Acorn Day Nursery

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 26/05/2004 Inspector Name Parveen Ashraf

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Acorn Day Nursery Setting Address 2 Roman Road Luton Bedfordshire LU3 2QT

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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

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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. When making judgements, inspectors have regard to how well the provider meets the National Standards for under Eights Day Care and Childminding. A list of these is attached. The report identifies strengths and areas for improvement. This inspection report must be made available to all parents.

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Information about the setting

Acorn Day Nursery opened in August 2002. The nursery operates from a large detached property in Luton. The children are cared for in three separate classrooms, appropriate for their ages and stages of development. The baby unit is based in a separate building adjacent to the main nursery. The nursery has a large garden that is divided into different play areas for different age ranges. There are car parking facilities for several cars. The provision is registered for 50 children aged three months to eight years. Children can attend on a variety of sessions. There are currently 41 children on the roll. This includes 24 funded three year olds and 4 funded four year olds. The nursery is open 51 weeks a year, five days a week. Session are from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm daily. There are 10 full time staff who work with the children. There are 9 members of staff who have an early years qualification and some members of the staff are bi-lingual.

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Information about the setting

The setting can support children with special needs or who have English as an additional language. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. No overnight care is offered.

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How good is the Day Care?

Acorn Day Nursery provides a satisfactory quality of care for children. Staff create a friendly and safe environment where children can learn through play. Children are grouped according to their age. The rooms are organised, equipped and furnished to meet the developmental needs of the children. The children's physical, social and emotional needs are met. Polices and procedures are in place but many need to be reviewed and re-worded. Nursery staff carry out daily risk assessments but there are no formal records kept. The nursery intends to have an independent risk assessment carried out and put into practice any recommendations made. Children are encouraged to learn about good hygiene through their everyday routines, eg washing hands before and after meals, visiting the toilet and touching and feeding the rabbits. The nursery actively encourages children to have fruit for snack time; staff cut and share out the fruit that

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How good is the Day Care?

the children bring in. The nursery provides a good range of appropriate activities that includes all areas of

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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 the children's learning. Staff plan topics on a monthly basis. The adult-led activities are planned using the Stepping Stones from the Foundation Stage Curriculum. Evaluations and observations are used to assess and adapt activities to meet the developmental needs of the children. Staff celebrate the cultural diversity of children and have a positive approach to equal opportunities. They plan activities to enable children to learn about other cultures. The nursery have clear guide-lines on behaviour and children are praised for behaving well; however, the behaviour policy needs to include anti-bullying. There is a friendly, informal partnership with parents. The parents are kept informed about their children's development in a number of ways, including informal discussions with staff and children's daily record sheets. The nursery are in the

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How good is the Day Care?

process of developing more detailed children's folders to share with parents.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the nursery was asked to have a child protection policy in place and record any concerns; they were asked to have systems in place to record parent's complaints. The child protection policy is in place and any concerns or complaints that parents may have are now recorded in an incident book.

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What is being done well?

• The provision gives the children opportunity to learn through adult led and child-initiated activities. Children's individual needs are met through activities and play situations that help to develop the emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities. The baby room offers young children opportunities for creative play, eg making a variety of collages linked to nursery rhymes, such as sticking silver foil on to star shapes for 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. • There is good staff interaction with the children. Staff spend time talking and playing with children, helping them to learn. They praise children frequently, encouraging their language development and extending their vocabulary. Children in the pre-school room visited a zoo and were given the opportunity to talk about animals and how they live. The children also are involved in caring for a group of rabbits at the nursery. The manager stated that by

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What is being done well?

feeding and cleaning the rabbits, the children can learn about caring for animals and each other. • The spacious garden provides the children with ample opportunities to enjoy physical and energetic play. There are two separate play areas, each area is designed to meet the needs of children of different ages. The garden is used to its full potential, the tall trees and bushes create a shaded area where children can play. • There are good standards of hygiene and awareness of health issues. The nursery staff use different coloured cloths to clean different areas of the nursery, eg blue cloths for tables, green cloths for craft and sink area, pink

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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 cloths for toilets and yellow cloths for nappy changing. The bathrooms are checked three times a day. Cross infection is minimised and children's health is promoted.

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What needs to be improved?

• the baby changing facilities need to be moved to a more appropriate location and the milk kitchen needs to be made inaccessible to children • The range of toys and materials that promote equal opportunities needs to be increased • written parental permission for taking photographs needs to be in place • all polices and procedures need to be reviewed regularly and in line with current legislation. This includes fire safety, complaints, uncollected/lost child, and induction procedures; ensure that the health and safety policy includes a record of risk assessments, no smoking and storage of food; ensure that the behaviour management policy includes anti-bullying

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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

Std Action Date 2 provide evidence that the time of children’s arrival and departure is recorded, and ensure that parents sign when picking up their children 16/06/2004

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 2 ensure that the baby changing facilities are re-located to a more appropriate location and the milk kitchen is made inaccessible to children

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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 5 increase the range of toys and materials that promote equal opportunities 12 ensure that parental permission is in place for taking and displaying children’s photographs 14 review all policies and procedures regularly, in line with current legislation, including Fire Safety, complaints, uncollected child, induction procedures; ensure that the health and safety policy includes a record of risk assessments, no smoking and storage of food; ensure that the behaviour management policy includes anti-bullying

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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

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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 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

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