Cosy Toes Nursery

Cosy Toes Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY303108 Inspection date 10/01/2011 Inspector Susan Heap

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Setting address 431 Mainway East, Middleton, Manchester, Lancashire, M24 1RD Telephone number 0161 654 6517 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. 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

Cosy Toes Nursery Limited is one of three nurseries co-owned by two private individuals and was registered in 1990. It operates from four rooms in a large adapted and extended bungalow. It is located in the Middleton area of Rochdale. The nursery is accessible to all children and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7.00am to 6.00pm for 51 weeks of the year. A maximum of 30 children in the early years age range may attend at any one time.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 70 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery also offers care to children aged over five years to eight years. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 24 members of child care staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2, 11 at level 3 and two have foundation degrees in Early Education. The owner/manager has a Bachelor of Education degree and has Early Years Professional Status. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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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

Overall, staff have a good knowledge and understanding of each child's needs which ensures that they promote children's welfare and learning with great success. Children are safe and secure and they enjoy their learning, fully participating in a good range of activities provided for them. Most aspects of partnership working with parents are very successful. Partnerships with other professional agencies are well-established and successfully ensure that the individual needs of children are met. The whole staff team show commitment to improvement through robust self-evaluation systems which ensure they are reflective practitioners. This means that priorities for development are realistic, successfully identified and acted upon, and continually drive improvement and the outcomes for children in their care.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the staff's confidence in adopting a flexible and spontaneous This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 approach that responds quickly to children's learning and development needs extend ways of encouraging parents to share their observations of their children's activities and interests to help inform future planning for their individual needs.

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the early years provision

The staff team are fully trained in safeguarding and demonstrate a secure knowledge and understanding of the procedures to follow should they have any concerns about a child in their care. In addition, the manager and deputy managers have attended an in-depth two-day training course. An ongoing training programme ensures that their knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and first aid is kept up-to-date. All the staff are fully vetted and disclosure numbers are recorded. A designated health and safety officer takes responsibility for ensuring that risk assessments of the premises are completed and recorded, while the staff monitor the safety of children's equipment and resources. This means that any potential hazards to children are quickly and successfully minimised.

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the early years provision

There are robust systems in place to support staff development, promote good quality childcare practice and drive further improvement. This is achieved by accessing relevant training courses and a series of meetings involving staff at all levels. Trainee nursery staff have an experienced mentor within the nursery. This means that managers can tackle key areas of weakness and build on areas of strength. Target setting is realistic and challenging. High staff:child ratios and the effective deployment of staff and resources throughout the nursery mean that children's individual learning, development and safety are supported very well.

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the early years provision

The owner and managers demonstrate a strong commitment to improvement. As a result, self-evaluation involves the whole staff team and from this an action plan for the year is drawn up. Parents are involved in this process through the completion of an annual or exit questionnaire. Their comments are acted upon, such as improving times of transition as children progress from room to room. In addition, data gathered and supplied to the local authority provides an accurate analysis of any gaps in children's learning and development. This means that the managers are confident about what they need to do to improve further. All recommendations made at the last inspection have been successfully completed. Most aspects of partnership working with parents are very successful, such as identifying children starting points, and sharing information about children's daily activities verbally. There is a wealth of information displayed on the parents' notice

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the early years provision

board and in each of the children's rooms. Partnerships with other professionals are well-established and make a strong contribution to children's individual needs and welfare being met and to their ability to enjoy and achieve. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Good activities and experiences are successfully implemented which means that children develop a good understanding of their own personal care and a healthy lifestyle. For example, they choose healthy options of fruit and vegetables at snack time and main meals are healthy, balanced and nutritious. The nursery has achieved the Golden Grin gold award for promoting healthy eating and visits from the dental health team develop children's understanding of how to care for their teeth. Particular attention is given to ensuring that children's specific dietary needs are met and fully understood by all the staff team. The children benefit from access to the outdoor environment and enjoy fresh air on a daily basis to develop their physical skills, such as stepping in and out of tyres. They actively participate in music and movement sessions which help them to develop control of their bodies and develop their spatial awareness. The youngest children are closely

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and outcomes for children

monitored as they sleep safely in their prams in the fresh air.

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and outcomes for children

The premises are safe and secure because staff place strong emphasis on children's safety and well being. Consequently, all children show a strong sense of security and feel safe within the nursery. Visits from the road safety team, fire service and police extend children's knowledge and understanding of how to keep safe.

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and outcomes for children

Children are motivated and interested in a varied range of activities designed to stimulate their interest and challenge their learning. Planned activities are used effectively to develop children's awareness of the wider world. For example, a recent success for the preschool children has been a visit from a Forest School practitioner. He showed the children how to use the outdoors and campfires safely. A photographic album and children's recorded comments provide a unique record of children's learning experience of this activity and enable children to reflect on and recall this.

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and outcomes for children

Most aspects of observation and assessment are secure and are used to effectively guide planning which reflects on children's individual interests and development. Consequently, all children, including babies, make good progress in their learning in relation to their capabilities and starting points. There are systems to involve parents and enable them to input their own observations of their children's achievements and interests into the planning. These are in the early stages of development. The staff team provide a friendly and welcoming environment for children and their parents. Children enjoy engaging staff in their play. For example, children actively ask them to join in their role play as they play imaginatively in the home corner while other children seek support in creative activities. However, not all the staff are fully confident in spontaneously extending children's learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children's recognition of letters and sounds is developing well through planned and purposeful activities. For example, babies are introduced to basic sign language through the sign of the week. This is extended in the toddler room to the word of the week, while in the preschool room children learn a rhyme of the week. Children use different tools to make marks and patterns in the sand tray and listen This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 to compact discs of animal sounds to develop their listening skills. They confidently use computers and cause and effect toys which help to develop their understanding of technology and how things work.

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and outcomes for children

Children behave well and play happily together. They communicate confidently with adults and ask questions, such as asking why a visitor is present. They are encouraged to respect each other and value each other's differences and needs, such as offering support to a less able or younger child. Children are regularly praised and encouraged to develop their self-help skills. For example, preschool children learn about portion control and their own needs as they serve themselves at lunchtime. Visits to the local park or writing and posting letters in the local post box enable children to consolidate their knowledge and understanding of the world and the local community. 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 2 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 2 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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