Kid Ease Dover Triangles

Kid Ease Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Kid Ease Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY278153 Inspection date 21 November 2005 Inspector Lesley Theresa Watts / Annie Williams

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Kid Ease Nursery

Setting Address Triangles, Poulton Close, Dover, Kent, CT17 0HL

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E-mail

Registered person Kid Ease Limited Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care, Out of School 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet 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?

Kids Ease nursery is one of a chain of nurseries run by Kid Ease Ltd. It opened in 2004 and operates from six rooms within a two-story purpose built premises, in Dover, Kent. The setting is open from 07:00 to 18:00 each week day throughout the year. Children

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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 attend for a variety of sessions. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The provision serves the local area and surrounding villages. A maximum of 96 children under the age of 8 years, may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 80 children aged from 3 months to under 5 years on the roll. Of these, 20 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs, and supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 17 members of staff. Of these, 15 staff, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications to NVQ level II and III. There is currently 1 member of staff working towards an early year’s qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is inadequate. Hygiene procedures are not systematically promoted, for example, children do not learn about good hygiene and the importance of reducing the spread of germs because they do not consistently wash their hands before eating and the environment is not cleaned properly. Procedures for reducing the risk of cross infection are compromised, because staff are not vigilant about hygiene; for example, they do not change their disposable gloves in-between changing nappies. Staff are unable to ensure the premises are maintained to a suitable temperature because they are unsure of how the heating system works. As a result, the rooms on the first floor are hot and stuffy, whilst rooms on the ground floor are cold. Many of the toys and resources are grubby and worn. Babies and younger children mouth toys, which are not clean, and there are no systematic procedures in place to ensure toys are

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Helping children to be healthy

washed regularly. Consequently, children’s good health is compromised. Procedures for recording the administration of medication are not clear and records do not clearly identify whether medication has in fact been administered. For this reason, children’s health and safety is placed at risk. Cooked meals are provided for children; however, this food is brought on site from a catering company. As a result, the food is delivered during the morning and is often overcooked because it is stored in thermal boxes for many hours. Many of the meals are 'one pot' dishes, as a result opportunities for children to enjoy fresh vegetables, helping them to learn the importance of a healthy diet are limited. Although details of children’s food allergies are recorded, there are no secure procedures in place to ensure bank staff and students are fully informed, and poor deployment of staff during meal times results in children’s good health being compromised. Babies and

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Helping children to be healthy

younger children are unable to access a drink during the day, because their cups are stored out of their reach on high shelves. As a result, younger children do not begin to learn the importance of keeping their bodies hydrated. Children receive insufficient opportunities to recognise or learn the importance of being healthy and about changes that occur in their bodies. Opportunities for children

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Helping children to be healthy

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 participate in vigorous physical exercise are not sufficient because climbing apparatus lacks challenge for older children that are more able and staff do not plan enough activities to promote these skills.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is inadequate. Systems to monitor the safe arrival and departure of children are good, because, details of adults authorised to collect children are in place and high regard is placed on security within the premises. The procedures the setting follows when going on outings are well thought out and implemented fully, because a higher ratio of staff: children is implemented and the nursery are well informed of where the staff are taking the children. However, overall, the monitoring of safety of the setting indoors is inadequate, because systems for identifying potential hazards to children are not systematically implemented. As a result, risks to children are not addressed, for example, broken toys are freely available in the garden and boxes of shoes clutter the hallway. In addition, systems for ensuring the safety of sleeping babies are not consistently implemented; as a result, children’s safety is placed at risk.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Systems for monitoring the temperature of cooked food are in place and details recorded appropriately. Staff involved in the serving of food hold valid food hygiene certificates. However, the organisation of lunch times is unorganised and often chaotic. As a result, children leave the table prematurely and run around; subsequently children’s safety is compromised. Most staff hold valid paediatric first aid certificates and there are well-stocked first aid boxes located around the nursery. Therefore, in the event of an accident or emergency staff are able to take prompt action. Procedures for recording accidents are implemented and most are maintained correctly. However, procedures for ensuring staff who are not vetted do not have unsupervised access to children are inadequate, because staff are not vigilant or deployed effectively. As a result, children are not adequately protected. Fire drills are undertaken periodically, however details of the practice is not recorded

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

or cross-referenced to the register of attendance. As a result, not all children are regularly involved in the emergency evacuation practice and in the event of a fire, their safety may be compromised. The manager takes lead responsibility for child protection and some staff have undertaken training. However, many staff do not have a sound knowledge and understanding of child protection issues, do not have up to date knowledge of procedures and are unsure of the policy relating to allegations made against staff. As a result, systems for protecting children from harm are inadequate.

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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 are cared for in their peer group with designated staff. Relationships between staff and children continue to evolve and children generally approach the staff with ease. Praise and encouragement supports children as they develop their self-esteem and confidence. However, the poor organisation of the setting, lack of accessible resources and pace of the routine, results in children being left under stimulated and without support. Although most staff sit with the children at their level, they do not provide sufficient opportunities to enable the younger children to develop their language and build on their existing skills. The environment is not carefully prepared, staff are not organised in their approach and there are gaps in the range of resources provided. Consequently, children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

cannot freely access a broad and balanced range of toys and activities. On occasions, children leave activities prematurely because they are unsupported or bored. Resources that stimulate the senses, such as messy play, are not consistently provided or planned with a purpose. Toys are generally unorganised, grubby and poorly presented. Many toys are stored out of children’s reach and this impacts on the choices children make, hinders their ability to play freely and does not ensure they are actively involved in activities to support all areas of development and learning. Staffs lack of knowledge and understanding of child development and weaknesses within the leadership and management of the setting, impacts on the service provided for the children. Although some planning is undertaken, staff are not yet using the Birth to three matters framework fully, to support the planning for younger children. As a result, children are not provided sufficient opportunities to promote all

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

areas of their development. For example, activities are not purposeful and unrealistic expectations of achievements from staff means children are provided with activities that are either too difficult or lack sufficient challenge. Assessments and observations are not undertaken regularly and they are not evaluative. Consequently, staff are unable to identify and monitor children’s development and plan for their next steps in learning. Nursery Education. Teaching and learning is inadequate. Staff lack knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage and how young children learn. As a result, children make insufficient progress towards the early learning goals. Staff make a distinction between 'free play' and a structured activity. During play children lack direction from adults. As a result, children tend to run around, throw and snatch toys. Assessment is weak. Staff do not assess what children know and can do

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

when they start in the pre-school and there is no clear system for checking their progress as they take part in activities. A teacher has recently been employed at the setting to support staff in developing planning and assessment. As yet, staff do not use the information that is gained from observations to inform the planning. They do not keep children's records up-to-date to present a clear picture of children's progress over time. Staff provide indoor activities without a clear understanding about what children can gain from them or how they can be adapted to suit children of different ages and abilities. As a result, staff's interactions with

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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 are kind, but often fail to challenge them to think and to learn new skills and ideas. Children receive regular opportunities to access their name cards. Consequently, many children recognise their names. A very attractive book area has recently been developed. As a result, children are frequent visitors to the book area and sit with others to look at books, demonstrating they know how a book works. There is print around the setting for example labels, but staff do not refer to the print to enhance children's understanding that print carries meaning. Opportunities for mark making are available, but this area is not attractively presented or supported to encourage children to make full use of it. Opportunities to encourage writing for a purpose in the context of children's role play are not fully explored. Children enjoy

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

singing and join in enthusiastically with actions, for example, the pattern song. Children all sit together for registration and respond to their names, play a memory game as a whole group sing and listen to a story. However, this is not always meaningful to all children and is too long. Consequently, younger children lose interest as they wait to go and play. Overall, insufficient attention to numbers and counting, and to shape, space and measures is provided to extend children's understanding through practical activities. Children receive opportunities to explore and investigate a range of different media, for example; with dry and wet porridge and jelly. However, children lack opportunities to use the local environment and find out about the wider world. The home corner is generally well resourced but resources are not attractively presented or supported to extend children’s pretend play. Children pretend to go to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

bed and make dinner. At other times, with no staff support children climb inside the washing machine or sweep the equipment onto the floor. Specific planning to make sure that children get the most of the outdoor area is not yet established. However, the newly appointed teacher is aware of this and has produced an action plan to develop the outdoor area.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is inadequate. Opportunities for children to learn about differences are inadequate, for example, resources reflecting all areas of diversity are not freely available and information about the wider world is limited. In addition, opportunities for children to participate in the celebration of festivals from around the world are limited to traditional Christian festivals. As a result children do not receive good opportunities to embrace differences and learn about other cultures and traditions. In addition, staff lack knowledge and understanding of how to support children who speak English as an additional language. The new management of the setting has taken over the role as the special educational needs co-ordinator, but there is some confusion amongst the staff team about this. The lack of comprehensive written assessments, means that there is no way of ensuring that the needs of those with special educational needs

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Helping children make a positive contribution

are properly met. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is not fostered. Opportunities for children to develop independence is limited, because activities are

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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 often over directed and babies and children are not encouraged to select from the range of available resources. Staffs lack of knowledge and understanding of child development means activities are not adapted to meet the needs of individual children and staff have unrealistic expectations of children's abilities. As a result, children are not afforded sufficient opportunities to build on what they know and extend their learning. Although some information relating to the routines of babies is collated, staff do not give due regard to implementing individual routines. Babies and toddlers are expected to fit in with the nursery routine, for example, most babies are fed at the same time and expected to sleep at the same time. Staff lack of knowledge and understanding of child development and lack of good quality observations and

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Helping children make a positive contribution

assessments means the staff have expectations that all children will be able to participate in all activities at the same level. Staff do not differentiate to ensure the needs of all children are considered. As a result, children’s individual needs and preferences are not consistently met. The poor organisation and pace of the session, results in children not being afforded access to a broad range of activities that stimulate their interests. As a result, children’s behaviour is erratic and they display unwanted behaviour. Staff lack a sound understanding of the procedures for managing unwanted behaviour and they do not take account of children’s individual ages and stages of development. As a result, some strategies implemented are not appropriate. Partnership with parents is inadequate. The exchange of information throughout the setting is not consistent, and information shared with parents of children who receive

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Helping children make a positive contribution

nursery education is inadequate. Children do not benefit from a two way sharing of information between parents and staff to enhance their learning. A key worker system is in place, but not all parents are aware of their child's key worker and many parents do not know what records are maintained on their children. Parents are unfamiliar with the nursery policies and procedures. For example, parents are unsure of what action the nursery would take if there were child protection concerns about their child. This area has been identified as a weakness by the new management team and parent open evenings are planned.

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Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. The provision does not meet the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. Leadership and management is inadequate. Staff have limited awareness of the Foundation Stage, how to establish systems for assessing regularly what children know, understand and can do, and use this when planning activities and evaluate the impact of the nursery education. There has been no systematic or rigorous method for monitoring the quality of the nursery education provision and evaluating it's impact until very recently. The new management team, including a teacher, has completed an audit that identifies correctly the strengths and weaknesses of the setting. They have devised an action plan to improve weaknesses which will be taken forward by new managers and secure improvements.

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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 Poor organisation of the setting results in children not receiving a broad and balanced range of opportunities to meet their individual needs and promote their learning. Systems for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating practice throughout the nursery are not yet implemented. As a result, staff lack direction and fail to offer good quality care and education. The daily routine and organisation of the environment, does not afford children opportunities to access freely a full range of interesting and stimulating activities to develop their creativity and support their learning. As a result, the environment is not always conducive to the needs of the children being cared for, which has an adverse impact on children’s behaviour and self-esteem. Most of the staff working in the setting are qualified, however many lack a clear

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Organisation

knowledge and understanding of child development and how children learn. However, the recently appointed management team demonstrate a strong commitment to improve the quality of care and education within the setting. They have started to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the setting and are beginning to implement positive changes, including a review of the induction procedure for staff. There is currently no system in place to monitor staff practice and their understanding of the group’s policies and procedures. Because of this, staff are not able to implement policies and procedures fully. Not all mandatory documentation and consent forms are in place or completed correctly. There are gaps in staff records and systems are not adequate to protect children from adults who have not been vetted. Consequently, outcomes to promote children's welfare, care and learning are inadequate.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Following the last inspection, the provider agreed to review staff practice within the nursery by raising their awareness of issues relating to child protection and strategies used for managing children's behaviour. They also agreed to develop systems for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care throughout the setting, raise the standard of hygiene and cleanliness throughout the setting and ensure all aspects of care for babies is conducive to their individual needs. The provider has not made sufficient progress in addressing these issues to help keep children safe. As a result these recommendations remain outstanding and have been carried forward as actions following this inspection.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection in February 2005, Ofsted has received two complaints relating to the following national standards: 4, Premises; and 11, Behaviour management. Ofsted required the registered person to bring about improvements to the setting. Actions for improvement were set relating to all of the aforementioned standards. These related to the temperature of the nursery and strategies used to manage children's behaviour. Although some progress was made in addressing these issues, the nursery was not able to maintain the standards required. However, the newly appointed management team demonstrate a strong commitment to raise the standard of care provided to

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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 ensure the requirements of the national standards are met. As a result, new actions have been set following this inspection and 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet 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, the registered person must take the following actions: • ensure that all adults who have unsupervised access to children are suitable to do so and that staff deploy themselves effectively and are vigilant at all times • implement rigorous systems for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating practice to improve the quality of care • continue to develop and implement appropriate systems of planning and assessment for children under 3 years by use of the Birth to three matters framework and ensure all children are provided with a balanced range of activities that are appropriate to their ages and stages of development • improve the standard of cleanliness throughout the nursery including toys, resources and furnishings and provide hygienic hand drying facilities, to promote good hygiene • develop an appropriate partnership with parents by sharing information relating to the care and education of their children

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The quality and standards of the care

• develop staff knowledge and understanding of issues relating to child protection and update their knowledge of policies, including procedures to follow in the event of allegations made against staff. • ensure records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, and to promote the welfare, care and

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 learning of children are maintained and up to date. These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice.

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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 staffs knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage and how young children learn • establish systems for assessing regularly what children know, understand and can do, and use this when planning activities • ensure that the planning, including that for the outdoors area, covers the breadth of the Foundation Stage curriculum • improve systems for monitoring the quality of the nursery education provision and evaluating it's impact 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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