Happitots Day Nursery

Happitots Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY315851 Inspection date 06/07/2010 Inspector Anne Jeanette Faithfull

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Setting address 1-3 Winnersh Grove, Reading Road, Winnersh, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 5EQ Telephone number 0118 9770811 Email happitots@completechildcare.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

Happitots registered in 2006 and is part of the chain of nurseries managed by Complete Childcare. It is situated in Wokingham and operates from a purpose built premises based in two buildings at the same site. Children have access to enclosed outdoor area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8.00am to 6.00pm for 50 weeks of the year and a variety of sessions are offered. The nursery also offers a breakfast club which operates from 8.00am to 8.50am and an after school club which operates from 3.15pm to 6.00pm, both are school term times only. A holiday club also operates 8.00am to 6.00pm school holidays only. A maximum of 10 children may attend any of the clubs at any one time.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is registered to care for a maximum of 83 children under eight years. There are 61 children up to the age of five years on roll. The nursery makes provision for children with special educational needs/or disabilities and for those who speak English as an additional language. There are 16 members of staff including the manager and the cook, 14 of the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives support from the Local Authority.

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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

All children are welcomed into a friendly and caring environment. Staff know the children well and ensure that every child is valued and included. Children are safe, happy, confident and settled. Staff provide children with a wide range of activities and experiences to help them make progress in their learning and development. The nursery has made good progress in recent months owing to the new manager and the majority of staff working closely together to evaluate the provision and identify areas for development. They have implemented many changes since the last inspection and are now well placed to maintain continuous improvement and development.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further all the outdoor areas to enable children to make independent choices between outdoor and indoor play to maximise their individual learning opportunities  ensure all staff consistently follow and embed the changes being made to further improve the outcomes for children  develop further the systems in place to gain information from parents to include children’s starting points and previous achievements in their learning and development. 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 kept safe by the vigilant staff who supervise them well. All staff have undergone the relevant checks to ensure they are suitable to work with children and there are robust procedures in place for the recruitment and induction of new staff. The majority of the staff at the setting have undertaken safeguarding training. As a result, the staff now have an effective understanding of their responsibilities to safeguard children and ensure they are up to date with procedures. In the event of concerns arising there is a clear policy and procedure to follow. The premises are very secure and no one can enter the buildings unless a member of staff opens the door to them. All visitors and work experience students visiting the nursery are requested to sign in and out. Staff complete risk assessment sheets in their rooms each day prior to the children arriving. Detailed risk assessments are carried out on other areas of the nursery and when outings

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the early years provision

take place. Any risk identified is immediately addressed, for example a recent risk assessment in one of the outdoor areas highlighted the climbing frame was not safe, so the garden is now not used by the children until the climbing frame has been made safe. Staff encourage children to think about their safety while they are playing and children regularly participate in the emergency evacuation procedure to ensure they are aware of the steps to take.

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the early years provision

Since the last inspection a new manager is in place who is totally committed to ensure the nursery continually develops and improves. Staff share her vision and work enthusiastically with her to make the changes required. However, not all staff consistently complete some of the new documentation in place. Staff readily comment on how much they enjoy working at the nursery and the support they receive from the manager. All staff have the opportunity to attend training and the annual appraisal system highlights areas for their future development. All children and their families are valued and respected and the uniqueness of each child is recognised. There are good systems in place for children who have English as an additional language, for example, staff obtain and learn familiar words in their home language. Children play with a range of good quality toys and resources. They can independently access most of the resources they wish to use. However,

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the early years provision

children are not able to independently choose when they wish to play indoors or outdoors even though the majority of the rooms used by children have direct access to an outdoor area. Some staff still put away all the toys and resources when children leave the room to go outside to play; this means children have to wait for other resources to be put out when they return.

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the early years provision

Parents are provided with a wide range of information about the setting via a welcome pack, prospectus and regular newsletters. They are kept well informed about their children's routines and the activities children have taken part in, via information displayed on notice boards, daily sheets for the younger children and through daily discussion with staff for the older children. Parents are able to give their views about the setting through questionnaires which are evaluated and acted on by management and staff. Many parents commented in their discussions and telephone calls with the inspector how pleased they are with the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 improvements the new manager and staff have made. They make many other positive comments including how friendly and approachable the staff are and how happy their children are to come to the nursery. Systems are in place to liaise with

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the early years provision

other settings the children attend and a teacher from the local school comes to the nursery to visit the children. However, owing to staff deployment some links with other settings are not yet fully established. The nursery’s self-evaluation processes have improved significantly over the recent months. New systems are in place including a staff questionnaire and all staff are now involved in highlighting areas for future development and improvement. The manager and staff have ensured all actions and recommendations from the last inspection have been addressed. All of these steps contribute to the on going development and continuous improvement of the nursery.

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and outcomes for children

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery and quickly settle. Staff effectively use their knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage to provide an environment where children learn through their play and a range of activities and experiences. Staff plan daily activities for the children based on themes in place and children’s own ideas, spontaneity and interests. They ensure all children are included and adapt activities and experiences if required to enable all children to participate. Staff record the regular observations they make on the children and these are linked to the early learning goals and used effectively to plan for the child’s next steps in learning. However, currently information from parents regarding their child’s starting points and achievements already made in their learning is not obtained. Children’s work is attractively displayed around the nursery for parents and visitors to see and this gives children a sense of belonging.

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and outcomes for children

Babies and younger children are beginning to form relationships with each other and older children readily greet the staff and their friends. Babies and younger readily approach staff for cuddles and enjoy snuggling up to staff as they listen to a story.

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and outcomes for children

Staff are very aware of how to extend children’s play and ask open-ended questions to enhance children’s early communication skills and they encourage the babies to make sounds by continually talking to them and reinforcing with facial gestures. Children enjoy participating in singing sessions where they choose to sing their favourite songs such as ‘old MacDonald'’ and they readily make the sounds of the different animals. Babies enjoy playing with musical instruments and shakers and show great delight when they make a noise. Staff effectively use everyday routines to encourage children’s mathematical skills such as, counting the cutlery and cups at mealtimes. Children use specialist areas such as the creative room where they freely paint and participate in a range of creative activities and use a range of media such as rice, cotton wool, flour, shaving foam and string. Children enjoy looking after the plants and vegetables they have planted and

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and outcomes for children

readily dig in the dirt using a range of equipment and resources. Staff sit alongside the younger children encouraging them to explore and feel the dirt. Children are beginning to be aware of nature as they look at an insect a member of staff had found and talk about the type of insect it could be. Staff effectively extend their This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 interest and suggest they go on an insect and bug hunt in the wild garden. They readily participate and look under the logs and in the trees for more insects and bugs.

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and outcomes for children

Children are beginning to be aware of safety issues when playing outside as staff allow them to experience challenge such as climbing a small tree but remind them to be careful and remind them only one child can climb at a time. Younger children crawl and move around their room independently as staff ensure there is free floor space and resources are readily available for them to reach. Children are well behaved. Staff encourage positive behaviour, as they are calm role models who manage behaviour appropriately. Children are aware to share and take turns when required and readily help to tidy up and help put the mats out for sleep time. Staff continually offer praise and encouragement and children are encouraged to talk about any disputes they have with each other and to begin to understand the effect their behaviour has on others. Children are reminded by gentle prompts from the staff to say please and thank you and to listen to others when required.

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and outcomes for children

Visits from people in the local community such as firemen give children the opportunity to learn about the roles and lives of others.

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and outcomes for children

Staff are very aware of health and hygiene issues. They have bottles of hand gel attached to them to use when required. The ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ posters displayed remind children of hygiene procedures to follow. Staff are very aware of sun protection and ensure children have sun cream applied and wear sun hats when playing outside. Children can access a drink when they require and staff ensure the water and cups are taken outside so children do not become de- hydrated in the hot weather. The nursery cook provides a range of nutritious home cooked food. Menus are displayed for parents to see and any diet requirements are catered for. Mealtimes are very sociable occasions with lots of chatter. Younger children are encouraged to begin to be independent and feed themselves with lots of encouragement and support from staff. Older children readily serve themselves and chat to the staff about the food they enjoy and help to prepare the tables for

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and outcomes for children

mealtimes. Children have many opportunities to be active and develop their physical skills, such as riding the bikes and using a range of outdoor equipment. 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 2 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 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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