Welbourn Gardens Day Nursery

Welbourn House Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY330553 Inspection date 25/11/2010 Inspector Melanie Arnold

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Setting address Welbourn House Childrens Centre, Welbourn Gardens, Ermine East, Lincolnshire, LN2 2DD Telephone number 01522 244409 Email surestart.lincolncitynorth@nch.org.uk 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

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

Welbourn Gardens Day Nursery was registered in 2006 and is one of the For Under Fives chain of daycare establishments. The nursery is situated on the ground floor in Welbourn House Children's Centre in Lincoln City. Care is provided in a baby room for children under the age of two and in a pre-school room for children aged from two to five years. Each room has access to their own secure, enclosed, outside play area. The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 6.00pm all year round, with the exception of bank holidays and Christmas week. Welbourn Gardens is registered to provide care for a maximum of 28 children in the early years age range and is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 42 children on roll. The nursery provides funded early education and supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 15 members of staff, 13 of

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Description of the setting

whom work directly with the children. All of the childcare staff hold appropriate early years qualifications, with three staff qualified to Level 4 and one member of staff holding Early Years Professional Status.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

All children are cared for in a warm and welcoming setting, where they are adequately supported in line with their individual needs. The appropriate use of space, resources and learning systems enable children to make satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals. Children are fully safeguarded and their welfare is promoted through generally good policies and procedures, which are mainly understood by staff. Effective partnership with parents and appropriate partnership working with other providers and professionals promotes an integrated approach to children's care and learning. Improvements have been made since the last inspection and the setting's appropriate system of self-evaluation is continuing to move the nursery forward.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 develop further the use of observations and assessments to more accurately monitor children's progress and use them to identify and plan for individual children's next steps for learning  ensure all children have opportunities to be outside on a daily basis all year round  ensure all staff fully understand how to promote equal opportunities and anti- discriminatory practice so that all children and families feel included, safe and valued  create a stimulating indoor environment for the pre-school children, which will encourage children's interest and curiosity in all areas of learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are happy and settled in the nursery and they relate well to the kind, caring staff team. Clear practices and procedures are in place to safeguard children. For example, robust recruitment, vetting and induction procedures help to ensure the suitability of the staff. The nursery is also securely maintained, with potential hazards identified and minimised through thorough risk assessment procedures. All staff are qualified and they continue to develop their knowledge through their commitment to ongoing training and development. Children are cared for in two separate rooms according to age. Indoor space and resources in the baby room are organised effectively, creating a warm, welcoming play space for younger children. However, indoor space and resources in the pre-school room are not as well organised, with the environment being quite crowded and cluttered. Also, although children have access to resources covering all areas of

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the early years provision

learning, they are not fully used. This is because the environment is not effectively monitored, which results in some resources and areas lacking interest for children. All necessary records and documents are in place. They are completed with relevant information and used to safeguard children and meet their needs. The clear policies and procedures are appropriately understood by the majority of staff and implemented generally well in most areas. For example, although most staff have a satisfactory awareness of equal opportunities, some staff lack knowledge in this area. This results in equality of opportunity being adequately promoted throughout the nursery. Staff do gather clear information from parents and carers, which enables children to make suitable progress from their specific starting points. It also helps staff to value each child in line with their individual needs. Staff provide appropriate support for children with special educational needs

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the early years provision

and/or disabilities. The nursery is currently working on improving their systems to provide further support for children with English as an additional language. Partnership working with parents and carers is good. Information is continually exchanged and shared through the nurseries clear communication channels. Systems are in place to keep parents up-to-date with their children's progress and development. Parents are also actively encouraged to contribute to their children's observation and assessment records. Partnership working with other providers is satisfactory, with appropriate information shared with other providers to promote continuity of care and learning for each child. The staff and management are committed to developing the service they provide, working with Local Authority advisors to make adjustments where necessary. The nursery has made improvements in some areas by working on the recommendations raised at the

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the early years provision

previous inspection. Domestic style furniture is now provided in the baby room, creating a welcoming, homely space for the younger children. Also, although changes to the planning system have been made, further development is required to fully ensure children's learning is effectively promoted. The setting uses an appropriate system of self-evaluation, which is currently being updated to reflect current practice in the nursery. Therefore, although some areas for further improvement have been identified, steps have yet to be taken to ensure children benefit from improved practice in all areas. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are cared for in a safe, secure, well-maintained setting. Good health and hygiene routines are implemented and a clear exclusion policy is in place to minimise the risk of cross-infection. Children benefit from a healthy diet, as nutritious meals and snacks are freshly prepared and cooked each day by the nursery cook. Fresh drinking water is freely accessible to children and systems are in place to ensure each child's specific dietary requirements are met. Children's awareness of being healthy is adequately promoted in some areas. However, although both the baby and pre-school rooms have free access to a secure outdoor play area, it is only the pre-school room who freely access their area each day. The pre-school children have fun accessing a suitable range of play materials in the outdoor environment, which promotes their learning. For example, they balance on the balancing beams, make marks on the chalk board and easel, and explore the

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and outcomes for children

comfy area in the house. Children remain safe because of the vigilance of the staff team. Children's awareness of safety issues is also well-promoted through discussions, activities and regular events. For example, older children use a special safety knife to chop their own fruit up at snack time. Staff promote children's awareness of how to use the knife safely, whilst also promoting their awareness that the knife is a special knife and not like the sharp knives they may have in their home. Children are also encouraged to take calculated risks with staff re-enforcing the possible dangers to help children to become aware of these and assess the situation for themselves. For example, when rolling down the slope in the outside play area, staff advise children to be careful. Children show they are aware of the possible consequences of their actions as they respond that they have to be careful or they may bump their head. Children are making satisfactory progress in

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and outcomes for children

their learning and development. Planning, observation and assessment systems provide a suitable range of adult-led and child-initiated play experiences for children. However, observations and assessments are not effectively monitored to identify children's achievements and possible gaps in their learning experiences. Although activity based next steps are planned for, observation and assessments are not used to identify and plan for individual children's developmental next steps for learning. All children are settled and relate well to staff. Babies benefit from lots of hands on play experiences where they explore and investigate. For example, babies have fun exploring the Christmas treasure basket, touching, feeling and investigating each object. Within both the baby and pre-school room, children access a developmentally appropriate range of information, communication and technology toys and resources to support their learning. Older children's

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and outcomes for children

communication skills are promoted during planned activities where they are encouraged to discuss and describe what they are making or using. Children also enjoy listening to stories and looking at books independently. Their problem solving, reasoning and numeracy skills are adequately promoted through counting, sorting and weighing activities. Children mainly play co-operatively with their peers, learning to share and take turns. They are actively encouraged to be independent. For example, they are encouraged to put on and take off their own coats and shoes. At lunch time, older children also serve their own meals, with babies being slowly encouraged to access and choose their own snack. Children's behaviour is predominantly good, with staff using appropriate strategies to manage This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 any unwanted behaviour. Children's awareness of differences and diversity is

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and outcomes for children

adequately promoted through their play, discussions and activities. All of this helps to lay an appropriate foundation for children's continued learning and development. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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