Seashells Nursery

Sheerness Neighbourhood Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Sheerness Neighbourhood Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY297098 Inspection date 29 November 2005 Inspector Annie Williams

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Sheerness Neighbourhood Nursery

Setting Address Rose Street, Sheerness, Kent, ME12 1AW

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E-mail

Registered person Sheerness Children and Families Centre LTD 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?

Sheerness Neighbourhood Nursery is run by Sheerness Children and Families Centre Ltd. It opened in 2004 in a temporary building and moved to these permanent premises in 2005. It operates from six rooms in a purpose-built building. It is situated in the town of Sheerness, Kent. A maximum of 60 children may attend the nursery at any one time. There is also a breakfast club, an after school club and a holiday play-scheme. The nursery is open each weekday from 07.30 to 18.00 all year round.

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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 All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 45 children aged from 0 to under 8 years on roll, of these 11 children receive funding for nursery education. Children mostly come from the local area. The nursery has experience of supporting children with special educational needs. The nursery employs nine staff, of these six including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting receives support from the Local Authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children and babies learn about good hygiene practice through their routine, for example they wash their hands before meals and following the use of the toilet. Effective hygiene procedures used by staff such as wearing disposable gloves for nappy changes contribute towards preventing the spread of infection. As yet, a policy for not wearing outdoor shoes in the baby unit has not been developed. A clear sick child policy, staffs up to date first aid training and accurate medicine and accident records help staff to act in the best interest of children should they become ill or have an accident. However, not all parents’ permissions are in place regarding medical advice and treatment. Consequently, in the event of a serious accident or illness staff may not act according to parental wishes. Children are offered drinks as part of the routine to keep their body hydrated. They

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Helping children to be healthy

learn about healthy food through the range of meals of snacks cooked on the site. Children sit together for their meals. However, mealtimes do not sufficiently encourage children's social and independence skills, for example children do not serve themselves and are not able to choose how much they have on their plate. Adult support at meal times is a supervisory role rather than sitting with the children and making meal times a social occasion. All rooms within the nursery open onto the garden. Outside play is a popular feature of the routine and children run and play in the garden daily. However, there is no specific planning for outside play to ensure that children are getting the most out of the outside area. Outside toys for the out of school club children lack challenge. The lack of domestic furniture within the baby unit means that babies have insufficient opportunities to pull to stand and cruise around the room.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. The premises are safe and secure. Toys and equipment are safe because staff check them regularly. Older children attending the out of school club are familiar with the rules of how to keep safe in the setting, for example no running. Effective

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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 procedures for the arrival and collection of children, staffs knowledge and understanding of recommendations for sleeping babies and safe procedures for outings contribute to keeping children safe. Staff have a satisfactory knowledge of child protection issues. However, they lack knowledge of the procedures to follow in the event of allegations being made against a member of staff or volunteer. A fire evacuation plan is displayed and there are appropriate fire signs and equipment in place. Children and staff practise the fire drill regularly. As a result, children are familiar with the procedure to contribute to their safety should they need to evacuate the building.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. All children and babies are happy and settled at the nursery because staff are welcoming and friendly in their interactions towards them. Children take part in a range of activities. Children play happily together learning to share and take turns. Young children and babies enjoy snuggling up with members of staff and sharing books. They clearly enjoy singing and join in enthusiastically with actions and sounds. Babies and young children engaged in a range of messy activities such as wet pasta. However, many of the resources within the baby unit are bright plastic resources and do little to encourage babies to explore with their senses. Children attending the out of school club choose the activities when they arrive from school such as crafts and board games. The setting continues to add to the range of resources for the out of school club children. Staff have obtained the Birth to three matters framework and this is displayed in their

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

rooms. However, although the observation records are prepared, staff have not yet started to use the observations to plan using the framework. Consequently, on occasions planned activities are not appropriate for all the babies, for example cutting out pictures of toys. Nursery Education Teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff have a sound knowledge of the Foundation Stage. As a result, children are making satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals. Indoor planning is based on a theme and activities are chosen to match this. As a result, planning is not based on children's interests and their next steps in learning. Staff make some observations of the children but these are infrequent. Children are confident speakers in the nursery and readily speak to adults and their friends. They concentrate for appropriate amounts of time, for example as they listen to stories. Children's independence is promoted through allowing them to pour their

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

own drinks and visit the toilet. A system of independent self-selection in play is not fully established because staff have only recently re-organised the classroom to encourage this. Children receive opportunities to mark make and staff have recently introduced a writing area. However, writing has not yet been introduced as part of role-play to encourage children to write for a purpose. Many children count up to 10

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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 because counting is a regular feature of the session. They use mathematical language during play such as full, big and small. They explore space as they complete puzzles and empty and re-fill containers. They learn to recognise and name numbers, for example as they complete the calendar and open the advent calendar that they have made together. Activities such as bulb planting and making pumpkin lanterns help develop children's knowledge and understanding of the world. In addition children find out about the wider and local world through visits into the community such as to the library or shop. Children receive opportunities to develop small muscle skills through activities such as rolling and cutting dough, painting, threading and painting. Children explore a range of painting techniques such as printing. Although, the pre-cut templates reflect

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

staffs hard work they do not encourage children to use their imaginations in art and design. There is a range of resources for imaginative play but until recently they were poorly organised. As a result, children do not frequently visit the role-play area to engage in pretend play. Children enjoy singing and join in enthusiastically but because musical instruments are not attractively presented they do not often use them in their play.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children are happy and settled at the nursery because staff are kind and caring in their interactions. Children learn to take turns and share with their friends they also show care and concern for others, for example children show concern when a child falls over. Children are well behaved in response to staffs expectations. They are developing good levels of self-esteem because staff praise them. Children learn to take care of their environment as they tidy away. Visitors into the setting and very occasional outings into the local community help them gain an understanding of the wider world. All children are welcomed into the setting and their personal cultures are successfully acknowledged, for example parents complete an all about me sheet with personal details of their child to help the staff care for them. Children learn about different cultures through planned activities such as, Diwali, when they made diva lamps and

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Helping children make a positive contribution

rangoli patterns. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Staff are able to describe appropriate systems to support children with special needs. However, the special educational needs co-ordinator has recently left and the lack of comprehensive assessments on the children means that there is no way of ensuring that the needs of children with special needs are met. In addition not all staff are familiar with how to support children who speak English as an additional language. Partnership with parents is satisfactory. Parents are greeted warmly by staff and receive basic information about their child's routine. The setting has displays that include areas of learning around the nursery and parents receive a daily tick sheet about resources their child has used. However, as some staff have left, some parents are not always sure who to ask about their child's progress. Parents receive little

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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 written information about the educational programme. Plans are intended to inform parents of their children's progress towards the early learning goals through written documentation. As yet, there are no systems in place to enable parents to contribute to their children's records. Parents receive some information about the nursery on entry but policies are not readily available to parents as they are stored in the office.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The leadership and management of the setting is satisfactory. Staff are very positive and enthusiastic in their interactions with children. They are committed to developing the service that they provide. Staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage and how young children learn. Recruitment and selection difficulties means that staff have little planned time to meet together to plan covering the breadth of the Foundation Stage. In addition observations made of the children are infrequent and are not yet used to inform the planning based on children’s interests, what they already know and what they need to learn next. Consequently, staff are unable to readily identify children's progress and ensure that activities are appropriate for all children. The daily routine is balanced to include quiet times, snack time and active times. However, the clown fish room is not carefully prepared and organised. As a result,

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Organisation

children do not make full use of all areas to promote their learning for example, the role-play area. A newly appointed manager and teacher has begun to take steps to support staff through a system of appraisal but a rigorous system for reviewing, monitoring and evaluating the educational programme has not yet been fully established. Therefore, staff have not yet identified all strengths and weaknesses. In addition, because of recent changes, staffs training needs have not been fully addressed such as their request for training in Birth to three matters. Records required for the safe and efficient management of the setting and to promote children’s welfare are maintained, but the manager intends to review all documentation as part of her role. Comprehensive recruitment procedures are in place, overseen by the board of trustees. This ensures that children are cared for by staff that are suitably checked and qualified. However, not all staff have received a

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Organisation

sufficient induction. As a result, they are unfamiliar with procedures such as child protection. Overall the provision meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since registration.

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Complaints 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 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): • improve staffs knowledge of procedures to follow should an allegation be made against a member of staff or volunteer and share these procedures with parents • obtain parents permission to seek emergency medical advice or treatment • ensure that all staff receive an induction in their first week of employment and that all documentation is reviewed and up dated • improve staffs knowledge and understanding of the Birth to three matters framework and establish systems to observe children's progress in their development.

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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): • establish systems for assessing regularly what children know, understand and can do, and use this when planning activities • develop rigorous systems to monitor the quality of the nursery education provision and evaluating it's impact • continue to improve the organisation of the clown fish room so that children are able to independently self-select and make full use of the range of resources available • ensure that the planning, including that for the outdoors area, covers the breadth of the Foundation Stage curriculum.

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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 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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