Yew Tree Nursery at Yew Tree Children's Centre

Yew Tree Nursery at Yew Tree Children's Centre Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY393224 Inspection date 05/02/2010 Inspector Frank William Kelly

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Setting address Berryford Road, Liverpool, L14 4ED

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Telephone number 01512 204 455 /01512 967 966 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

Yew Tree Nursery at Yew Tree Children's Centre was originally registered in 2006 and re-registered to Sure Options Limited in 2009. It is based in purpose-built premises situated in the Dovecot area of Liverpool. Children have use of five nursery rooms. All children share access to the piazza, studio and sensory room. There is a secure enclosed garden for children's outdoor play, with a separate designated area for the under two year olds. It operates Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, all year round.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered to care for a maximum of 54 children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than 54 may be in the early years age range. There are currently 96 children on roll, all within this age range. The setting provides funded places for the provision of early education for some of the children and supports several children who speak English as an additional language. The setting is also registered to offer care to children aged over five to eight years. This provision is registered on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs 15 staff to work with the children, of whom 13 hold early years qualifications to at least a level 3. Two members of staff are working towards additional qualifications. Staff receive support from Liverpool Early Years including the advisory teacher three days a week.

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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 happy and relaxed within this setting as they feel secure with the adults who care for them. Staff have a good understanding of the children's individual needs and use planning effectively to support their ongoing learning and development. The welfare and safety of the children is seen as a priority and staff successfully implement actions to promote the children's well-being. Documentation is used to good effect for supporting communication and most regulatory aspects are in place. The management demonstrates a commitment to driving forward improvement; however, its systems for internal review and the monitoring of regulatory requirements are not yet sufficiently robust to ensure all legal requirements are met at all times. Engagement with parents is good and secure working practices with other professionals within the immediate and extended community are helping to ensure that children's specific needs are being

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

attended to, to promote the best outcomes for each child.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 ensure that Ofsted is informed of any significant event that is likely to affect the suitability of the early years 19/02/2010 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 provider. In this instance the change to the nominated individual (Suitable People) (also applies to the compulsory part of the Childcare register)  ensure information about who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility for the child has been obtained in advance of a child being admitted to the provision (Documentation). 19/02/2010

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further?

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

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further?

 further develop the systems for sharing information and involving parents and any other practitioners, such as schools in the child's continuous learning and development  develop the self-evaluation and quality improvement processes to include a robust internal system of review. Include secure management monitoring systems to ensure that staff implement the policies and procedures consistently at all times  consider ways to support staff to ensure that they have the materials and resources to undertake planned activities.

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded through a rigorous recruitment and selection procedure, which includes the seeking of references and completion of full vetting procedures. The setting is safe and well maintained and full risk assessment is complemented by the daily checks staff complete before children arrive and when they go out to play in the garden. External training for safety procedures, such as those for Sleeping Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), have been undertaken to further protect and minimise risks to young children. The procedures for reporting child protection concerns are reflective of the Local Safeguarding Children Board requirements and staff confidently explain how or when they would report such concerns about a child in their care.

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the early years provision

The setting demonstrates commitment for driving and implementing improvement. For example, a focus on the quality of planning and assessment has benefited the children’s learning and initiatives to develop the outdoor play area are currently underway. However, the ongoing self-evaluation and day-to-day management monitoring systems are less successful. For example, the organisation has failed to ensure that Ofsted has been informed of significant changes regarding the appointment of a new senior manager. In addition some regulatory information from parents has not been obtained, as the setting has failed to gain information about who has legal access to and parental responsibility for some of the children. These are regulatory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). However, on this occasion they have not directly impacted on the safety and well- being of any of the children and in this instance Ofsted accepts that there was no

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the early years provision

deliberate intention to avoid compliance. The provider has been asked to take action to address this immediately. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Equipment and resources are of a good quality and the setting is well organised to promote the children’s independence and develop their investigative nature. In addition the developing extension into the outdoor play area is benefiting the children’s different learning styles and helping them to explore things on a bigger scale. They are developing a sense of risk taking that is well managed and supported by staff. For example, children explore the thrill of riding down the slope in the car or jumping off the steps onto the padded mat. Welcoming scripts of various nationalities are displayed and key words in several children’s home language are known and used by the staff. This helps the children to feel secure

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the early years provision

and helps the other children gain a sense of their own and other peoples cultures.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents are very good. A wealth of information in printed and photographic formats is readily available and helps parents to gain an understanding of what takes place in the setting. Story sacks, books and training initiatives to help parents learn about how they can promote their child's communication, language and literacy are also made available. Parents evenings allow parents to review their children's learning portfolios, however, at present there is less involvement within the weekly activity planning. That said, staff are very friendly and welcoming and regular informal discussion takes place on most days. Those parents that spoke with Ofsted, spoke highly of the care their children receive. Consequently, the children's individual needs are very well attended to and are further complimented by the close links with other professionals within the immediate and wider communities. The management has identified further

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the early years provision

improvement as it acknowledges the need to develop closer links with other settings, such as schools for those children who receive shared care.

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and outcomes for children

This is a pleasant place for the children to be. Staff are warm and welcoming, which in turn helps the children to feel secure and confident. Consequently, the children are busy and engaged throughout their day and play with purpose and pleasure. Babies babble and squeal, enjoying the interactions and acknowledgement they receive from their carers. The environment promotes investigation and for most of the day the children can play indoors or out as they choose. Good use of many aspects of the daily routines help promote the five 'Every Child Matters' outcomes. For example, children in the pre-school understand the need to protect their health by independently using disposable gloves, whilst digging for and handling earth worms.

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and outcomes for children

Staff understand the importance of developing independence, having good social skills and communication. They present good role models for the children to mirror. They provide gentle reasoning to help older children who are lively in their play to understand about being careful around the younger children. Thus children are for the most part well behaved and courteous to each other. Older children demonstrate a developing sense of right and wrong. For instance when one child becomes over excited and splashes her friend with too much water she apologises and splashes herself to try and compensate for what she has done. Both girls This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 laugh and the incident is forgotten as they continue to play.

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and outcomes for children

The learning programme is well organised and provides a good base for children to gain the skills they need to secure their future learning. Staff observations identify the next steps for children's learning and are linked to the children's interests. Resources are organised to meet children's developing needs and successfully provide children with a range of experiences that span all six areas of learning. However, some aspects of the organisation, impact on the effectiveness of the planning and routines. For example, staff do not always ensure that resources they may need, such as ingredients for baking are available or during lunch times they have not considered the benefits of serving the meal in key worker groups. This means that on occasions some planned activities do not always take place and at lunch time some children may have to wait for quite a long time before being able to eat.

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and outcomes for children

That said, children are confident, familiar with routines and eager to engage adults in discussion and their play. They want to crack eggs when baking, talk about what they need to do next and how to mix the ingredients together. They press the keyboard on the visitor's laptop to spell out their names; some are able to recognise significant letters of their own and their friends names. They relish their outdoor play, moving freely indoors and out as their investigations take them. For example, they engage visitors in a discussion about what will happen if they pour water on the chalk board outside. Their giggle with delight when their predictions are correct and the chalk disappears.

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and outcomes for children

Children of all ages mark make in lots of ways and contexts. Toddlers make marks in the sand with their fingers, paint on the chalk board with water and brushes, whilst the older children make labels for the wall displays. Children show an interest in print in their environment as they ask visitors to explain what their identity badge says. The children are very active as they enjoy lots of different challenges indoors and out. Babies enjoy sitting in a circle and having a soft ball rolled towards them, whilst the older children take on the challenge of balancing as they walk across the line of differing sized crates. 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 2 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 2 The extent to which children feel safe 3 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 2

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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 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 (Changes to people). 19/02/2010

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