ABC Hook Lane Nursery

ABC Hook Lane Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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ABC Hook Lane Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY294006 Inspection date 31 October 2005 Inspector Gill Moore

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ABC Hook Lane Nursery

Setting Address 60 Hook Lane, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO22 8AR

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ABC Hook Lane Nursery

Telephone number (Mrs Turney)01243 821557

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E-mail

Registered person Jan Turney Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day 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 satisfactory. The registered person meets 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 satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

ABC Hook Lane Nursery is privately owned and opened in 2004. It operates from one room and a large garden on the back of a private dwelling in a residential area of Bognor Regis, West Sussex. A maximum of 12 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open 08.30 -16:30 Monday to Friday all year round. Children may attend all day or for a variety of sessions. Children have the use of an enclosed outside play area.

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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 There are currently 14 children from 2 to 5 years on roll. Of these 7 children receive funding for nursery education. Children attend from the local residential area. The setting welcomes children with special needs or English as an additional language, although there are currently none attending. . The owner employs two full-time staff to work directly with the children, one of whom has an appropriate child care qualification. The other member of staff is currently working towards a recognised early years qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children’s health is maintained because practitioners have a good knowledge of their individual health and medical history and have relevant first aid training. Effective procedures are in place to minimise the risk of infection to children, for example practitioners wear disposable gloves when dealing with accidents and changing nappies, however details of when children are changed are not recorded. Children begin to learn the importance of looking after their bodies as they follow effective hygiene procedures by washing their hands after using the toilet and before eating. They enjoy opportunities to engage in physical activities outside helping to develop their understanding about the importance of exercise. Children are active and develop their co-ordination and skills as they ride bicycles and scooters, although insufficient challenge is provided to the older and more able children due to the

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Helping children to be healthy

resources and equipment available. Children have little opportunity to develop their climbing and balancing skills, and although have access to equipment such as balls and hoops, the lack of planning around physical activities, both inside and out, impacts on their development towards the early learning goals in this area. Children gain an understanding about healthy eating through discussions and activities linked to topics and talk confidently about different foods that are good for them. This is re-enforced as they are provided with a range of healthy options across the week at snack times, including different bread, cheese and crackers and a selection of fruits. Children are provided with squash but do not have opportunities to freely access drinking water across the session encouraging them to recognise when they become hot and thirsty and develop their independence. Their individual dietary requirements are respected because practitioners obtain written information at

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Helping children to be healthy

registration and parents provide a packed lunch for their individual child.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children are safe inside the nursery because practitioners implement informal daily risk assessments and adhere to written health and safety policies. However, their

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 safety is not fully ensured whilst playing in the outside play area. Although children are initially told not to play on the raised paved area, access to this is not restricted and the deployment of staff means that on occasions children are left unsupervised in the garden for brief periods, which could compromise their safety. Children talk about why it is important to keep a register and recognise they need to know who is at nursery in case there is a fire. They discuss and practise emergency evacuation procedures, although practitioners make no evaluation of fire drills to ensure all children are included in this. On occasions children visit the local library with practitioners and written consent has been obtained from parents. However, there are no procedures in place to highlight arrangements for outings to ensure children’s

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

safety when off nursery premises. Children feel at home in a warm, welcoming and inviting nursery environment and have access to an adequate and safe play provision, which is maintained and cleaned regularly. Attention is paid to ensuring children’s safety when using tools, such as scissors and knives, and children recognise how to handle these safely using them with competence. Children are protected from harm because practitioners have an adequate understanding of child protection issues and know who to contact for support and advice. Effective arrangements for the collection and non-collection of children help to ensure children are safeguarded from harm, although actual practice is not always reflected in the written procedures.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children arrive happily to nursery and separate from their parents and carers with confidence. They enjoy opportunities to make their own choices about their play from the selection practitioners make available. Younger children are secure and become increasingly independent, for example as they change their shoes for outside play and attempt to tie their painting aprons. They become skilful communicators expressing themselves well in their play and enjoy snuggling up with practitioners to share stories. Children use their imagination in situations such as role-play in the hairdresser salon and experience a range of different media and materials. However, opportunities for them to express themselves freely and be independent in art and craft activities are more limited because these are adult led and prescriptive. Children become competent learners as they build towers from bricks and learn to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

use knives when making their sandwiches. They are confident and benefit from working with older children developing good relationships with their peers. However, practitioners plan activities and experiences at the same level for all children and as a result younger children are not always fully involved and effectively supported. The routine of the session and the deployment of staff means that although children are initially involved in the activity, for example French lessons and circle time at registration, they frequently lose interest, are not fully engrossed and become fidgety, which impacts on their behaviour. Nursery education

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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 The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children enjoy their time at nursery and are interested in what they are doing. They take initiative when engaging in their self-chosen play for the first part of the session and express their real and imagined ideas through play. Children build models from construction equipment and suggest that these represent the London Eye, drawing on their own experiences. They delight in expressing their imagination as they pretend to wash the practitioner’s hair, place rollers in it and use the hair dryer to imitate what they know about the role of a hairdresser. Children are well supported by practitioners, for example as they are introduced to new vocabulary and practise early reading and writing skills as they make telephone appointments and write times and customers' names in the diary.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Their knowledge of sounds and letters is re-enforced through the recognition of their names at snack and lunch times and in discussion about the weather, day and month. They are introduced to a different letter each week and identify items that start with the same sound. Children are interested in numbers and shapes and use good mathematical language, for example to compare the size of animals in the familiar story ‘Dear Zoo.’ Practitioners make use of children’s play to develop their understanding of weight as they explore fish in water and play with compare bears and scales. However, lack of questioning and extension of these discussions and activities means that insufficient challenge is provided to the more able children and they do not extend their learning further. Children confidently use the computer and show good skills in handling a range of tools including scissors, glue sticks and paintbrushes. They use a variety of media

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

and textures in creative activities, for example as they explore paint using vegetables, dough, clay, rice and water. However, daily craft activities are often uninspiring because they are prescriptive and there is too much direction from practitioners to achieve the end result. Consequently, children have few opportunities to freely access a range of media and materials and express their own ideas to explore creativity. Children learn about themselves and their families, shapes and colours, travel and transport through discussions and experiences linked to themed topics. They enjoy a range of activities and experiences that satisfactorily cover the areas of learning, for example they plant seeds and beans, cook, explore music and engage in physical activities such as ‘Sticky kids’ to learn how to move their bodies in different ways. However, the system for planning does not ensure that all children have opportunities

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

to participate in the full range of activities offered, which impacts on some aspects of their individual development. Children are generally well behaved although the structure of the session, grouping of children and deployment of staff does not always ensure that all children are fully involved and interested. This is often reflected in their behaviour as they become disruptive and noisy when they lose interest or are bored due to lack of challenge. Practitioners have an adequate knowledge and understanding of the foundation stage curriculum and make good use of some situations to talk to children encouraging them to relate their own experiences. However, they miss many opportunities to question children effectively and extend their learning building on

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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 what they know and can already do. Assessment of children’s progress and achievements is not fully developed. Children’s starting points are not assessed and information gained from assessment and practitioner’s knowledge of individual children is not used effectively to plan the next steps in their learning. As a result, although the level of challenge is sufficient to interest and support most children, the older and more able ones do not achieve their full potential because activities and experiences lack challenge.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children develop a strong sense of belonging and self assurance responding well to the continual praise and encouragement from practitioners. They are confident and show good self-esteem and younger children benefit because they learn from and are supported by the older children. They are sensitive to one another, for example children show concern when their peer falls off her chair and learn to take care of living things as they carefully take the spider they have found out into the garden. Children learn to take turns and share resources and most manage to play well together showing a good understanding of what is expected of them. Their behaviour is generally good, however on occasions the management of this is not always effective in helping children to fully understand their actions, which is mainly linked to the deployment of staff. Children learn about themselves and their families through nursery topics and talk

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Helping children make a positive contribution

about the different people in their lives comparing the various make up of families. They are helped to settle in and feel part of the group as photographs are displayed of them with their families and practitioners talk to them about their home life, which increases their sense of belonging. Children begin to learn about the wider world and a range of cultures through activities and discussions linked to a variety of festivals, although have less opportunity to learn about their local community and environment. They make Rangoli patterns using chalks and paints and clay lamps to help understand the festival of Diwali and try chapattis, rice and poppadoms at snack time. This positive approach fosters children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Children benefit because they are valued as individuals by practitioners who have a good knowledge of their home and family circumstances. All children are welcomed

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Helping children make a positive contribution

into the nursery and effective systems are in place to support children who have special needs or speak English as an additional language ensuring close liaison between practitioners, parents and outside agencies. Strong informal relationships between practitioners and parents help children to develop their sense of assurance within the group. Parents are informed about the nursery through information in the prospectus, regular letters and information displayed on the notice board. They value the informal, friendly approach of practitioners and feel confident to raise concerns, although there are no procedures in place to keep a written record of complaints and inform parents of the outcome. The partnership with parents is satisfactory. Parents receive written information about

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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 topics and activities through the newsletter. They talk to their child about the activities and experiences they have been involved in and support them by bringing in items from home. Children benefit from good informal discussion between practitioners and their parents ensuring they are well informed about their day. However, there are no systems in place for parents to share what they know about their child’s development on entry to the nursery or to be involved in the assessment of their child in any way. Opportunities are not available for parents to be informed about their child’s ongoing progress towards the early learning goals or to discuss their child’s next steps for development, which affects their ability to fully contribute to their child’s learning.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children benefit because practitioners work well as a team and are clear about their roles and responsibilities on a day to day basis. Good communication and team work ensures the nursery runs smoothly and outcomes for children are satisfactorily promoted. As a result, the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. Practitioners have a good understanding of the policies and procedures within the group and implement these effectively to promote children’s welfare, care and learning. However, some required written policies are not in place and procedures to ensure all documentation is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect actual practice are not implemented. The owner of the nursery ensures practitioners are suitable to work with children, although the procedures for the recruitment, appointment and induction of staff are informal. Ratios are adhered to, however the deployment of staff is not always

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Organisation

effective to ensure that maximum learning takes place and children’s safety is ensured whilst playing outside. Leadership and management are satisfactory and practitioners are well supported informally by the owner of the nursery. Meetings take place to discuss operational issues although less focus is placed on teaching and learning. Practitioners are encouraged to attend regular training opportunities and their performance is discussed annually through the implementation of an appraisal system. However, systems to monitor their daily teaching practice are insecure and as a result, many missed opportunities to extend children’s learning go unnoticed. The activities and experiences offered to children do not identify links to the stepping stones and some aspects of the curriculum are not featured regularly for all children due to the nature of the planning. Systems to ensure all aspects of the curriculum are covered and to

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Organisation

monitor and evaluate the impact this has on children’s individual progress are not fully developed, which impacts on children’s individual progress in various areas. Consequently, although children are extremely happy, well cared for and build very good relationships with practitioners, they do not all achieve their individual capabilities.

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Improvements 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

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since 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 satisfactory. The registered person meets 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 satisfactory.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • evaluate the routine and deployment of staff and the activities and experiences offered to children, particularly those under three years, to ensure they are fully included and actively involved in all aspects of the session • ensure children's safety whilst playing in the garden with particular reference to the deployment of staff and the raised paved area • introduce written procedures for the recruitment, appointment and the induction of new staff, arrangements for outings and the recording of complaints and ensure all policies and procedures are reviewed on a regular basis and reflect actual practice.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • improve the systems for planning and assessment to ensure observations of children's progress are used to provide sufficient challenges for all children • improve the systems to monitor and evaluate teaching, planning and the impact this has on children's individual progress in all aspects of the curriculum • increase opportunities for parents to share what they know about their child,

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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 contribute to their assessment records, and be informed about the next steps in their learning.

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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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