Greenhays Nursery School Ltd

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 04/02/2004 Inspector Name Lorraine Hunt

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Greenhays Childcare Centre Setting Address Green Lane Red Lodge Bury St. Edmunds Suffolk IP28 8LD

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Greenhays Nursery School Address Green Lane, Red Lodge Bury St. Edmunds Suffolk IP28 8LD

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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

Greenhayes Childcare Centre opened in 1986. It operates from two main rooms of a converted mushroom farm building. It is situated close to the busy A11 road so parents from as far afield as Thetford and Newmarket use the provision as well as local families. There are currently 39 children from 6 months to 5 years on roll. This includes 12 funded 3 year olds and 4 funded 4 year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting is able to support children with special needs and those who speak English as an additional language but has none currently attending. The nursery opens 5 days a week all year round and is open from 07.30 to 17.30. Five part-time and three part-time staff work with the children. Three of the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. Three staff are currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from the

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Information about the setting

Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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How good is the Day Care?

Greenhays Childcare Centre provides satisfactory care for children. The management and staff work well together and children benefit from being cared for by a small, experienced and qualified staff team. They provide children with a varied range of activities, toys and play opportunities which develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual development. The nursery is generally well-equipped but some domestic style furniture in the baby/toddler room would assist children's developing mobility and staff comfort when feeding young babies. Staff give a warm welcome to parents, carers and children. The state of repair of the premises reflects the age of the building but staff have compensated for this by the creative use of brightly painted murals and colourful posters. Displays of children's work around the nursery give children a sense of belonging.

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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 Staff give attention to meeting children's individual feeding, sleeping and hygiene needs. A healthy menu of snacks and vegetarian meals is provided, which sometimes includes opportunities for children to make choices. Good hygiene practice is promoted throughout the nursery and staff help children to learn about keeping healthy through the daily routines. Staff are generally vigilant about keeping children safe but regular risk assessments should be carried out. Most policies and procedures are in place. The staff interact well with the children, they talk and listen respectfully to them. They place strong emphasis on positive behaviour management and as a result children know what is expected of them and behave well. Staff have a good

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How good is the Day Care?

awareness of the individual needs of the children. The nursery develops good relationships with parents. Information about the children is shared informally on a daily basis .

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the provider agreed to ensure staff records were kept, to introduce a keyworking system, an operational plan, a no smoking policy and to obtain written parental permission for outings and for seeking emergency medical advice or treatment. These are now in place to enable appropriate care to be given. The provider also agreed to write a child protection statement, expand policies, carry out a risk assessment and to ensure that attendance was recorded accurately. Times of arrival and departure of children and staff are now recorded. A child protection statement was written but does not include procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. Formal risk assessment have not been undertaken and this remains an action to be addressed to ensure that risks to children are minimized. Paper towels are now used at the nursery to reduce the risk of cross infection, the

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What has improved since the last inspection?

temperature of babies food is checked with a food thermometer and staff have been made aware of Health and hygiene procedures to protect children. Information on children's dietary needs is now requested under a special heading on the registration form.

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What is being done well?

• The nursery is a small family run setting which benefits from a staff team that has seen little turnover in the last couple of years. They work closely together to provide consistency and continuity of care. • Children's individual needs are well met. Babies individual routines are respected and followed and toddlers move up to the main playroom when staff and parents feel that the child is developmentally ready to do so. • Staff interact well with the children. They are interested in what children say and do. As a result children are happy and settled. Staff use praise and encouragement effectively to foster children's self-esteem and confidence.

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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 • Parents and carers find the staff very friendly, approachable and caring. They appreciate the way that staff consistently apply high expectations of children's behaviour in a firm, fair way, and actively encourage children to consider and be polite to one another.

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What needs to be improved?

• the implementation of regular recorded risk assessments, which includes swimming activities • the reviewing and updating of the prospectus and some policies to ensure they reflect practice and are consistent with current guidance • the provision of some domestic style furniture in the baby room • the confidential recording of significant issues and existing injuries

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

Std Action Date 6 conduct a risk assessment of the indoor and outdoor premises, including outdoor equipment and the use of the swimming pool, which shows what procedures are in place to minimize risks to children. Forward a copy to Harlow Regional Centre. 09/04/2004

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 5 provide some domestic style furniture to assist children in developing mobility and to continue normal life experiences. 13 ensure that there is a system for the confidential recording of significant

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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 issues and existing injuries 14 ensure that the prospectus gives clear information to parents about food provided and that child protection and equal opportunities policies are updated to reflect current guidance.

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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 Greenhays Childcare Centre is good. It enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals in their personal, social and emotional and mathematical development and generally good progress in all other areas of learning. Teaching is generally good with some very good aspects. Key strengths in many areas of learning are due to the quality of staff interaction with children and support given in developing their skills. The staff team have a consistent approach to promoting good behaviour and set clear boundaries for children. As a result children know what is expected of them. Staff have very good relationships with the children and know them well. They are caring towards them and interested in what they say and do. Staff have a good working knowledge of the Foundation stage which is used to plan varied, interesting and practical activities which help children learn and make

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How effective is the nursery education?

progress in all areas of learning. However, adult led art and craft activities lack challenge for children and concentrate on the end result. Assessments of children's progress are completed but these are not linked to the stepping stones or used to identify "next steps" in order to inform future planning. Leadership and management is generally good. Relationships within the staff team are positive. They are supportive of each other and work well together. Staff are well deployed during the sessions to support and extend children's learning. Management are committed to staff training and improving the nursery's practice. A programme of self-evaluation and staff appraisals would add further focus. Partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents are provided with written information about the setting and the Foundation Stage. They have access to their child's progress records but staff could be more pro-active in sharing topic

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How effective is the nursery education?

information and involving parents in discussions.

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What is being done well?

• Children's self-esteem and confidence is fostered well by staff's praise, encouragement and interaction with them. Staff listen to what children say and respond with interest, making children feel valued. • Children learn about number in meaningful practical situations such as taking turns to lay the lunch table; matching the correct number of knives, forks and chairs and participating in active number games like 5 little penguins but starting with larger numbers corresponding to the number of children who want to participate. • Children's behaviour is very good. They sit attentively in large group time,

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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 wait to take their turn and share resources with one another. They are sensitive and caring towards each other and respect other's needs. Staff act as good role models to children and provide an environment that promotes positive behaviour. • Staff deploy themselves well. They encourage children to be independent but also work alongside them to offer support, as and when needed, in order to extend their play and learning. They encourage children to talk about their ideas thoughts and feelings in one-to-one situations, small and large groups.

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What needs to be improved?

• assessments linked to stepping stones so that "next steps" can be identified and used to inform planning in order that activities build upon what children already know • more frequent opportunities for children to use their imagination and creativity in art and design.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Generally good progress has been made at addressing the key issues identified at the previous inspection. Management actively encourage staff to undertake training to enhance staff's personal professional development and to also meet the needs of the nursery as a whole. However this system is not formalized. The nursery would benefit from the introduction of regular staff appraisals to provide an overview and identify training needs. The nursery has acquired additional resources such as jigsaws, games, role play equipment and musical instruments from other countries which are used frequently to provide children with opportunities to learn about other cultures through meaningful activities and the celebration of festivals. Large bricks have also been purchased to increase opportunities for construction. Parents are welcome to take home their child's progress record, which also has a termly summary of the child's progress in all six areas of learning, and write

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What has improved since the last inspection?

comments if they would like to. However, in practice parents have rarely contributed to this.

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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, happy and secure in the setting. They separate from their carers with ease. They form very good relationships with staff and interact well with each other, co-operating, negotiating, taking turns and sharing resources. They are confident to approach adults and express their needs and views. They are caring towards children who come to visit the nursery. Children's behaviour is very good. Clear boundaries are set and consistently applied by staff.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident speakers. They interact and talk with adults and peers happily. They respond with enjoyment to songs and enthusiastically suggest creatures like lobsters and puffer fish to include in the song "old Mr Fisherman". They enjoy using Jolly Phonics gestures to identify initial sounds of their names in the "my name" game at registration. They write their names on their work and make menus and name cards for the Penguins party. However pre-writing activities are limited.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children count confidently and use numbers correctly in play situations. They are beginning to recognise numerals to 10 and the older/more able children show a developing awareness of addition and subtraction, for example adding together the dots on two dice and in number games like five little penguins. Staff effectively introduce mathematical vocabulary and learning through play, routines and incidental opportunities. Children learn about size, shape, capacity and patterns.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy talking about past and present events and are developing a sense of self. They learn about the natural world, changes that occur, other cultures and beliefs and the local community through an interesting range of planned activities. They observe what happens when you mix cornflour and water and can describe how it feels and changes. However there are limited opportunities for children to investigate and explore living things. There are daily opportunities to use the computer.

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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: Generally Good Children move confidently and have a good awareness of space and others around them during group activities and waiting in a line. They are able to handle a range of tools and objects of all sizes with increasing control and purpose. They have opportunities for running, jumping, climbing and balancing outdoors. Children are starting to learn about keeping healthy but there is little emphasis on recognizing changes in the body after exercise.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children join in enthusiastically with music sessions, listening to and exploring the different sounds instruments make and singing familiar songs. They use their imagination to be "wibbly wobbly jellyfish" and make seahorses and sting rays from playdough.Children take part in a variety of planned art and craft activities which are largely topic based and have a high level of adult direction. As a result children have limited opportunities to use their imagination and creativity.

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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

• continue to develop the system of planning and assessment of children's progress using "stepping stones" from the Foundation Stage curriculum and identifying "next steps" to inform future planning so that activities build upon what children already know and offer appropriate challenges for each child • provide frequent opportunities for children to freely use their imagination and creativity in art and design.

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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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