Illogan School

Highbury College, Childcare Providers Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 143448 Inspection date 08/11/2010 Inspector Loraine Wardlaw

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Setting address Dovercourt Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 2SA

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Telephone number 02392 313345 Email cathy.roberts@highbury.ac.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. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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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

Honeypot nursery is one of two nurseries run by Highbury College. It registered in the early 1980's and operates from the tower block on the Highbury College campus in Cosham, Portsmouth. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery open each weekday from 8.00 am to 5.30 pm excluding Bank holidays.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare register. A maximum of 54 children under eight years may attend the nursery, with a maximum of 12 under two at any one time There are currently 80 children on roll in the early years age range. There are 16 members of staff employed by the college to work with the children. All staff are qualified to level three or above. Children come from a wide geographical area. The setting provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are well cared for by the very kind and understanding staff at this nursery. Management and staff work as a cohesive team to ensure that overall, children's welfare, learning and development needs are met successfully. A key strength of the setting is the excellent support children with special educational needs/disabilities receive from the team who work extremely well with outside agencies. Management and staff are continually working to improve and reinforce the good practice that takes place at the nursery.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the system to ensure there are clear links between individual children's next learning steps and implemented planned activities  review the baby bees environment to ensure that it is rich and attractive to promote children's curiosity and independent learning.

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the early years provision

Adults have a highly robust approach to safeguarding and keeping children safe. All new staff commence work after a clear Criminal Records Bureau check is complete and their ongoing suitability, which includes their health, is declared annually. The very stable and well qualified staff team keep well up-to-date with their first aid and safeguarding training. Extensive risk assessments at the nursery This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 are carried out on all areas of the nursery, outings and the accidents that occur on the premises. Staff are highly aware of the child protection procedure and management are vigilant with regards to locking away mobile phones. They use the password and identification system for unknown people who collect sick children. The competent supervisor and manager have high expectations and set high standards which is embedded across all areas of staff practice. Staff morale is

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the early years provision

strong and there are very good monitoring systems in place such as peer observations to raise the quality of teaching and learning.

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the early years provision

The nursery runs very smoothly which is underpinned by good policies and procedures. Self-evaluation is continuous, with everyone regularly taking part in analysing and reflecting on their practice to ensure well targeted future improvement plans are in place such as developing an outside area for the under two's. However, there has been less emphasis on evaluating the room environment, particularly the under two's which is not rich and vibrant to promote babies curiosity in between planned activities. Successful partnership working means that children's individual needs are met well. Parents and key staff work effectively together to aid children's developmental progress and staff are on hand to give feedback on their child's day and to give advice when necessary. Parents speak very positively and knowingly about the friendly setting. They are very happy with the communication process, which ensures good continuity of care and

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the early years provision

learning. They are invited to special events such as the Christmas production, to open days and receive twice yearly reports on their child's developmental progress where they make contributions. Overall, there is good deployment of resources. Staff ratios are maintained well, resources and furniture are mainly of good quality and exciting, regular outings in the locality take place to extend children's knowledge of the world around them. Staff receive training on equality and diversity and demonstrate a good awareness of how to effectively support children learning English as an additional language. They use pictorial images as much as possible and have words in a child's additional language displayed around the room to give children a good sense of belonging.

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and outcomes for children

Babies and children throughout the nursery experience nurturing care by the adults who give them lots of attention and who relate to children well. Babies are happy and have a secure sense of belonging due to the strong relationships they build with the staff. This is facilitated by the good key person approach which ensures that care routines are mostly undertaken by their key adult. Mealtimes in the baby room are according to individual children's needs; they are social, happy times with babies eating their packed lunch provided by their parents. Parents receive excellent guidance on how to provide a healthy lunch box by a visual display set up by the supervisor. Overall, staff promote babies communication skills well by responding to their vocalisations and building on their one word utterances. Although staff in the baby bees room plan stimulating play activities which are set up and packed away, the environment is not visually an exciting and exploratory

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 play room, despite the staff regularly making changes. Honey bee children enjoy good quality play and learning experiences which are facilitated by adults who are skilled at purposefully interacting with children to build on what they know and can do. Children behave and listen well to staff in the sports hall when they enthusiastically take part in fun physical games, such as moving their bodies and singing the ring game 'oke koke'. They persist for a good length of time exploring the cornflakes, using different small containers, to fill and empty cylinder shapes. Although children look and handle books in the Honey and Busy bee rooms the titles of books are not easily recognisable to the children due to the way in which they are displayed. Busy bee children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. They are keen, motivated and all are very engaged in their

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and outcomes for children

active play and learning. Children join in enthusiastically to the 'sticks up high and sticks down low' song moving happily to the music, clicking their sticks. They are eager to take part in the new 'woolly hats' song and demonstrate their very good understanding of number and problem solving. Children make their own independent choices during free play times; they eagerly go to the excellent smart board and mark make with their fingers and learn how to erase it with good support from staff. Most staff know their key children well. They undertake 'snap shot' anecdotal observations of the children during their play and routines to track their developmental progress. Their next steps are identified in their learning journeys but these next learning steps are not always precisely included in the planning across all the age groups of the nursery.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health is promoted well throughout the nursery. Under two's quickly learn about the toothbrush bus which has a positive impact on them cleaning their teeth at home. Staff operate a hygienic nappy changing routine and use a hand sanitiser to minimise cross-infection after blowing children's noses with tissues. Busy bee children quickly learn the 'wash your dirty hands' song and relate it to visitors. They understand the reason why it is important to have clean hands before eating. Children with special educational needs make a contribution to the conversation about the hand washing routines. All babies and children receive positive praise from the staff, who understand how to promote good, inclusive practice to ensure they encompass every child attending the setting. Older children behave extremely well, going about their activities in a very safe and responsible manner. Staff are swift to point out how to keep safe during their activities such as

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and outcomes for children

during the musical stick activity, and are consistent but caring in handling any undesirable behaviour. Children play with a diverse range of resources to help them understand the society in which they live and varied cultural images are on display throughout the rooms. Older children enjoy exciting well planned outings. For example, they go on a train to a Chinese restaurant during Chinese New Year to raise their awareness of the annual celebration. 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 2 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 2 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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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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