Aboyne Lodge Junior Mixed and Infant School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 17/08/2004 Inspector Name Derelyn Stevens

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Pixieland Mannamead Setting Address 162 Mannamead Road Mannamead Plymouth Devon PL3 5QL

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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

Pixieland at Mannamead is part of a chain of five privately owned nurseries in Plymouth. The nursery is situated in a large building on a main road into Plymouth, in a well established residential suburb of the city. The nursery has sole use of the premises. Pixieland offers care for children under eight years old. It is open from 07.00 to 18.00 for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 112 children on roll; of these, 36 three-year-olds and 15 four-year-olds are in receipt of funding. The nursery is currently supporting children with special educational needs. However no children who have English as an additional language currently attend. All staff hold a level 2 or above child care qualification, or are trainees currently working towards this level. Senior staff and managers are qualified to level 3 or above in child care. There is a manager on site and in addition a group manager and the owner work across the five nurseries within the group.

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Information about the setting

Pixieland is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association. They receive support from the Early Years Childcare Partnership.

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How good is the Day Care?

Pixieland at Mannamead provides satisfactory care for children. A high proportion of staff are qualified and most have a good knowledge of policies and procedures. The nursery has sufficient space for the numbers of children being cared for, however the organisation of this space is not well thought-out. The nursery has adequate equipment and resources which are accessible to children. Most records are clear and up to date, although some lack the necessary detail. Staff create a safe and caring environment and are vigilant in monitoring health and safety aspects throughout the nursery. Staff promote good hygiene practices, such as washing hands. Drinking water is accessed through a water dispenser for

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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 over three years and children under three are regularly offered water during the day. Cooked meals are provided at lunch times with snacks provided during the morning and afternoon, however these are not always nutritious. Staff have a generally good knowledge of children's individual needs. Children with special educational needs are well supported. Children over three years are offered a varied range of activities. Activities offered to babies and young children are adequate, but do not sufficiently stimulate and support children's creativity. The nursery has a very well equipped sensory room however this is used irregularly by all the children. Babies have few opportunities to experience sensory play on a daily

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How good is the Day Care?

basis. Staff develop positive relationships with the children and know them well. Children are generally well behaved and staff provide good role models. Resources which promote the wider world in which children live are limited. Parents are welcomed to the nursery by approachable staff. Parents are provided with comprehensive and clear information about the nursery when their child first starts and this is continued throughout their child's time at the nursery.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The group was asked to complete several actions at their last inspection. Most of the actions were regarding documentation. These have been satisfactorily actioned. However, the attendance register does not detail the children's arrival and departure times. The nursery is now maintained at an adequate temperature ensuring children and babies are not too hot or cold during the day. Safety is good throughout the nursery, ensuring children are kept safe. Drinking water is offered throughout the day to children under three years, and children over three years can access water from the dispenser when they are thirsty.

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What is being done well?

• Staff are vigilant in ensuring a safe environment. The premises are very secure with a fingerprint and password security system in place to ensure access to the premises is safe. • Staff are active in promoting good health and hygiene procedures. A high number of staff have a first aid certificate. • Staff are enthusiastic. They sit and play with the children, listening and responding to children's questions. Children are happy and have good relationships with staff and other children. • Staff have a good relationship with parents. Parents are provided with comprehensive information about the nursery through a brochure, regular newsletters, parents notice board and regular discussions with staff.

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• organisation of the play space, ensuring rooms are used to their full potential • attendance registers, make sure children's arrive and departure times are recorded • meals, to ensure these are nutritious and healthy • the range of activities and resources to ensure all children are sufficiently stimulated and their creativity and sensory development is supported • multicultural resources, extend the range of multicultural resources for children under 3 years.

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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 Keep a daily record of children’s hours of attendance 3 Plan a broad range of activities and play opportunities for children under three, which supports their creativity and sensory development 8 Make sure children are provided with some nutritious food daily 9 Ensure that children under three have an appropriate range of activities and resources that promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice

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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?

Pixieland at Mannamead provides nursery education which is acceptable and of good quality. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals and their progress in personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy is very good. The quality of teaching is generally good. The nursery is set out with well-organised resources provided in ways which promote independence and learning. Staff plan interesting activities but do not link these closely to the stepping stones which means that some free-play activities are not at an appropriate level for the participating children. Creative activities are sometimes too adult-directed. Staff assess the children's progress and know them well. They use this knowledge to effectively group children for more structured activities, for example, related to language and communication. As a result progress in this area is very good. Support for children

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How effective is the nursery education?

with identified special needs is good with staff aware of developmental targets. However, the next steps in learning are not identified for all children and so planned activities are not always appropriate. The leadership and management of the nursery are generally good. Managers and staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities. However, the monitoring of the educational programme to ensure sufficient coverage of the areas of learning and the identification of weaknesses is not always effective. This leads to some gaps in the educational programme and insufficient emphasis on aspects of creative development. The partnership with parents is generally good. Parents receive some useful information about the educational programme and have suitable opportunities to share knowledge of their children's progress with staff.

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What is being done well?

• The nursery environment is set out well to encourage independence and learning. For example, children self-select resources which are easily accessible and they are given responsibilities such as using their name cards to indicate when they have had their snack. • Children are grouped appropriately by age or ability for small group, structured activities. This allows staff to plan to meet the needs of the children in the group, extending the more able. • There is a very good programme for the development of speaking and listening skills and as a result children's progress in communication, language and literacy is very good.

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• the programme for creative development • links between activities and the stepping stones to ensure that planned activities are appropriate • the use of assessment to inform planning and identify the next steps for individual children • the monitoring of the educational programme to ensure that all aspects of each of the areas of learning receive sufficient coverage.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Generally good progress has been made. Two issues were identified at the previous inspection. These related to planning with particular reference to staff deployment, and provision for role-play. The planning system has been developed and staff deployment is now good. Staff support children well at structured, small group activities and also interact well with them during free-play encouraging learning through play. The nursery now provides a designated role-play area with resources linked to the current theme. This is not always used well by the children and expressing imagination through using a variety of media is an area which remains to be addressed.

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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 are confident. They are developing good independence skills as they self-select activities, pour and carry their own drinks and attend to their own hygiene needs. Children are competent at tidying up. They concentrate well at large group times and persist for substantial periods at activities which they have chosen themselves, such as construction. Their behaviour is good. They know the rules of the nursery and are quick to apologise.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are developing good listening skills through taking part in carefully planned activities in small groups; for example, taped sounds. As a result they listen attentively at story time in a large group. Children talk confidently and are learning to ask questions such as 'where do you live?' through the skilful use of a puppet. Children enjoy books and look at them independently, handling them correctly.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children confidently recognise and are able to name shapes and find other examples in their environment. They accurately count the number of wheels on their models and know which has 'more'. They are able to identify numbers to record the date and are developing an awareness of addition and subtraction through the frequent use of number rhymes. Planned activities are not always appropriate to their stage of development.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children build interesting models using a variety of different construction materials and skills. They are developing a good understanding of time, remembering what day it was yesterday and what they did. Topics such as 'the sea' are helping them to learn about their local environment. There is not enough emphasis on children exploring and experimenting to find out the properties of objects and materials, both natural and made, and how they change.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are developing good manipulative skills as they pour their drinks, use scissors and carefully place squares of coloured paper. They hold pencils correctly and colour in neatly. Children confidently use a good range of physical equipment outdoors and show increasing skill. They show an awareness of space and each other as they move to music in the confined space of the playroom. Not enough emphasis is given to developing an awareness of their bodies; for example, when they exercise.

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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

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are familiar with a wide range of nursery songs and rhymes. They enjoy singing and moving to music. There are many planned art and craft activities but too often these are adult-directed; for example, sticking coloured squares or painting onto a pre-cut shape. Although children do use their imaginations when playing with models they have constructed, there are not enough opportunities for children express their own ideas using a variety of media and role-play.

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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

• use assessments of the children's progress to inform the planning of the educational programme and link plans to the stepping stones to ensure that free play activities are at an appropriate level • monitor planning to ensure that all aspects of the six areas of learning receive sufficient coverage • develop the programme for creative development to give children more opportunities to use their own ideas and imaginations.

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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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