Smileys Creche

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 08/12/2004 Inspector Name Saida Cummings

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Smileys Creche Setting Address The Worcestershire Royal Hospital Charles Hastings Way Newton Road Worcester WR5 1HN

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The partnership of Smileys Creche Ltd

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Smileys Creche Ltd Address Staffordshire General Hospital Weston Road Stafford Staffordshire ST16 3SA

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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

Smileys Crèche opened in 1996 and is a privately run nursery offering childcare solely for use by Worcester Royal Hospital Trust staff. Children are accommodated in a specific ground-floor nursery unit situated within Worcester Royal hospital grounds. They are cared for within specific areas of the nursery designated for different age groups. This includes baby, toddler and pre-school rooms. The outdoor play facilities consist of large fully enclosed hard-core and grassed areas situated to the side and rear of the building. There are currently 80 children from 3 months to 5 years on roll, of these 16 receive funding for nursery education. The setting has facilities in place for supporting children who have a special need and for whom English is not a first language. The group opens five days a week all year round. Sessions are from 07:00 to 18:00. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are 17 part-time and full-time staff who work with the children. Twelve of the

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Information about the setting

staff hold appropriate qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. Currently two staff members are working towards an appropriate childcare qualification. The setting receives support from a mentor teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP). They also attend local EYDCP forum and partnership meetings. The group are members of the National Day Care Association, and are currently working towards the Quality Counts quality assurance award.

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How good is the Day Care?

Smileys Crèche provide good care for children. They are well cared for and supported as staff are deployed effectively to ensure high ratios are maintained. There is a warm and welcoming environment with children's work displayed. Children have access to well-organised areas which are specifically adapted for their easy access. Although there is an adequate registration system in place, this does not clearly show that the staff:child ratios are met at all times.

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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 Children's progress and development is encouraged by use of a stimulating range of activities. These are adapted to ensure children's individual needs and abilities are met. Staff are interested in what children say and do. They respond to their interests. Children are able to self-select from a wide variety of play equipment and resources, which include toys and materials to promote their awareness of diversity. There are well-organised snack and meal times which are also used as social times, with all children and staff included. The premises have been made safe by use of safety items to ensure hazards and risks to children are minimised. Parents are informed of the guidelines concerning sick children to ensure they are made fully aware of the procedures. There are

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How good is the Day Care?

well-managed strategies and procedures in place for dealing with behavioural management issues. This includes full discussions and consultation with parents to ensure consistency is practised. Staff ensure parents are kept informed of their children's activities, events and any issues. Regular exchanges of information with parents ensures the needs of the children are addressed. There are comprehensive written policies and procedures in place which are implemented by all staff. However, some policies, procedures and documentation need reviewing and developing. Children's records are easily accessed, stored securely and a high priority is given to maintaining confidentiality at all times.

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What is being done well?

• Children relate well to other children and adults in the setting. They are involved, interested and enjoy their play. Staff encourage and praise children ensuring their individual developmental needs and confidence are nurtured. • Staff are pro-active in ensuring all areas used by children are safe. There are good hygiene procedures in place, which all staff, children and parents are made aware of, thereby reducing risks to children. • Children's level of understanding and maturity is respected and taken into account when staff are dealing with any behavioural issues. They are encouraged to take turns, share and have regard for each other and adults. • A combination of informal and formal methods enables parents and staff to share information about the setting. This includes the organisation of a crèche user group who liaise between the setting and parents.

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What needs to be improved?

• the registration system to identify children's ages and to show staff:child ratios are met at all times

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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 • the written parents' consents for seeking emergency medical advice or treatment • the written special needs policy to ensure this is in line with the latest legislation.

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inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

Since 01 April 2004, Ofsted have not received any complaints about this provider.

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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 Review the registration system to identify children's ages, and to clearly record that staff:child ratios are met at all times. 10 Develop the written special needs policy to ensure this is in line with the latest legislation, and ensure all staff and parents are made aware of it. 7 Revise the documentation concerning parents' written consents for seeking emergency medical advice or treatment.

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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?

Smiley's Crèche provides generally good nursery education. Children are making very good progress in mathematical development and creative development. Teaching is generally good. Staff plan many worthwhile topics and activities for children, with a particular focus on child centred learning, where individual interests and opportunities to explore and investigate are well represented. Staff are adept at encouraging children's thinking, problem solving and self-reliance. The setting is also developing effective strategies to ensure children's other languages are positively acknowledged. Staff have been proactive in developing very good focus activity plans that include staff roles, clear learning intentions and helpful prompts, enabling practitioners to ensure children are busy and purposeful. However, occasionally during changeover and free play times, including some role-play activities, children do not always have enough to occupy or to challenge them.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Leadership and management are generally good. Following recent staff changes, managers and staff have introduced a clear action plan to develop assessment procedures, parents' involvement in their children' learning, and support for children's home languages and interests in the setting. This has already had a positive impact on the availability of information gathered in the setting about children's progress, and provision for incorporating children's particular interests during activities. Effective use is also made of comprehensive evaluations of activities and children's responses to inform future plans and assessments. Partnership with parents is generally good. Parents are warmly welcomed in the setting with good opportunities to talk to staff. They receive good quality information about their children's nursery education, including details of topics and plans. They are able to contribute to their children's progress records, but there are some

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How effective is the nursery education?

inconsistencies in following this through.

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What is being done well?

• Children have exciting and rewarding opportunities to explore and use a range of materials and media. They experiment and investigate different properties and reactions of these materials, discovering what happens if liquids are added, the difference in texture of various dry materials, and the affects of cold temperatures. They are observant and confident to comment on changes, and often independently follow up earlier learning experiences, such as examining pieces of ice that have formed in various outside toys. • Children's thinking and problem solving skills are well fostered through good use of questions and opportunities for predicting, calculating and solving simple practical problems, such as how many cups are needed at snack time or the next step to take when making dough. These opportunities contribute to children's ability to negotiate and work things out for themselves, and to

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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 their growing confidence and independence. • Staff know the children well and have a warm rapport with them. They also have a strong commitment to incorporating children's particular interests into their planning and management of topics and activities. This results in worthwhile experiences for all children when, for example, diverse interests in torches and in sand play enriches a topic on dinosaurs. • The nursery manager and staff have been proactive in reviewing and developing procedures. This includes recent improvements to the format and content of focus activity plans which have provided staff with an effective aide memoir, and contributed to their confidence and skill and to the children's enjoyment of a variety of interesting and absorbing experiences.

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What needs to be improved?

• the deployment of staff and grouping of children during some free play activities, such as role-play, and during some changeover times to ensure all children are sufficiently involved and interested, and so that the ideas of more able children can be extended • the planned opportunities for children to develop their balancing skills, and for their use of information technology to support their learning across the Foundation Stage • the consistency in sharing information about children's progress with parents.

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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 are lively and inquisitive. They are eager to try new activities and to participate in first hand experiences, and concentrate particularly well on these. However, sometimes during free play activities and routines they can lack involvement. Children relate well to adults and to each other, often playing co-operatively. Their independence skills are well developed. They confidently see to their personal hygiene, assist with simple tasks, help themselves to drinks or pass round snacks.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident speakers, using expressive language to describe feelings or aspects of their lives, and to talk about features of living things or materials. They enjoy books and stories, often discussing key features, and they join in songs and rhymes. Children really enjoy mark making, many forming recognisable letters and some words, but their efforts can be inhibited by the poor quality of some drawing and writing materials. Many children recognise their own or others' names.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good During activities and routines children count confidently to five, some to ten or to bigger numbers. They are also developing a secure understanding of the sequence and shape of numbers up to ten. Children enjoy simple number operations and practical problem solving during activities, games and routines. They use mathematical terms in context when following simple recipes, talking about the order, quantity and weight. They match and sort a range of items according to shape, size and colour.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are curious, enjoying opportunities to explore and experiment. They investigate ice, sand, clay or other natural or art materials, and cooking ingredients. They discuss textures, and changes if liquids are added or items are made hotter or colder. They confidently fix and make models from different resources, and find out about their own and others' lives, homes and celebrations. Whilst children use programmable toys and a computer, this area of learning is unrepresented in planning.

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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 are energetic and adventurous. They move freely and confidently when running, climbing or using a range of wheeled toys, though there are fewer opportunities for them to practise and extend their balancing skills. Children are adept at using a range of tools and equipment during their exploratory and making activities. They concentrate and persevere when threading or using scissors, and are developing good pencil control.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are innovative and imaginative. They thrive on hands-on experiences, enjoying exploring the textures and colours of the array of paints, collage and craft resources available to them. Their drawings and paintings are often detailed, and children regularly use expressive language to describe what these mean, or to talk about their experiences. They often engage in sustained imaginative play when playing with small world toys or whilst acting out roles, stories and scenarios.

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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

• monitor the deployment of staff and grouping of children during free play activities, such as role-play, to ensure that all children are sufficiently involved, and to allow for more able children's ideas to be extended where appropriate. Review tidy up and session changeover times, so that children have sufficient adult support and have enough to do • improve short term planning to provide opportunities for children to develop and extend their balancing skills, and to demonstrate how information technology and programmable toys are used to promote children's learning in the Foundation Stage • ensure that recently introduced strategies for involving parents in their children's progress records are consistently followed through.

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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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