Apples & Pears Private Day Nursery

Banana OOS Club

Inspection report for early years provision

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Banana OOS Club

Unique Reference Number EY261050 Inspection date 11 May 2006 Inspector Sylvia Cornock

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Banana OOS Club

Setting Address Back Lane, Smallwood, Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 2UN

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Banana OOS Club

Telephone number 01477 500253 07709 657017 E-mail sevans253@aol.com Registered person W M Evans and Partners Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care, Out of School care

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Banana OOS Club

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?

The Banana Out of hours school Club opened in 2003 and the Apples and Pears Day Nursery opened in 2004. It is privately owned. The nursery and out of school club operate from their own separate buildings in the grounds of Pear Tree Farm, Smallwood. The nursery operates from four rooms and the out of school from two rooms. A maximum of 46 children may attend the nursery and 20 children the out of school club at any one time. The nursery and out of school club is open for 51 weeks

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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 of the year. The nursery from 07.30 to 18.30 and the out of school club before and after school during term time 07.30 to 09.00 and 15.00 to 18.30, and full days 07.30 to 18.30 during school holidays. All children share access to a secure outdoor play area. There are currently 147 children aged from birth to under eight years on roll. Of these 10 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery currently has no children with learning difficulties or disabilities, or who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 22 members of staff. Of these, eight of the staff, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications and four staff are working towards a qualification. The setting receives support from a Local Authority Early Years Consultant. They are

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

a member of Kids Club Network and are currently undertaking the Investors in People award.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a very healthy and hygienic environment. Staff are vigilant about children's safety and hygiene at all times and employ thorough procedures and routines to ensure all areas are clean and hygienic. Children are very well aware of the need to wash their hands before and after certain activities, such as after using the toilet or before meals. Staff complete these tasks for younger children. Children within the nursery are encouraged to think about keeping themselves healthy and safe through specific themes, such as 'People Who help Us'. Children within the nursery consider healthy eating as they look at foods from around the world and what is good for them. A detailed sick child policy and procedure ensures staff are alert to children who might be feeling unwell and that any necessary arrangements are made. Effective hygiene routines and procedures are employed by care staff

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Helping children to be healthy

ensuring children are healthy and kept free from infection at all times. Children's healthy eating is well promoted through the provision of healthy snacks and meals throughout the day. Meals are freshly cooked each day and offer the children a balanced diet. Children learn the importance of healthy eating through a range of activities, looking at the different healthy foods and foods in general from around the world. Good arrangements are made for children to access drinking water throughout the day promoting children's good health and overall development. Children's physical development is promoted well. Children have daily access to a range of physical play activities. Staff make use of the outdoor areas to provide a range of activities which enable children to develop their small and large skills extremely well. They develop their large physical skills for example, they climb, balance, travel over, under and through the large selection of apparatus or

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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 equipment. Children across the nursery are developing competent small physical skills through access to an extensive range of equipment and activities. Older children competently use scissors, a variety of craft materials when being creative, writing materials and a variety of construction equipment. Staff have an understanding of the Birth to three matters framework. This framework is being introduced to plan and carry out activities for this age range. Long, medium and short term plans are devised and involve the children in stimulating and suitable activities.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children's safety and welfare is promoted well because they are cared for in a well planned and organised environment which is conducive to their very good learning, development and enjoyment. Children are well cared for in rooms that are organised according to age, well set out and prepared prior to the children's arrival. However, in the baby room and toddler room there is no domestic style furniture to assist children in developing mobility or for staff to use when bottle feeding babies. This compromises children's development and safety. Children access a wide variety of activities and opportunities on a daily basis which are supported by good resources and equipment. The space is well used to provide the children with a range of different play experiences throughout the day. Rooms and available play space are suitable for use by the children attending. Children across the nursery and out of school club access a wide range of toys and

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

equipment which is continually built upon by the registered provider. These resources are well used to support a very good programme of themes and activities. Children are developing competent independence skills as they self-select toys and equipment from those on offer. Staff use the Birth to three matters framework to plan suitable activities for this age range. Children are able to explore and develop specific skills because staff give appropriate support and interaction. Children access toys and equipment which is checked regularly for safety and hygiene to ensure their safety at all times. Children are cared for within a safe and secure environment because there are good safety policies and procedures in place. Staff are diligent in their care of children and the provision of a safe environment through the use of suitable safety equipment, plans and procedures. Risk assessments are carried out on a regular basis on all

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

areas used by children, for example, a risk assessment completed for the visit from the mobile library van. This enhances children's safety. Children learn to keep themselves safe through discussion with staff and gentle reminders, for example, about the importance of not running in the rooms, using the stairs appropriately or being aware of others around them in the outside play areas. Staff give good consideration to children's safety and welfare. They have an awareness and understanding of the procedures to be followed regarding child protection and their role within this area; they are clear about who is the designated member of staff responsible for child protection issues. Staff are clear about the

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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 procedure they would follow in the event of a child being uncollected from the setting.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children achieve well as they access and benefit from a well presented range of planned activities and opportunities which promote their good learning, overall development and enjoyment. All children are offered very good opportunities which are planned by qualified and experienced staff. Staff understand the value of Birth to three matters framework and curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage and use these very effectively to provide quality care and education. Children enjoy themselves within a relaxed and friendly environment. Children across the whole provision enjoy well planned activities which are supported by good staff ratios. A wide range of resources are extremely well used to support activities covering a variety of play experiences, for example, as children use a variety of textured materials to develop their senses, they relax and have fun. All children arrive excited and happy and are greeted by staff who are encouraging,

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

inviting children's enjoyment and commitment. Staff communicate and interact well with all children and as a result children are actively engaged in purposeful and challenging activities and are becoming competent learners. Children under three benefit from activities provided by staff who clearly understand Birth to three matters framework. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children enjoy an extensive and varied range of stimulating and exciting activities and experiences. Children enjoy and are actively engaged in activities which support their learning and development across all areas of learning. All children arrive eager, motivated and excited to learn and try the new experiences offered to them. Children have extremely good relationships with one another and adults, with a well developed understanding of the need to share and take turns. Children show care and concern for each other, they

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

cooperate well and show respect for other children within their group. They have well developed independence skills as they are able to deal with personal tasks, put on and take off dressing up clothes, aprons and get themselves ready for outdoor play. Children are becoming confident communicators as they engage in conversations with one another and the adults who care for them. Children use an extensive vocabulary during their conversations describing what they did at home. They enjoy and listen well to stories read to them by staff, however, the presentation and limited resources of books does not encourage children to freely select and read books independently. Through good staff interaction, children are developing good language skills and are becoming skilful communicators. All adults working with the children respond well in response to children's questions and suggestions. Children's communication, language and literacy is given priority within pre-school.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident when using their mathematical vocabulary and skills in planned activities. They are able to use their understanding of shape and position during maths activity time as they paint their feet and compare the different sizes.

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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 are skilful as they count the stairs as they go outdoors and how many children are in the line. They are able to successfully add and subtract as they fill buckets with water and add how many and when one is empty how many are left. Staff actively encourage children to think and develop their mathematical skills. Children's mathematical skills are developed appropriately. Children engage in a range of themes and activities that help them to consider the wider world and the world they live in. They enjoy visits to the setting from the library van. Children enjoy using the various multi-cultural dressing up clothes and props and resources in their role play. However, the role play area is small and lacks a wider selection of resources to further develop children's interests and ideas.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children engage in activities that look at nature and they observe the environment around them. They show great excitement at seeing the cows and farm machinery from a safe distance, this creates lots of chatter between them; as one child explains that the farmer is going to do the silage, and the farmer waves from his tractor as he passes by. Children's small physical skills are well provided for with access to an extensive range of equipment. Children's manipulative skills are very well developed as they use writing materials and musical instruments. Children's imagination is developing extremely well through access to a wide range of creative resources. Activities are well planned by the room leaders, involving the children in a range of interesting activities across all areas of learning. The staff are motivated and committed to providing children with high quality activities and experiences. Long,

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

medium and short term plans engage the children in stimulating activities which enables them to make good progress in all areas of learning. Themes and activities are evaluated promptly and discussed with other pre-school staff. Children's development and progress is observed, monitored and recorded spontaneously and during focused activities. This information is used to formulate children's profiles, however, this is not used to identify the next steps for children's learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. All children have equal access to activities and opportunities offered. Children's equality of opportunity is given a very high priority across the whole provision. All children are included in the activities provided. Their individual needs and circumstances are well known and provided for by staff. Children within the nursery and out of school club are developing a very good understanding and awareness of their own environment and that of the wider world. This aspect of their learning is organised through various activities and good first hand experiences such as visitors to the setting. Children within the nursery and out of school are involved in thinking about others during activities and the consideration of 'People Who Help Us', where they enjoy visits from the library van and are able to select books. Children access a very wide range of resources which promotes their understanding of diversity very

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Helping children make a positive contribution

well. Children with special educational and specific needs are very well supported by staff

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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 across the nursery. Staff work closely with parents, carers and outside agencies ensuring that children are well cared for and receive support enabling them to participate fully in all activities. Staff have good opportunities to develop expertise, in particular areas enabling them to work more effectively with children with specific needs. Children's behaviour is very good because staff are very good role models, showing respect and consideration for children, each other, parents and carers. Children receive lots of positive praise and encouragement for their efforts, attempts and achievements, aiding the development of their self-confidence and self-esteem. Children are polite, share, take turns, cooperate with one another and show great patience with children with particular needs. Staff work together very well as a team

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Helping children make a positive contribution

and interact effectively with children joining in with their activities. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered appropriately. Partnership with parents and carers is good. Children benefit from the partnership with parents and carers. Children's development and achievements are celebrated and shared with their parents on a regular basis. Informal discussions upon collection of children, written records and individual meetings are used to keep parents and carers up to date with their child's progress and development. Parents have access to and receive plenty of good information about the setting. They are given all policies and procedures and information on the curriculum and six areas of learning. Themes and information are displayed on the notice board for parents to freely view. Parents spoken to were very positive and supportive of the provision and what it offers their children. An 'open door' policy and the introduction of 'parents reflection

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Helping children make a positive contribution

and comments sheets' helps the setting to provide an environment where parents comments matter. Pre-school children's development and achievements are recorded and shared with parents regularly.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Leadership and management is satisfactory. Children benefit from the leadership and management of the whole provision. The registered person and all staff work well together to ensure the provision of high quality care and education for all children. The registered person and senior staff undertake the regular monitoring of the provision looking at staff performance, training and development, activities and the curriculum. There are clear development plans for both staff and the provision as a whole. A clear recruitment and selection procedure is in place. Staff appointments are followed by a detailed induction which is conducted by a member of the staff team. Regular staff and senior staff meetings and yearly appraisals with all staff are conducted, ensuring staff are working in a consistent way across the provision and that training needs are met. The supervisor's in charge of the pre-school have

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Organisation

responsibility for coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the curriculum across the nursery. The supervisor of the out of school club has responsibility for devising the planning of activities for the school aged children. Necessary checks are completed

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 on staff as part of the recruitment procedure to ensure children's safety and welfare is observed. A ratio of qualified and experienced staff supports children's learning and development well. Staff are qualified and experienced in childcare, education and other areas. Staff are committed to and offered good opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge through various training courses. This has a positive impact on children's learning, development and welfare because staff keep abreast of new childcare initiatives. However, staff do not always monitor the arrival of children to ensure their parents sign them into the setting in the daily register. This means that some children are in attendance although not signed in. This compromises children's safety. Children enjoy a wide range of play experiences which are offered across well

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Organisation

organised play spaces maximising their play and learning opportunities. All legally required documentation which contributes to children’s health, safety and well-being is in place, is well maintained and regularly reviewed. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last inspection the registered person has introduced individual staff registers for each room which clearly show their times of arrival and departure. She has also introduced a system for keeping records of named drivers who transport children, which are stored confidentially within the office and has included in the child protection policy, the contact numbers for the local police and social services. These measures enhances children's safety and well-being.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There are no complaints to report. 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 AND 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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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): • provide domestic style furniture to assist children in developing mobility and to continue normal life experiences and to enable staff to hold babies whilst bottle feeding • review the system for registering children on a daily basis to ensure it is accurate at all times.

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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): • consider the use of the role play area to provide children with different resources to extend their experiences and imagination, and develop the presentation of the book area to capture children's interest • ensure that the observations recorded for individual children are used effectively to plan the next steps of learning.

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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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