School House Private Day Nursery Limited / Four Seasons Out Of School Club

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 02/03/2004 Inspector Name Rachel Wyatt

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Out of School Day Care, Full Day Care Setting Name School House Private Day Nursery Ltd Setting Address Priory Road Dodford Bromsgrove Worcestershire B61 9DF

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name School House Day Nursery Ltd 4490480

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name School House Day Nursery Ltd Address Priory Road Dodford Bromsgrove Worcestershire B61 9DF

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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

School House Private Day Nursery opened in 1991. It operates from a two-storey building in its own grounds with after school care being provided in the adjacent primary school. The nursery is in a rural setting in the village of Dodford approximately two miles from Bromsgrove. There are currently 97 children under 8 years on roll. This includes 19 funded 3-year-olds and 6 funded 4-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Support is provided for children with special needs and for those who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week all year round, except for one week at Christmas and New Year. Sessions are from 07:30 until 18:00, with various options for durations of sessions. School age children can be cared for before and after school, with opportunities for holiday play schemes if there is sufficient demand. Twenty full-time and part-time staff work with the children. Seventeen staff have

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Information about the setting

early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3, including NNEB; Nursery Nursing Cache Diploma; B Tec in Nursery Nursing and BA Ed (Hons) and three staff are currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from a mentor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership, and the group is an active member of the local early years partnership group and the Bromsgrove Providers' Forum. The nursery is participating in the Growing Together Quality Assurance Scheme and is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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How good is the Day Care?

School House Private Day Nursery provides good care for children. Attractively laid out activities, interesting displays and a warm welcome create a reassuring, comfortable environment for children and families. Staff are knowledgeable, keep up to date with training, and use their knowledge of the children to provide effective support. Documentation is well organised with a few minor omissions.

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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 are well supervised and can explore their surroundings safely. Safety procedures are comprehensive with minor omissions regarding fire equipment checks, practice evacuations and the risk assessment at the school site. Staff regularly exchange information about children's health, well-being and routines. They are well cared for as health and hygiene procedures are exemplary, with older children confident to see to their own self-care needs. Snacks and meals are varied and nutritious, but monitoring of food temperatures is infrequent. Staff are proactive in ensuring individual children's dietary requirements are met. At meal times children enjoy helping to set the table and handing out snacks. A strong sense of community is fostered in the setting. Children relate well to each

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How good is the Day Care?

other and to adults who have a warm rapport with them. Children understand about being kind, showing concern for others and being helpful. They join in discussions and make decisions about activities they would like to engage in. They are well behaved and respond to adults' realistic expectations. Children of all ages join in a wide range of well resourced activities. They are confident during physical play, enjoy imaginative and creative experiences and learn about different topics such as friendship and growth. The setting actively promotes children's awareness of other peoples' lives, roles and differing abilities. An effective partnership with parents is based on regular discussions about their children and access to helpful information about the setting, topics and procedures.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the setting agreed to follow up recommendations made by the fire officer regarding fire safety procedures in the nursery building. Progress has been satisfactory as smoke alarms are in place in the first floor care rooms. Regular nursery practice emergency evacuations involve different parts of the building or the whole nursery, and are well documented and evaluated. Nursery fire equipment checks are up to date. The setting is liaising with the school regarding checks of equipment in the area used by the after school club, where children have had opportunities to discuss an emergency drill, but not to take part in a recent practice evacuation. As a result of an investigation the setting agreed to actions to ensure registered numbers of children were not exceeded, to maintain adult-child ratios and to record the times of children's and adults' attendance. Good progress has been made as

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What has improved since the last inspection?

effective procedures are in place to regularly monitor the pattern of children's attendance, to ensure registered numbers are not exceeded and ratios maintained. Attendance records include children's ages so ratios can be checked and monitored especially where mixed age groups are being cared for. Attendance times are recorded for children and the staff looking after them, and also for any visitor. Staff liaise with each other and work together to ensure children have consistency of care during changeover times and during their rest times. After lunch during some children's sleep times, and at the start and end of a day, children have opportunities to be cared for with older or younger peers which helps to foster the feeling of community within the setting.

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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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What is being done well?

• The setting has an effective operational plan; staff follow procedures, and routines and activities are well organised and managed. Children are familiar with their surroundings and settled in the child-friendly environment. • Children are actively engaged in a variety of interesting activities and topics which promote all aspects of their development. Children of all ages take part in creative activities, they enjoy being active, take an interest in the natural world and learn about letters, numbers and other concepts during play and routines. Children's appreciation and understanding of experiences and topics is often followed through into other aspects of their play. Older children actively contribute their ideas for activities and toys to be provided, whilst others have opportunities to make choices during play and routines. A strong sense of community is fostered throughout the setting. Children respond to

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What is being done well?

the staff's warm rapport and affection. Children are helpful, they talk about being kind and show concern for others, their independence is developing well and they relate well to others. They are well behaved and respond to the adults' realistic expectations and calm, consistent manner. • Children enjoy the wide range of toys and resources which enhance their interest and concentration. Their awareness of other cultures, disability and positive gender roles is encouraged by a good range of toys, games and books and opportunities to learn about different festivals. • Health and hygiene procedures are exemplary and ensure children are comfortable, and well cared for. They enjoy a range of well organised meals and snacks. • Staff are well informed about children's individual needs and actively ensure that special arrangements are maintained. • Parents appreciate the quality of care provided for their children, the range of

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What is being done well?

information they receive and the regular opportunities to exchange information.

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What needs to be improved?

• the written procedures regarding uncollected children to ensure arrangements are in place to inform the relevant authorities in the event of no one arriving to collect a child • the wording of the risk assessment used for assessing potential hazards in areas used by the after school club • the frequency of after school club emergency evacuations and fire equipment checks • the frequency of temperature checks on hot food.

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What needs to be improved?

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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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 6 Ensure children attending the after school club have opportunities to take part in emergency evacuation drills, and that regular checks are carried out on fire extinguishers in the areas used by the club. 8 Improve monitoring of the temperatures of hot meals.

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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?

School House Private Day Nursery provides very good nursery education. Children's progress in all areas of learning is very good. Teaching is very good. Staff relate very well to children. They actively promote their self esteem and encourage positive relationships. Most staff have a sound knowledge of the Foundation Stage and they provide an interesting range of well resourced activities. Plans are linked to areas of learning and allow for differentiation to accommodate children's varying needs. Occasionally less experienced staff are hesitant about extending children's learning. Support for children with special educational needs is very good; assessments are clear and realistic targets agreed. Leadership and management is very good. Managers and staff work together to ensure the smooth running of the nursery education provision. Appropriate systems are in place to assess strengths and weaknesses, and to evaluate the curriculum.

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How effective is the nursery education?

During meetings there are opportunities to share good practice issues, review procedures and to cascade information, resulting, for example, in a positive impact on the nursery's special educational needs provision. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents and carers are warmly welcomed and are encouraged to share information about their children. They are given good quality information about the setting, and details of forthcoming topics, including stories and activities they might want to follow up. They are encouraged to come to the nursery to share a skill, talk about their work or to provide resources for topics.

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What is being done well?

• Children are observant and enthusiastic about learning. They enjoy taking part in new activities and experiences, they are imaginative and share and develop ideas, enthusiastically explore different materials and media and take an interest in the world around them and the lives of others. • Children are very confident speakers and listen carefully to others. They actively participate in group discussions and games, and enjoy stories, songs and rhymes. They like to practice letter sounds, they recognise their own and other children's names, and often identify letters and names from print displayed around the nursery. • A strong sense of community is promoted in the nursery resulting in a secure learning environment for children and a welcoming atmosphere for them and their families. Staff encourage children to feel good about themselves, to welcome each other by name, to talk about their families and the things they

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What is being done well?

like. Children are encouraged to be aware of the importance of friendship; they relate well to others and play co-operatively, they share toys, take turns and like to help around the nursery.

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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 • An effective staff team provide a very good range of well resourced topics and activities to foster children's interest and learning in all areas of the curriculum. Effective use of toys, resources and equipment enhances children's understanding of the natural world, their appreciation of their own and other people's lives, and encourages their imagination and creativity.

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What needs to be improved?

• the interaction of less experienced staff with children during some story times and activities • the opportunities for new or less experienced staff to be more involved in some curriculum planning and assessment of children's progress.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the nursery was given a point for consideration to ensure new staff develop a secure knowledge and understanding of the learning outcomes with emphasis on knowledge and understanding of the world. Progress since this inspection has been very good as experienced staff are secure in their knowledge of the Foundation Stage and early learning goals, and provision for nursery education is very good, resulting in children making very good progress in all six areas of learning. Development of new and less experienced staff is ongoing. They have opportunities to develop their knowledge of the early learning goals and Foundation Stage through the setting's induction procedures, in service training and opportunities to attend relevant courses. Some staff are also being given responsibility for a specific aspect of the curriculum.

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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 eager to learn and to show others what they are doing. They are confident with a strong sense of their own identity and of being part of the community of the nursery. They show concern for others, are welcoming to each other and to anyone visiting their part of the nursery. They play well together, talking and negotiating and often suggest ideas, following these through in co-operative play. They understand the importance of sharing, turn taking, being kind and helpful.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children speak confidently during activities, making suggestions, negotiating, developing ideas, and during discussions when they describe what they see or feel, respond to questions and recall stories and events. They recognise their own and others' names, and recognise and say individual letter sounds. Children enjoy writing and mark making in different contexts, forming recognisable letters. They enjoy looking at books, listening to stories, and joining in songs and rhymes.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children count confidently, often beyond ten and recognise corresponding numbers in different contexts. They are adept at simple problem solving using familiar objects within the nursery, they can put items of different sizes into the correct order and match different objects to the correct number. They enjoy number rhymes and in play and routines they use mathematical language to compare shapes, size, weight and quantity.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children are observant and inquisitive. They investigate features of the natural world and describe how gardeners behave, what plants need to grow, the changes in the seasons, and the differences in natural materials they play with. They enjoy talking about their own lives, their families and important events. They recall aspects of life in the nursery and enjoy opportunities to find out about other peoples' lives through stories and activities focussing on different festivals and celebrations.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have good hand-eye coordination, confidently using a range of tools. They fix together a variety of construction toys to make models and layouts, and use a variety of natural materials. They show good spatial awareness, moving freely with increasing control and when using large physical equipment, and competently steer and peddle wheeled toys. Children's self-care skills are progressing well, and they are aware of the affects of exercise and the importance of healthy eating.

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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: Very Good Children enjoy exploring different media and materials such as paint, water, sand, soil, dough and textiles. They talk about the appearance and texture of materials, paint expressively, enjoy drawing and craft activities, and talk about and describe what they are doing. They are very imaginative, acting out different scenarios and roles in a variety of play situations. They often spontaneously respond to resources or a situation which stimulate an idea and lead to sustained imaginative 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 high quality. Children are making very 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

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no sifnificant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to the following: • continue to build on new and less experienced staff's knowledge of the Foundation Stage and early learning goals, including developing their involvement in planning and in assessing children's progress

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

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

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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