First Friends PDN

First Friends PDN Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 206106 Inspection date 12/04/2010 Inspector Sheena Gibson

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Setting address 141 Chaddesden Park Road, Chaddesden, Derby, Derbyshire, DE21 6HP Telephone number 01332 677660 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

First Friends Private Day Nursery opened in 1999. It operates from a two storey self-contained building situated in Chaddesden, on the outskirts of Derby City. Children are cared for on both levels of the nursery. All children share access to a fully enclosed outdoor area. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.45am to 6.00pm with the exception of Bank holidays.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of 30 children at any one time. Children attend mostly from the local community. The nursery has facilities to care for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 53 children on roll, who are all in the Early Years age group. The nursery caters for children who are in receipt of nursery education funding; they are also part of the two-year-old funding pilot scheme. The nursery employs seven full-time and seven part-time staff. The majority of staff have appropriate early years qualifications with one staff member currently attending childcare training and two staff working towards the Early Years Professional Status. The nursery receives support from the Local Authority and has developed links with the local schools.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are cared for in a warm and welcoming environment where their individual needs are given appropriate consideration. On the whole, the learning environment and methods used to promote children's learning supports their progress towards the early learning goals. Their safety within the setting is generally well supported, with documentation to support practice. Partnerships with parents and in the wider context effectively support children's well-being and promote consistency of care and learning. The setting has begun to develop systems to monitor and reflect practice and some plans are in place for future improvements in order to benefit the outcomes for children.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 make sure that all practitioners have a sound, up-to-date understanding of safeguarding children issues and are able to implement the safeguarding children policy and procedure appropriately  plan and resource a challenging environment where children's play is supported and extended effectively, particularly in relation to the children in the Butterflies room This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  improve systems used to monitor and reflect on practice in order to maintain continuous improvement  use effective methods to engage children in activities and opportunities that challenge and extend their thinking, successfully supporting active learning, particularly in relation to the Butterflies room.

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the early years provision

The setting has sufficiently robust systems in place to safeguard children. Their recruitment process ensures that staff who are employed are suitable to work with children and this includes having a successful Criminal Records Bureau check. There are detailed risk assessments in place for the indoor, outdoor areas and for outings that ensure children's welfare is maintained and hazards are minimised. The setting has a safeguarding policy and procedure that details the steps taken if there is a concern about a child being abused. The designated person responsible for safeguarding has a strong understanding of the procedure, current legislation and where to go to report a concern. However, some staff do not have a sound understanding of the procedure and this potentially impacts upon how quickly a concern may be identified and acted upon. Required records, such as children's details, permission slips and various policies are in place and well-maintained,

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the early years provision

which supports children's care and learning.

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the early years provision

Staff and management work well together to form a team who provide a warm and friendly environment that enables children to feel secure. There is consistent communication, for example, through staff meetings and one-to-one meetings to ensure that information is shared. Suitable steps are taken to improve staff's knowledge and skills through both in-house and external training. The setting has begun to reflect and evaluate their practice and all staff are involved with the completion of the Ofsted evaluation form. Parents are able to express their views through, for example, a questionnaire that is given out and a comments box that is always available. The setting demonstrates that where suggestions are made they take action to improve. For example they have recently re-developed the outdoor area as it was discussed during evaluation. However, at present the systems used to monitor and reflect on staff practice are not always effective and so weaknesses

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the early years provision

in practice are not always successfully identified in order to maintain continuous improvement.

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the early years provision

The nursery is organised into suitably equipped areas for children. For example, the baby unit has rooms that are set up to support different activities such as a sensory room, sleep/quiet room and playroom. The deployment of resources sufficiently supports children's care and learning. Most rooms are well organised and offer facilities for children to enjoy their play, eat comfortably and sleep peacefully. The provision considers children's individuality and gets to know them well. They value similarities and differences and promote anti-discriminatory practice, which effectively promotes equality and diversity. The setting works very well with parents and provides them with a comprehensive range of information that supports a cohesive approach to children's welfare and learning. They have developed good external partnerships that ensure children's needs are supported. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Most staff in the nursery have a sound understanding of the Early Years Foundations stage, with some having a stronger understanding than others. This results in children, overall, making satisfactory practice in their learning, although when taught by the stronger staff members their learning is more rapid. Some staff are aware that children learn in different ways and use various methods to support their learning. For example, the interaction and appropriate questioning from some staff result in children focussing and enjoying an activity, successfully supporting active learning. However, some staff do not always use effective methods to engage children in activities and opportunities that challenge and extend their thinking, particularly in relation to the Butterflies room. The staff carry out observations and make records of the findings so that they can ensure that children are making progress in their learning. This information is used to inform

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and outcomes for children

planning so that children get a broad range of activities across all areas of learning.

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and outcomes for children

The learning environment for the babies is bright and vibrant. The toys and activities that are put out for them offer a challenging and enjoyable experience where they make choices about what they want to play with. The Butterflies room is 'decorated' with children's craft work, bright displays and posters that help children to feel welcome and have a sense of belonging, but does not provide as much of a challenging environment where children's play is supported and extended effectively, as resources are often more appropriate for children under three years. Nevertheless, all children are able to make satisfactory progress overall and take part in a wide range of activities, which they enjoy. For example, children in the baby unit are fascinated by playing in the sand. They explore and investigate using different sized funnels and utensils as well as their hands. The staff member talks to them about the feel of the sand whether it moves fast or

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and outcomes for children

slow. They are excited when they hide their hands in the sand lifting them slowly to reveal their fingers.

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and outcomes for children

Older early years children become engrossed in a listening activity to support the development of communication skills as well as social skills. They cover their eyes to listen to the sounds around them and to instructions given by the staff and other children. They focus on the sound and recognise the chimes of the 'rag and bone man'. Some children capably group items in order of colour and recognise complex shapes such as a star. Books are freely available for all age groups. Some children use their imagination and 'read' a story to each other using the pictures as a guide and also enjoy a story being read to them by a staff member. Children behave well and understand the expectations for behaviour such as not running in the rooms. They also learn about why they should not be unkind to friends, 'because it will make them sad'. They have access to toys and activities that depict positive images of other people, which contributes to children learning about

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and outcomes for children

Children are beginning to learn about keeping themselves feeling safe through This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 activities such as road safety and taking part in the fire evacuation procedures. Babies are able to feel secure through the comfort and reassurance they receive from the bond that they develop with their key worker and other staff in the unit. Equipment and toys are maintained in good order and in a clean environment and the setting asks parents to comply with their sickness and exclusion policy, helping to minimise the risk of cross-infection. Children learn how to keep healthy through, for example understanding the importance of good hygiene practice. They have ample opportunities to develop physically as the setting has a well-equipped outdoor area and suitable resources so that children can learn to climb, balance and negotiate space. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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