ABC Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 15/09/2004 Inspector Name Permjit Tanda

p.1

SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name ABC Day Nursery Setting Address St Andrews Church Hall Lawson Terrace Newcastle Staffordshire ST5 8PB

p.1

REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The partnership of Mrs Ann Gregory and Mrs Angela Ashley

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Mrs Ann Gregory and Mrs Angela Ashley Address ABC Day Nursery, St. Andrews Church Hall Lawson Terrace Newcastle Staffordshire ST5 8PB

p.1

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

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

ABC Day Nursery opened in 1984. It operates from three rooms within St. Andrew's Church Hall in Porthill, Newcastle-under-Lyme. The setting has sole use of the premises during nursery hours. There are local shops, school and park. It serves the local community and surrounding areas. The nursery is registered to provide 32 places for children under 5 years. There are currently 26 children on roll. This includes six funded three year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery opens five days a week, Monday to Friday, all year round. It closes for one week at Christmas and Bank Holidays. Sessions are from 07:30 until 17:30. Eight staff work with the children. Seven have Early Years qualifications. The setting receives support from a teacher advisor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

ABC Day Nursery provides satisfactory care for children. The nursery is well organised with clear routines which help make children feel secure. There is a formal risk assessment carried out on the premises to ensure the safety of the children. Children learn about the importance of personal hygiene and staff adopt good hygiene practices. Older children are provided with a good range of stimulating activities and play experiences to help them make progress in all areas of development. Older children have some good opportunities to explore and investigate and are interested in their play. Overall the toys and equipment used are interesting and stimulating but the toddler room and baby room do not lend themselves to undertake messy play activities due to the confinements of the room and therefore children have few opportunities to increase their creativity and exploration and investigative skills. Children are mainly grouped according to their ages but in most rooms there is a

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 varying range of ability and staff do not always plan effectively for their stage of development based on their individual needs. The environment is inviting and staff spend most of their time working directly with the children. In the baby room staff are attentive to the individual needs of the babies and spend much time interacting with them throughout the day. Children respond well to behaviour boundaries and staff use effective strategies to manage their behaviour. Staff work well with parents and information is shared verbally on a daily basis. Most staff have an understanding of required policy and procedure, but some are unclear about child protection issues. All of the required policies and procedures are in place

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

but the vetting procedure for staff needs to be further developed. All documentation is regularly reviewed and updated.

p.3

What has improved since the last inspection?

The setting has made some good progress since the last inspection. Six actions were raised of which all have been implemented. The ratio of staff to children is maintained at all times throughout the setting through the recruitment process and the effective deployment of staff. A key worker system has been introduced to ensure all children have a consistent member of staff who is overall responsible for the child's well being on a daily basis. Draft excluders have been fitted to the doors in the baby room to ensure the temperature is maintained at a comfortable level. Managers and staff carry out regular extensive risk assessments throughout the setting and have made safe the cupboards in the toddler room and all low levels glass panels. The nappy changing unit has been fitted with a roll bar.

p.3

What is being done well?

• Staff have a good supportive approach and help children to be sociable and have caring relationships with each other and staff. They increase the children's language through discussion and respond well to their interests. Children show an increased interest in activities and staff encourage them to participate throughout the day. • The setting has successfully achieved a healthy eating award. It provides a healthy, nutritious meal and snacks prepared on site for the children. The menu is varied and includes an alternative for children with special dietary requirements. Staff also increase the children's knowledge of healthy eating through topic related work and food tasting sessions. • Staff use appropriate strategies to manage the children's behaviour. They are positive and consistent in their approach and children show an awareness of expectations. Children are learning to share and play well together.

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

p.3

What needs to be improved?

• the procedure in place for appointing and vetting staff to ensure all relevant recruitment documentation including references and previous employment history is obtained and kept on file • the range of activities and play opportunities for children under two years to encourage their creativity, exploration and investigation skills • the system in place for planning and implementing a suitable range of activities for children, which are appropriate for their stage of development and based on their individual needs • the staff's knowledge of child protection issues to ensure the children's safety is their first priority.

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

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

Std Action Date 1 Ensure that there are effective procedures in place for appointing and vetting staff. 16/09/2004

p.4

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

3 Plan a suitable range of activities and play opportunities for children under two years to further develop their creativity and exploration and investigative skills. 30/09/2004

p.4

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

3 Devise a system for planning and implementing a suitable range of activities for children, which is appropriate for their stage of development and based on their individual needs. 30/09/2004

p.4

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

13 Develop the staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues. 16/09/2004

p.4

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

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.4

How effective is the nursery education?

ABC Day Nursery offers generally good quality education which helps children make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. They make very good progress in their mathematical and physical development. Teaching is generally good and staff have a secure knowledge of the foundation stage and how to help children make progress. They carry out clear planning which includes the six areas of learning and provide a good range of stimulating activities for children. Staff provide an inviting environment and spend much of their time working with the children. The educational programme is delivered to all two, three and four years olds but staff do not always effectively plan for the children's individual learning needs and therefore older children are not always sufficiently challenged in some areas of development. Although children increase their independence through selecting activities this sometimes leads to children not taking

p.5

How effective is the nursery education?

part in valuable experiences. Staff use positive strategies and help children understand behaviour expectations. Assessments of the children's learning are systematic and clearly link to the stepping stones and early learning goals. There is a good system in place to help support children with special needs and children who speak English as an additional language. Leadership and management is generally good. The joint proprietors and managers are competent and effective they have an hands-on approach daily and offer staff support and guidance. They are committed to extending the quality of the provision through ongoing staff training and further developing systems to monitor the education and care throughout the nursery. The partnership with parents is generally good. Parents are well informed about the nursery ethos and the curriculum but there is not a systematic approach to inform parents about their children's achievements and progress. Parents are made

p.5

How effective is the nursery education?

welcome and they speak positively about the setting.

p.5

What is being done well?

• Staff incorporate mathematical learning well throughout the educational programme. They use many practical activities to encourage counting and number recognition. Staff have created some simple and effective number games which children thoroughly enjoy. Staff engage children well and have introduced addition and subtraction with fun and regularly reinforce mathematical ideas and language. • There is a physical activity session held indoors daily. Staff set out the large hall with a good selection of large and small apparatus. They encourage children to participate and extend their co-ordination, control and balancing

p.5

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 skills through planned obstacle courses. • There is a well established routine and children respond well to change. Staff have high expectations of behaviour and are consistent in their approach Children are happy, confident and demonstrate an understanding of behaviour expectations.

p.5

What needs to be improved?

• the organisation of some activities and whole group time situations to ensure staff plan for and meet the children's individual learning needs effectively and therefore further challenge older children in the area of communication, language and literacy and knowledge and understanding of the world • the opportunities children have to observe, find out about and identify features in the place they live and the natural world • the opportunities children have to build and construct and use a wide range of materials to express and communicate their ideas • the information parents receive about their child's progress and achievements to ensure all parents are kept fully informed and updated.

p.6

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.6

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children show a sense of belonging and adapt well to changes. Children show good levels of involvement in activities and demonstrate an increased independence in selecting activities. During whole group activities some children become disinterested and distracted and are not always extending their learning. They show concern for others and express their feelings appropriately with an awareness of set behaviour boundaries. Older children take initiatives and learn to negotiate .

p.7

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children learn to interact and talk in groups. Although children are beginning to use more complex sentences and respond well to stories the mixed age group of children does not always allow for children to build on their skills. Older children write their names and copy familiar captions and use writing for a variety of purposes during play, but have few opportunities to link sounds and letters of the alphabet.

p.7

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children show a real interest in numbers and counting through the use of action number rhymes and are beginning to solve number problems with interest. They develop an awareness of number comparison and calculation through valuable planned activities and through the use of daily situations. Children enjoy a variety of practical activities to compare shape and size and are beginning to sequence and recreate patterns.

p.7

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children have many opportunities to use everyday objects such as typewriters, camcorders and remote controls during play and children show a keen interest in how things work. Children have less opportunity to observe and find out about their environment and the natural world due to a restriction on outings and visits. Children learn to use simple programmable toys. They learn to recall past and present events and are aware of some other cultures.

p.7

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children develop spatial awareness, move confidently and safely. They use a range of large and small equipment with increased skill and confidence. Children learn to co-ordinate their body to create intended shape through music and movement. They have an understanding of personal hygiene and healthy eating. Children independently use tools to demonstrate an increased skill in the construction of models

p.7

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.7

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Most children easily differentiate between colours and are beginning to explore texture and shape through a range of materials. Children have opportunities to use arts and crafts but activities are usually based around the theme and for a purpose, therefore children have few opportunities to express their own creativity. Children use their imagination during role play and use expression through dance and movement. Children show an interest in music and enjoy using percussion instruments.

p.8

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.8

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.

p.9

WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• Ensure staff plan for and meet the children's individual learning needs during all activities and whole group situations, therefore effectively challenging the more able children in the areas of communication, language and literacy and knowledge and understanding of the world. • Increase the opportunities children have to observe, find out about and identify features in the place they live and the natural world. • Increase the opportunities children have to build and construct and use a wide range of materials to express and communicate their ideas. • Ensure parents are kept well informed about their child's progress and achievements.

p.9

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.9

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.9

STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

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

p.10

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.10

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.10

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.10

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.10

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.10

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.10

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.10

STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

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

p.10

NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

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

p.10

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.10

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.11

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.11

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.11

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.11

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.11