Early Days Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 05/02/2004 Inspector Name Jacqueline Mason

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Early Days Nursery School Setting Address 2a Orme Road Newcastle Staffordshire ST5 2ND

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The partnership of Early Days (Staffs) Limited

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Early Days (Staffs) Limited Address 2a Orme Road Newcastle Staffordshire ST5 2ND

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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

Early Days Day Nursery has been open since August 2001. It operates from a two storey detached building just outside Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre. The nursery has use of four rooms and a kitchen. There are toilet and nappy changing facilities on each floor. There is a fully enclosed play area for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local area. There are currently 43 children from 6 months to 4 years on roll. This includes 6 funded 3-year-olds and 2 funded 4-year-olds. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery is able to support children with special needs and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery opens from 07:30 - 18:30, Monday to Friday, all year. Sessions are from 07:30 - 13:00 and from 13:00 - 18:30. Six full time and six part time staff work with the children. All staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. The nursery receives support from a

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Information about the setting

teacher/mentor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP) and are working towards accreditation with the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA).

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How good is the Day Care?

Early Days Day Nursery provides satisfactory care for children. Staff have good relationships with children and work to ensure that all children are included. Children are grouped effectively to ensure that they have access to age appropriate activities, although the registration of children is inconsistent across the nursery and registers are not kept up-to-date to ensure that their attendance is recorded. Children have free choice of toys and activities selected daily by staff. Good attention is paid to ensuring that children can play safely in most areas. There is no procedure in place to ensure that children are able to use the stairs safely, although risk assessments are carried out in the main playrooms used by children.

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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 encouraged to have regard for personal hygiene, although the pre-school children use staff toilet facilities. The arrangements for sick children do not fully protect other children from infection. Staff have a good understanding of child protection issues and are confident to report concerns. Activities provided are suitable and varied. There is an appropriate balance of adult led and child initiated activities. Staff interact well with the children and provide a consistent routine that helps children to be settled and confident. Behaviour is managed well. Staff encourage good behaviour and praise children's individual efforts. Equal opportunities is promoted throughout the nursery. Staff work satisfactorily with parents. Information is shared daily with parents to keep

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How good is the Day Care?

them informed about the provision and their child's day. The storage of children's records and the methods for recording medication do not ensure confidentiality although staff respect the confidentiality of anything that parents may say. Parents have access to the nursery's policies and procedures.

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What is being done well?

• A consistent routine is followed in the nursery that helps children to be confident and settled. There is an appropriate balance of adult led and child initiated activities that promotes all areas of children's development. Staff interact well with the children and are interested in what they say and do. • An appropriate equal opportunities policy is understood and implemented by staff. They encourage children to have positive attitudes towards culture, disability and gender. Equal opportunities issues are promoted well through a good range of toys and activities. • The management of children's behaviour is consistent and positive. Strategies to deal with challenging behaviour are appropriate to the age and level of understanding of the children. Good behaviour is valued, encouraged and praised. • Children are grouped appropriately to ensure that they are able to take part in age appropriate activities. Staff know the children well. Provision for babies is

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What is being done well?

good and staff give good attention to meeting babies' individual needs for eating and sleeping.

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What needs to be improved?

• the arrangements to ensure that the registration of children is consistent and up to date • the procedures to ensure that children can use the stairs safely and tripping hazards in the tweenie room are reduced

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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 • the arrangements to ensure confidentiality of documentation • the arrangements to ensure that children do not have access to staff toilet facilities • the arrangements for sick children to adequately protect other children from infection.

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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 Ensure that the methods for recording children’s attendance are consistent across the nursery and registers are up-to-date at all times. 6 Conduct a risk assessment on the stairs, identifying actions to be taken to minimize risks. 7 Develop and implement an action plan describing how arrangements for sick children will adequately protect others from infection.

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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 Early Days Day Nursery is good. This enables children to make very good progress in personal, social and emotional development and generally good progress in all other areas of learning with the exception of creative development which has significant weaknesses. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff have a satisfactory understanding of the foundation stage although activity planning is not sufficiently linked to the early learning goals to enable them to be clear about the learning intention of an activity. Planning does not include structured outdoor play. Although staff keep good assessment records for each child, these are not used to help plan the next steps in children's learning and therefore more able children are not always sufficiently challenged. Children have limited opportunities to develop their individual creativity in art activities. Resources for imaginative play and reading are not that well

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How effective is the nursery education?

presented, but there are a good variety of toys and equipment that are selected by staff for children to choose from. The room used by the children is warm and welcoming but the quality of adult writing in wall displays is poor. Staff manage children's behaviour well and encourage good relationships. The leadership and management of the nursery is generally good. Staff work well together and are aware of their roles and responsibilities. They work with a teacher from the EYDCP to improve the nursery education provision. Staff are able to attend training courses to further develop their skills. There are significant weaknesses in partnership with parents. There are no procedures in place to involve parents in their children's learning or to keep them informed of their children's progress unless there are concerns. Daily discussion does however keep parents informed about their children's day.

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What is being done well?

• Activities provided are interesting and varied. Staff know the children well and are interested in what they say and do. They interact well with the children and ask questions to challenge children's thinking. • Strategies to manage children's behaviour are effective. Staff encourage children to share, take turns and consider the feelings of others. Children are developing good relationships with each other and adults. Staff praise children's individual efforts. • A familiar routine is provided by staff that promotes children's self-confidence. There is an appropriate balance of adult led and child initiated activities to enable children to have choice and work independently. • Children are developing a good understanding of the spoken word. Most children are able to use complex sentence structures, interact with others and

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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 take turns in conversation. They are able to model appropriate conventions such as listening to others and waiting until a person has finished before speaking.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities for children to write for different purposes and see adult's writing presented accurately in displays • the presentation of resources including imaginative play and the reading area • the inclusion of planning for outdoor play activities • the freedom for children to experience free choice art and craft activities to develop individual creativity and the provision of opportunities for them to explore and investigate using all of their senses • the use of assessment to enable extension activities to be planned for more able children and the learning intentions in activity planning to be linked more closely to the stepping stones • the procedures to involve parents in their children's learning and keep them informed about their children's development.

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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 separate readily from their main carer and enjoy their time at nursery. Children are developing good relationships with adults and each other and play well together in small groups. They behave well and are learning to share and take turns. Children are able to initiate and sustain conversation and are developing confidence to speak in small groups. They are interested in the activities provided and join in enthusiastically with group activities.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children handle books carefully and turn pages one at a time. Children are developing good language skills and are confident to ask questions. They are learning to take turns in conversation and wait for their turn to speak. Children have limited opportunities to write for different purposes. They recognise their first name when written and see it written in many everyday situations. Children are developing an awareness of letter sounds and can link initial sounds to objects in the environment.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children show an interest in counting. All children can count to 10 and many can count up to 20. Children practise counting in everyday routine and play activities, however this is not fully implemented. Children recognise random numerals and understand that numerals relate to an amount. They are developing calculation skills and solve mathematical problems in everyday play. Children recognise simple shapes and are able to compare them to shapes in the environment.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children show an interest in information technology and are able to complete simple programmes with support. Children show an awareness of time and space. They are familiar with the nursery routine and are learning about the changing seasons through looking at the local environment. Although children are able to experience new tastes, opportunities for them to explore and investigate using all their senses are missed. Children are learning about their own and other beliefs and cultures.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are able to stop, change direction and manoeuvre around obstacles when walking and using wheeled toys although planning for outdoor play is not included in activity planning. Children are able to balance well using various parts of the body. They enjoy exploring malleable materials and handle one handed tools well and with increasing control. Children use tools safely and appropriately.

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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: Significant Weaknesses Children are able to name recognise and name different colours but opportunities for children to explore colour and texture are usually adult led which restricts children's development of individual creativity. Children enjoy taking part in imaginative play but resources are not presented effectively to enable them to be used. The variety of role play situations is limited. Children sing songs from memory. They enjoy group singing and join in enthusiastically with action rhymes.

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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

• Improve the presentation of resources including imaginative play and the reading area. • Provide children with opportunities to experience free choice art and craft activities to develop individual creativity. • Develop the use of assessment to inform planning, extend activities for more able children and link planning more closely with the stepping stones. • Develop procedures to involve parents in their children's learning and keep them informed about their children's development.

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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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