Hunnitots Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 11/12/2003 Inspector Name Hazel Meadows

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Hunnitots Day Nursery Setting Address Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust Heath Road Ipswich Suffolk IP4 5PD

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Hunnitots Day Nursery Address Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust Heath Road Ipswich Suffolk IP4 5PD

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ORGANISATION 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

Hunnitots Day Nursery opened in 1991. It operates from a large, converted portacabin with a purpose built extension, which is situated in the grounds of Ipswich Hospital. The nursery primarily serves employees at the hospital, plus other local health authority staff as places permit. The nursery is registered to receive 138 children aged from 4 months to 5 years. The registration includes a 20 place holiday club for children in full time education. Children attending the nursery are split into four rooms: 4 - 18 months, 18 months - 2 1/2yrs, 2 1/2yrs - 3 1/2yrs, and 3 1/2 yrs to 5 yrs. Each of the age groups is directly managed by it's own room leader and senior nursery nurse. The Nursery Manager has responsibility for the overall management of the nursery and is trained to NVQ Level 4. Overall, forty four staff work with the children. More than half the staff have recognised early years qualifications to NVQ level 3 and a quarter are currently NVQ

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Information about the setting

Level 2 and working towards Level 3. There are currently 260 children from 4 months to 5 years on roll. This includes 27 funded three year olds and 7 funded four year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting supports children with special educational needs, and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery opens five days a week all year round, closing for just one week at Christmas. It is open from 07:00 to 19:00 with children attending at varying times. The setting receives some support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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How good is the Day Care?

Hunnitots Day Nursery provides good quality care for children aged from four months to eight years.

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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 The staff are professional, caring and approachable. All are well qualified and experienced and update their training regularly. They work well in their teams to support one another and are competent and enthusiastic with the children. Documentation is thorough and well kept and all necessary policies and written procedures are in place, with just minor additions required. A broad range of activities and good quality toys and equipment are provided throughout the nursery. A room leader and senior nursery nurse have responsibility for the day-to-day management and activities in their respective rooms. The approach varies in each room according to the age and stage of development of the children. Hunnibabes have access to two rooms and staff utilise them to effectively provide

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How good is the Day Care?

'quieter' activities in one area, whilst 'messy' and active play and meal times take place in the other. The staff are caring and attentive to the babies and offer them much one-to-one interaction and support. Hunnitots have a large room which they have effectively alcoved into defined areas for a variety of activities such as art and craft, book corner, home corner and sleeping area. Children are encouraged to investigate and explore and to grow in competence and independence. Hunnibees make good use of their room to provide a stimulating play and learning environment with a designated area for quieter or group activities. Children are encouraged to continue grow in independence and to develop self-control and consideration towards others. Busybees children are confident, competent and keen to learn. Staff are endeavouring to utilise the space available to them but need to consider ways of presenting the resources more attractively and using defined areas more effectively

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How good is the Day Care?

and creatively. *** This section continued below

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What has improved since the last inspection?

N/A ***Continuation of How Good is the Daycare: The Holiday Club children are confident, sociable and relaxed. Staff offer them a broad variety of planned activities and children are also given the freedom to initiate their own play, games and activities. Each room now has its own mini-kitchen area enabling staff to prepare snacks without leaving the room. All staff have good practice and awareness of health and safety issues. Good hygiene practice is routinely observed by staff. Security at the group is very good

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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 with effective systems in place to safeguard the children. Staff are well deployed to ensure children's safety at all times. Staff know the children well as individuals and are caring and attentive towards them. Staff have a good awareness of child protection issues, however, the child protection policy does not include the procedure to be followed if allegations are made against staff.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Good relationships are established with parents and staff work in partnership with them to promote the welfare of the children. Information regarding each child is shared verbally with parents by the child's key-worker on a daily basis. Written daily diaries and record sheets also offer parents an outline of the child's day. Parents are also offered newsletters and have opportunity to talk privately about their child at Hunniparents evenings. They can also be involved in Hunniparents meetings to discuss general issues at the nursery.

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What is being done well?

• Staff take positive steps to ensure the children's health and safety at the nursery. The premises are kept secure with a key pad entry system on the main door. Children are signed in by their parents but staff also keep clear register in each room, ensuring that children are accounted for at all times. Risk assessments are undertaken in each room covering particular activities/outings. Good hygiene procedures are practiced at all times to promote children's health and welfare. • The quality and variety of food at the nursery is very good. Drinks are offered at regular intervals. Staff are careful to ensure dietary needs are complied with and good records are kept of what each child eats. Mealtimes are positive, social times. Children are given opportunity to learn to independently feed themselves through staff support and encouragement. • Positive behaviour is promoted by example and a calm and consistent

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What is being done well?

approach by the staff. There is a good behaviour policy which is effectively put into practice. The good staff to child ratio ensures children are well supported and are given clear explanations of acceptable boundaries of behaviour. Positive behaviour is acknowledged and praised. Staff know each of the children well, and are caring and attentive towards them, helping them to feel valued and secure. • The nursery works closely with parents to ensure the welfare of the children. Parents are kept well informed of their child's progress and events at the nursery, both through written information and verbal feedback from the child's key worker. The nursery is extremely flexible to accommodate parent's needs/hours of work. • Documentation at the group is very thorough and up to date, well maintained and well presented. Policies and procedures are clear and comprehensive, ensuring that all staff, students and parents are clear of how the nursery

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What is being done well?

operates. This aids the smooth and efficient running of the nursery to ensure quality of care for the children.

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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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What needs to be improved?

• the complaints policy needs to make parents aware of Regulator's details • the child protection policy needs to include procedures to be followed in the event of allegation made against a member of staff • confidentiality with regard to accident/incident record entries (number of entries per page) • curled rugs present a potential tripping hazard • the presentation and organisation of resources and space in the Busybees room • opportunities for children in the Busybees room to make their own choices and decisions and to be able to initiate their own play and learning

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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 3 ensure resources and space are well presented and organised to promote children’s creativity and independent learning (Busybees Room) 3 utilise opportunities as they arise and through planning, to enable children to make their own choices and decisions and to extend their thinking and learning (Busybees Room) 14 ensure the confidentiality of individual entries in the accident/incident record 14 ensure parents are aware of the Regulator’s contact details 14 ensure the child protection policy includes the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff

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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?

Hunnitots Day Nursery offers good quality provision which helps children make generally good progress toward the early learning goals. The quality of the teaching is generally good. Staff build trusting relationships with the children and are skilled at developing children's language. The staff encourage the children to use language to solve their problems, supporting children to get their needs met. The staff have a secure knowledge of the early learning goals and plan a range of interesting activities linked to a theme. Staff observe and assess the children daily and the recording of children's achievements is very good. Some resources are not easily accessible or on view to the children, therefore children have limited opportunities to initiate their own activities and to extend and consolidate their learning. Staff are aware of each child's ability, however do not always plan, or use the opportunities as they arise, to extend and challenge the

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How effective is the nursery education?

children's thinking. Resources are not presented in an inviting way to stimulate the children to want to use them and staff do not always encourage the children to care for the equipment. Leadership and management is good. Staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities and regular meetings ensure that all staff are involved and informed. Staff are supported by the managers and training opportunities are encouraged. Managers invite feedback from staff and parents, and are committed to providing a quality provision. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are welcomed and staff build good relationships with them. Parents are well informed of the early learning goals and receive both written and verbal feedback daily about their child's development.

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What is being done well?

• Relationships between the staff, children and their parents are very good, these help children develop confidence and support all aspects of learning. • Children are becoming confident communicators, the staff listen to them and encourage them to chat about their experiences and ask questions to help put their thoughts into words. • Children are developing good investigation and observation skills using their senses. They participate in activities such as recording voices, smelling, cooking and exploring materials such as soil and bark. • An excellent outdoor area provides children with opportunities to run about, move confidently with increasing control and coordination, and to have fresh air and exercise daily.

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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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What needs to be improved?

• Opportunities for children to access resources for creative development and initiate play. • The presentation of areas such as the book corner and home corner to invite children. • The planning and utilising of opportunities that arise to challenge and extend the children's learning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The provision of resources which reflect and provide positive images of a variety of cultures, however, resources were bought but were not all evident in the room, or displayed to invite children to use them.

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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: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in Personal, social and emotional development. Children are forming good relationships with each other and the staff, initiating interactions with familiar and unfamiliar people. Children are beginning to contribute to their own self control, developing strategies to enable them to get their own needs met. Children confidently initiate games, encouraging others to take turns.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in communication, language and literacy. Speaking and listening skills are well fostered; children are encouraged to chat about their experiences and asked questions to help put thoughts into words. Children are developing to ascribe marks to meanings, they are attempting to write for a variety of purposes, including cards and letters. Children handle and enjoy a books, they are aware of how books 'work' and role play reading them to each other.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in mathematical development. Children are confidently using number, they count to ten and older children can recognise numbers, this is reinforced through the advent calendar and dice games. Assessments show that children understand mathematical concepts such as weight and measure and are able to problem solve. Teaching opportunities in the use of simple calculation and problem solving are often missed during children's play.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in this area. Children are developing investigation and observation skills using their senses. They participate in many activities recording voices, tasting and cooking activities. Children are introduced to different objects and materials to explore and investigate; valuable learning takes place when children use the soil and bark outside. Both computers were broken and therefore the children were unable to use them.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in physical development. An excellent outdoor area provides the children with opportunities to run about, move confidently with increasing control, and have fresh air and daily exercise. Children handle tools such as scissors and brushes with increasing skill and there are opportunities for more complex hand-eye coordination in the game 'Buzzoff'. Teaching opportunities for children to observe how their bodies work were missed at outside play time.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

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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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children make generally good progress in Creative development. Children have the opportunities, through topic work, to play and make musical instruments, and to listen to a range of music. Children are playing with, and alongside each other, in role-play situations, developing their imagination. Children's access to materials and resources for creative play are limited during free play sessions therefore there is little time for the children to develop and extend their creativity.

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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 good quality overall. Children are making generally 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: THE KEY ISSUES

• Opportunities for children to access resources for creative development and initiate play. • The presentation of areas such as the book corner and home corner to invite children. • The planning and utilising of opportunities that arise to challenge and extend the children's learning.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

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: THE KEY ISSUES

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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