Bolland Hall Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 25/03/2004 Inspector Name Elaine Steedman

p.1

SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Bolland Hall Day Nursery Setting Address Bolland Hall, Bullers Green Morpeth Northumberland NE61 1DF

p.1

REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Bolland Hall Day Nursery Ltd 4711510

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Bolland Hall Day Nursery Ltd Address Bullers Green Morpeth Northumberland NE61 1DF

p.1

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

p.1

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.

p.2

Information about the setting

Bolland Hall Day Nursery has been registered since 1992. It is situated in one large hall on the first floor of a two storey building near the centre of Morpeth in Northumberland. The hall is divided into a variety of play areas and there is a large outdoor play area adjacent to the building. The nursery serves the local and wider area. There are currently 48 children aged from two years to four years on the register. This includes four funded three year olds and two funded four year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. None of the children currently attending have special needs. Two of the children attending have their own language as a first language and are learning to speak English as an additional language. The nursery is open Monday to Friday, 08.30 to 17.30, during term-time and school holidays, for children aged 15 months to five years. The nursery is closed on Bank Holidays and for one week at Christmas.

p.2

Information about the setting

Six full-time and four part-time staff work with the children, four of whom have Level 3 and five of whom have Level 2 early years qualifications. Three staff are due to begin working towards a Level 3 childcare qualification. The nursery receives support from a teacher/mentor from the Northumberland Early Years & Childcare Partnership (EYDCP). The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association.

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

Bolland Hall Nursery provides good care for children. The nursery organises ratios, the environment, children's care, activities and routines well, although some improvements are needed in the way children are

p.2

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 grouped on some occasions and to some documentation. Regular staff meetings enable the staff to work well as a team. The nursery offers a welcoming environment and friendly atmosphere which effectively encourages children to feel comfortable and relaxed. Staff build warm, caring relationships with children enabling them to feel happy and settled. The nursery has good security measures and takes effective safety measures in most areas to protect children from danger. Effective staff deployment procedures ensure a good level of supervision. The nursery has effective procedures to promote children's hygiene, health and welfare. Positive steps are taken to support children's individual needs. The nursery offers children a wide range of appropriate play and learning

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

opportunities. A stimulating environment and a variety of play resources and activities are provided which support the children's interests, promote their development and keep them well occupied. Staff actively involve themselves in the children's activities and provide appropriate routines to enable the children to develop their independence and feel confident and secure. Staff effectively encourage positive behaviour through the use of appropriate behaviour management strategies. Staff build positive relationships with parents and consult with them to ensure children's individual needs are met. Staff communicate with parents regularly to keep them informed about their children's well-being and development. Parents have access to the nursery's policies and procedures and effective procedures ensure they are kept informed about events and the nursery.

p.3

What has improved since the last inspection?

The nursery has satisfactorily addressed the following issues from the previous inspection; children and the way space is used have been arranged to ensure no group has more than 26 children and that children aged under two years have a separate base area.

p.3

What is being done well?

• Staff build very positive relationships with parents through regular information sharing, enabling them to keep parents informed about the provision and work with them in promoting their children's welfare and development. • Effective, consistent behaviour management strategies and positive role modelling by staff ensure children are aware of behaviour expectations. • Staff develop friendly and caring relationships with the children and take an active role in their play, enabling them to provide a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere and help children feel happy and settled. • Staff plan and provide a well organised, stimulating environment to support the children's care and developmental needs.

p.3

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 • Staff plan and provide a wide range of stimulating activities and play resources which into effectively support children's developmental needs, ensure their interest is maintained and contribute to their progress and learning. • Effective measures are taken to ensure a good level of hygiene is maintained. Children's individual health needs are considered and appropriate steps taken to protect their health and well-being. • A high level of security and supervision is provided.

p.3

What needs to be improved?

• the organisation to ensure children are grouped appropriately to enable them to fully benefit from the activities provided • the access to the staff staircase to ensure it is secure and to make rugs safe • the documentation in order to add to the child protection policy the procedure for staff allegations and social service contact details.

p.4

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.

p.4

by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 2 Ensure that children are grouped appropriately. 6 Make sure that the staff staircase is inaccessible to children (broken bolt) and that rugs are safe (trip hazard). 13 Add to the child protection policy social services contact details and the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse being made against a staff member.

p.4

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

p.4

How effective is the nursery education?

Bolland Hall Day Nursery provides good quality nursery education where children enjoy learning through a range of interesting activities. Effective teaching helps children make very good progress in personal, social and emotional development and creative development, they make generally good progress in all other areas of learning. Teaching is generally good. Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the foundation stage and all contribute to the planning. They develop a good rapport with the children and work well as a team. They provide an interesting variety of activities and introduce children to new ideas and experiences. They provide good opportunities for children to work independently and in small groups and on these occasions staff interact effectively giving good support to enhance learning. However, on some occasions when children are all together, the activity provides insufficient challenge for the more able children, leads to disruption in concentration

p.5

How effective is the nursery education?

and opportunities to develop language skills are missed. Staff address all areas of learning in their plans though a few aspects are not covered sufficiently. Staff have taken on board the new assessment systems and have introduced regular observations of children's learning. Information is used to help them plan the next steps in learning. Leadership and management are generally good. The leader instigates new ideas and values the strengths of her team. She involves all staff in planning and they reflect on what needs to be done to improve the quality of nursery education. They are committed to ongoing training. There is no rigorous system to monitor and evaluate the content of the curriculum and quality of teaching. Partnership with parents and carers is very good. Staff develop good relationships with parents and keep them informed about learning and progress through regular dialogue, newsletters and the information board.

p.5

What is being done well?

• Personal, social and emotional development is a strength of the nursery. Children are happy and relaxed and have good relationships with each other and the staff. • Creative development is promoted well indoors and outdoors. • The manager values the skills of her staff and good leadership ensures continual improvement through a commitment to staff development. • Partnership with parents and carers is very good. Regular dialogue ensures children's learning builds effectively on their experience at home. • Activities are varied, practical and capture children's interests. Staff regularly

p.5

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 provide new and interesting experiences.

p.5

What needs to be improved?

• grouping of children and staff deployment to ensure children receive appropriate and sufficient challenge at all times • the programme for physical development so that it is progressive and builds on existing skills and develops new ones • opportunities for children to develop simple calculation skills.

p.6

What has improved since the last inspection?

The nursery has made very good progress in addressing the two points for consideration which followed the previous inspection. Learning intentions linked to the stepping stones are now clearly identified at the planning stage. As a result staff are clear about the purpose of adult-led activities. A hard surface for wheeled toys has been provided beside the garden. The garden area is being developed to include a variety of objects and natural materials. It now has bird feeders, plants and continues to be developed.

p.6

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

p.6

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children separate well from their parents and soon engage in tasks. They are happy and settled in their environment and relate well to adults and each other. They show good skills of concentration and perseverance in self chosen activities. They try new experiences and show pride and pleasure in their creations. Children show confidence as they express their needs and develop good levels of independence. Behaviour is good and the older children show consideration and patience.

p.7

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children's speaking and listening skills are developed well in one to one situations. They practise hand to eye skills in fun ways through a range of activities but are not consistently encouraged to mark make for different reasons. Children recognise their own name and learn that print carries meaning. They enjoy books and handle them well. However, inappropriate grouping for story time results in insufficient challenge for some and missed opportunities to develop language skills.

p.7

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children count reliably to ten and beyond and recognise some numbers. They practise counting skills, for example as they link train carriages together and work out how many there are. They make patterns in fun ways, such as printing circles with onions. They show an understanding of concepts, such as long and short, full and empty as they cut wool and fill containers with water. Opportunities to compare numbers and solve simple problems are not well integrated into routines and activities.

p.7

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children develop an awareness of the world around them through a range of interesting activities and visitors to the nursery. They have been learning about the life cycle of the frog. They become adept at using construction kits and different tools to design and build things. Children investigate and experiment. However the quality of children's learning, their opportunities to reflect on and understand is dependent on the skills of the staff in helping them make the most of experiences.

p.7

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children show skill in using tools and materials to create things and dexterity as they cut with scissors and fix train track together. They have fun as they play outdoors and confidently climb up the slide. Children practise using gardening tools to plant flowers. Activities using large and small equipment are largely spontaneous, rather than planned to ensure children build on existing skills or learn new ones.

p.7

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

p.7

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children use their imagination well in role play and with small world games. They participate in singing sessions and use a variety of musical instruments. They learn to distinguish sounds, for example, loud and soft. They use paint in different ways, for example printing with onions and observing and painting features of flowers. They make two and three dimensional objects combining a range of materials. Sensory activities are extended to the outdoor curriculum.

p.8

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

p.8

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.

p.9

WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• ensure children are grouped appropriately and staff are deployed effectively, particularly at circle and story time, so that all children receive appropriate and sufficient challenge and good opportunities to develop their language skills • develop the programme for physical development so that it builds on existing skills and develops new ones particularly in respect of small and large equipment • provide regular purposeful opportunities for children to solve problems using simple calculation skills.

p.9

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.

p.9

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

p.9

STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

p.10

NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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

p.11