Knighton Day Nursery & Pre-school

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 15/05/2003 Inspector Name Fiona Stephenson

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Knighton Day Nursery Setting Address 559 Welford Road Leicester Leicestershire LE2 6FN

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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

Knighton Day Nursery opened in 1993. It operates from a purposely converted bungalow on the Welford Road close to Leicester City. It is registered to provide full day care for 36 children aged under eight years. There are currently 17 three-year-olds and six four-year-olds receiving funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery has experience of working with children with English as an additional language. There are currently no children attending with special needs. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 5.45pm. It is open throughout the year except for public holidays. There are 17 part time/full time staff employed at the nursery. Five staff have early years qualifications, with a further three working towards gaining a qualification. The setting receives support from a teacher/mentor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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How good is the Day Care?

Knighton Day Nursery provides satisfactory care for children. They provide a warm and friendly environment for children. The nursery provides good induction for staff. They ensure that staff who have not completed vetting procedures do not have unsupervised contact with children. There is good space available for children in the nursery with outdoor space in particular being used well for children's play and learning. Staff have a caring approach to the children. The staff to child ratios are higher than the minimum required, however staff deployment in the baby room is at times insufficient to ensure close supervision and care. An effective key worker system has yet to be introduced. Staff promote good hygiene practices in their own work and also in supporting children's learning about health and hygiene. Food provided for snacks and meals is

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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 nutritious and of good quantity. There are positive images of people from different cultures and ethnicities, and cultural festivals are celebrated. There are no positive images of people with disabilities. Staff have an awareness of the signs and symptoms of child abuse and a willingness to act on child protection issues, however their understanding of the local Area Child Protection Committee procedures is limited. Staff are supportive of children and interested in what they have to say or do. Staff demonstrate enjoyment in working with children, and use praise and encouragement. Children make decisions about toys and equipment they want to play with. The nursery is well resourced for children aged two to three years,

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How good is the Day Care?

however resources are limited for younger babies and for four-year-olds. The nursery does not always organise resources so that they are easily accessible to children. There is a good rapport between parents and staff. Parents are informed both verbally and in writing about the care of their child.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the nursery was asked to provide an action plan detailing how they would achieve 50% qualified staff. They now have five staff working towards qualifications in early years. The nursery was asked to review it's operational plan - this has been done. It was required to have a dedicated co-ordinator for children with special needs, this has been achieved, and the staff member is currently undergoing training. Policies and procedures, and parental consent requirements requiring action have now been introduced. The nursery was required to introduce a key working system, however, this has not yet been achieved.

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What is being done well?

• Staff provide a supportive and caring environment for children. Children are at ease in talking to, and playing with staff. (Standard 3) • The nursery gives good attention to health, hygiene and cleanliness. Staff show good hygiene practices, and children are learning good personal hygiene practices. (Standard 7) • Children know the boundaries for behaviour and respond well to requests to tidy toys away. Staff use positive behavioural techniques and use praise and encouragement well. (Standard 11) • The nursery provides a good, nutritious range of foods for children at both snack time and meal time. (Standard 8)

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• the effectiveness of staff deployment, particularly in the baby room. (Standard 2) • staffs understanding of the local Area Child Protection Committee procedures, and action to be taken if a member of staff has an allegation made against them.(Standard 13) • the continuity of care for children and the implementation of an effective key worker system. (Standard 3) • the resources available for babies and four year olds, table top activities, and resources that reflect positive images of people with disabilities. (Standard 5) • the positioning of baby changing tables to give more privacy to the child (Standard 3) • the confidentiality of medication and accident records.(standard 7) • documentation for: the behaviour management statement, to include dealing with bullying, and the procedures in the event of a child being lost or uncollected. (Standard 14)

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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 space and resources including staff deployment are organised effectively to meet the needs of the children, with particular regard to the baby room. (Standard 2) 3 introduce an effective key worker system for all children in the nursery. (Standard 2) 5 provide further resources to support play and learning for the babies and four-year-olds. Increase the resources available to support imaginary play

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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 and enable children to access resources easily for example table top activities for the two to five year olds. (Standard 5) 7 ensure medication records and accident records are individually recorded to maintain confidentiality. (Standard 7) 7 assess the position of the baby changing tables to protect the privacy of children. (Standard 7) 9 ensure children have access to an appropriate range of activities and resources that promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice. (Standard 9) 11 ensure that the behaviour management statement includes the action to be taken in the event of bullying. (Standard 11) 13 develop further and implement a statement on child protection, which is based on the local Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) guidelines

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by the time of the next inspection

and ensure staff have knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and can implement the procedures. (Standard 13) 14 ensure procedures are in place for staff to follow in the event of a child being lost or a parent failing to collect a child. (Standard 2)

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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 nursery provides a caring and supportive environment for children where progress towards the early learning goals is acceptable but has some significant weaknesses. Staff are developing an understanding of the early learning goals, but they are not yet effectively putting these into practice. They have a commitment to children's learning. Staff have developed supportive and caring relationships with children. The setting has written plans in place, however planning does not sufficiently incorporate the assessed learning needs of the individual child. This in particular, leads to insufficient challenge for four-year-olds. Not all staff working with funded children have a good enough understanding of the early learning goals to support children's learning. Management have a commitment to improve the care and education of all children at the nursery. Senior staff have put a lot of time and committment into bringing the

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How effective is the nursery education?

nursery up to the standard to meet the requirements of funded education, and into curriculum planning. Staff are supported in the work they do, however the systems in place for staff deployment do not ensure continuity of care and learning for each child. Staff have good verbal communication with parents. Parents are given written information about the stepping stones their child has achieved in relation to the early learning goals. They also receive a newsletter informing them of the themes for the term. This does not inform parents how learning could be extended at home in relation to the early learning goals. There are too few opportunities for parents to share with staff what their child has achieved at home.

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What is being done well?

• Children are confident, well mannered , make good relationships with their peers and staff. • Staff provide a caring and warm environment for children. • Children's understanding and independent enjoyment of books and reading. • Children's progress in counting and understanding of numerals.

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What needs to be improved?

• Staff's knowledge of the early learning goals to plan effectively in all areas of

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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 learning and to guide teaching. • The assessment of what children know and can do, and use this information to plan around children's individual and developing needs. • Resources to ensure more able children and four-year-olds are sufficiently challenged in all areas of the learning, with particular reference to knowledge and understanding of the world, and creativity. • Information to parents on how learning at nursery can be extended at home, and feedback from home to nursery on children's learning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This is the nursery's first inspection of the educational provision for funded children.

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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: Generally Good Children are independent in selecting activities. They demonstrate confidence and generally play well together, with the ability to share toys with their peers. Good relationships are evident between staff and children. Children are learning personal independence in self care. They understand the difference between right and wrong, although at times, a lack of challenge leads to some poor behaviour. Children have limited opportunities to gain a sense of community.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children communicate well. They respond to simple instruction and can listen and recall favourite stories. Children are beginning to write letters of the alphabet, but there is not enough use of everyday activities to name and sound letters. Older children can write their name however, overall there is a lack of opportunity for children to write with a purpose. Children show awareness of rhyme and make up their own rhymes. They are interested in books and know to read from left to right.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children count to 10, with older children counting beyond 10. Some children can recognise numerals one to nine. Children are aware of shape and size and can recognise and talk about shapes of every day objects. Children recognise and make patterns. There is insufficient simple addition and subtraction in every day activities to support learning.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children are interested in why things happen and how things work. Children can join construction pieces together to build and balance. They know how to use tools for a purpose but resources are poor for more able and older children to construct with a purpose in mind. Children have limited opportunity to use information communication technology. There are limited opportunities for children to gain a sense of past and to learn more about the immediate and wider environment.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move confidently and in a range of ways such as hopping and crawling, and make good use of available space. Children are showing understanding of healthy hygiene practice. They demonstrate increasing control when fastening their own clothes. Children can use climbing and swinging equipment independently. They explore malleable materials such as dough by patting, rolling and squeezing. There are missed opportunities at meal times for children to develop pouring and serving skills.

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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 aware of basic colours however, older and more able children have not begun to mix colours. They can remember and recite nursery rhymes. Children improvise with available resources to support role play, although they have insufficient access to resources to extend imaginative and role play opportunities overall. Opportunities to make music, to sing, and move to music are limited. Children are not exploring their senses to their potential.

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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 but has some significant areas for improvement. Children progress towards the early learning goals is limited by some significant weaknesses. The next inspection will take place in one to two years time.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• increase staff's knowledge of the early learning goals to plan effectively in all areas of learning and to guide teaching. • ensure the assessment of what children know and can do is used to inform the planning for children's individual and developing needs. • ensure the use of time and resources provide sufficient challenge in all areas of learning particularly for more able four-year-olds, in all areas of learning with particular reference to Knowledge and Understanding of the World and Creative development. • provide parents with information on how nursery learning can be incorporated into what children do at home, and give parents opportunities to inform the nursery of their children's progress.

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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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