Harbertonford Church of England Primary School

Dolphins Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 113462 Inspection date 30/06/2010 Inspector Daphne Prescott

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Setting address 73 Chesswood Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 2AB

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Telephone number 01903 537755 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

Dolphins Day Nursery is privately owned. It opened in 1987 and it operates from within a large, semi-detached property in Worthing, West Sussex. All children share access to a secure, enclosed, outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 54 children aged from six weeks to under eight years may attend the setting at any one time. There are currently 54 children on roll in the early years age group, children attend different times of the week. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 6:00pm for 52 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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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. The setting is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years. They employ 13 staff, 10 of the staff, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff is working towards an early years qualification.

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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 settled and make steady progress in their learning. Arrangements to ensure children's safety are mostly effective and their health is promoted well. The staff team work with other professionals and parents and carers to meet the individual needs of the children who attend. Overall, the setting has worked well to improve the quality of the service it provides since the last inspection and the provider of the setting is fully aware there is scope for further improvement. The management recognises they will continually have to evaluate and monitor the provision to further improve outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 contiune to develop the risk assessment to include everything that a child comes into contact with  provide opportunities which help children to learn to link sounds to letters  further develop the system to ensure that drinking water is accessiable at all times  continue to develop the processes of self-evaluation to encourage informed discussion with parents and children to help identify the setting’s strengths and priorities for development to continually improve the quality of provision for all children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded as staff understand their duty of care to protect children from harm. Staff have a sound understanding of child protection issues and procedures to follow if they have any concerns. Risk assessments have been undertaken for the areas of the setting. However, a risk assessment of the new equipment outside in the garden and the electrical fan used in the baby room has not been completed. To assess and ensure children are not exposed to unnecessary risks. Appropriate security measures are in place and staff are suitably deployed working with the children both in and outdoors to keep them safe. Other procedures help to protect children, for example, visitors are required to sign the record book on arrival and departure. Staff are suitably vetted and systems are in place to ensure that adults who are going through the vetting process are not left unsupervised with children.

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the early years provision

Staff engage warmly with parents, they discuss with the parents their child's starting points which enables staff to plan effectively for their individual needs. They keep parents informed of their children's achievements, well-being and development through daily chats and sharing their child's learning journal with them on a regular bases. Parents speak well of the nursery, in particular the relationships fostered between the staff, parents and children and how happy their children are in the setting. Equality and diversity is actively promoted because staff have a sound knowledge of each child's background and needs and help children understand the society they live in. The layout of the play rooms and outside areas enables all children to move around with ease as they help themselves to a suitable range of toys and resources. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language are well

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the early years provision

integrated into the setting. Staff obtain some key words from parents in their first language and use picture symbols to assist with communication skills. There are procedures in place to support children who attend another early years setting and for those moving on to primary school, which ensures continuity and consistency of care and learning and help children with their transition to school.

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the early years provision

Since the last inspection the provider has made changes to the setting. For example, they have re-organised areas so there is free movement between areas of play, enabling self-initiated play for the children. New low level storage units have been purchased to ensure activities and toys are independently accessed by the children. The setting has adequately addressed the actions and recommendations set at the last inspection. For example, they have re-organised the children's resources and snack times to ensure that they gain more learning opportunities. They now have clear systems in place for cleaning the nursery and to monitor children's sleep times. Furthermore, they have re-furbished the children's toilets and nappy changing areas. These developments improve the outcomes for children. The provider is still in the process of developing the outdoor area to provider more opportunities for children to extend their learning. They are

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the early years provision

also continuing to developing staff's knowledge and understanding of how to extend children's learning. Staff have attended in-service training with support from their Early Years Advisor teacher and there are plans in place to deliver This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 further training. The management is motivated to seek further improvement and they have begun with the whole staff team to evaluate their own practice. Ongoing reflection helps them to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the setting. However, arrangements are not yet fully in place to enable parents and children to contribute to the self-evaluation systems to ensure improvements are continuously made to improve outcomes for children.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy their time at the setting as they arrive happy and are eager to start their day. They show security when engaging with staff and express themselves confidently. Children generally behave well, make friends and are able to socialize as part of their group. Regular praise and encouragement help to promote children's self-esteem and positive disposition to each other. Children are generally progressing well towards the early learning goals in all six areas of learning. They take part in a range of both free play and adult-led activities to promote their learning and development both in and outdoors. Staff have a sound understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. There are clear procedures for assessing children and monitoring their progress. These records are used to identify next steps in learning for individual children and form the basis of their planning.

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and outcomes for children

Children are offered a suitable variety of activities and play opportunities. Babies explore their environment and show curiosity for their toys. They all partake in creative opportunities and treasure baskets offer sensory experiences as they touch and feel natural materials. Babies giggle and laugh as they shake glitter onto their paper, smiling as they make patterns with their fingers. They are happily walking around furniture to support their balance and increasing their physical skills as they crawl through the tunnel. Children are developing skills for the future as computers and interactive toys develop children's understanding of information, technology and communication. Babies have plenty of press button toys that they enjoy using as they get instant results such as flashing lights or musical responses. Children show understanding of the society in which they live and the wider world, which is promoted through the range of resources and the activities they

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and outcomes for children

participate in. They are using their imagination as they participate in make-believe play in the home corner. Generally children enjoy listening to stories, which helps promote children's language and literacy skills. They respond to some questions asked by the staff by joining in with the telling of the story, which they are familiar with. Children are beginning to write for a variety of purposes and low level storage units are clearly labelled and signs around the setting help children recognise letters and simple words. However, they are not encouraged to learn about sounds of letters during everyday activities. Children are confident communicators; they initiate conversations and verbalise their actions. They enjoy discussing and drawing pictures of things that they are going to do at school. Children gravitate to the water and corn flour trays outside in the garden, offering experiences for problem solving, reasoning and numeracy.

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and outcomes for children

Children are beginning to show an understanding about healthy lifestyles. They This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 follow appropriate personal hygiene routines such as washing their hands when necessary. Children are provided with a balanced diet for example, they enjoy helping themselves to jacket potatoes with ham, cheese and baked beans at lunch time. They generally have access to drinking water through-out the day. However, there are times in the morning where drinking water is not always readily available so that children can independently help themselves to ensure they do not get thirsty. Effective use is made of outdoor areas in order to offer children a further range of opportunities. Babies and older children have their own garden area where they are able to play safely with an appropriate range of equipment. Older children enjoy accessing outdoor equipment such as the slide, using a range of

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and outcomes for children

resources to build balancing beams and use the football to knock over the large skittles. Babies and younger children enjoy splashing around in the small paddling pool and running around in the fresh air. Children's awareness of their own safety is encouraged by gentle reminders from the staff to be careful as they play and move around. 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 3 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 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 3 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: 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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