Margery's Private Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 05/04/2004 Inspector Name Patricia Mary Champion

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Margery's Private Day Care Nursery Setting Address High Street Thorpe le Soken Frinton on Sea Essex CO16 0EF

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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

Margery's Private Day Care Nursery opened in 1997. It operates from a two storey building located in the high Street of Thorpe le Soken. The nursery serves the local area and wider community. There are currently 51 children from 2 to 8 years on roll. This includes 14 funded 3 year olds and 12 funded 4 year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions, full day care or out of school care. The setting supports a small number of children who have special needs. The group opens five days a week all year round. Opening hours are from 08:00 until 18:00. Nine staff work with the children. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. Two members of staff are currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP), the Pre School Learning Alliance (PSLA), Essex Day Nurseries Association (EDNA), Kids Club Network (KCN) and

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How good is the Day Care?

Margery's Private Day Care Nursery provides good quality care for children. Effective use is made of staff, space and resources within an attractive child-centred environment. Children are sensitively cared for in groups according to age and development. Out of school care is provided for a small number of children both during term times and school holidays. There have been recent changes made to the layout of the ground floor and the registered provider has requested a variation to her registration to allow her to care for babies aged under two years. Documentation is extremely well organised and stored confidentially. However, the policies have not yet been reviewed in line with the revised National Standards and staff qualifications have not been accredited to level 3.

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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 All staff consistently apply comprehensive safety procedures. They sensitively promote good hygiene procedures and provide healthy meals and snacks with regard given to children with allergies or special diets. The staff know the children well and show care and concern for their individual needs. They are aware of their child protection responsibilities. Children follow a planned programme of fun activities designed to help them make progress in their learning. There are opportunities for children to select and make choices about their play. The staff interact well with the children and actively encourage good behaviour. The policies regarding equality of opportunity and special needs are well written and cover all aspects of the nursery’s work. Children

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How good is the Day Care?

are secure and happy in their surroundings. There is a friendly partnership with parents; information is shared and verbal feedback is given at the end of a day. Several parents were spoken to; they are all very happy with the care their children receive in the setting.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the registered provider agreed to update the complaints policy to include reference to Ofsted and to send copies of vehicle documents to the Ofsted Regional Centre. Both actions have been addressed. The complaints policy has been updated and parents have been made aware of the changes. Copies of a MOT certificate and driving licence were sent to Regional Centre after the last inspection. However, children are no longer transported in vehicles owned by staff.

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What is being done well?

• There are effective staffing levels in the setting to ensure that children feel secure and settle well. New children quickly learn the routine and the sessions run smoothly. • The staff are sensitive and caring and are interested in what the children do or say. They use conversation and carefully framed questions to develop the children's knowledge and vocabulary. • The group is well resourced and the premises is imaginatively set out with play equipment to provide a welcoming and stimulating environment for children. Extremely good use is made of the outdoor area, where excellent learning experiences are provided. • Children's welfare and safety is a paramount consideration and staff undertake comprehensive risk assessment inside the premises and in the rear garden. Staff and children all know about fire safety procedures and access to the provision is monitored to keep children safe. • There are clear policies and procedures that promote good health and

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What is being done well?

hygiene. Staff consistently protect children from illness and infection and the majority of staff hold current first aid certificates.

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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 • Mealtimes are social occasions enjoyed by all the children; menus are well planned and healthy nutritious food is prepared and cooked on the premises. • Staff work calmly with children and have positive strategies, promoting respect by sharing and turn taking. Children behave well and have a clear understanding of the boundaries. • High quality documentation required for the efficient and safe management of the nursery is in place. An extensive operational plan has been devised and the records kept promoting the welfare, care and learning of all children are well maintained.

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

The staff plan activities and projects that encourage children to care about each other and the environment. Under the theme 'we care for you' children learn about pollution and the importance of keeping the countryside tidy. Children enjoy looking after the nursery's rabbit and guinea pig. They demonstrate great pleasure in helping the staff and their peers by distributing biscuits, tidying up and by playing co-operatively with the younger children in the nursery.

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What needs to be improved?

• the action plan for staff training to ensure that the Ofsted requirements for staff qualifications are met • the policies and procedures to ensure that they are in line with the revised National Standards.

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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 2 Update the action plan that sets out how staff training and qualification requirements will be met.

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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 14 Update policies and procedures within the operational plan to ensure that they are in line with the revised National Standards. (This refers to Standards 2, 6, 11, 12 and 13.)

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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?

Margery's Private Day Care Nursery offers high quality education, which helps children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is very good. The staff are enthusiastic, strongly motivated, and work well as a team. They have a sound understanding of the Foundation Stage and plan a broad and balanced curriculum. Children are motivated to learn, they enjoy small focussed sessions and one to one activities with staff. Very good relationships exist between children and staff. They have high expectations of behaviour, promote and achieve good levels of independence, self esteem and confidence with each child. Systems are in place to support children with special needs. Leadership and management of the nursery is very good. The success of the setting is due to the care and commitment of the owner who is very much involved with the business. The manager and deputy are responsible for the day to day running of the

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How effective is the nursery education?

nursery's routine and are strongly supported by the owner and staff team. Staff appraisals are undertaken and evaluation and ideas are shared at the regular staff meetings. All staff have input into planning and delivering the curriculum. The staff team are strongly committed to the improvement of care and education for all children. The partnership with parents is very good. Parents are very well informed about the nursery's activities and routines as well as their policies and procedures. They are given good verbal feedback as well as written reports on their child's progress. Open evenings are held, home link diaries are completed and reading books are shared. Parents are very complementary about the care provided.

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What is being done well?

• Children are making very good progress in all areas of learning. They are confident, independent learners, able to choose and initiate their own activities and explore new experiences. • The nursery management and staff have an effective understanding of how children learn. A well-balanced programme of adult-led and child initiated play is offered. Staff plan a wide range of stimulating activities to enrich each individual child's learning and resources are imaginatively used. • Children's behaviour is very good. They sit quietly at registration time and co-operatively follow visual and verbal instructions. Children show care for each other and the animals that live in their immediate environment. Children are calm and purposeful whilst they play and show an appreciation of right and wrong.

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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 • The staff are skilled at keeping children enthralled while sharing books and telling stories. An imaginative library of books, props, puppets and other resources, including story sacks has been created. The staff also allow the children to incorporate their own ideas when telling and acting out stories.

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What needs to be improved?

• the staff's confidence in using the stepping stones when evaluating activities and assessing the children's progress, to ensure that the high standard of nursery education identified at this inspection will be further developed and maintained.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The two key issues resulting from the last inspection have been addressed and changes introduced in September 2000 to the nursery education requirements are covered within the pre-school's practice. The quality of teaching has improved. All staff now have a secure knowledge of the six areas of learning. They follow the written plans and ensure that appropriate resources are available. Staff have attended courses arranged by the EYDCP relating to the Curriculum for the Foundation Stage and use ideas and information gathered through training in the nursery. The opportunities for children to count and solve mathematical problems have been improved. Children are now encourage to count within everyday routines, for example counting cups at snack time.

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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 show curiosity and are eager to try new activities. They demonstrate high levels of concentration when completing their tasks and confidence in their self-care by freely choosing their activities, putting on coats or independently pouring drinks. Children are building strong relationships with the staff and show care and concern for each other. They share equipment, take turns when using the computer and show respect by thanking their peers.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children confidently communicate with staff and each other. They talk about their experiences and are building up a vocabulary that reflects the breadth of their experiences. Children recognise letters and link sounds to letters in simple words. They write or engage in mark making during their everyday play and can recognise and write their names. Children use books for enjoyment and respond enthusiastically to stories read to them.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children can confidently count to ten and some can count beyond this. They recognise numerals in their everyday play when completing puzzles. Good use is made of resources to develop an awareness of additional and subtraction through practical activity. Children can sort and match items according to shape and colour. They use mathematical language to describe and compare, shape, size and quantity. During planned activities they learn about number problems and explore volume in water play.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children investigate objects to find out how they work and make models by assembling construction materials. They explore using all their senses, observing change, growth and lifecycles and learn about information technology by using the computer. Work planned around the broad range of themes and topics stimulates the children's interest and curiosity for a sense of time, place and awareness of cultures.

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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: Very Good Children show a good awareness of space as they move around inside or outdoors. A wide range of physical challenges are offered so that children can practice and refine their skills using small and large equipment. They balance, climb and throw beanbags with accuracy. Children can handle and explore tools, objects and malleable materials effectively and with safety. Health and bodily awareness is discussed; children learn about the food they need to eat to remain healthy.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children enthusiastically explore colour, shape and texture through stimulating craft activities. They initiate their own creative play and imaginatively incorporate their own ideas when completing adult led activities. Children express their imagination through role-play with the excellent range of puppets and props. There are opportunities to play with musical instruments and children respond expressively to sound in music and movement activities.

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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: • There are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • continue to develop all staff's knowledge of the Foundation Stage so they gain confidence in using the stepping stones when assessing the children's progress and evaluating the activities.

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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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