Cliffe House Day Nursery Ltd

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 02/06/2004 Inspector Name Carol Eaman

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Cliffe House Day Nursery Setting Address Main Street Burley in Wharfedale LS29 7DG

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of 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 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

Cliffe House Day Nursery was registered in October 2002. It is situated in a converted church hall in the centre of Burley in Wharfedale and serves the local community. The nursery is privately owned and is part of a group of three nurseries. The setting opens from 07.45 to 18.15, Monday to Friday for 51 weeks per year. There are currently 110 children on roll. At present the nursery has 37 children aged 3 and 4 years. Of these, 17 are funded 3 year olds and 7 are funded 4 year olds. They are currently working with children identified as having special educational needs There are five members of staff working with the funded children over half of them hold appropriate childcare qualifications. The nursery receives teacher support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. The nursery is also working towards the Leeds 'Quality Assurance Scheme'

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Information about the setting

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Cliff House Day Nursery provides a welcoming environment where the children are happy, confident and settled and make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is generally good. Staff have a secure knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum and interact well with children. They provide stimulating activities in a bright, cheerful nursery which capture the children's interest and encourage their independence. Staff plan the education programme to cover six areas of learning but there are weaknesses in some aspects and too few resources to promote technology. A key worker system enables staff to track children's progress and plan for the next stage in their development. Appropriate attention is given to children's behaviour and there is good support for those with special or additional needs. Leadership and management are generally good. The owners and managers meet regularly to ensure smooth running of the nursery and all staff work together well.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Policies are reviewed jointly but senior staff do not always see weaknesses in the educational provision. Annual appraisals are in place and staff regularly attend and share training. The nursery's owners are committed to improvement and have ambitious plans for the outdoor area. The nursery is working towards Leeds 'Quality Assurance Scheme'. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are made very welcome and receive detailed information about the nursery. Their views are appreciated in forum meetings and they become involved in topics. They are well informed of their child's progress through the key worker system and parents evenings and are encouraged to contribute to assessment profiles. Parents have a high opinion of the nursery and staff.

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What is being done well?

• Children are confident and happy. They have established good relationships with each other and interact well with staff and other adults. • Staff give high priority to nurturing children's personal, social and emotional development. • Children explore a range of creative materials and are encouraged to experiment with colours and textures. • The partnership with parents is very good and parents are actively involved in their child's learning. • The commitment to improve standards is strong as the nursery pursues a quality assurance scheme.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities for children to learn correct letter formation and practise letter sounds • the resources to promote an understanding of information and communication technology • the children's awareness of what happens to their bodies when they are active.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are happy, settled and soon engage in familiar routines. They confidently share news or ask questions and others listen with interest. Children play well together as they share hand puppets or take turns on bikes. Their behaviour is good, they say 'sorry' or 'please' and 'thank you' at appropriate times and they learn good manners. Children select resources independently as they paint or complete jigsaws and they think of others such as the elderly at Harvest Festival time.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children speak confidently as they look at flash cards and interact in small groups. They listen attentively to stories such as 'The Wild Bears' and imaginatively predict what will happen next. Their vocabulary is increased as they learn about 'evacuees' and 'gas masks' from their current fascination with a World War II book. Children enjoy making marks outdoors and some older ones can write their name. Children do not always learn to form letters correctly or practise letter sounds.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children count during many routines such as register time and match 15 children to 15 duplo squares. They recognise the numerals 999 in their fire station and a three year old identifies 1-6 on a dice. Children subtract as they sing number songs and they confidently add one more candle on a playdough cake saying '3 and 1 is 4'. They compare the size of towers constructed outdoors and understand the idea of over or under. A four year old names a 'square', 'triangle' and 'star' as she plays.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children learn about living things such as lambs and chicks and they grow seeds and watch them change. They use tools and construction equipment imaginatively as they design phones and houses. Children find out about where they live and they thoroughly enjoy a visit from the police. They talk about past events such as the 'Great Fire of London' in a very knowledgeable way and they learn about many cultural traditions. Everyday technology is not used well to support children's learning.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move with good control as they balance along beams, crawl through tunnels and ride on bikes. They show awareness of others when running, climbing on a frame and wheeling tyres. Their hand-eye co-ordination is developed as they join construction 'interstars' and they use pencils and scissors with increasing control. Children learn to be healthy as they wash their hands, eat fruit and understand the need to use sun cream. They do not learn how exercise affects and changes their bodies.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children name colours confidently when drawing with felt pens and they see new shades as they mix paints. They handle scissors and glue spreaders well and use a variety of textures in collage pictures. Children use their imagination in the home area engaging in role play to plan a picnic. All children sing familiar songs and some four year olds cleverly make up their own songs at snack time. They develop sensory awareness and express delight as they taste chocolate pudding, a lunch time treat.

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

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of 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

• ensure staff support children when writing to encourage correct letter formation and plan regular activities to introduce letter sounds • provide more resources to promote children's understanding of technology • extend the children's awareness of the changes that happen to their bodies when they are active.

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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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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