Brambly Hedge Private Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 02/09/2003 Inspector Name Tracy Ward

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name BRAMBLY HEDGE NURSERY Setting Address Three Lane Ends Business Centre Methley Road Castleford WF10 1PN

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education also identifies strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the early learning goals (elgs) by the end of the Foundation Stage. This inspection report must be made available to all parents. If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.

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Information about the setting

Brambly Hedge Private Day Nursery was founded in 1995 but has been operated under the current ownership since December 2000. It provides full and part time day care for children. The nursery has recently been extended and all accommodation is at ground floor level. There are four main care rooms for children with office, staff, laundry, kitchen and toilet facilities all in separate allocated rooms. A large fully enclosed grassed and safety tarmac play area is being developed to the rear of the premises and a small concreted play area is located to the front of the building. The nursery is situated on the outskirts of Castleford and serves the local community and parents working in the locality. There are 67 children on roll from 0 to 5 years. This includes 11 funded three year olds and one funded four year old. The nursery supports children with special educational needs (SEN) there are currently no

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Information about the setting

children attending for whom English is an additional language. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery is open 51 weeks a year with the exception of bank holidays and Christmas week; from 07:30 to 18:00 Monday to Friday. There are 20 staff working with the children 14 of whom hold appropriate childcare qualifications including the proprietor who is a qualified teacher with early years experience. The nursery is affiliated to the Pre School Learning Alliance (PLA) and presently undergoing their 'Aiming for Quality' award. They are also a neighbourhood nursery under the local Sure Start scheme and have regular support from the local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP). There have been significant changes to the accommodation since the last inspection.

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How good is the Day Care?

Brambly Hedge Private Day Nursery provides good quality care for children with some very good aspects. The proprietor has extended and refurbished the interior of the building to a very high standard and has resourced all areas of the setting with stimulating, good quality play materials and equipment. Rooms are extremely attractive and well organised. Clearly defined areas offer children many opportunities

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How good is the Day 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to self select and learn through play. A warm welcoming environment has been created in which children enjoy attending and are very happy and settled. Staff give high priority to children's health and safety and regular risk assessments ensure that potential risks are minimal. The management and staff team work very well together to manage children effectively, they are professional in their appearance and friendly; parents and visitors are made extremely welcome. Planning demonstrates that they provide an interesting and stimulating range of activities that build on children's natural curiosity as learners. Children under two are very well catered for by key staff, who know and understand the children's needs well. Older children are very effectively supported

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How good is the Day Care?

by good quality interaction and a broad range of activities, which support their learning. Their ideas are valued and they are encouraged to make their own decisions. Staff attend well to children's individual needs and are particularly good at the inclusion of children with special needs. Good behaviour is valued and encouraged which results in children interacting very well with each other. Warm and caring relationships were observed between children of all ages and staff. The nursery works very well in partnership with parents. Good relationships were observed. Parents are kept informed regarding all aspects of nursery life and their children's progress by a plethora of materials including displays, photographs, newsletters, verbal and written reports and individual achievement files.

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What is being done well?

• Provision of a broad range of good quality, stimulating resources and experiences that are presented to children in a very interesting and thoughtful way. • The commitment and enthusiasm of the management and staff in developing the environment and policies and procedures to ensure the smooth day to day running of the nursery. The provision of opportunities for staff to attend appropriate training. • The development of warm and trusting relationships with children and parents. • Provision for babies and children under two is very good. Staff give excellent attention to meeting babies needs for eating and sleeping. They regularly exchange information with parents. They plan activities well to provide babies and toddlers with interesting sensory experiences. • There is strong emphasis on consideration and caring for others. Children are encouraged to behave well and have a good sense of right and wrong. They

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What is being done well?

respond extremely well to staff's consistent, sensitive guidance and praise.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

The quality of care and teaching is of a very high standard. There is an excellent level of interaction with the children. Staff work to carefully planned themes and topics, particularly for children over two. They use good questioning techniques, encouraging children to talk about their play, learn new words and extend and investigate practical experiences. There are many examples of text in the environment to extend learning opportunities, for example labels with toys names, which have in some instances been written by the older children. Staff ensure that all children can participate in activities and plan them according to the age and stage of development of children in their care. This has a positive impact on children's attitudes to learning and focuses on building on what children can do and extending skills. Children are supported and stimulated well and are enthusiastic in wanting to participate with their peers.

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What needs to be improved?

• the arrangements for preventing cross contamination from flies and air borne insects when ventilating the kitchen

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 7 Improve the safety precautions to prevent cross contamination from flies and air borne insects when ventilating the kitchen.

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by the time of the next 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Children make very good progress overall towards the early learning goals particularly in the core areas of communication, language and literacy, mathematical and personal social and emotional development. They also make very good progress in knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development and good progress in physical development. The quality of teaching is very good and ensures that children are making progress confidently and move through the stepping stones with enthusiasm and enjoyment. Staffs interaction with children is excellent, they question children effectively encouraging them to think and talk about what they are doing this has a positive impact on the children's attitudes and motivation to learn. Staff are secure in their knowledge of the early learning goals and this is reflected in the excellent range of resources and first hand experiences presented to children. The quality of planning,

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How effective is the nursery education?

assessments and children's individual learning plans is very high and all are linked together to produce the nursery curriculum. Staff have realistic and consistent expectations for managing children's behaviour, which is very good. Leadership and management is very effective, the management team is motivated and enthusiastic and all staff take full advantage of the training opportunities presented to them. The management and staff are committed to the continued improvement of the care and education of their children. Partnerships with parents are excellent. Very good relationships have been developed and the nursery use a plethora of methods to give information including good quality photographic and information displays, newsletters, parents evenings, daily verbal exchanges, access to individual development files and written reports. This has a positive effect on children's learning and parental involvement.

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What is being done well?

• The quality of teaching has a very effective impact on children's learning. Staff ensure that a good range of activities offer appropriate challenges to children, teach them new skills and are available for children to continue to practice and refine skills learnt. • The accommodation and use of time and resources is very good. The very bright and stimulating environment combined with the presentation and organisation of freely accessible planned and continuous activities ensure that children's independence is encouraged and their natural curiosity to investigate and experiment is fostered to a high standard. • Communication language and literacy is strength of the group and excellent resources and displays are provided to engage and sustain children's interest. Children's communication, language and self-confidence is very

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 good. They confidently express themselves in small and large groups and one to one situations. Excellent resources and support is available for children to develop and refine early literacy and writing skills. • Children's personal social and emotional development is given high priority. Staff establish very good relationships with the children and respond readily and with enthusiasm to their needs and requests. Children are confident and secure in their environment and are making very good progress. • Partnerships with parents are very good. Good communication between staff and parents ensures they are fully informed about all aspects of the setting and the progress of their child. Many parents show good enthusiasm and

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What is being done well?

interest in how the nursery operates and what they can do to become involved in helping their child progress. • Children effectively learn to count, recognise shape, size, numerals and other mathematical concepts. They show very good progress in learning about basic addition and subtraction and solving and recording problems. Good levels of support and interesting resources promote this area well.

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What needs to be improved?

• opportunities for children to access large physical play equipment to develop and refine skills and to present challenges for three and four year olds in construction, balance and agility with large objects.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The accommodation and resources for children have been totally refurbished presenting a well organised and stimulating environment. The presentation and accessibility of resources and activities is now good. Children are able to develop their independence by freely moving and selecting activities in which they wish to participate. They organise many activities themselves and cooperate with others readily and eagerly. Activities are now planned and provided which encourage children to gain and use mathematical skills. Problem solving is developed through practical and incidental activities most three year olds and four year olds complete these tasks confidently. There is excellent support in partnership with a wide range of resources and displays to develop children's writing skills and formation of letters and letter sounds.

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What has improved 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have excellent personal and social skills. Behaviour is very good and they respond positively to staff and their peers they show consideration for others and the environment. Children are confident and independent this is promoted by sensitive support and easily accessible, interesting resources. Children express a range of feelings and opinions confidently and are eager to take part in activities. Older children take responsibility for their own tasks and work well as a team.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Three and four year old children's language is developing very well, they express imaginative thinking confidently and speak and listen in group situations. Children have excellent access to written text and tools to produce emergent writing, which they do so with increasing skill. More able children are recognising and sounding out letters of the alphabet. Children enjoy books and handle them appropriately. Four year old and more able threes are recalling and retelling simple stories.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children confidently use and recognise numbers and use practical activities such as water and games to solve mathematical problems and a basic understanding of addition and subtraction. Children are able to compare size, shape, measurement and pattern by using a wide range of resources. Most children count to 10 and beyond confidently. All three year olds count to 5. Children use mathematical language appropriately.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children make very good progress by accessing a wide and varied range of first hand experiences to explore and investigate. They develop a positive respect for their own and other cultures, nature and the environment. They talk confidently about themselves, their families and a range of visitors from the community. More able children use the computer and programmable toys well and all children use opportunities to build construct and join materials together with increasing skill.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move confidently and safely throughout the environment. They show an awareness of space and others and negotiate obstacles successfully for example, when using wheeled toys and playing outdoors. Children have good control over small equipment such as pencils scissors and small tools, however four and more able three year olds have insufficient challenges to refine skills for climbing, constructing and agility using large equipment. They gain good knowledge of keeping healthy.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children explore shape, colour, form and texture in two and three dimensions, making models, painting and designing collage for their own purpose and in planned activities. Older and more able children are very confident in expressing real and imagined experiences in role and home play. They enjoy music and song and respond purposefully when they join in with singing and story. Children use their senses well and positively respond to planned sensory activities such as, tasting baby food.

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Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable and is of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • increase children's opportunities and challenges in their physical development to enable them to balance, build, climb and construct with large pieces of equipment and resources.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents and to the Local Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection of funded nursery education.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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