Kirkland Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 19/02/2004 Inspector Name Charlotte Jenkin

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Kirkland Day Nursery Setting Address Coxs Hill Ashton Keynes Wiltshire SN6 6NY

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education also identifies strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the early learning goals (elgs) by the end of the Foundation Stage. This inspection report must be made available to all parents. If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.

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Information about the setting

Kirkland Nursery opened in 1990. It operates from two rooms in the home of Mr & Mrs Walmsley, which is on the outskirts of Ashton Keynes. The nursery serves the local school catchment area. There are currently 22 children from 6 months to 5 years on roll. This includes three funded three year olds and two funded four year olds. Children attend a variety of sessions. Kirkland Nursery has an inclusion policy and accepts children with special needs and children who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week all the year round. Sessions are from 07.30 hours to 18.00 hours. Three full time staff work with the children, two have Early Years qualifications, and part-time staff members attend training. One part-time staff member is a qualified primary school teacher.

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How good is the Day Care?

Kirkland Nursery provides good quality care for children. Staff create a child centred, homely and welcoming environment for parents and children. The small staff team communicate well and meet weekly to discuss nursery issues and training. There is a good range of toys and equipment to cover all ages and stages of development. These are available to children and they self select toys and make choices in their play and learning. Staff are aware of their responsibilities regarding children's safety and regular checks identify and minimise risks effectively, although electrical equipment is not tested. Staff promote suitable hygiene practices through daily routines, and arrangements to prevent the spread of illness and infection are effective. Medication records are not signed by parents,and nappy changing arrangements are not private. Detailed information is gained about children's dietary needs and these are

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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 catered for, with advice gained regarding specialist diets. Children have a good balance of healthy meals and show an awareness of foods that are good and bad for them. Staff have a good knowledge of chid protection issues. Staff provide a very good balance of 'hands on', practical free play and structured activities. They talk to the children and praise and encourage them during activities. They ensure all children have access to all activities and provide opportunities for children to learn about other cultures. Staff support children with special needs and English as a second language into the nursery and liaise with parents and outside agencies for support. Staff implement behaviour management techniques

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How good is the Day Care?

consistently and know their responsibilities to ensure children learn right from wrong. Staff have a very open and positive relationship with parents and liaise with them regarding the care of their children, respecting their wishes. They are actively encouraged into nursery, and given detailed information about their children's progress.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the nursery agreed to seek written permission from parents for seeking emergency medical treatment and to keep a record of significant incidents. Written consent for seeking emergency medical treatment is now gained from parents on the registration forms so they know what will happen to their child in the event of an emergency. A record of significant incidents is now kept, although these do not always maintain confidentiality.

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What is being done well?

• Staff create a very welcoming, homely and child centred environment for parents and children. Space is organised well into clear learning areas and children know where to access activities of their choosing. The small staff team communicate well and share responsibilities. • Staff provide a very good balance of 'hands on', practical free play and structured activities tailored to individual children's development. Staff talk to the children and praise them constantly, encouraging them to think about what they are involved in. Children have excellent relationships with staff and peers, are polite to one another, play co-operatively and are engaged in purposeful play. • Staff ensure all children are included in all activities and support children with English as an additional language. There are lots of positive images of diversity around the playroom and children take part in practical activities, where they learn about other cultures.

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What is being done well?

• Staff are committed to implementing behaviour management techniques consistently, are aware of the need for this and of their responsibilities and practices to ensure children learn right from wrong. They role model politeness, praise children for good behaviour, help children negotiate disagreements and children's behaviour is exemplary.

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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 • Staff have a very open and positive relationship with parents and liaise with them regarding the care of their children, respecting their wishes. They are actively encouraged to enter the nursery or telephone at any time to check on their child's well-being and are given detailed information regarding their child's progress and the nursery policies and routines.

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What needs to be improved?

• arrangements for testing electrical equipment to ensure safety • children's privacy during nappy changing • procedures for ensuring parents sign to acknowledge medication administered to their children.

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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 7 Ensure parents sign to acknowledge medication administered to their children. 7 Ensure nappy changing arrangements respect children’s privacy.

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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?

Kirkland nursery is a high quality provision where children make very good progress towards the early learning goals in all areas of learning. Children are very interested in the activities available to them, are motivated to learn and show enthusiasm and pride for work done. Teaching is very good. Staff have an in-depth knowledge of the early learning goals and all contribute their ideas to planning. Plans have clear learning outcomes and extension activities are effective in extending more able children's learning. Staff role model politeness to children and engage them in activities to ensure they are well behaved. Assessments clearly identify what children can do and are linked to the stepping stones and used to further extend children's learning. There are limited opportunities for children to select their own resources for design and construction and for free representation through collage. Leadership and management is very good. The manager and deputy work very

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How effective is the nursery education?

closely together and the small staff team is effective in communicating to ensure all staff are working towards the same goals. Evaluations of activities are clear in identifying whether children achieved the learning outcomes of activities and are used to inform the next steps in children's learning. All staff are committed to training, feedback this to all staff and implement new ideas into the nursery. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are given detailed information regarding the curriculum, routines and policies of the nursery and are kept up to date with current themes for learning. Parents are given verbal feedback daily regarding their children's progress and meet with staff for more formal exchanges of information. Parents can access and contribute to developmental records of their children's progress and are actively involved in their children's learning, through taking activities home.

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What is being done well?

• Children are happy and confident, polite to one another, relate extremely well to staff and peers and work together co-operatively. Children's behaviour is exemplary. • Opportunities for children to develop their calculating skills are very fun, practical and related to everyday experiences. • Children have regular 'hands on' opportunities to explore how a variety of equipment works, including cameras, tape recorders, torches, calculators and computers. • Staff plan a very good balance of free play and structured activities that are tailored to individual children's needs and talk to and question the children to extend their thinking and learning.

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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 • Staff actively involve parents in their children's learning through sending activities, tailored to their child's development, home with them.

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What needs to be improved?

• opportunities for children to select their own resources for design and construction; • children's free expression through collage.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the nursery agreed to increase opportunities for children to practise developmental writing in meaningful contexts such as role play areas - shop or home corner for example, and to extend record keeping to include all areas of learning, particularly in the are of knowledge and understanding of the world. Children have opportunities to practise developmental writing in the home corner and role play areas and use these to attempt writing for a variety of purposes including lists and menus. Writing implements are readily available to the children at all times. The Building Blocks assessment programme is used and as planning covers all areas of learning, assessments are now made on children's progress in all areas of learning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children confidently select activities and engage in these for extended periods. They are interested in the activities available, motivated to learn and show enthusiasm and pride for work done. Children demonstrate a sense of belonging and are eager to show their work, toys and environment, and have developing self-confidence when talking about their family, the things they have made and to sing songs in front of the whole group. Children take turns and share toys and equipment.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children initiate conversations with staff, peers and visitors and have the confidence to talk about their interests. They develop their listening skills and listen to one another in 1:1 and group situations. More able children read and write simple words and know which letters represent which sounds. Children make marks and ascribe meaning to these, and more able children write their names independently. Children use books to locate information, show interest in them and handle them correctly.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have regular opportunities to count and recognise numerals through fun, practical activities and daily routines. Children count reliably and more able children recognise numerals 0-9 out of sequence. Children solve simple calculating problems through practical activities including buying biscuits at snack time with real money, and more able children can say the 1 number more or less than a given number. Children describe and show interest in shapes and make pictures with them.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children explore various equipment and show interest in how things work. They show interest in living things and identify features of birds e.g. only boy Robins have red breasts. Children explore construction materials, build and balance with a purpose in mind, including a rocket. They have opportunities to use the computer, and know how to operate simple equipment. Children show an awareness of time and talk about past events in their lives. They learn about other cultures through activities.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children experiment with different ways of moving, move in a range of ways e.g. running, jumping, and persevere when developing a new skill e.g. hopping. They show an awareness of themselves and others when moving indoors and outdoors. Children manipulate materials with control when threading and hammering nails and show increasing control when using climbing and sliding equipment, and when throwing, kicking and catching balls. Children use writing implements and a range of tools confidently.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children explore mixing colours and painting techniques. When drawing pictures they choose colours for a particular purpose. Children sing simple songs from memory and are building a repertoire of songs. They explore sounds made with musical instruments and tape themselves singing, listening back to this with enjoyment. Children express themselves through painting, drawing and engage in role play based on first hand experiences and play co-operatively engaged in the same theme.

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Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable and is of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • increase opportunities for children to select their own resources for design and construction and for free expression through collage.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents and to the Local Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection of funded nursery education.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

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

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

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

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

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

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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