Pines Private Day Nursery (The)

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 17/03/2004 Inspector Name Sue Carrington

p.1

SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Pines Private Day Nursery (The) Setting Address 88 Stanton Road Ilkeston Derbyshire DE7 5FY

p.1

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

p.1

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.

p.2

Information about the setting

The Pines Private Day Nursery opened in 1996. It it is situated in a detached three-storey Victorian house and a self-contained baby annexe. Only the ground, and first floor of the main house are used for the children, the second floor is used for storage and the staff room. There is access to an outdoor grass area and a hard surface play area. The premises are within easy reach of Ilkeston town centre. The nursery serves the local community of mixed economic backgrounds and includes children from a wider geographical area. The nursery is open all year with the exception of one week at Christmas and Bank Holidays. They operate Monday-Friday from 07:30 to 18:00. Children attend a variety of sessions each week. There are currently 89 children from 12 weeks to 8 years on the register. This includes 7 funded three-year-olds and 12 funded four-year-olds. The setting supports children with special educational needs. There

p.2

Information about the setting

are no children with English as an additional language. There are 18 child care staff working with the children, 17 on a full-time basis and one part-time. staff have level 3 childcare qualifications and 3 staff are working towards these. There are also 3 auxillary staff. Support and training is accessed through the Derbyshire County Council's Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

The Pines Private Day Nursery provides satisfactory care for children. The children are cared for according to their developmental needs within two buildings on the premises. There is a main building housing the older children and a separate baby unit. Staff work well together to promote an environment that is welcoming to families. Space is used effectively to provide a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, which are stimulating and fun for children. Suitably qualified child care staff are employed to care for the children but the vetting procedure does not include a suitable health check.

p.2

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 Staff provide good supervision for children and ensure the premises are safe and secure. There are child protection procedures in place. Suitable health and hygiene practices are followed and children learn about these in their daily routine. Healthy and nutritious snacks are provided and dietary requirements are catered for. Children show enjoyment and interest in a varied range of activities, helping to support their development and learning, however, planning for babies activities does not occur and children's development records are not effectively used in the planning process and shared with parents. Staff support the children in their play, they generally talk and listen to them and respond to their interests. They show an

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

awareness of children's individual preferences and feelings and systems are in place to help children to behave appropriately. The nursery supports children with special needs, however, the knowledge of staff to enable appropriate support for children identified with special needs within the setting is limited. Staff establish positive relationships with most parents. There is a friendly and informal atmosphere where most parents have opportunities for discussion with staff about their children's care routines. Policies and procedures are available to parents so they are aware of the aims of the nursery.

p.3

What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the nursery were asked to address six actions; they have ensured that there is hot water available to the wash basin in the first floor toilet area and a notice alerts visitors to the dangers of the step down into the toilet, they have obtained a probe to check the temperature of the food served to the children, there is a system in place for checking that the fridges and freezer are kept at the correct temperature and the proprietor forwarded her driving licence to Ofsted enabling them to verify its validity. The completion of these 5 actions have ensured a safer environment for staff and children and a more effective management of the provision. Children's development is still not effectively recorded in all areas, used in the planning process and shared with parents.

p.3

What is being done well?

• The comfortable premises offer sufficient scope for a range of indoor and outdoor activities, including active play and relaxation. The new baby unit is warm and bright and has separate eating and sleeping areas. The main nursery building has light airy rooms, and is decorated in bright colours, which provide a stimulating backdrop for the children's art work and the commercial posters which decorate the walls. • The nursery follows a specially designed eating programme for children and this ensures that they have healthy balanced meals throughout the day. Fresh fruit and vegetables are offered daily. They have an effective system for ensuring that specific dietary requirements are catered for and the staff

p.3

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 and the cook are alerted to any allergies or individual dietary needs. • Staff have a good awareness of the importance of working in partnership with parents and carers. Informative noticeboards are available in each area, displaying details about the nursery and phographs of staff. The management have recently up-dated the information they have on all the children enabling appropriate care to be provided.

p.3

What needs to be improved?

• systems for checking that staff and volunteers are suitable both mentally and physically to care for children • procedures for using the children's development records in the planning process and sharing them with parents • planning by implementing a suitable range of activities for babies, which is appropriate for their stage of development and based on their individual needs • knowledge of staff to enable them to be pro-active in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken if a child with Special Needs is identified within the setting.

p.4

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.

p.4

by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 1 Ensure there is a system in place for checking that staff and volunteers are suitable both mentally and physically to care for children. 3 Devise a system for planning and implementing a suitable range of activities for babies, which is appropriate for their stage of development and based on their individual needs. 3 Ensure that children’s development records are used in the planning

p.4

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 process and shared with parents. 10 Continue to extend knowledge to enable staff to be pro-active in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken if a child with Special Needs is identified within the setting.

p.4

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

p.5

How effective is the nursery education?

The Pines Private Day Nursery provides nursery education that is acceptable but has some significant areas for improvement. Children's progress towards the early learning goals is limited by some significant weaknesses. Teaching has some significant weaknesses. Activity plans cover all areas of children's learning, however staff do not use observations made on children's progress to plan for their next stage of development. Teaching of children is sometimes inconsistent. There are focused activities each day when their key worker teaches the children, but staff do not always have an aim for children's learning during their frequent free- play. Resources are not always readily available for children to make choices and extend their play. Behaviour is managed generally well although not always consistently. This leads to weak management of focused activities when children lose concentration and do not listen effectively to instructions

p.6

How effective is the nursery education?

or learning objectives. Leadership and Management of the setting are generally good. The leadership of the setting has undergone changes; some progress has been made in identifying and addressing areas for improvement. New appraisal systems are in place for all staff to address training needs. There are also new systems in place to monitor systems in all areas. Partnership with parents has some significant weaknesses. Parents are provided with information about the setting, but limited information is shared regarding the early learning goals and children's progress towards them. They do not have strategies for parents to be kept informed of the children's attainment and progress or share observations of children's learning at home.

p.6

What is being done well?

• Children have frequent opportunities for free-play, they form friendships and develop social skills as they seek each other out to join in their imaginative play. • Children have opportunities to learn about the world around them, and about difference and diversity, activities are provided to help them to learn about different cultures and beliefs. • Most children use spoken language well, showing interest in their conversations with staff and other children. Staff help children extend their vocabulary by providing a wide selection of books for the children to select from themselves. They enjoy looking at books alone or in small groups, sharing a story together.

p.6

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

p.6

What needs to be improved?

• the implementation of the assessment system which relates to all six areas of learning and ensure that staff use it to plan next steps in children's learning • the mathematical programme with regard to ensuring that it provides opportunities for children to recognise and recreate mathematical patterns and solve simple mathematical problems in their play, and within their daily routines • resources by ensuring that a wider range of small tools and equipment are provided to promote the children's physical development • the partnership with parents with regard to the educational provision by devising more formal stategies for parents and carers to be kept informed of the children's attainment and progress and for them to share observations of children's learning at home • resources by ensuring that more media and materials are freely accessible for children to express their imagination in creative play.

p.7

What has improved since the last inspection?

Improvement in addressing the five key issues since the last inspection has been limited. The staff group the children more appropriately now for story and discussion times so that they all benefit from listening to stimulating stories and participate in group discussions. Children have opportunities now to practise and gain confidence in their climbing skills as they use the outdoor physical equipment. More opportunities for children to explore sound and respond to a range of music are provided. Now the nursery has obtained this additional equipment and re-programmed the story times it ensures that children have more effective opportunities to learn and develop. The assessment system is still not effectively implemented to enable staff to use the information to plan the next steps in children's learning. The programme for mathematical development still does not effectively provide opportunities for children to create mathematical patterns and solve problems in their

p.7

What has improved since the last inspection?

play. The last two issues are being carried forward from this inspection.

p.7

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

p.7

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children seek out friends to join in their imaginative play and are learning to share the equipment. They are confident to approach staff and are proud of their approval. Children pour their own water at meal times taking turns to hold the jug. They find their own toothbrush and paste and clean their teeth after meals. Systems are in place for promoting good behaviour but this is not always consistently applied.

p.8

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Most children are confident speakers and use language to share ideas and give instruction to each other during play. Children enjoy stories read by staff and demonstrate early reading skills by reading to themselves and their friends. They link letters to pictures in an alphabet jigsaw puzzle. Some children can write their own names and staff write words for them to copy, however there are limited opportunities for children to make marks in their play or read words in the environment.

p.8

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children do not access activities that develop their counting skills regularly, though some use numbers spontaneously during the session. Children show a basic understanding of some positional and comparative language, but do not problem solve, or learn about shape, space and measure sufficiently. They sing simple number rhymes to increase knowledge. There are limited opportunities for children to learn about adding and subtraction.

p.8

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are developing an awareness of culture and beliefs. They are learning about change and have watched ice melt. They use calculators in their play. They know that some animals live underground. They have made pictures of items on a map including a desert and a mountain. Children talk about the day of the week and the weather during register time, There are limited opportunities for them to develop design making skills, this is hindered by lack of easy accessible materials.

p.8

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children have opportunity to promote physical development as they run around in the outdoor play area, however purposeful play is limited. They develop climbing skills when using the range of physical equipment in the outdoor play area. The children have limited opportunities to understand their bodies and the need to be healthy. The availability to children of a full range of small tools and equipment is limited.

p.8

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

p.8

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children enjoy musical instruments and are familiar with some action songs. They make good use of the role play corner, entering into imaginative play. They explore texture and handle substances such as cooked rice and wet sand. They do not however, have sufficient opportunities to freely express themselves through different media and creative activities including painting, sticking and making 2 and 3D models.

p.9

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

p.9

OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable but has some significant areas for improvement. Children progress towards the early learning goals is limited by some significant weaknesses. The next inspection will take place in one to two years time.

p.10

WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• Continue to implement the assessment system relating to all six areas of learning and ensure that staff use it to plan next steps in children's learning. • Ensure that the mathematical programme provides opportunities for children to recognise and recreate mathematical patterns and solve simple mathematical problems in their play, and within their daily routines. • Resources by providing a wider range of small tools and equipment to promote the children's physical development. • Improve the partnership with parents with regard to the educational provision by devising more formal stategies for parents and carers to be kept informed of the children's attainment and progress and for them to share observations of children's learning at home. • Extend resources by ensuring that more media and materials are freely accessible for children to express their imagination in creative play.

p.10

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.

p.10

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

p.10

STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

p.11

NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.12

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.

p.12

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.

p.12

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.

p.12

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

p.12