Little Owls Nursery Kentmere

Kentmere Children Centre Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 512412 Inspection date 15/12/2010 Inspector Jane O'Callaghan

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Setting address Kentmere Avenue, Seacroft, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS14 1BN Telephone number 0113 2144126 Email Kentmere@leedseyc.demon.co.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

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

Kentmere Children Centre is run by Leeds City Council Early Years. It opened in 1989 and operates from two rooms in a purpose built building. It is situated in the Seacroft area of Leeds. A maximum of 52 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is registered on the early years register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is open each weekday from 8.00am to 6.00pm for 52 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 62 children aged from one years to four years on roll. Of these, 37 children receive funding for early years education. Children come from the local and surrounding areas. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs. The nursery employs 13 members of staff. Of these, 13 hold appropriate early years qualifications and some are working towards degree in

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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

The provision meets the needs of the early years children well because they are provided with a warm and caring environment that enables them to make good progress in their learning and development. It is an inclusive setting that caters extremely well for the individual needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities who receive very good quality support. There are extremely strong partnerships with parents, outside agencies and with the other local schools.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the use of self-evaluation to identify the setting's strengths and areas for further development  develop a system so that resources are easily recognisable to ensure that children learn that print carries meaning.

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the early years provision

The leadership and management of the nursery is good. Children are exceptionally well safeguarded because all staff have undertaken training in child protection and understand and follow the procedures for keeping children safe. Staff also liaise with outside agencies in conjunction with safeguarding to ensure that all children's and parents needs are fully supported. Staff have also been trained in first aid and food hygiene practices. All staff are vetted and checked on appointment to ensure they are suitable to work with children. Regular risk assessments are carried out This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 very conscientiously; the setting has a designated person for this. Risk assessments are done for all areas, complaints, accidents and individual activities, and are all carried out thoroughly. Staff also do daily checks and report back to the designated person, should they have any concerns. This ensures that children and

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the early years provision

staff's safety and well-being is paramount. The experienced staff work hard as a team to provide good experiences to support the learning and development for all the children who attend. Liaison with support agencies and other Early Years Foundation Stage providers ensures exceptionally good inclusion of all groups of children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and that their particular needs are identified and met. The setting promotes the awareness of diversity of cultures in our society strongly and ensures that all children receive lots of support and they also do in depth celebrations of a vast variety of festivals. Regular appraisals and interviews determine the career direction for staff and identify any further training needs. The settings have a good selection of policies and procedures covering all registration requirements and these are updated regularly and available for staff and parents.

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the early years provision

The areas of the setting are used effectively to support the children of different ages. Each of the rooms are well resourced and equipped to create an effective learning environment. Staff are deployed effectively and demonstrates adaptability when moving to work with children of different ages. The use of self-evaluation is at a very early stage, and as yet has not been fully implemented, although staff when spoken to are fully aware of this procedure. There are outstanding partnerships with parents who speak highly of the provision made for their children. One parent described it as 'lovely'. Parents are kept well informed about their children's progress through open events, and daily contact with their child's key person. The staff ensure they are there to support families and have extremely good links with outside agencies for parents to take guidance from. Staff have exceptional links with other provisions that children may attend, including schools

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the early years provision

that they are going to. All children have a transitional form completed to take on with them and also profiles are fully shared, in order to ensure that children's continuity of care and their needs continue to be met.

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and outcomes for children

The staff and children know each other well as is evident through the warm welcome children receive on arrival. They are clearly happy to be in the nursery and feel safe and secure due to the good quality of care they receive. Strong trusting relationships have been established and children look forward to attending because they have enjoyable experiences. A good range of stimulating and interesting activities are provided enabling children to progress well towards the early learning goals. Staff ensures that equipment and resources are accessible to children in the different areas to encourage their independence through making choices for themselves. However, not all resources are easily recognisable for children.

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and outcomes for children

There is a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities across all areas. The outdoor areas for children are easily accessible. Children go out throughout This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the day, they busily involve their friends when making a race track, counting the number of bricks and ensuring they are in a straight line. Younger children go out into their area to play on the bikes and in the outdoor home corner, where they talk to their peers. More able children get very excited when they sit down to make a cake. The birthday child helps to make the cake and together they learn about the different textures of the flour and sugar. Children stir the mixture and help to put into the cake tins and explain to the staff that it needs to go in the oven to cook now. They are encouraged to help clean up after baking and wipe the table and are keen to show staff how clean it is now, ready for 'our dinner' they say.

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and outcomes for children

Younger children put aprons on prior to playing in the water and tell the staff that they need two buckets of water to fill the container and count with the staff. Children in the afternoon celebrate Christmas with a concert for parents, where more able children dress up and re-enact a nativity scene and younger children along with staff sing lots of Christmas songs, to the delight of the audience. Staff ensure that children's profiles contain lots of observations, photographs, starting points and also record the next steps of learning, so that children's progress is monitored. Children are keen to show and look at their own profiles which they frequently access. Planning is done in the rooms and is displayed for parents to see and takes into account children's interests.

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and outcomes for children

Children are taught to be safe in their play by vigilant staff, who encourage safe practices like being aware of other children around them and how to use scissors carefully when cutting out. The setting regularly carries out fire drills and children join in to ensure that they are aware of evacuation procedures.

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and outcomes for children

There is good promotion of developing healthy lifestyles through regular involvement in active play. At snack time they are provided with a variety of different fruits, with milk or water to drink. A nourishing lunch time menu offers a good range of wholesome healthy meals. Children know the routines and understand the need for hand washing to keep themselves free from germs before they eat and after they have visited the toilet. Children enjoy being in this nursery and easily make friends. They learn to take turns and to share, as well as to help with tidying away the equipment and working with other children at times. Strong relationships are formed with the staff and this ensures they feel safe and secure. 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 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 2

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Stage

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