Launceston College

Harefield Hospital Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 139155 Inspection date 15/09/2010 Inspector Kim Mundy

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Setting address Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust, Hill End Road, Harefield, Middlesex, UB9 6HJ Telephone number 01895 828898 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Harefield Hospital Day Nursery has been registered since 1993. It operates from a self-contained building within the grounds of Harefield Hospital in the London borough of Hillingdon. The nursery is one of two which is run by Brompton and Harefield National Health Service Foundation Trust. There is access to a baby, nursery room and a secure outdoor play area. The nursery provides a service for children to trust members, staff and the wider community. It is open all the year round with the exception of Christmas and Easter bank holidays. Opening hours are from 7.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday. The nursery is registered to care for 48 children in the early years age range and of these, no more than 15 may be under 2 years. There are currently 42 children on roll. Children attend for a variety of sessions each week. Systems are in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an

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Description of the setting

additional language. The nursery employs 10 staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. It is registered on the Early Years Register, and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children make exceptional progress in their learning and development at this outstanding and very inclusive nursery. They thoroughly enjoy their time because staff ensure that they are fully included in an extensive range of exciting activities. The very strong emphasis on partnerships between parents and others ensures that children's needs are fully met. Excellent reflective practice clearly identifies areas for continued progression, which results in well-targeted and sustained improvement to the provision for the children and their families.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 developing further the children's opportunities to play in and outdoors in all weathers.

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the early years provision

Children flourish in this nursery because enthusiastic staff take extremely good care of them. Very effective management structures are in place and communication with all staff is excellent. As a result, they work exceptionally well as a team and take pride in their surroundings, which in turn has a very positive This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 impact on the outcomes for children. Arrangements for safeguarding children are robust, regularly reviewed and understood by staff. Clear and rigorous procedures are in place for the recruitment and vetting of new staff and this ensures that all adults working with children are suitable to do so. Very detailed risk assessments are undertaken to ensure that all areas of the building and garden are safe for children. All documentation is maintained to a very high standard and policies and procedures are known to staff and shared with parents. There is an excellent

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the early years provision

range of toys, materials and resources to meet the varying needs of the children attending. Ample equipment is available to meet their individual needs, for example, cots, buggies, nappy changing facilities and a variety of seating.

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the early years provision

The key person system works very well in practice as children build secure relationships with their key person as well as other staff. The management team have robust systems in place to monitor the quality of teaching, for instance, through observing staffs' practice and meeting individually with staff to evaluate their work, and consider future targets and training. In addition, they have recently implemented a system whereby staff observe one another to feedback on performance in order to further develop their childcare skills.

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the early years provision

Highly effective and continuously monitored systems lead to improvement. Excellent involvement with staff, parents and carers ensures that the provider has an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. This results in a service that is responsive to the needs of all its users. In addition, improvements have been made since the previous inspection with the provider fully addressing the recommendations that were raised to benefit the children. The staff are now very keen to extend children's choice of in and outdoor play experiences regardless of the impact of the weather.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents and carers and outside agencies are excellent. Parents receive comprehensive daily written and verbal information about their child's day which enables them to be very effective partners in their children's learning. A picture of each child's development clearly emerges through staffs' very thorough planning, observation and assessment records, to which parents have open access. Parents also receive very informative and plain speaking reports about their child's progress towards the early learning goals. They are fully involved in the setting, for instance, as they tell stories to the children in their home language. Parents hold the nursery in high regard. Comments such as, 'I really like the written daily feedback; the staff are excellent without exception' and 'both my husband and I got great vibes, the children are really happy and relaxed, and the key person communication is brilliant' are words used by parents to describe this nursery.

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the early years provision

Parents provide suitable clothing in which their children can experiment and have fun during all messy activities, for instance, when painting and digging in the vegetable patch.

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the early years provision

The nursery places a strong emphasis on promoting the inclusion of all children. Children with English as an additional language make equally good progress because staff ask parents for words in their child's home language and use picture clues, such as photos of the daily routine to support effective communications. Staff are skilled at identifying any concerns in relation to children's learning and development and they work well with parents and others to put additional help in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 place for them. Furthermore, staff establish good links with the local children's centre and receiving schools.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing a very good understanding of why it is important to lead healthy lives. They follow personal hygiene routines, for example, washing their hands after messy play activities and brushing their teeth after meals. They also enjoy an activity which involves observing bacteria in the glow box, which is brought in to nursery from the hospital each year. Children take part in the daily hygiene routine as they help staff sweep up and wash tables. The comprehensive sick child policy and very good cleaning routines minimise possible cross-infection.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy a range of healthy meals provided by the hospital. At snack time, the nursery children help to prepare snacks by cutting up a variety of fruit for their friends. Children can help themselves to drinking water and in baby room, babies can gesture towards their bottles. Children are learning to take responsibility for their own safety as they decide upon the 'Golden rules' for behaviour in the nursery room. They talk about possible dangers when out and about on visits and participate in the fire evacuation procedures.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop extremely positive behaviour patterns that enable them to learn and to become sociable and caring. They develop affectionate relationships with their friends, for instance, as older children care for those who have joined them from the baby room. Staff constantly reassure and encourage children, which increases their confidence. They place a strong emphasis on children's emotional well-being as they settle into the baby room and transfer to nursery room.

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and outcomes for children

Children are experiencing an impressive range of thought-provoking and memorable learning experiences both in and outdoors. They are very busy and curious learners from the time they come eagerly into nursery to the time they leave. Children are making excellent progress because all of the staff have a thorough knowledge and understanding of how they learn and develop, and they provide a very enabling learning environment in which babies and children can select resources and make decisions about their own learning. Throughout the nursery, staff focus on allowing the children to have significant input when planning and developing their own learning experiences. Staff supplement the children's ideas to provide challenging and exciting experiences, such as creating snakes in the Rainforest in the role play area. All children enjoy fresh air and exercise as they develop their physical skills, for instance, as they slide, climb and

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and outcomes for children

crawl. Babies are encouraged to walk around furniture and steady themselves as they push-a-long toys.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing very good speaking and listening skills; they particularly enjoy taking story sacks home to read with their parents, and staff offer ideas to extend and build on children's home-learning. Children listen attentively to stories, such as 'We're going on a bear hunt' and they are encouraged to bring items from This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 home to discuss during small group time. They are very proud as they talk about and share their news. Children have many opportunities to practise their early writing both in and outdoors, for instance, as they make patterns in corn flour, use pencils and chalks. In the very attractive and welcoming baby room, babies absolutely love to paint on the low level painting easel. They are completely focused as they experiment with big paint brushes covering the paper and floor, their hands and feet. They are highly involved in many sensorial activities, for

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and outcomes for children

instance, as they participate in a sticking activity and water play. They investigate as they prod and poke buttons on toys to find out how they work and thoroughly enjoy music, singing songs and rhymes.

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and outcomes for children

Children show a keen interest in problem solving as they thread beads, and talk about colours, numbers and shapes, and participate in games. In the water play children explore floating, sinking and volume. They talk about bigger and smaller than as they observe their sunflowers growing. Children are learning to care for living things as they plant vegetables and flowers, observe mini-beasts and feed the horses. Children's understanding of diversity and difference is enhanced as they celebrate many festivals and special events from around the world. They access excellent resources that reflect positive images of people from different cultures. They have wonderful opportunities to learn about people who help us as they observe people arriving on the helicopter pad, and ambulance, fire and police service visits. Children thoroughly enjoy coming to their nursery because they are cared for by kind and passionate staff. They have great fun through many first-

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and outcomes for children

hand experiences, which prepares them excellently for future life. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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