Fairfields Private Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 21/03/2005 Inspector Name Jannet Mary Richards

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Fairfields Private Day Nursery Setting Address Broak Oak Terrace Rochdale Old Road Bury Lancashire BL9 7TD

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Creche-N-Co Ltd Address Middleton Campus, Rochdale Road Middleton Manchester Lancashire M24 6XH

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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

Fairfield Private Day Nursery is run by Creche-N-Co. Ltd. It opened in 1983. The Nursery is situated in the grounds of Fairfields Hospital Bury, in a semi rural setting. The nursery operates from a single storey building that has been purposefully converted from offices into a Day Nursery. The nursery offers both full and part time day care as well as sessional places. It is open 51 weeks of the year Monday to Friday (except bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year) from 07.30 to 18.00. The Nursery is registered to provide 48 full time equivalent places for children from birth to five years of age. There are currently 55 children on the register, of whom 19 children are in receipt of nursery education funding. There are no children currently attending who have special educational needs. There are no children attending who have English as an additional language. The nursery has a baby room for children from birth to eighteen months, a toddler

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Information about the setting

room for children from eighteen months to three years and a pre school room for children three years to five years. There is also an activity room and a quiet room where small groups of children can play during the day. Children have access to a large outside play area which has both grassed and hard surfaces. The nursery has 16 staff who work directly with the children. Of these 10 have recognised early years qualifications and 3 are working towards qualification.

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How good is the Day Care?

Fairfields Private Day Nursery provides good quality care for children. The nursery is effectively organised and managed. The staff team are suitably deployed and work well together, following the nursery policies and procedures to ensure a consistent approach to child care. They often attend training courses to keep up to date with child care issues.

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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 children settle well in the nursery. They form good relationships with the staff who get to know them well. Their individual needs are well met and parents wishes are respected. The staff are positive in their interactions with the children and know how to manage challenging behaviour. The children benefit from a good range of age appropriate activities and a suitable range of toys and resources. However, this is not reflected clearly in the way the activities are planned and the assessment profiles used. The staff have made the most of the nursery building. It is welcoming for children and parents alike. The staff are vigilant about health and safety, and supervise the children well at all times. They do not, however, practice fire drills frequently enough

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How good is the Day Care?

at the present time. The nursery environment is clean and the staff place good emphasis on health and hygiene. Children are provided with healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. The staff make parents and carers feel very welcome. They exchange information about the children verbally each day. Documentation relating to the care of the children is maintained to a good standard and made available for parents and carers.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the time of the last inspection two areas for improvement were identified, both relating to documentation. Since then the child protection procedures have been updated and now include procedures to follow in the even of an allegation against a member of staff. The registration documents have been amended and now include times of arrival and departure . This has led to an improvement in the documentation maintained relating to care of the children.

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What is being done well?

• The staff relate well to the children. They ensure that children settle well when they commence at nursery and when they move to other rooms. They spend time interacting with the children as they play and are caring and patient in their approach. • The nursery staff are well deployed and work well together as a team. They follow policies and procedures well in practice. Staff to child ratios are good which allows children to receive individual attention. • Healthy eating is promoted within the nursery through provision of nutritious meals and healthy snacks such as fresh fruit each day. • The nursery environment is welcoming for parents and children. Information is displayed for parents on notice boards at the entrance and outside each room. Posters and children's art work are attractively displayed at child and adult height.

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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 planning and assessment formats currently used for the children under three years • the frequency of fire drills.

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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 Revise the planning and assessment formats for children under three to ensure that they are more appropriate to the developmental stages of the children. 6 Put systems in place to ensure that fire drills are carried out frequently.

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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?

Fairfields Private Day Nursery offers good quality provision which enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Children's progress in personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative and physical development is generally good. Children make less progress in mathematics and communication language and literacy due to significant weaknesses in the provision for these areas of learning. The teaching is generally good overall. The staff provide a range of interesting activities and experiences which are suitably planned to cover all areas of learning. They have good relationships with the children, though lack confidence in questioning the children to encourage their thinking, problem solving and promote their language development. The three play rooms are generally well organised, though some areas such as the very popular creative and role play areas have

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How effective is the nursery education?

limited access, and the children cannot select from all the accessible resources in the main play room which limits their choice and independent play and learning opportunities. The staff use suitable systems to assess children's progress, and include observations of what the children can do. They do not use this information sufficiently, however, to challenge the children at a level appropriate to their understanding. Leadership and management are generally good. The staff are enthusiastic and receptive to new ideas. They have a good commitment to the continued development of the provision. Partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents have access to a good range of information relating to the foundation stage and curriculum planning. They regularly exchange information informally with the staff about the children's progress.

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What is being done well?

• The children benefit from regular walks around the local area. They are able to learn first hand about the world around them and observe nature and small creatures such as frogs in their natural habitat. • The staff have recently provided the additional learning areas of a creative room and imaginative role play area. These areas have proved to be very popular with the children. When playing in the creative area children are able to access a good range of resources and media to express their own thoughts and ideas. • The staff working with the pre-school children are very receptive to new ideas and have a good commitment to developing their own knowledge of the

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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 foundation stage and provision for the children.

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What needs to be improved?

• the amount of choice the children have about where they play and access to resources in the pre-school room to initiate and extend their own play ideas • the staff's knowledge of the foundation stage and ability to effectively challenge the children through questioning • the use of assessment systems to find out what children can do and plan the next steps in their progress

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the time of the last inspection one key issue was raised. The nursery was required to develop planning systems. Since then planning systems have been reviewed and developed, and this aspect is under continuous monitoring and development. The nursery has experienced changes in staffing recently which has led to different staff working with the pre-school children. The nursery has tried to ensure a consistent approach by following planning formats already in place. Staff currently working with the pre-school children have had very little training in the foundation stage. They follow the plans but have not yet had sufficient time to develop their understanding fully which has led to some key issues identified at this inspection.

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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 develop a good sense of belonging in the nursery, they participate in a good range of activities to develop their confidence and sense of identity. They relate well to the staff and to each other. The children engage eagerly in activities and are interested in new experiences, though do not always have access to a sufficient range of resources to extend their play and learning ideas.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children enjoy looking at books, and have favourite stories which they listen to and join in. They make marks using a range of opportunities such as painting at the easel and drawing in the mark making area. They less often make marks for a purpose, such as making lists in the role play area, and they do not develop a good awareness that print carries meaning. They do not have many good quality opportunities to develop their vocabulary and language skills.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children count often during the day, such as counting the numbers of children and tables in the room. They recognise some numbers on the tables at snack time, but have few other opportunities to recognise number in the nursery environment. They learn about shape, though have fewer opportunities to develop other mathematical concepts such as position and measure, and they are not challenged sufficiently to use their problem solving skills.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children find out why things happen and how things work when they plant bulbs and observe them grow, when they bake, and use technology such as the computer. Through routines and discussions they develop an understanding of time. They learn about the world in which they live when they go for walks in the local countryside or visit the library for example. They often learn about different cultures and beliefs when they celebrate various cultural festivals.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children use many good opportunities to develop fine motor skills, such as cutting with scissors, using pencils and manipulating play dough for example. They often practice large movements, co-ordination and control, and learn how to negotiate space during frequent outdoor play sessions using a range of small and large equipment.

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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 create freely, expressing their own thoughts and ideas using a good range of interesting materials when it is their turn to access the creative area They enjoy imaginative play using small world toys and when they access the role play area. They sing familiar songs each day and sometimes have access to percussion instruments to explore sounds.

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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

• increase the choice the children have about where they play and the access to resources in the pre-school room to initiate and extend their own play ideas • develop the staff's knowledge of the foundation stage and ability to effectively challenge the children through questioning. Particularly to encourage children's mathematical thinking, problem solving and development of language and vocabulary • develop the use of assessment systems to find out what children can do and use this information more effectively to plan the next steps in their progress

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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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