The Grange Nursery

The Grange Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY336986 Inspection date 23/03/2010 Inspector Christine Snowdon

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Setting address The Grange, Doctors Lane, Castleford, West Yorkshire, WF10 2HJ Telephone number 01977 519682 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

The Grange Day Nursery is a privately owned provision and has been registered since 2006. It is one of two nurseries owned by the provider and is located in Allerton Bywater, on the outskirts of Castleford. It operates from four rooms situated on the ground floor of a large detached house. The rooms are utilised to accommodate the varying ages of the children. One of these rooms is dual purposely used as a dining hall. In addition there is a kitchen, staffroom and office facilities. There is an enclosed garden area for outdoor play. The nursery is open Monday to Friday all year round excluding bank holidays and one week after Christmas. Sessions are from 7.45am to 6pm.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is registered to care for a maximum of 24 children within the early years age range at any one time. There are currently 45 children on roll who are within the early years age group. The nursery is also registered with the local authority to provide funded nursery education for those children of eligible age. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

There are six staff employed who work with the children and of these, four have attained a National Vocational Qualification at level 3, one has attained a level 2 and is working towards a level 3, and one is working towards a level 2. In addition the owner/manager works alongside the staff and is currently working towards her Early Years Foundation Degree. They are involved in the Leeds Quality Assurance Scheme.

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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

The nursery is not meeting some of the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and consequently children's individual welfare and development needs are not effectively met. The failure of the management to ensure staff's suitability, along with poor deployment of staff, means that children are not fully safeguarded. There is a range of policies and procedures in place but some do not contain all the required information. Children enjoy their time at the nursery and benefit from the wide range of resources and interesting topics and activities. Staff are welcoming and friendly towards the parents and talk to them each day to help support children's individual needs and continuity of care. A new system to record children's development and progress has been introduced into the nursery, although this is not yet fully effective. The manager is aware that there is no effective system in place to help them to monitor and evaluate their practice. In

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

addition, not all the recommendations raised at the last inspection have been fully addressed.

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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. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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further?

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 written parental permission is requested, at the time of the child's admission to the provision, to the seeking of any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment (Safeguarding and welfare) (also applies to both parts of the Childcare Register) 06/04/2010

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further?

 obtain enhanced Criminal Records Bureau Disclosures for every person who works directly with the children or on the childcare premises and ensure such records are kept on site and includes the unique reference numbers of the CRB Disclosures and the date on which they were obtained (Suitability of adults) (also applies to both parts of the Childcare Register) 06/04/2010

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further?

 ensure people whose suitability has not been checked do not have unsupervised contact with the children being cared for (Suitability of adults) (also applies to both parts of the Childcare Register) 24/03/2010

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further?

 ensure the complaints procedure is detailed and in line with requirements and that parents have access to Ofsted contact details (Safeguarding and welfare) (also applies to both parts of the Childcare register) 06/04/2010

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further?

 ensure that all supervisors hold a full and relevant level 3 qualification as defined by the Children's Workforce Development Council (Qualifications, training, knowledge and skills) (also applies to the compulsory part of the Childcare Register). 06/04/2010

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 continue to improve the children's progress folders to include their starting points on entry and use the information gained from the observations and assessments to record their learning and development  improve the arrangements for children's hand washing practice to reduce the risk of cross infection  develop a system to monitor and evaluate the quality of the provision to lead to the identification of targets for the future to ensure continuous improvement in the outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

The leadership and management of the nursery is ineffective and a number of regulations have been breached. As a result, children's welfare is not safeguarded. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 There are relevant policies and procedures in place but these are not being adhered to in practice. The management failed to provide accurate records at the time of the inspection to demonstrate staff's overall suitability. In addition not all staff currently have a criminal records check to ensure they are safe to work with children, and some are left to work unsupervised. These are breaches of regulation. The children's welfare is further put at risk as the nursery has failed to obtain prior parental permission to seek medical advice or treatment in an emergency. This has an impact on how the nursery is able to respond to such emergency situations and is a breach of regulation. There are currently three

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the early years provision

members of staff who have current first aid certificates and more staff are awaiting training, this ensures there is always appropriately trained staff on duty. The nursery has effective security measures in place to ensure no-one enters the premises uninvited and all visitors are asked to sign in and out. The outdoor play area is safe and enclosed, with additional security added to the gates when children are playing outside. The nurseries risk assessment is detailed and covers all areas used by children, plus any trips and outings. The fire evacuation plan and procedure is clearly displayed and records show that equipment is tested on a regular basis and fire drills practised.

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the early years provision

The owner/manager works as part of the staff team and is very hands-on in her approach. There is a good balance of qualified staff, and child-to-adult ratio's are well-maintained. However, not all staff with supervisory responsibility have the required level 3 childcare qualification and this is a breach of regulation. Staff have a positive approach to developing their own knowledge and skills through attending relevant training and some, including the owner, are working towards a higher qualification level. The owner is aware that there is nothing in place yet to effectively self-evaluate and this has clearly had an impact on the nurseries capacity to improve. While there have been some steps taken to address recommendations raised at the last inspection, for example, improving security in the outdoor play area, issues, such as the detail required within the complaints procedure, have not been sufficiently improved. In addition, Ofsted contact details

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the early years provision

are not displayed for parents. Therefore this requirement is not met and is a breach of regulation.

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the early years provision

Equality and diversity are promoted in the nursery and children benefit from having male staff working within the team. There is a range of resources freely available to children, including books and posters which show positive images of different cultures and the wider world. An equality of opportunity policy is in place and is made available to parents. Staff recognise the individual needs and abilities of the children and plan a range of activities and opportunities that all children can take part in.

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and outcomes for children

The nursery has four main rooms to accommodate the differing ages of the children. These areas are very child-orientated, well-organised, clean and suitably maintained. Children benefit from the wide choice of good quality resources, which cover all areas of learning and are stored at child-height to promote free-choice This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and independence. Children present as happy, relaxed and confident in the staff's care. On arrival they separate from their carers and go off eagerly to their chosen play. Children's independence is suitably promoted; older children demonstrate increasing skills and a steady hand as they pour their own drinks and serve themselves at meal times.

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and outcomes for children

Children have lots of opportunities to write, draw and make marks. They use water and brushes on the flags outdoors and watch as the marks dry and disappear. Indoors children show the inspector how they can write their own names on their art work using well-formed letters in the correct sequence. Most can recognise their own name card and use it as a way of self-registration on arrival. Through effective labelling and activities children's awareness to letters and numbers is well promoted; for example, staff encourage the children to find the corresponding letters that spell out their name, and they repeat the phonic sounds. Children of all ages are developing an interest in books; they select their favourite and sit on the staff's knee while they read them the story, promoting children's listening skills and language as they talk about the pictures, as the story progresses.

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and outcomes for children

There is a good range of adult-led and child-initiated activities and all children from younger babies to pre-school children enjoy being creative, and use a varied range of resources and mediums; for example the two to three-year-olds have great fun using the straws, glue and foam to create their own skeleton pictures as part of their 'All about me topic'. In addition they learn about similarities and differences, and the names of the various body parts of the child-size template on display. Visitors to the setting are used effectively to complement and extend children's learning very well; for example, photographs show children wearing face masks following a session when a parent, who is also a doctor, came as part of the 'People who help us' theme.

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and outcomes for children

Babies individual sleep and feeding routines are recognised and supported following discussion with parents. They receive lots of comfort and cuddles, and snuggle into the staff's arms while being bottle fed. Snack and meal times are a very sociable time and all children sit together in the dining room, enjoying the varied and healthy meals that are all prepared and cooked on site. Children of all ages recognise when they are thirsty and help themselves to fresh drinking water from their feeder cups and drinking bottles. There are some good systems in place to promote children's understanding of health and hygiene. Staff remind them about appropriate hand washing before meals and after using the toilet. However, the practice of sharing a towel for hand drying does not reduce the risk of cross- infection. All children enjoy the regular opportunities to play outdoors in the fresh air. They develop good coordination and balance as they pedal wheeled toys, climb

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and outcomes for children

in and out of the tyres and on the fixed apparatus within the garden area.

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and outcomes for children

Planning and assessment systems are developing well overall to help children progress towards the early learning goals, particularly with the older children. Observations, both planned and spontaneous, are used to assess children's learning and identify their next steps. Each child has their own progress folder and this is made available to parents. However, there is little recorded to demonstrate children's starting points on entry and not all folders, especially within the baby room, have sufficient information to clearly demonstrate their progress. While none This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 of the children currently attend other early years settings, the nursery has appropriate systems in place to share information and provide for their continuity of care and learning.

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and outcomes for children

Positive working partnerships are established with parents to ensure children's individual needs are met. Information, such as babies daily routine, is obtained from parents prior to placement. Parents receive lots of information from various sources; for example, the prospectus or the nursery web site. In addition, policies and procedures, along with posters and other relevant information, are displayed around the setting. Parents spoken to during the inspection report their total satisfaction and say how well their children settle and enjoy attending. They find the owner and staff very friendly and supportive, and they particularly enjoy the social open days that the nursery organises, along with the one-to-one sessions with their child's key worker to discuss their child's learning and progress. 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 4 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 3

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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 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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Records to be kept) 06/04/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the Early Years section of the report (Suitability to care for, or have regular contact with, children) 06/04/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Procedures for dealing with complaints) 06/04/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Qualifications and training) 06/04/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Records to be kept) 06/04/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the Early Years section of the report (Suitability to care for, or have regular contact with, children) 06/04/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Procedures for dealing with complaints) 06/04/2010

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