Flying Start Day Nursery and Pre-School

Abbeywood Tots Day Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

Abbeywood Tots Day Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY290271 Inspection date 08 February 2006 Inspector Carol Cox

p.1

Abbeywood Tots Day Nursery

Setting Address College Way, off Filton Avenue, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7AT

p.1

E-mail

Registered person Amanda Fry, Ian Fry and Michael Williams Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care, Crèche

p.1

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

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.2

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.

p.2

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Abbeywood Tots was established as a private day nursery in 1997. It is now one of three nurseries in a group and was previously based in the south site campus of Filton College, Bristol. In August 2004 the nursery was relocated to its current position in a new three storey, purpose built brick building, on the edge of Filton College south site campus. Many of the children attending the nursery have parents who work at the college or

p.2

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 are students, whilst others live locally. The children are from a range a backgrounds. The nursery can support children with special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is open Monday to Friday, all year and sessions are from 07:00 hours to 19:00 hours. In addition to nursery provision, it also offers before and after school provision and holiday play schemes for children of school age. On occasions the nursery operate a crèche to tie in with specific courses being offered at the college. Overnight care is offered on a fortnightly basis on a Friday, to children who attend the nursery. There are currently 77 children under the age of 8 years on roll. Of these 31 children receive funding for nursery education. Children over 2 years are located on the

p.2

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

ground floor, babies and younger children on the first floor. The second floor is used to provide out of school care, crèche facilities and over night care. There is a secure outdoor play space to which children have access on a rota basis. The nursery employs 22 staff. Nineteen staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. Three staff are working towards a qualification.

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children thrive in an environment where staff have a good knowledge of how to effectively promote health for babies and young children. All children have regular opportunities to play freely in fresh air in the small but well equipped outside play area, staff provide mats for babies to crawl on outside. Children demonstrate developing physical skills in climbing and sliding on the well constructed play castle, they pedal ride on toys and older children expertly manoeuvre and make pathways around others. Babies enjoy regular rest and sleep times in line with their home routines. Older children attending the after school club and holiday play scheme benefit from a range of activities designed to promote their health and physical needs. Staff in the baby unit work closely with parents to identify individual needs and provide consistent care in line with home routines. Babies enjoy comfortable and

p.3

Helping children to be healthy

attractive surroundings in which to play, sleep and eat. All the children show great enthusiasm for the freshly prepared and nutritious snacks and meals which are cooked on the premises. Children's individual dietary needs are identified in discussion with parents and the menus are displayed each week. Children learn about their bodies and health needs through topics such as 'healthy eating' week and visits from nurses and the dental hygienist. Children's health is protected through a comprehensive exclusion policy which minimises spread of infection and clear records of all children's health needs. There are effective policies and procedures in place to care for children who become ill and staff ensure they have contact numbers for emergency situations. All medication

p.3

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 administered and accidents are properly recorded and shared with parents in a confidential manner.

p.3

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Conscientious staff work hard to make sure all babies and children are free to enjoy a safe and secure nursery. There are stringent procedures in place to ensure that unauthorised people do not have contact with children and only those nominated by parents are allowed to collect children. The premises are attractively decorated and offer children a warm and friendly environment where they can move about safely and freely. Babies and young children enjoy choosing and playing with a good range of toys and resources which are appropriate to their ages and stages of development and which effectively stimulate their learning. Staff are vigilant in checking rooms, toys and equipment to make sure all are safe for children to use. All rooms are warm and well ventilated and staff work hard to ensure that all children are able to enjoy playing outside in the enclosed garden. Children's personal safety is closely attended to and staff have a good understanding

p.4

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

of how to implement clear child protection policies. Staff have recently attended training in child protection and contact details for local social services departments are kept at hand to facilitate staff obtaining advice and support if needed.

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Babies and children make generally good progress and show enthusiasm for learning and exploring. There are high adult to child ratios which mean that children are very well supported, for example, in a music session five adults supported six babies who were each able to join in and play an instrument. Babies and children are able to choose toys from well organised and accessible boxes, thus they begin to make choices at an early age. Staff adapt and support activities to include all children, for example young toddlers enthusiastically crush rice krispies to stir into chocolate to make cakes. Adults have warm relationships with children and spend time talking and listening to them which gives children confidence and self esteem to approach new experiences positively. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff have a knowledge of the foundation stage curriculum and plan activities to offer children a broad range of

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

interesting activities which cover all areas of learning. Children are making sound progress towards the early learning goals. Their learning is monitored through observations which are recorded on individual profiles, however observations are not made regularly and are not used to identify and plan for what children need to learn next. Consequently, children's individual learning needs are not always fully

p.4

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 recognised or supported in daily activities and child initiated play. For example, in an adult led craft activity more able children were not offered tools and equipment to extend their learning, although younger and less able children did benefit from the opportunity to practise their fine motor skills. Children eagerly and competently practise writing and mathematical skills in planned and child initiated activities such as playing games and fitting shapes in puzzles. However, children are not routinely encouraged to write their own names on work and their own writing is not used to label displays. Children enjoy regular opportunities to independently develop their physical skills through outdoor play with large and small equipment. They demonstrate good skills when pedalling wheeled toys, climbing, sliding and using a range of sports

p.4

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

equipment. They learn about other people's lives through visitors speaking about their jobs and through walks and visits in the local community and celebrations of festivals from other cultures. .

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children and babies are happy and settle quickly to games and activities. They behave well and enjoy the praise given by staff. They learn to consider the needs of others through good role modelling by staff. For example, older children help support younger children in group times and listen to them when they join in group discussions. They are polite and friendly and enjoy getting to know new people. Children are confident of a positive reception by staff and are quick to ask for help and support, for example when they can't reach toys or need help at meal times. They enjoy reassurance and cuddles when needed and consequently most children settle very quickly. Children learn about other cultures through celebrating festivals from other religions. However, there are few resources or activities accessible to children to promote positive images of different people and their needs.

p.5

Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents enjoy regular written information about their children's progress and play an active role in guiding the nursery through the parents forum which meets every 4 months and offers practical help and suggestions. For example, the forum addressed the issue of children accessing fresh drinking water and suggested the provision of appropriate water fountains. The managers have acted on this suggestion and are awaiting their delivery. Partnerships with parents are good. Parents of funded children receive regular informal feedback about their children's progress and are given clear information about the foundation stage curriculum through written information and workshop sessions. The children's learning profiles are made available to parents, however staff are aware of the need to share more regular observations of children's progress and to try to involve parents more in their children's learning. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of children is fostered. Children

p.5

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 learn about the lives of others and begin to show concern for those younger than themselves. They enjoy celebrating festivals from their own and other cultures.

p.5

Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The nursery is well organised to promote effective care and learning for children in both the baby unit, the pre-school and the after school club and holiday play scheme. High staff ratios are maintained offering good opportunities for staff to respond to the needs of all children. The building is well organised to offer space for different activities, for example, the top floor has a large room which is used by all the children for physical exercises and a computer suite offering Information Technology facilities which are particularly enjoyed by the after school club children. All of the staff who work with children are appropriately qualified and are encouraged to attend on going training. There are regular staff meetings to discuss individual room needs and whole nursery issues. The managers hold annual staff appraisals to identify the performance and development needs of each member of staff, for

p.6

Organisation

example, senior staff attend management training. There are recruitment procedures in place but these do not yet meet new requirements to assess the suitability of staff to work with children. All new staff complete an induction programme and a probationary period of three months. The leadership and management of the nursery education is satisfactory. Staff are well qualified and committed to on going professional development. However, there is no clear system in place to evaluate learning activities, thus staff are not easily able to monitor the quality of the nursery education. The nursery meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the following recommendations were made to improve the quality of child care: to ensure that non-mobile babies have regular opportunities for outdoor activities; to expand the procedures to record accidents to bring in line with current guidelines and to maintain children's confidentiality. The staff now make sure babies enjoy regular walks in the local area and have purchased mats to allow babies to play in comfort and safety when outside in the garden. The accident records have been amended in line with guidelines and are shared with parents in complete confidentiality. At the last education inspection two key issues were raised. The nursery was asked to ensure that all early learning goals are covered over time, the planning for learning now clearly shows how each of the areas of learning are covered through topics. This key issue has clearly been addressed and children now enjoy a broad curriculum

p.6

Improvements since the last inspection

which bases learning on play activities. The second key issue was to incorporate evaluations of activities and assessments of children's progress to guide planning. This has not been satisfactorily addressed and remains as a recommendation from

p.6

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 the current inspection. The managers and senior leader in the preschool recognise the need to establish an effective way to monitor the quality of nursery education and are working to do so.

p.6

Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection in March 2005 Ofsted have received a number of concerns. In June 2005 concerns were raised that a child's needs were not adequately met. These relate to National Standards 10 (Special Needs) and 12 (Working with Parents and Carers).There was also a concern that the nursery had not met required adult: child ratios, relating to Standard 2 (Organisation). Ofsted asked the Registered Person to investigate these concerns. The nursery replied with a full enquiry. Ofsted took no further action and the nursery remained qualified for registration. In September 2005 concerns were raised under: Standard 3 (Care, Learning and Play) - there was a poor level of interaction and support from the staff which was leading to a lack of learning and development for the children; Standard 7 (Health) - inadequate nappy changing procedures and Standard 12 - (Working with Parents and Carers) - staff interaction with a parent.

p.7

Complaints since the last inspection

An unannounced visit took place on 12 October 2005 in order to assess these concerns. Following this visit, three actions were raised against the setting. The provider has taken action to address all the concerns and the nursery remains qualified for registration. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

p.7

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

p.7

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.

p.7

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

p.7

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):

p.7

The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • further develop resources and activities to promote positive images of different people, their lives, needs and beliefs • ensure that recruitment procedures meet the requirement to assess the suitability of staff to work with children

p.7

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): • continue to develop the system to record observations and assessments of children's learning and use these records to inform planning to ensure that appropriate support and challenge is provided for each child to make good progress. • devise a system to evaluate and monitor the quality of nursery education to ensure the learning needs of each child are identified and met

p.8

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

p.8

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

p.8