Sunflower Children's Centre

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 21/05/2003 Inspector Name Judy Thompson

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Sunflower Children's Centre Setting Address 21 Carter Hall Road Sheffield S12 3HS

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Simpkin Ltd Address 21 Carter Hall Road Sheffield South Yorkshire S12 3HS

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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

Sunflower Children's Centre opened in February 2002. It operates from a purpose built, single storey building in the Charnock area of Sheffield. The centre serves the local community. The accommodation consists of five separate classrooms, an office, kitchen, toilet facilities and outdoor play area. The centre is open 51 weeks a year, Monday to Friday and offers full day care to 64 children from birth to eight years. Sessions are Monday to Friday 8.45 a.m. - 11.15 a.m., 12.30 p.m. - 3.p.m. and 7.45 a.m. - 6.15 p.m. The centre offers a Breakfast Club, Out of School Club and Holiday play-care. Optional Art and French classes are available once a week after the afternoon session. There are 23 staff on a full and part time basis, working with children.16 hold early years qualifications and four are currently on training programmes. Two members of staff hold an early years teaching qualification. There are 222 children currently on roll. Of these 55 are funded three year olds and

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Information about the setting

27 funded four year olds. There are currently six children with special educational needs and two children for whom English is an additional language. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership They are registered with the Sheffield Kitemark Quality Assurance Scheme and have completed three modules. In December 2002 the setting received the 'Investors in People Award' There have been no significant changes since registration. This is the first inspection of the setting.

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How good is the Day Care?

Sunflower Children's Centre offers good care overall for children aged three months to eight years.

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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 Staff establish very good relationships with children and offer them a wide range of balanced activities. Children have many opportunities to explore their own creativity within a well planned and interesting curriculum. Babies under two are offered a wide range of well planned, stimulating and engaging activities. All children are valued, included, and develop good social skills and independence. Staff offer good role models, promoting good behaviour with praise and encouragement. Children's behaviour is very good. Staff demonstrate a high level of awareness of safe practice, following established policies and procedures. A high level of security is maintained both inside and outside the nursery There are good organisational procedures in place and the management team

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How good is the Day Care?

support an enthusiastic and committed staff group. There are effective record keeping systems in place which are well maintained and regularly reviewed. Staff/child ratio is good with a high percentage of staff holding early years qualifications, including two staff with early years teaching qualifications. The setting demonstrates a high level of commitment to staff training and appraisal. Parents contributions are welcomed and valued. They receive excellent information about their children and the nursery.

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What is being done well?

• Staff encourage children to be very confident, enthusiastic and enjoy learning. They enable children to co-operate very well together, build very good relationships with each other and adults, and are able to initiate and progress independent play. Staff help children develop sensitivity and respect for others. • Children under two years are offered a high level of care and stimulation within a warm, happy and secure environment. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of how babies learn and develop. • A strong management team and committed staff group work very effectively together to offer all children a stimulating and fun environment. High level of commitment to ongoing staff training and development. • Communication between staff and parents ensures they are very well informed, their contributions valued, and the information is used effectively to meet individual children's needs. The centre uses displays of children's work

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What is being done well?

and photographs to offer parents information about how children learn and progress towards early learning goals.

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

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 n/a

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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 3 Outdoor play area continue to be developed to offer additional opportunities to children. 13 Manager has basic child protection training. Recommend access intermediate training

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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?

Sunflower Children's Centre offers very good provision overall. The centre offers a welcoming atmosphere where children settle very well. Children are very confident, eager to learn and access a wide range of challenging, exciting opportunities. They make very good progress towards early learning goals in all areas of learning. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff build excellent relationships with children and know them very well. They are successful in encouraging independence and developing social skills Staff are very enthusiastic, working well together to provide a stimulating, interesting curriculum. Planning is very good, with staff effectively challenging children to progress through the stepping stones towards early learning goals. Staff very successfully encourage children to enjoy and extend their own learning. Behaviour is very good. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and

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How effective is the nursery education?

manage it very effectively. Staff value and identify the potential of all children, sensitively identifying concerns promoting inclusion and offering positive visual images. Very good support is provided for children with special educational needs and those who have English as an additional language Leadership and management is very good. There is a shared understanding of good early years practice, within a committed staff team. There is a very high commitment to ongoing staff training and development Staff are encouraged to identify training and development opportunities as part of the appraisal process. The provision is registered with Sheffield Kitemark Quality Assurance and has achieved the 'Investors in People' award. Partnership with parents is very good. They are very well informed about all aspects of the setting and are actively encouraged to share knowledge of their children. They are invited to contribute to the life of the nursery, and take opportunities to talk

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How effective is the nursery education?

formally with staff about their child's progress once a term.

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What is being done well?

• Staff encourage children to be very confident, enthusiastic and enjoy learning. They enable children to co-operate very well together, build very good relationships with each other and adults, and are able to initiate and progress independent play. Staff help children develop sensitivity and respect for others.

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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 • Staff skilfully assess individual children and offer a wide variety of exciting challenges to progress their learning towards early learning goals. • A strong management team and committed staff work very effectively together to offer all children a stimulating and achieving environment. • Staff very enthusiastically work in partnership with parents. They are offered excellent information in a variety of ways. Parents are encouraged to share knowledge of their children and make contribution to the life of the nursery. • The centre uses displays of children's work and photographs to offer parents information about how children learn and progress towards early learning goals.

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What needs to be improved?

• Point for consideration • Continued development of outdoor play curriculum

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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 make very good progress in this area. Children are very confident, interested and motivated to learn. They build good relationships with each other and adults. Children are very good at progressing independent play. Behaviour is very good and children show sensitivity towards the needs of others and consider the effect of their actions. Children are very independent. They demonstrate very good understanding of belonging to their group, local community and wider society.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children make very good progress in this area. They are very articulate and use language to convey meaning, ask questions, listen to each other and extend their own vocabulary. Children of all ages make excellent use of books, make their own books using photographs, independently selecting, sharing and re-telling stories to each other. They are very able writers with three year olds regularly making recognisable letters, and four year olds confidently writing their names from memory.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children make very good progress in this area. They see, recognise and enjoy exploring number shape and size, competently solving problems and exploring concepts. Children reliably recognise, record and count number in practical activities, using a wide range of day to day experiences within the curriculum. They are very competent users of I.T. programmes to extend mathematical language and solve practical problems

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children make very good progress in this area. They show curiosity, investigating and exploring the natural world. For example, children are involved in the care of nursery pets. They develop a very good personal awareness of their place in the local community and the wider world, for example they document visits from local fire-fighters, outings to the Cathedral etc, to use in nursery and share with parents. Children competently use modern technology to progress learning.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children make very good progress in this area. They use their bodies very confidently indoors and out to develop spatial awareness in relation to themselves and others. Children are very able users of a range of small tools with good self control, and use large equipment to develop balance and muscle control. Children develop a very good understanding of how their bodies work and how to keep it healthy.

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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: Very Good Children make very good progress in this area. They express themselves very well, using imagination through a variety of planned and spontaneous activities to explore colour, shape, texture and music. They enjoy using a variety of materials to make models and role play resources, Children are skilled in developing their own scenarios for play.

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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 high quality. Children are making very 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

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • Point for Consideration • Progress planned development of outdoor play curriculum 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

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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