Ipswich Private Kindergarten Limited

Ipswich Private Kindergarten Limited

Inspection report for early years provision

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Ipswich Private Kindergarten Limited

Unique Reference Number 251762 Inspection date 27 January 2006 Inspector Deborah Kerry

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Ipswich Private Kindergarten Limited

Setting Address 901 Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 4NX

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Ipswich Private Kindergarten Limited

Telephone number 01473 406140 E-mail enquiries@ipk901.co.uk Registered person Ipswich Private Kindergarten Limited Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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Ipswich Private Kindergarten Limited

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 good. 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?

Ipswich Private Kindergarten operates from two adjacent buildings situated on the outskirts of Ipswich town centre in Suffolk. Ipswich Private Kindergarten serves the whole of Ipswich and the surrounding area. A maximum of 86 children may attend the setting at any one time. The Kindergarten opens five days a week for 51 weeks of the year excluding bank holidays. Opening times are from 08:00 to 18:00 with morning sessions from 08:00 to 13:00 and afternoon sessions from 13:00 to 18:00.

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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 124 children on roll. This includes 27 funded three year olds and 16 funded four year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The kindergarten employs eighteen staff. Sixteen staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. Two staff are currently working towards a recognised early years qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children have good opportunities to enjoy physical development because they have access to the outside play area each morning and afternoon, to run, jump and play. They have opportunities that challenge them to develop physical skills with access to bikes, scooter, sports equipment to promote their balance and co-ordination. The younger, less mobile children have their own outside play area and space inside to move around that is suited to their own stage and meets their individual needs. Younger children are becoming more independent and are acquiring more control over their bodies and learning to crawl, walk and run. All children have appropriate opportunities for rest and sleep to meet their needs. For example, babies have their individual cots, toddlers have their sleep mats or cushions. Funded children enjoy a wide range of physical activities that help them to develop their confidence and skills both when using large and small apparatus, tools and

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Helping children to be healthy

equipment. They are developing a positive attitude toward physical exercise and a growing awareness of how it can help them to stay healthy. Staff implement good hygiene procedures that ensures children stay healthy. For example, staff wash their hands before feeding babies, and when helping at meal and snack times. There are clear effective procedures in place that staff follow when changing nappies and supporting children with potty training that prevents the spread of infection. Children are developing a good understanding of personal hygiene through the daily routine. They are encouraged to wash hands after using the toilet and before eating. Staff give children good explanations as why this helps them to remain healthy. Children are well protected from infections as staff rigorously follow and apply appropriate health and hygiene procedures. Children can help themselves freely to drinks that are labelled with their names. This helps to prevent cross

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Helping children to be healthy

contamination, promotes their independence and enables them to meet their own needs. Children mostly have their health and dietary requirement met, For example, children's allergies and dietary needs are recorded and displayed in each room, along with weekly menus. Food is freshly prepared each day. However these don’t include sufficient fresh vegetables or fruit to promote children's healthy growth. Babies needs are appropriately met as separate vegetables and fruit are prepared for weaning babies and separate meals are also prepared that they are more

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Helping children to be healthy

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 appropriate, for example, they are less spicy. Children learn about healthy eating through topics and discussions on which foods they need to help them grow strong.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The rooms are set out with resources and equipment that allows children to move around safely and freely. These are all suited to ages of children in the rooms and are regularly rotated to ensure variety and to enhance children learning and development. There are separate, secure enclosed outside play areas for the different age groups, that promotes children safety and welfare. Each area has its own toilets and nappy changing facilities, so that older children can access them independently and safely. The kindergarten has a designated health and safety officer for checking all resources and equipment are safe for children to access and protects them from potential hazards. Activities are planned using these age appropriate resources. The kindergarten staff carry out risk assessment on all areas, resources and equipment in the setting, to ensure that children's safety is maintained. Staff ensure

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

fire drills are carried out periodically, recorded and the fire alarms tested each week to ensure children's safety is promoted. The setting operates an effective key code/staff entry system. CCTV cameras monitor access to the provision ensuring the safety of all users of the kindergarten and helps to protect children from unknown adults accessing the premises. There are clear, effective procedures in place on child protection and all staff have a good understanding of the step to take if they have concerns for the welfare of a child. Some staff have undergone training in child protection and others are able to access training to update their knowledge in child protection, ensuring children's welfare is promoted.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. There is a variety of resources and activities planned through out the setting, that meets children's individual needs and are suited to their age and stage of development. Staff looking after children aged under three have started to implementing ideas and activities from the 'Birth to three matters' framework, to ensure that this age groups needs are planned for. Babies and younger children are encouraged to become verbal as they start to babble and begin to use appropriate language to communicate their needs. All children enjoy and share stories songs and rhymes. There is lots of interaction between staff and children in all rooms, which enables children to become relaxed and settled with the staff caring for them. All children are given lots of praise and encouragement throughout the setting that is appropriate to their age or stage of development. Staff use positive language, they

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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 listen and value what the children say and have high expectations of what they can achieve. Children have an interesting range of activities that help them to develop their curiosity as learners. Nursery Education. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. The staff are working with their advisory teacher to develop their understanding of the Foundation Stage. As yet, this is not being implemented effectively for children to have balance in their learning across all areas. The newly introduced adult focused activity shows some links to the intended learning, however this is not related to the stepping stones. The learning in everyday routines and activities is not clear; as a result activities do not sufficiently challenge children or help them to progress through

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

the stepping stones. There are good relationships between staff and the children. The children are given free choice as to what they want to do, but are limited only to the activities that are already out, they do not self select additional resources from cupboards or shelves. The staff have appropriate open ended questioning skills, when working with the children, that are adapted to the ages and abilities of the children participating. However this is not always fully effective as staff are not clear of the purpose of the activity. Staff make some observations and assessments on children, however these are not completed regularly and are ineffective as planning is not be linked to what the children have achieved. Staff lack knowledge of children's starting point; this then impacts on children's progress. Circle time provides opportunities for children to build their confidence and self esteem as they stand up in front of the group and speak, children are learning how

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

work and play well together. Children know what is expected of them, as they know that only four children can be in the role play area at a time. Children's independence is being developed as they able to use the toilet and wash their own hands. Children chat freely with each other during activities, they enjoy listening to stories and staff engage children in discussions afterwards that helps to extend their learning. Children are able find their own name at snack time and through concentrating on a different letter of the alphabet each month children develop their knowledge on linking sounds and letters. The more able children are supported with 'first reading books' which helps them to begin develop their understanding of reading, and all children are encouraged to write their own names on their work or write in their topic books on their 'favourite things'. However, children's free access to tools and resources for mark making is limited.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children develop their understanding of number at circle time as they discuss the day, date and also the number for that month. Children learn to count through playing games, as they throw the dice and then move the corresponding number of places. However, there are missed opportunities for calculating around everyday practical activities. The days weather is also discussed at circle time and during water play children are able to explore and experiment with items that sink or float. The different themes in the role play area, help children to develop their understanding of technology as they are able to access telephone and tills, but they have limited access to the computer that is available.

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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 Children have regular access to the outside area, with a variety of equipment to promote their physical skills. Children are able to move and stop when using bikes, scooters, space hoppers. Discussions on what food is needed for strength at snack time and children putting their own coats on for outside play helps to develop their understanding on health and bodily awareness. The use of feathers and wood, printing with bricks-linked the theme and play dough provide children with a variety of different media and materials in their craft activities. Children's access to free craft resources is limited to set activities which impacts on their imagination and creativity. Children's sense of rhythm and sound is developed through songs, action rhymes and listening to story tapes with different back ground music.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Resources, activities and plans show diversity and different world festivals celebrated, that reflects our multicultural society as children learn about other beliefs and traditions. The kindergarten supports several children, where English is an additional language and staff discuss key words in the child's home language for support from parents, to enable their needs to be met and to help them settle and feel more secure. The kindergarten has a member of staff who is under taking training in special educational needs to be able to support and promote children with additional needs in their progress and development. Staff's positive teaching strategy provides an inclusive and supportive practice that ensures that children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is appropriately fostered and they are learning respect for others. There are clear strategies for behaviour management, that are understood and

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Helping children make a positive contribution

applied consistently by staff. The rules for the older children are clearly explained and they are given gentle reminders before going off to play, for example, on how many children can play safely at the sand and water trays. Staff use a sand timer when outside, that develops children to develop their understanding of sharing and turn taking when using large equipment. Children's individual needs are promoted as staff ask parents to provide care plans, a daily routine to follow and to ensure that any comforters are to hand to help settle and give reassurance to new children. For the younger children, a daily diary is completed to keep parents up to date with what they have been doing whilst in the care of staff. The notice boards in each room display the daily routine and daily menus and gives parents information on all policies, procedures and keeps them informed on what their children will be doing throughout the day for each age group.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The kindergarten has not yet implemented a log, for recording any complaints received and what action they have taken, that is available for parents to see. Partnership with parents and carers is satisfactory. All parents and children are greeted warmly on arrival. The notice board in foyer gives information to parents on the Foundation Stage and there is a video available for parents to gain an understanding of the six areas of learning when their child starts funded education. Parents are provided with written four monthly reports and

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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 regular feedback at end of each session on their children's progress. Parents are able to be involved in their children's education, through letters home on items to support topics covered and items for junk modelling. More able children with first reading books and numbers flash cards are sent home to be shared with their parents.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. There are 18 staff that have been checked and are suitable to work with children, 15 of these are qualified to level three in childcare. Staff are able to access additional training that is suited to children's needs. For example, staff attended 'Birth to three matters' training to ensure that planning of activities meets the needs of the younger children that attend. The majority of staff have been working at the kindergarten for a long time, which has enabled them to gain experience and a thorough understanding of child development. The deployment of staff in each room ensures there are sufficient staff working directly with the children and the managers are able to cover for staff sickness. There are clear effective procedures for induction of new staff, that ensures they are aware of their roles and responsibilities within the setting. Registers are kept up to date and

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Organisation

parents are asked to sign their children out on collection, so that staff know who is present in the building at all times. Documentation is mostly up to date and in place. Leadership and management is satisfactory. The managers work alongside staff on occasions, this enables them to observe practice and ensure that the standards are maintained. The kindergarten has clear aim for children's learning but this is not always monitored effectively. Staff work well as a team and there are regular staff meeting that promotes good communication between staff. Room leaders also have regular meetings with management and issues discussed are passed on the other staff on any changes to the provisions procedures to ensure children's needs are met. Staff are eager to attend further training to improve their understanding and practice in early years education and to enable them to help all children achieve well. The impact on activities completed is

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Organisation

not always appropriately evaluated, to ensure that the learning outcome has been achieved. Overall the needs of children are being met

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the kindergarten were asked to develop procedures for if a child becomes lost and to ensure that the staff observe the hygiene policy, with regard to changing nappies at all times. In nursery education they were asked to develop the planning to show clear learning intentions and sufficient evaluation of activities and for children to engage in mark making for a purpose and to be able to self select from a variety of 'writing' implements and tools on a regular basis, and for the book corner

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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 to be made more appealing to children. There is now a written policy in place, on procedures for staff to follow if a child became lost and all the staff follow good hygiene procedures when changing nappies in all areas of the setting. This contributes to the children being cared for in a safe environment. Due to recent staff changes the planning is still being developed and learning intentions are not always clear. The adult focused activity is evaluated, but not sufficiently to ensure that the learning outcomes have been achieved. Free access to a variety of writing implements, so that children can easily self select resources as part of their play and activities is still limited. Cushions have been placed in the book corner to provide children with a soft area to sit when looking at books. Therefore the

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Improvements since the last inspection

activities do not always challenge and extend the children.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There are no complaints to report since the last inspection. 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 good. 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): • develop daily menus so children are provided with healthy options, of more fresh fruit and vegetables, to promote their health • develop a complaints log that is shared with parents.

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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):

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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 • develop the staff’s knowledge and understanding on the Foundation Stage and the stepping stones to enable them to plan appropriate activities that enable children to learn through play and their everyday activities and routines • develop children's assessment, so they are clearly linked to the stepping stones, are based on regular observations on children, use children's starting points and show children's next step in their learning • continue to develop the evaluation of the adult focussed activity, to show how this is adapted for children's differing abilities and ensure that the learning outcome is met and that they are linked to the stepping stones. • develop the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of nursery education to ensure that successful teaching strategies are adopted by staff.

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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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