Pheasey Infant and Nursery School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 11/11/2004 Inspector Name Susan Jennifer Scott

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Fleet Day Nursery Setting Address Lunedale Road Dartford Kent DA2 6JX

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REGISTERED PROVIDER 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

Fleet Day Nursery opened in 1991. They meet in a classroom of Fleet Infant School in Dartford. It is a privately owned nursery and the owner is also the manager. The nursery offers full day care and is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 am until 6 pm. The nursery is open throughout the year. There are 38 children on the register. The nursery offer places to funded children and recruit from the surrounding area, feeding on to a variety of Primary schools. No children with special educational needs (SEN) attend at present although there are three with English as an additional language (EAL). There are seven staff who work with the children. Over half the staff have early years early years qualification. There are three staff currently working towards recognised qualifications to NVQ level 3. The group is a Pre-School Learning Alliance (PLA) associated group and receive support and training from the Early years Advisory teacher (EYDCP).

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How good is the Day Care?

Fleet Day Nursery provides good care for children. The nursery have exclusive use of the premises and a variety of appropriate equipment is provided for the children to use. The staff team work together and share responsibilities for delivering a variety of activities for the children. There is a variety of equipment and opportunities for children to self select. Staff have completed First Aid training. Staff are aware of the written procedures and policies and carry these out as part of their responsibilities although they have not had recent child protection training covering all catchment areas. The documentation meets the requirements.

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How good is the Day Care?

The room is clean, safe and attractive with access to a variety of outdoor play spaces. There is good security both inside and out and staff pay attention to safety.

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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 benefit from good routines for eating and drinking, although they cannot access to drinking water independently and hygiene routines do not include wearing gloves to serve food. The staff are flexible in managing children's behaviour and meeting their individual needs, and provide good individual support to enable them to fully participate in the programme. Staff are positive and recognise children's achievements. Staff meet the special and individual needs of children through supportive care and inclusion in all activities. The relationship between parents and staff is good: parents are very satisfied and feel their children make good progress. They receive a variety of verbal and written information and are welcomed into the group; they can also attend annual open

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How good is the Day Care?

sessions. They can access a variety of information provided on the notice board and they can contribute comments on their children's records which they regularly receive.

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What is being done well?

• There are varied and frequent opportunities for outdoor play in several different secure areas and children enjoy their access to the outdoor environment. • Staff support parents and accommodate children's individual needs, preferences and routines very well. As a result, children are relaxed and happy here. • Staff work closely with parents to enable children to feel secure and confident and parents are provided with frequent access to developmental records.

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What needs to be improved?

• procedures for hygienic serving of food • children's access to drinks • staff knowledge of current procedures in Child protection in all the local authorities that feed into the nursery.

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inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

Since the last inspection Ofsted has not received any complaints about this provider.

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inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

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 7 Ensure good hygiene practices are in place regarding serving of food. 8 Ensure all children are able to access drinks. 13 Ensure that the child protection procedure for the nursery complies with all local Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) procedures.

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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?

Provision for nursery education at Fleet Day Nursery is acceptable and of good quality overall. Children are making very good progress towards the early leaning goals in personal, social and emotional development and generally good progress in all other areas. The quality of teaching is generally good; activities are well planned and managed. Staff are patient and provide good, clear instructions to enable children to develop and progress. Staff extend and support children's play well, although the use of worksheets does not effectively promote children's skills. There is a balance of free play and adult led activities. Children experience good opportunities for self selection, although provision for literacy is not fully extended during activities or routines. Outdoor play is mainly recreational and popular with children but does not always effectively challenge them. The observations and assessments of children

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How effective is the nursery education?

are systematic, evaluated against the stepping stones and early learning goals. Procedures for children with special educational needs are inclusive and positive. Planning is flexible and focussed on what children can do and how they need to progress. Leadership and management is generally good. The manager provides good support and guidance and has developed a committed staff team who have a collaborative approach to their work. Staff use an annual survey to identify areas for improvement. completing all records. The pre-school evaluate and monitor quality through discussions at meetings. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents express their satisfaction with the service and the progress children make in the group. Staff provide frequent verbal feedback on children's development, and regular opportunities to ensure parents access the records. Parents are provided with newsletters and regular information

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How effective is the nursery education?

on events. They are able to attend an annual consultation session and take part in a survey on the quality of the service.

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What is being done well?

• Staff provide good opportunities for children to answer questions and discuss information during story and 'circle time'. This effectively enables children to consolidate their understanding and learning. • Staff promote singing, rhymes and music making successfully and encourage children to express themselves though these activities. • Staff provide children with a secure and relaxed environment where they can enjoy activities and pursue their interests with 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 • An annual survey amongst parent users is used by staff to evaluate and improve the provision.

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What needs to be improved?

• the opportunities for children to explore multi cultural resources, particularly those which reflect languages • the planning, to extend the variety of play experienced by children in the outdoor play areas • the opportunities for children to recognise written language, to experiment with writing during role play and activities and to be challenged and stimulated by writing activities.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The nursery have made generally good progress in addressing the key issues from the last inspection. The staff now use the early learning goals and stepping stones to ensure plans and assessments cover all aspects of the curriculum. They draw up a long term plan with every aspect of learning referenced in each area of the curriculum. They use weekly plans which identify one or two stepping stones in each area of learning. Some routines identify the relevant stepping stones and goals. Most staff are confident in defining the learning intention of the activities they are providing. Children are encouraged to become familiar with numbers and written numerals. The nursery now displays numbers and these are used in several activities such as talking about the date each day. Staff also use various planned and spontaneous activities to familiarise children with numbers and counting. Many children are confidently able to count single numbers.

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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 concentrate well and are attentive during story times when they enjoy contributing their views and ideas for discussions. They enjoy opportunities for self selection and confidently express their ideas and preferences. Children behave very well: they learn to share and take turns and enjoy learning. They are encouraged to be independent and are learning to take care of their personal needs, such as dressing themselves for outdoor play, helping themselves to tissues and tidying up.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children have good opportunities to develop skills in listening and speaking and are able to predict events in a story. They use books with enthusiasm but activities such as role play do not frequently promote writing for different purposes. Children are encouraged to notice print, the sounds of letters and words, some recognise their first names and are able to write these with well formed letters. Younger children are always able to experience a sense of achievement using worksheets.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children benefit from good support, they confidently count up to nine and recognise a variety of shapes, colours and sizes. Their understanding of numbers is reinforced as they take part in routine tasks such as working out the date, or counting during action rhymes and songs. Children learn how to measure by using recipes and cooking but their awareness of weight and capacity is not fully exploited through the use of resources such as gloop and equipment like scales.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy discussing their ideas and are able to experience a variety of construction and technological activities. They enjoy learning about the cultures and beliefs of others through celebrating some festivals such as Diwali. Staff make good opportunities for children to discuss and learn about families and events such as birthdays. Children enjoy imaginative play such as role play in the home corner but do not often explore or investigate nature or the outdoor environment.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children frequently enjoy using a range of play equipment outside: they are skilled at pedalling and using scooters. They develop their co-ordination and balance as well as a good sense of space though use of the outside areas is not planned to challenge and develop the full range of children's skills effectively. Children develop their small muscle control through the use of pencils, paintbrushes and varied puzzles. They are experienced, competent users of various construction equipment.

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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 express themselves creatively through a range of media such as paint, crafts, music and dance although opportunities for exploration of natural materials is limited. Children are successfully encouraged to have a sense of achievement in art and craft activities and have access to a variety of resources. Singing, story and music sessions encourage children to have fun and participate and they sing and 'rap' spontaneously, enjoying the freedom to express ideas and feelings through music.

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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

• provide multi cultural resources that reflect the community languages • plan for outdoor play so that children experience a variety of learning activities in the outdoor areas • provide examples of written language and writing materials for children to use during role play and other activities that will challenge and stimulate them.

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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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