietary needs are met.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children's risk of accidental injury is minimised in the setting due to the well organised space and equipment. Children move around freely and safely while using a good range of safe, good quality, developmentally appropriate furniture and equipment. The resources are well organised in child height furniture to encourage independent access. However, there is no domestic style furniture in the baby areas to assist children in developing mobility and to continue normal life experiences. Clear risk assessments are completed in order to reduce potential hazards. The security of the premises is good and there are clear lost and uncollected child policies in place. There are clear accident and medication recording systems in place and staff have appropriate first aid certificates. This ensures children are kept safe in the event of an

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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 accident. Staff have a good understanding of their role and responsibilities under child protection and procedures are in place in the event of an allegation against staff. This means the welfare of children is protected.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at the nursery and they arrive happy and eager to participate. They are making good progress. Close and caring relationships with staff increase the children's sense of trust. They are beginning to develop good relationships with each other. The good relationships evident between children and staff helps the children develop a strong sense of self. Communication skills with children are well supported through good adult to child interactions. Staff working with children between one and three years are aware of Birth to three matters framework and are using it well. This is evident in the good planning and evaluation of activities. Treasure baskets are used well. However, the baby room, for children under one year, has all new staff in place who have yet to receive training in Birth to three matters. The planning in this room is satisfactory though not fully

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

followed. Consequently, some activities are not well delivered, for example, children could not fully explore with paint during a creative activity. There are clear settling in procedures for children in place, this includes gaining information from parents about their child's routines and care. Staff are sensitive to and meet children's individual needs appropriately. Children generally behave well and are developing a sense of right and wrong; they respond well to staff who explain why they should not do something. Nursery Education. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children enjoy their time at the nursery and achieve well because staff use their developing knowledge of the foundation stage to provide good quality nursery education. Staff have attended foundation stage training and receive good external support in order to plan an interesting programme of activities across the six areas of learning. Staff are working towards

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

undertaking responsibility for their own planning. As this is just being developed, there are some minor gaps in the curriculum. New assessment systems have been introduced and records are completed satisfactorily, however, they are not dated. Children's progress is clearly linked to the stepping stones. Children are developing good communication skills; they show emerging confidence in speaking to others about themselves and their interests. Children can hold a conversation for extended periods of time. They are developing good writing skills, hold pencils correctly and some children form recognisable marks. However, mark making opportunities are not extended into other activity areas. Children have good access to books; they handle them well and eagerly select books to share with one another. They listen well to stories and link sound to letters well.

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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 Children have access to a computer and it is used regularly. They control the mouse confidently and complete simple programmes with good support from staff. Children are developing good understanding of number; they can count up to nine and are beginning to recognise some numerals. They show interest in number problems, for example, when counting the chairs for lunch. Children are using size language well and understand the concept of full, half full and empty. Children are developing a good sense of space and extend their large physical skills through a variety of experiences, including regular use of large outdoor equipment. They develop good levels of hand eye co-ordination, for example, through the use of different sized paintbrushes and spreaders. However, there are insufficient opportunities for children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

to develop increasing control in other areas, for example, pushing, pulling, throwing and catching. The children are confident in their play and learning. They are generally well behaved and show good care and concern for others. They are developing good self care skills, show respect for others and show good interest in their environment and the world around them. They are developing some understanding of other cultures and beliefs. Children have good independence skills, for example, they put on their own coats and aprons and confidently pour their own drinks. Children are beginning to develop good health and bodily awareness. They understand the need to wash their hands before eating. Children explore different colours, mixing them to create other colours and use their senses to explore a variety of materials, for example, they explore the texture of play dough and comment upon it's smell. They examine objects and living things well to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

find out more about them. They show good interest in why things happen and how they work. Children are beginning to use their imagination in play; they construct with a purpose in mind and build three dimensional structures confidently. They enjoy music and song as they use musical instruments and sing spontaneously throughout the nursery day.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are warmly welcomed and staff ensure resources are readily available. Planned activities are undertaken that positively represent the local and wider community. A good range of resources are available reflecting other cultures and races. This helps increase children's awareness of diversity and develop a positive attitude to others. Children are generally well behaved and polite in response to the expectations of staff. They take turns and show developing concern for others. Children's understanding of right and wrong is increased through the gentle reminders they receive from staff. This fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The nursery supports children with special needs well; there is a clear special needs statement in place and an identified special needs co-ordinator, who receives relevant training. Children who speak English as an additional language are also

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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 supported well; staff have learnt key words in order to support these children. Partnership with parents is good. Children benefit from the two way sharing of information. Parents receive regular newsletters, information about the foundation stage and have access to their child's development records.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Space is laid out to maximise play opportunities for children, which contributes to them being happy and settled. Children are able to move around confidently and independently. Children initiate their own play and learning well. Leadership and management of the nursery education is good and promotes the children's learning. All of the staff have early years qualifications. The management promotes staff attendance at regular training. The knowledge gained by staff is used to further support children's care and welfare. Pre-school room staff are developing a sound knowledge of the foundation stage curriculum. Consequently, children's progress towards the early learning goals is good. There is a key worker system in place and children are grouped well to ensure their needs are effectively met. Staff are not always deployed appropriately to ensure correct adult child ratios are maintained and children's individual needs met. There

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Organisation

are clear recruitment and vetting procedures in place for staff. Required documents are available. The detailed policies and procedures in place are shared well with staff to appropriately promote the welfare, care and learning of the children. However, a regulation has not been met, as Ofsted have not been informed of a child's significant illness. There are effective systems in place for the sharing of information with parents about the service and their child's activities. The provision meets the needs of the children who attend.

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Improvements since the last inspection

There were two recommendations agreed at the last inspection in relation to nappy changing facilities and domestic style furniture within the baby room. A new nappy changing area has been fitted in the pre-school toilet area this has enhanced nappy changing arrangements for children within this room. The domestic style furniture is not yet in place within the baby rooms; the provider is seeking appropriate provision. This remains a recommendation.

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Complaints since the last inspection

A concern was raised against National Standard 13: Child Protection. The concern was around Area Child Protection Committee procedures not being followed. A visit was made by Ofsted and actions raised. The provider has met the actions and

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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 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 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 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 Ofsted is informed of all significant events • make sure staff are deployed effectively across the nursery in order to ensure adult to child ratios are correctly maintained in all childcare rooms • improve hygiene practices at meal times • develop the use of the Birth to three matters framework with babies under one year in order to ensure the activities provided are developmentally appropriate • provide some domestic style furniture in the baby room to assist children in developing mobility and to continue normal life experiences

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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): • further develop the use of planning and assessment in order to further extend the learning opportunities offered to children.

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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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