Victoria House Day Nursery Limited

Victoria House Day Nursery Limited Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY338974 Inspection date 18/01/2010 Inspector Valerie Fane / Janette Elizabeth Owen

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Setting address 143 Bromyard Road, St Johns, Worcester, WR2 5DL

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Telephone number 01905 426499 Email info@victoriahousedaynursery.co.uk 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

Victoria House Day Nursery owned by Victoria House Day Nursery Ltd was registered in 2006. It operates from a large converted Victorian house, situated in the St John's area of Worcester city. The nursery serves the surrounding area. The nursery is accessible to all children and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round except for a week at Christmas. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.00pm. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. A maximum of 66 children may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 53 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds. It supports children special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs nine members of child care staff. Of these seven hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff has Early Years Professional Status and Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is inadequate.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children enjoy their time in the nursery and relate well to the staff but they are not fully safeguarded because the records of staff attendance indicate that adult: child ratios are not always met. Children enjoy a good balance of free play and planned activities both indoors and outside and the interesting range of activities supports their learning and development well. Staff work closely with parents to ensure that they are aware of children's individual needs and children gain a good awareness of diversity through well-planned activities. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is very good but continuity of care for children who also attend other early years providers is limited. The owner and manager generally have a clear vision to provide high quality childcare and have made many improvements since the last inspection. They use a detailed self-evaluation document to identify their improvements but, although this is robust in many

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

areas, there are some omissions that result in two welfare requirements not being met.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the early years provision requires significant improvement. The registered person is given a Notice to Improve that sets out actions to be carried out.

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further?

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To comply with the requirements of the EYFS the registered person must take the following action by the specified date:

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further?

 ensure that the requirements for adult: child ratios are met at all times (Suitable people) 01/02/2010

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further?

 ensure that the following information is recorded for each child: the address of every parent and carer who is known to the provider and which of these parents or carers the child normally lives with (Documentation). 01/02/2010

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 develop the opportunities for partnership working where children receive care and education in more than one setting.

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the early years provision

Children are protected because all staff have a secure understanding of safeguarding and have attended recent in-house training to refresh their knowledge. There is a robust safeguarding policy in place and a recent new policy is in place to cover the requirements of the Independent Safeguarding Authority. Employment procedures are robust and all staff have completed checks with the Criminal Records Bureau to ensure that they are suitable to work with children. Children receive care in a nursery that is safe and secure because comprehensive risk assessments are in place and staff carry out regular safety checks of the nursery premises.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from the care of a well-qualified team of staff who work very effectively together. However, there are times when registers indicate that the minimum required staff ratios are not met throughout the nursery and individual children do not always receive adequate supervision and attention because the correct staff ratio for their age is not maintained if they move to an older age group for several weeks prior to their second or third birthday. Children use an interesting range of resources in each base room including ones that reflect other cultures and diversity.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from continuity of care because staff work closely with their parents or carers to ensure that they are fully aware of children's individual needs. There is an effective key person system operating throughout the nursery and when practical the key member of staff transfers with a group of children when they move from the baby room to the two-year-old group. This enhances children's feeling of security in the nursery. Parents receive regular verbal information about children's welfare and learning and the nursery has recently introduced parents evenings. These give parents a specific opportunity to visit the nursery to look at children's development records and discuss their progress with staff. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive excellent support because staff work very closely with their parents and with outside agencies to ensure that they This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

are very well-informed and able to meet children's individual needs effectively. Children who attend other Early Years Foundation Stage provision do not enjoy the full benefits of partnership working because the exchange of information with other nurseries who share children's care is limited to information about planning. No information is shared about children's individual welfare, learning and development.

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the early years provision

Children thrive in most respects because the owner and the manager have a clear vision to provide high quality childcare and have made a number of improvements since the last inspection. They involve parents in the self-evaluation process and respond to suggestions from the parents. For example, children have recently benefited from improved lunch menus because parents requested that the use of processed food such as baked beans be reduced. Other improvements have included the ongoing development of the outdoor area to provide interesting climbing equipment in a safe environment that will provide appropriate challenge for older and more able children. However, the self-evaluation process has not included a careful check that all welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are met so there are concerns as mentioned above regarding staff ratios and information obtained from parents does not include the address of

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and outcomes for children

All children make progress in their learning and development, but there are occasions when this is hindered by reduced staff ratios. Staff have a secure understanding of the principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage and understand how young children learn. Staff in all base rooms observe and assess individual children's progress effectively and provide an interesting range of play opportunities that supports their current learning needs. They follow children's interests and leading when planning activities so children are engaged in their learning. Children behave very well throughout the nursery because staff are good role models and have clear expectations for their behaviour. Children therefore develop the habits appropriate to good learners.

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and outcomes for children

Babies enjoy a wide range of opportunities to explore different textures. For example, they play with a bowl of cooked pasta. They use different senses because they feel the pasta and squash it in their hands and try to eat it. They develop co-ordination because they try to throw it up in the air. Staff support older babies' language development and encourage them to say whether the pasta feels hot or cold. Children are fascinated by a photograph of themselves playing with the pasta and develop early technology skills because staff show them how to press the button to view the staff's photo and then learn how to take their own picture. Activities such as these also support children's development of skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Older children in the pre-school generally sit well and contribute to group activities, such as the weather board and news time, at circle time. They listen to a story such as 'Goldilocks' and then choose to draw pictures of the three bears, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 demonstrating good pencil control for their age. Staff use the activity to support children's awareness of mathematical language by encouraging them to draw bears of different sizes. They extend more able children with another size sequencing activity later in the morning.

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and outcomes for children

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress because staff meet their particular needs with one-to-one support when appropriate. These children are provided with support to join in a wide range of nursery activities and thoroughly enjoy playing with the water or exploring toy vehicles. They are very pleased with themselves when they achieve new steps in their learning and they try to join in the actions of songs such as 'Heads, shoulders, knees and toes' with the other children in their group. Children's home culture is celebrated in the nursery in a variety of ways including the 'Country of the month' theme when all children learn about aspects of a country's language and food. Staff encourage parents to contribute their knowledge to the theme. Children also celebrate a variety of different festivals. For example, at Diwali they make clay divas and cards and eat curry with naan bread.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop a good awareness of healthy lifestyles. They eat nutritious meals and snacks provided by the nursery and take part in additional activities to support their understanding of healthy eating. For example, they explore and taste unusual fruit such as nectarines and record how many children like the taste. The two- year-olds like making smoothies and describe and taste the different fruits that they use. Younger children are protected from cross-infection because staff have met the recommendation from the last inspection and use disposable aprons and gloves when changing nappies. Children have regular opportunities for fresh air and exercise and make good use of spontaneous opportunities such as snowfall to extend their learning. Babies enjoy exploring the snow, make prints in it and learning to throw snowballs. Older children learn to follow the rules of games such as 'Stick in the mud' and have plenty of exercise as they run round trying to catch

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and outcomes for children

Children develop some awareness of their personal safety because staff help them to understand the reason for rules such as no running indoors and teach them to use tools such as scissors safely. They learn about road safety through regular activities and their awareness is enhanced through a visit from a parent who is a policeman. 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 4 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 4

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 4 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 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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