TODDLE IN GROUP

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 29/09/2004 Inspector Name Victoria Vasiliadis

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name TODDLE IN GROUP Setting Address 4TH HARROW SCOUT HALL KENMORE AVENUE,KENTON HARROW MIDDLESEX

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Bernadette Cahalan & Kim Cahalan Address 49 Colburn Avenue Pinner Middlesex HA5 4PG

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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

Toddle In opened nine years ago. Bernadette and Kim Chalan are the joint registered persons. The group operate from within the Fourth Harrow Scout hall in a semi-residential area of Kenton in the borough of Harrow. The setting have use of three rooms, children are based within the two main rooms according to their ages. A large hall is used for physical play. It is close to local amenities and is well served by public transport links. The group serves children and families from the local community. There are currently forty one children from one year to five years on roll. This includes ten funded three and four year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports a number of children with special needs, and who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week forty nine weeks of the year. Sessions are from 08:30 to 13:00, 13:00 to 18:00 or 08:30 to 18:00.

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Information about the setting

Fourteen staff work directly with children, ten of whom hold early years qualifications. Four staff are currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership and are part of the Pre School Learning Alliance.

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How good is the Day Care?

Toddle In Group provides satisfactory care for children.

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How good is the Day Care?

The group have effective systems in place for deploying staff which allows sufficient numbers of staff to work directly with children. The provision provides children with activities that support and stimulate children's social, emotional, physical and intellectual development. Resources reflect positive

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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 images of culture, ethnicity and gender. There are effective systems in place for observing and recording children's development, each child over two years has their own individual educational plan. Staff manage children's behaviour in a positive way. Children are given praise and encouragement. Interaction between the staff and children is good, children are spoken to in a respectful manner. Appropriate systems are in place to ensure the premises are kept secure. The provision has clear procedures in place for the safe evacuation of children in the event of a fire. Staff are aware of safety issues and have minimised hazards to the children. The setting has policies and procedures in place. However some need to be

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How good is the Day Care?

improved upon in order to meet the required standards. Information shared with parents is limited, not all parents are made aware of the policies and procedures.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This is the first inspection since the group were registered to provide full day care last year.

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What is being done well?

• The provision provides children with activities that support and stimulate children's social, emotional, physical and intellectual. Resources reflect positive images of culture, ethnicity and gender. • There are effective systems in place for observing and recording children's development. Parents are kept informed of children's development through the use of individual educational plans. • Appropriate systems are in place to ensure the premises are kept secure. The provision has clear procedures in place for the safe evacuation of children in the event of a fire. Staff are aware of safety issues and have minimised hazards to the children. •• The group have effective systems in place for deploying staff which allows sufficient numbers of staff to work directly with children. • Staff manage children's behaviour in a positive way. Children are given praise and encouragement. Interaction between the staff and children is

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What is being done well?

good, children are spoken to in a respectful manner.

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What needs to be improved?

• the required details on records and on written policies and procedures • the procedures for sharing information with parents.

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What needs to be improved?

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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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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The Registered Person must take the following actions by the date shown

Std Action Date 7 Ensure parents signatures are obtained once medication has been administered to children. 29/09/2004

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 2 Ensure clear procedures are in place for the non-collection of children. 2 Ensure the register of attendance is accurately maintained. 7 Ensure appropriate consent is obtained from parents for the seeking of emergency medical treatment. 12 Ensure parents are aware of the policies and procedures of the provision. 13 Ensure the Child Protection policy includes procedures to follow if allegations are made against 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?

Toddle In Group offers good quality nursery education where children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals in most areas. Teaching is generally good. Most staff are familiar with the foundation stage and provide a stimulating environment to encourage children's development. Planning has regard to the foundation stage but further development is needed to ensure all six areas of learning are given equal emphasis and covered regularly and frequently. Staff assess children's development and record the next steps for learning, but do not clearly link short term planning to the stepping stones. Staff generally work closely with the children to support their learning. However, occasionally adults do not intervene to provide further challenge, such as problem solving with sand play. Leadership and management is generally good. Managers are supportive and work directly with the children for some of the time. They ensure staff are aware of their

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How effective is the nursery education?

roles and responsibilities and have a high ratio of staff. However, at times staff deployment could be more effectively used for areas such as better use of the outdoors or use of the computer more frequently. They are committed to staff development and encourage further training. Methods for evaluating teaching are largely informal and not always effective. Partnership with parents is acceptable but has some significant weaknesses. Staff are welcoming and approachable. They provide regular verbal feedback on children's progress. However, there is lack of information readily available to parents through the use of a notice board and on the curriculum and activities children have participated in daily. Regular formal meetings are held twice a term to share individual education plans with parents. Parents are not encouraged to participate in sessions, this is mainly due to parents working. However, some parents participate

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How effective is the nursery education?

in particular themes being covered such as the dentist.

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What is being done well?

• Children have made good relationships with each other and adults. They are confident and generally enthusiastic to learn. • There is a good range of mathematical activities provided for children to develop their counting and number skills. • The learning programme for creative development is very good and children have good opportunities to express themselves in art and design.

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What needs to be improved?

• development of short and long term planning to ensure a broad and balanced

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What needs to be improved?

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 curriculum is covered • development of assessment methods to ensure learning intentions are clearly linked to the stepping stones • staff deployment to ensure all areas of learning are effectively covered • the learning programme for knowledge and understanding of the world, particularly for practical activities for exploration and investigation • evaluation of teaching methods • good quality information provided for parents on the foundation stage to keep them well informed about the curriculum.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The book area has sufficiently improved and good quality books are available and used appropriately. Parents now take part in regular reviews of their child's progress which enables them to share information on their child.

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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 work cooperatively together, sharing and taking turns. They have made good relationships with each other and adults. They are developing a sense of right and wrong. They are generally interested in the activities offered and persist at some activities for extended periods. They have generally good opportunities to develop some self help skills, but are not independently able to pour drinks at snack times. Although children can freely choose some activities this could be extended.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are becoming confident speakers and interact well with each other and adults. Older children listen attentively to stories but group times are not organised effectively and lack opportunities to extend children's thinking. They are beginning to understand print carries meaning and attempt to write for a variety of purposes. Some opportunities are used to link sounds with letters but this is inconsistent. Children extend their imaginative thinking through planned role play situations.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are beginning to use number names confidently during play such as counting fingers during song time and beginning to understand simple addition and subtraction. There are good resources to recognise numbers in the environment through displays and posters. Good opportunities exist for children to talk about and recognise shapes such as with puzzles and games. Practical problem solving activities are available such as sand, but lack adult intervention to extend learning.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children have generally good opportunities to learn about past and present events in their lives, their cultures and beliefs and those of others. There are opportunities to learn about the natural world such as lifecycles of butterflies. There are missed opportunities for children to be involved in exploratory and investigative activities and to question why things happen and how things work. There are limited opportunities to use the computer effectively.

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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 around with increasing control and are beginning to show an awareness of space. Children have daily opportunities for physical exercise but these sessions lack planning to ensure a balanced range of activities are provided and in making effective use of the outdoors. They use tools and equipment with increasing confidence and are developing good fine motor skills such as using play dough implements. Children are developing a good understanding of staying healthy.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have good opportunities to use their imagination and express themselves in art and design. They are developing a good knowledge of colour, texture and shape whilst painting or sticking. There are good resources available for exploring music and children have good opportunities for regular singing sessions. Well planned role play enable children to develop imaginative thinking.

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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

• develop short and long term planning to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum is covered and ensure learning intentions are clearly linked to the stepping stones • develop the learning programme for knowledge and understanding of the world, particularly for practical activities for exploration and investigation • provide good quality information for parents on the foundation stage to keep them well informed about the curriculum.

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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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