Walton Kiddiwinks Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 08/03/2005 Inspector Name Michele Anne Villiers

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Walton Kiddiwinks Nursery Setting Address 54/56 Grey Road Walton Liverpool Merseyside L9 1AY

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of 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 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

Walton Kiddiwinks Nursery were registered in January 1998. It is privately owned and managed. The nursery occupies the ground floor of a large detached Victorian house. It operates in 3 rooms including a self contained baby unit. All children share access to a soft play area, sensory room and secure fully enclosed garden. The nursery is situated in Walton, a residential suburb of Liverpool. A maximum of 35 children aged under 5 may attend at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 07:00 to 18:00 hours with the exception of bank holidays. Currently there are 55 children on roll aged from 3 months to 4 years. On the day of the visit 28 children are present and of these, 4 children receive funding for nursery education. Children attending primarily live in and around Liverpool. The nursery employs the 13 staff of whom 4 are job share. All staff hold an appropriate early years qualification and 9 have a First Aid certificate. A cook is

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Information about the setting

employed for preparing the children's meals. An early years teacher supports with the children's educational programme and they are implementing Birth to 3 Matters. They network with Liverpool Early Years Development Childcare partnership and attend cluster meetings.

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Information about the setting

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Walton Kiddiwinks Nursery provides good-quality nursery education overall which enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff enthusiastically support the children and create a stimulating environment to motivate the children's learning. They have a good relationship with the children and parents. Staff use planning to provide a wide range of activities, focused on the six areas of learning. However, plans do not identify the stepping-stones and the expected learning outcomes. Appropriate assessment methods are used to identify the children's progress, although these are not always dated, and activities are evaluated to inform future plans. Most activities are interesting and stimulating, but older more able children are not always fully challenged, with few opportunities to use the computer, practise their climbing and

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How effective is the nursery education?

balancing skills and stretch their imagination. The leadership and management of the provision is generally good. The manager has a clear vision of where she wants the nursery to go and is committed to ongoing improvement. Staff are monitored and weekly meetings identify planned activities and provide opportunities for them to give feedback on the evaluation of theme's and topical activities. However, the use of some resources and the environment is not fully utilised to further enhance the children's development to their full potential. The partnership with parents is generally good. Staff welcome parents into the nursery and the children's progress reports are made freely available for parents to access. Parents may chat to staff each day to share information, although there is not a formal procedure in place. Parents receive written information about the educational provision and activity plans are displayed, along with many photographs

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What is being done well?

• Children confidently interact, speak in a group and initiate conversations. They are forming good relationships and eager to try new activities. • Children are learning to have strong independence skills. Staff encourage children to be responsible for small tasks and they competently tidy away, attend to personal hygiene and dress themselves for outdoor play. • Children are developing good writing skills. They enjoy copying their name and producing recognisable letters. They use writing for a variety of purposes and have free access to the drawing table. • Children are developing a good sense of time and well planned topics, such as 'Babies' enable children to learn about their families and past and present events in their own lives.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • Many opportunities are provided for children to explore their senses in the designated 'sensory room' where they can respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear and feel.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunity for children to be sufficiently challenged in their mathematical knowledge, physical skills, imagination and the use of information and communication technology • the development of staff teaching skills • the activity plans to match the stepping-stones and to identify the learning outcome.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are interested and motivated to learn. They express their thoughts and ideas within a group and initiate play situations confidently. Children are forming good relationships with adults and their peers and work well together, taking turns and sharing. Children are developing independence skills as they help to tidy away and dress themselves before going outside to play. Their behaviour is managed generally well with positive encouragement.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children confidently chat about their home life and experiences and initiate conversation. They recognise their written name and self-register with name cards on arrival. They are developing good writing skills as they trace, copy and produce their name and recognisable letters. They enjoy books and listen to stories. There are displayed written words, although pictures do not always accompany words to reinforce their learning.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children can count 10 or more objects and sometimes use calculation during practical activities, although older more able children are not fully challenged to add and subtract. Planned activities, such as baking and shape recognition, help children to learn about size, quantity and measure. Children use different size containers during water and sand play. They are learning to identify numerals through matching games, wall displays and number writing.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Planned activities such as 'Babies' and 'Our Families' help children to learn about past and present events. They enjoy walks to places of interest, and are occasionally taken to the nearby park to feed the ducks. However, opportunities to learn more about nature are not fully exploited in the outdoor area. Children learn about other cultures and there are good displays of ethnic posters. Children have access to some programmable toys and a computer, although the computer is rarely used.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move around the nursery environment with good control, and negotiate space successfully as they manoeuvre tricycles and scooters. They are developing good co-ordination with bat and ball games and climb in the soft play area. However, more able children do not have the opportunity to fully extend their climbing and balancing skills. Children access a wide range of construction and small tools, and the healthy eating plan enables children to learn about health and bodily awareness.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have opportunities to explore and choose from a range of media and enjoy collage, sticking, painting, sand and water. The sensory room further supports their experiences to what they see, hear and feel. They listen to a range of music and enjoy singing songs. Children freely access dressing-up clothes and the home corner area fosters their imagination, but they are not given the opportunity to use this area to act out different creative role-play situations.

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

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of 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

• provide older, more able children, with greater opportunities to develop their mathematical knowledge in a practical way with calculation and problem solving • improve resources to enable children to practice and develop their climbing and balancing skills, both indoors and outside • make greater use of the computer to support the children's knowledge of technology, and make greater use of the role-play area to further develop the children's imagination • develop the staff teaching skills so they can consistently challenge the older, more able children, and further develop the staff knowledge of curriculum planning in order to produce plans that match the stepping stones and identify the learning outcomes.

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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 Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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