Kiddi Caru Nursery

Kiddi Caru Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY346334 Inspection date 12/03/2010 Inspector Julie Neal

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Setting address Kiddi Caru, Emperor Way, Exeter Business Park, EXETER, EX1 3QS Telephone number 01392 445639 Email kiddiexeter@childcare.uk.com 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

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

Kiddi Caru in Exeter, Devon is one of a nursery chain in England owned by The Childcare Corporation. It was established in 2002 but re-registered in 2006. The nursery is purpose-built and is situated in a business park on the eastern edge of the city. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 129 children in the early years age range may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 270 children on roll attending at different times. Children with special educational needs and disabilities are supported at the nursery.

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Description of the setting

Kiddi Caru is open all year round on weekdays from 7.30am to 6.30pm. There are 11 playrooms on two floors and children are grouped according to age. Food preparation and laundry facilities are on site and there are enclosed outside play areas. There are 49 staff working directly with children, 44 of which have early years qualifications to Level 3 or higher, five staff are qualified to Level 2 and most of these are working towards achieving Level 3. They are supported by an administrator, a cook and kitchen staff.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children enjoy an immensely inclusive environment where their individual needs are understood and met extremely well. This results in children of all ages making consistently excellent progress towards the early learning and development goals, relative to their individual starting points. Self-evaluation within the setting is excellent and enables managers to make meaningful action plans that focus immensely well on enhancing and sustaining high quality outcomes for children.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 develop the good work being done in respect of partnership working by continuing with plans to find effective and consistent ways of sharing information relating to children's learning and development, in respect of those children who also attend other settings where the Early Years Foundation Stage is provided.

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the early years provision

Dynamic leadership and management in the setting results in an enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff team who implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage extremely well. This is demonstrated in the immensely effective routines and procedures that safeguard children and protect them from harm. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Recruitment procedures are very thorough, staff are checked to ensure they are suitable to work with children, and there are appropriate processes in place to confirm their ongoing suitability. All staff are very knowledgeable regarding issues that may raise concerns regarding the abuse or neglect of children because safeguarding is given an extremely high priority and staff receive training in this area. Detailed and clearly written safeguarding procedures provide staff with good quality guidance, and ensure that parents are informed that the setting has a duty

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the early years provision

to protect children in their care. Daily routines and procedures that keep children safe and secure are excellent. Visitors' presence is recorded and they are supervised at all times. The premises are extremely secure and access is strictly monitored, for example, CCTV ensures staff in the office can observe anyone approaching the building, and entry is restricted by coded keypads. Risk assessments are excellent, they are detailed and informative, and they are frequently reviewed, ensuring they consistently reflect current good practice. This is because the specific needs of individuals, or groups of children, and how they experience the learning environment are taken account of as part of the risk management process. For instance, the outdoor areas are well used by children, and risk assessments and related procedures reflect the needs and abilities of older and younger age groups and the different ways they use space and resources.

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the early years provision

Records such as accident reports involving children are analysed regularly to identify where changes to practice would enhance their safety. All regulatory documentation supporting children's welfare is in place and very well maintained. Records of attendance show when children and staff are present, and confirm that children benefit from high levels of adult support.

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the early years provision

Excellent processes of self-evaluation ensure the setting remains well focused on promoting and sustaining high quality outcomes for children. All staff actively participate in monitoring the effectiveness of the provision for children, and there is a strong emphasis on ensuring improvements promote inclusive practice. For example, staff identified that some age groups were benefiting from greater access to outdoors than others; simple adjustments to routines quickly addressed this. Improvements to observations of children have resulted in staff identifying their individual learning styles and ensuring that resources are deployed more effectively to support these. Parents views are invited and valued, staff using a variety of methods to gain feedback, such as regular discussions about their children, meetings to discuss children's progress and development, and questionnaires that ask them to comment on wider aspects of the nursery provision.

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the early years provision

Parents are made very welcome in the setting and extremely good relationships with staff ensure information regarding individual children is shared most effectively. Excellent settling in procedures enable parents and children to become familiar with key adults, and these periods are used well by staff to begin to make initial observations to establish each child's starting point. Parents are provided with extremely good information about all aspects of the setting, and newsletters ensure they are regularly updated with current developments. Excellent processes of individual feedback ensure parents are very well informed about their individual children, and their progress towards the early learning and development goals.

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the early years provision

Staff are pro-active in seeking to develop professional working relationships with others involved in supporting the needs of individual children, and in some areas This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 they have achieved high levels of success. For example, they work closely with health professionals and other agencies in respect of children who have specific learning and development needs. Some children attending the nursery also receive care from other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage, such as pre-schools and childminders. Staff have had mixed success in establishing systems of sharing information that would support consistency in promoting learning and development for individual children. However, action plans identify new strategies to try to engage with those they have yet to develop links with, in order to ensure no children are disadvantaged.

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare, learning and development are extremely well supported in all areas of the nursery. Rigorous routines and procedures are in place to ensure children benefit from a clean and hygienic environment, and these are implemented very well by staff so children are protected from the risk of illness and cross infection. Children's individual health requirements are understood and supported most effectively, with staff working closely with parents and other agencies involved in their care. Health promotion with children is excellent, and ensures they develop a very good awareness of the importance of personal hygiene appropriate to their age and stage of development. For example, older children enjoy regular cooking activities and take care to wash their hands before handling utensils or ingredients. Very young children are supported very well as they learn basic hygiene awareness that will help instil good habits for the future,

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and outcomes for children

for instance, staff help each child to clean their hands before meals, and to wipe their faces and fingers afterwards.

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and outcomes for children

Children thoroughly enjoy the robust, nutritious and varied meals and snacks provided. Meals are cooked on the premises each day and take account of the dietary needs and preferences of individual children. Several children attending the setting have medical or cultural reasons why they must not eat particular foods, such as dairy produce, nuts, or pork. Simple and effective systems of colour coding plates to different dietary needs ensures mistakes are not made. Babies and very young children enjoy a weaning menu that includes a wide variety of tastes and textures appropriate to their growth and development. Mealtimes are used extremely well to promote children's social skills, such as learning to use age appropriate cutlery, developing confidence in pouring drinks, chopping and spreading food, and to encourage conversation and good manners.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop an extremely good understanding of safety issues. They take part in frequent fire drills to ensure they learn to conduct themselves calmly and safely in an emergency situation. Local walks are used very well to promote an understanding of road safety. Children use tools and utensils safely in activities because they learn to manage these responsibly. Older children relish being given specific areas of responsibility, such as being snack helpers, and this has recently been extended to develop a junior health and safety role. This involves children going through a simple checklist of their main play and learning areas with staff, encouraging them to identify possible hazards. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children make consistently excellent progress towards the early learning and development goals, relative to their individual starting points. This is because staff

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and outcomes for children

plan extremely well to ensure that children benefit from a wealth of activities that support their development in all areas of learning. They use their excellent observations to confirm each child's current level of progress and to identify the next steps in their individual learning and development plans. Resources are extremely well organised to provide children with a vibrant learning environment that they explore avidly as they play and make sense of the wider world. For example, older children have a wonderful time as they convert huge boxes into bright red fire engines, they enthusiastically wield lengths of hose as they put out fires, and engage in complex scenarios where they are firemen. They relate their play to a recent visit from the fire service, developing their burgeoning understanding of their community. Babies and very young children learn to experience the world around them through their senses, for instance, exploring

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and outcomes for children

textures and sounds. Children of all ages have extremely good access to everyday technology. Younger children use a very good variety of interactive toys, and resources such as calculators, phones, and keyboards in role play. Older children show they are extremely proficient as they use a variety of computer programmes that encourage their awareness of shape, number and letter sounds. 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 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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