Kids Planet - Beamont

Kids Planet - Beamont Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY397450 Inspection date 10/02/2010 Inspector Gillian Sutherland

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Setting address Beamont Community Junior School, O'Leary Street, WARRINGTON, WA2 7RQ Telephone number 01925 630 879 Email claire.roberts@kidsplanetdaynurseries.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 .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as 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

Kids Planet - Beamont was registered in 2009 and is run by a limited company. It operates from purpose-built premises situated within the grounds of Beamont Community Junior School, Warrington. The single-storey building is accessible to all and children share access to secure outdoor areas.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Register to provide care for a maximum of 61 children at any one time, all of whom may be in the early years age range. It is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm for 52 weeks of the year, except for bank holidays. There are currently 56 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery is able to support children with special needs and those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs eight staff, including the cook. The seven staff who work directly with the children hold appropriate early years qualifications. The manager holds a Bachelor of Art combined honours in advanced early years education. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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Description of the setting

The before and after school club is open each weekday during term time from 7.30am to 9am and from 3.15pm until 6pm. It may care for 30 children. A holiday club operates full days when there is sufficient demand for this service open from 7.30am to 6pm.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children attending the nursery are cared for by staff whose in-depth knowledge and understanding of their individual needs, plus the provision of appropriate resources, ensures they make good progress in their learning and development. The activity programme is varied and includes a range of adult- and child-led activities. Staff safeguard and promote the welfare of children in this nursery. They have also begun to implement a working partnership with parents and with other Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) providers to ensure continuity of care and meet the requirements of the EYFS framework. A detailed self-evaluation of the nursery ensures that plans and future training needs are clearly identified. The staff team show a commitment to improving outcomes for children and are keen to attend any additional training that will help them further develop their skills.

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further?

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

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further?

 update further the complaints policy to ensure it fully complies with current legislation and guidance. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Staff at the nursery ensure that a warm and welcoming atmosphere awaits all children and their parents or carers. Children’s welfare is given a high priority within the nursery, and children are fully safeguarded through robust recruitment and employment procedures. The required policies, records and documents are in place and most of them have been reviewed to reflect any changes in legislation and guidance; however, the complaints procedure does not fully comply with the current guidance and legislation. There is a copy of the policies in each of the nursery rooms and a further copy available in the hall. Parents are also given their own copy of the policy pack once care commences. Children’s safety is very well promoted as detailed risk assessments are carried out and any hazards or possible dangers noted, and appropriate action is taken to eliminate those dangers. All areas accessible to the children are checked each morning and the completed daily

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the early years provision

checklist is dated and signed by the person carrying out those checks. The plentiful toys and resources are meticulously checked to ensure they are safe and clean.

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the early years provision

The highly committed staff team are experienced and appropriately qualified, and their knowledge and understanding of the EYFS framework ensures that they plan and implement an activity programme that is interesting, challenging and fun. Parents and carers know the staff well and a good working relationship between both parties has been developed. Parents are provided with many opportunities to make their views known to staff or express any concerns they may have about the nursery and the care provided to the children. Key worker staff always make time available to talk to a parent about their child’s learning journey and their development.

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and outcomes for children

Children arrive at the nursery and quickly and confidently leave their parents to go and seek out their friends. The staff’s expert knowledge of the learning and development requirements, plus the provision of extensive resources, helps children as they learn new skills and participate in different experiences. Children’s creative skills are very well promoted throughout the nursery as they access resources which help them to create their works of art. Some of their artwork is taken home at the end of the day, while other work is attractively displayed throughout the nursery or examples kept in children's learning journey files. To develop children’s mark-making skills, the competent staff ensure the easels in place in each of the rooms are freely accessible to children and a range of chalks, paints and brushes is readily available for them to use. Photographs in the children’s learning journey files, which all parents can freely access, highlight how

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and outcomes for children

children also participated in and enjoyed ice cube and finger painting, plus they learnt how to print using different cut out shapes. Children access malleable materials during their day, including gloop, pastry and dough, thus developing an understanding about different textures. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children’s physical development is extremely well promoted in the spacious outdoor and indoor play areas where they safely access balancing and climbing resources, pedal toys and wheeled toys, and freely access sand and water play on a daily basis. Children thoroughly enjoy fresh air and exercise as they eagerly put on their outdoor clothing on to go and play outside. They competently rode around on their pedal toys and used umbrellas to protect them from the light snow flurries. Children carefully climbed on the strong and sturdy outdoor equipment in

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and outcomes for children

an area which is brightly decorated with resources, such as butterflies and flags tied to the trees, ensuring children can watch as they flutter about in the breeze. Weather permitting, the large outdoor sandpits are made available to the children, with buckets, spades, sieves and sand wheels, which children use to pour sand from one container to another. Indoors there are smaller sand trays and brightly coloured sand and also some model dinosaurs, spiders and bugs. Children talked to staff about how big the dinosaurs were and then looked at how small the spider was and they counted how many legs each spider had, promoting their mathematical development. Children were fascinated by this range of equipment and watched the different patterns they were creating as they moved the snake or the spider around in the sand. Very young children have opportunities to develop their physical skills as they move around through crawling and reaching out for

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and outcomes for children

toys, which the highly skilled staff encourage by putting some toys just a little distance further away from them. They enjoy playing in their 'treasure tray', in which they look at and feel many different objects, including soft bath balls and a dishwasher brush. Children also enjoy listening to the different sounds created as they shake some of the plastic bottles which have been partially filled with pasta, rice and coloured water. Their fine motor skills are well promoted as they access a range of small tools, including shape cutters for rolling out pastry or scissors for cutting out the paper or card shapes. Staff are always close by to ensure children are made aware of safety issues when using such resources. Children accessing the pre-school computers quickly and skilfully learn how to manoeuvre the mouse to obtain the required movement or pictures on the screen.

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and outcomes for children

In this very inclusive environment children learn about the differing cultures and needs of others in not only their local environment, but also in the wider world, as they participate in planned activities, including the celebration of different festivals as they occur throughout the year. At the inspection the children were participating in different activities relating to Chinese New Year, including some simple baking and cake making activities. There are large 'Welcome' and 'Goodbye' posters on the doors in the entrance hall of the nursery which reflect children and adults from different cultures and races and also with differing physical abilities. Resources, including books and jigsaws, which also help children develop an understanding of the needs of others are available throughout the nursery. The very knowledgeable staff find imaginative ways of communicating with children and their families for

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and outcomes for children

whom English is an additional language. 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 2 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 2 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: 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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