Mrs Cameron Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 17/11/2004 Inspector Name Veronica Sharpe

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Mrs Cameron Day Nursery Setting Address Gonville & Caius College Flat 2 Springfield Sidgewick Avenue Cambridge CB3 9DS

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Wigwam Nurseries Ltd Address 2 Post Office Lane Kempsey Worcester Worcestershire WR5 3NS

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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

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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

The Mrs Cameron Day Nursery was opened in 1999. It operates from a converted and extended house in the grounds of Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge. Children have use of three inter-connected group rooms and two enclosed outdoor play areas. Admissions priority is given to staff and fellows of the college and other institutions associated with Gonville and Caius College. Opening times are 08:30 to 17:00 Monday to Friday and the nursery operates all year round. The nursery is registered to accept up to 25 children at any one time. There are currently 26 children aged from 3 months to under 5 years on roll, of these 6 receive funding for nursery education. A significant number of children on roll have English as an additional language. The nursery supports a small number of children with special educational needs. The nursery employs seven staff all of whom have appropriate early years qualifications. Four staff are currently on training courses. The nursery has

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Information about the setting

placements for students and employs additional supply staff. The proprietor works in the nursery on a part time basis and owns a second nursery in another area. The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association.

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How good is the Day Care?

The Mrs Cameron Day Nursery provides good quality care for children. The stable senior staff team are experienced and qualified and work well together. They ensure children receive good individual care and support so they are happy and settled. Children take part in the activities enthusiastically and enjoy warm and positive relationships with staff. The nursery is welcoming, attractive and well decorated and there is an excellent range of high quality equipment throughout the nursery. There is a particularly attractive and well-equipped outdoor play area that children use every day all year round. There are effective procedures in place to ensure children are kept safe both inside

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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 and out and staff have a good awareness of health and hygiene. They promote good practice by example and encourage children to learn independent self-care, such as washing their hands and visiting the toilet. Meals and snacks are healthy and good quality, staff sit and eat with the children in small social groups so children learn to develop good eating habits. Children with English as an additional language are well supported and there is a good range of resources that reflect the cultural diversity of the children. Staff know children well, they praise them and provide consistent boundaries so children are secure and confident. There are satisfactory systems in place to support children with special educational needs and staff have an understanding of the child protection

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How good is the Day Care?

procedures that help keep children safe. Parents are warmly welcomed into the setting. Staff share information with them daily to ensure children needs are being met and that they are secure and happy. Documentation is detailed and generally complete and up to date.

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What is being done well?

• Throughout the nursery children's relationships with adults are very good. Staff are kind and affectionate and ensure children are well supported in their activities. Children are happy and comfortable with staff; they join in group activities with enthusiasm, ask questions and confidently expect a warm response. • Staff are very conscientious about children's safety. They are vigilant when children are playing both indoors and outside and procedures for outings are comprehensive. Effective security systems ensure the setting is monitored so that children are kept safe. • Staff have a calm and consistent approach and reinforce children's good behaviour with praise and encouragement. They ensure children know and understand their boundaries so they are secure and confident. As a result children's behaviour is very good. • Parents' relationships with the nursery are warm and positive. The nursery operates an open door policy and, as many parents work on site, they are

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What is being done well?

welcome to drop in to see their children during the nursery day. Information about children's well being is shared daily and parents have good opportunities to speak individually with staff.

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

The nursery is actively engaged in the implementation of the Birth to Three Matters programme. Staff have completed training and have achieved high standards of planning and observations that further enhance the quality of care already given to the babies. Commitment to the successful implementation of this programme ensures that babies receive the loving care and support they need so they are happy

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

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 secure and can develop their full potential. Good liaison between staff and parents ensures children transfer into the pre-school with confidence.

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What needs to be improved?

• complaints procedure in the parent's information pack.

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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 12 Ensure the complaints procedure in the parent's information includes the telephone number of Ofsted.

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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?

The provision for nursery education at The Mrs Cameron Day Nursery is good. It enables children to make very good progress in their personal, social and emotional development, mathematics, knowledge and understanding of the world and their physical development. They make generally good progress in the other areas of learning. Teaching is generally good. The senior staff team have a good understanding of the early learning goals and provide a wide range of interesting and stimulating activities that ensure children progress in all the areas of learning. Good teamwork ensures children are effectively supported in their activities. Organisation of the resources does not always enable children to spontaneously access tools and materials so they can enhance their own learning experiences. Plans are well developed and successfully cover all the areas of learning. Observations are collected daily and are used effectively to inform future planning.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Extension activities are planned for older and more able children so their enthusiasm for learning continues. There is good support for children who have English as an additional language and there are effective systems to ensure children with special needs are included in the activities. The leadership and management are generally good. The well-established senior staff team work confidently together to ensure children progress consistently and are well cared for. Regular staff meetings and appraisals ensure individual professional needs and the setting's needs are met although at present there is no formal system in place to evaluate and monitor continuing good practice. The partnership with parents is very good. Staff have daily contact with parents and provide both formal and informal information about children's progress. Parents contribute their knowledge of the children and are invited to attend open evenings or

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What is being done well?

• Children learn many mathematical concepts through the use of songs and rhymes, for example, they learn and understand positional language such as behind, in front, alongside and next to when enjoying songs such as "here we go round the mulberry bush" or "oats, beans and barley". • Children celebrate relevant festivals and special events that enhance their understanding of the cultural and religious diversity of the children who attend. Pictures and posters around the nursery reflect the ethnic backgrounds of the children and help them appreciate their differences and similarities. • Children are developing their awareness of a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy their mealtimes and know that fruit and vegetables are good for them, they

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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 discuss which foods are good for their bones, and decide that milk helps them to grow big and strong. • Provision of music and dancing is a strength of the setting. Children enthusiastically join in with a wide range of active and interesting songs and rhymes and use a range of musical instruments. They sing along loudly, happily learn new verses and follow staff as they introduce new movements with obvious enjoyment.

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What needs to be improved?

• the range of appropriate resources that enable children to spontaneously mark make and practise their emergent writing. • children's opportunities to initiate their own creative experiences. To develop, enhance and extend their own ideas in arts, crafts and role play and to see their creative work displayed.

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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 friendly, happy and confident, they explore their environment with enthusiasm and approach their learning with excitement and wonder. They have developed very good relationships with staff and each other and are capable and confident communicators. They express their opinions clearly, but are happy to listen to the opinions of others. Their behaviour is excellent.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children interact confidently with staff and each other, they speak clearly and are able to organise themselves and others. They find and recognise their names, and love listening to stories in small and large groups. They have lots of opportunities to see and use letters in play, for example magnetic letters or labels. They have limited opportunities to use writing tools spontaneously, for example in the role play area.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children count with confidence and most can identify numbers 1 to 10 or beyond. They investigate size and volume in the sand and water trays and participate in cooking activities that help them weigh, estimate and predict. They use various tools, such as the computer to pattern, sequence and match. They learn songs and rhymes that introduce calculation, such as "five currant buns".

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children explore living things in the nursery garden, they plant vegetables and flowers and watch them change and grow. They explore the surrounding gardens and city streets, visit shops, feed the ducks and recall their experiences both verbally and in photographs. They learn about other children's home environments by recording the travels of the nursery teddy and celebrate relevant festivals that reflect their diversity.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children run and manoeuvre round obstacles confidently, they are learning to pedal, climb and scramble and enjoy rolling logs or digging in sand. Dancing and active songs and games enable them to develop their spatial awareness, which is very good. They thread, cut, glue and paint and build complex structures from both large and small construction. They have a well developed knowledge of foods that are good for them.

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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 have good opportunities to explore texture and colour with various media such as paint, clay, sand, soap and junk. They enjoy the daily music sessions which are a feature of the setting. A proportion of arts and crafts are adult initiated rather than the result of children's spontaneous creativity and their use of the role play area is sometimes limited by the accessibility of additional resources that would enable them to enhance and extend their creative experiences.

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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

• ensure that children have further opportunities to initiate their own creative activities and ideas and provide appropriate tools and materials, which will enable them to extend and enhance their enjoyment of those activities.

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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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