Chard NNI/Schools Out

Chard NNI/Schools Out Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY262443 Inspection date 01/11/2010 Inspector Jacquie Allen and Sara Bailey

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Setting address Clare House, Millfield, Chard, Somerset, TA20 2DA

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Telephone number 01460 62367 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

Chard Neighbourhood Nursery has been registered at the current premises since 2003. It is a combined childcare provision, previously known as Chard Pre-school, which opened in 1969, and which includes a 'Schools Out' club for school age children. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from the Children's Centre which is situated in the town of Chard. The ground floor provides four separate activity rooms within the nursery, as well as a kitchen, toilet facilities and office areas. The first floor is designed to provide care for school age children, with its own toilet and kitchen areas. Children attending the nursery live in the local community and surrounding villages. Chard Neighbourhood Nursery is open from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year. It is registered to provide 101 places for children under eight years and also provides out of school

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Description of the setting

care for children up to 14 years. There are currently 92 children on roll, of which 52 are in the early years age range. The setting currently supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs 26 staff, of whom over half hold appropriate qualifications. They are supported by a full-time manager, two administration staff and an early years teacher. One of the staff holds an early years degree, four are currently doing an early years degree and two are working towards Early Years Professional Status. The setting 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 inadequate.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Weaknesses in leadership and management within the nursery are not identified within their own self-evaluation system, which limits their ability to improve. This impacts on children's welfare, learning and development. Partnership with parents is not effective in supporting children and meeting their individual needs.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the early years provision requires significant improvement. The registered person is given a Notice to Improve that sets out actions to be carried out.

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further?

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To comply with the requirements of the EYFS the registered person must take the following action by the specified date:

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further?

 ensure that the necessary steps are taken to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, by ensuring, staff awareness of the procedures in place and updating the steps to be followed, should an allegation be made against staff (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 22/12/2010

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further?

 keep clear records of the information used to assess suitability to demonstrate that checks have been done. Records must include the unique reference numbers of Criminal Record Bureau Disclosures obtained and the date on which they were obtained (Suitable People) (also applies to the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register) 22/12/2010

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further?

 review risk assessments to ensure that all aspects of the environment are checked on a regular basis, maintaining a record of when and by whom these checks are made and to take all reasonable steps to ensure hazards to children are kept to a minimum (Suitable premises, environment & equipment) 22/12/2010

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further?

 ensure that prior written permission for each and every medicine is obtained from parents before any medication is given (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) (also applies to the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register) 22/12/2010

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the early years provision

Children are not appropriately safeguarded as the system for recording the staff and committee's suitability is not robust. The requirement to ensure a list of staff, their Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure number and the date this was obtained has not been met as the system in place to do so is not robust. Staff knowledge of the procedures in place to safeguard children is weak and the procedure to be followed should an allegation be made against staff is also unclear. This was raised as an action at a previous visit. Risk assessments were also raised previously as an action, however although there is some recording of potential hazards to children, there is no complete risk assessment for the building and action is not taken to minimise all potential risks. For example, bleach and other dangerous substances, are accessible in a low-level kitchen cupboard and staff handbags are stored within a playroom cupboard which is accessible to

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the early years provision

children. There are appropriate systems in place to obtain parental consent before staff administer medication to children, however staff do not always ensure that this is completed, which puts children?s health at risk. These are all breaches in specific welfare requirements and evidence of the manager's lack of sufficient knowledge and skills to monitor the provision and respond to actions and recommendations in order to improve the outcomes for children. The settings This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 system for self-evaluation fails to highlight these significant areas of weakness, which puts children at risk. Fire drills are practised at least once a month and recorded. Most of the staff have the equivalent of level 3 training in early years, with some holding degrees and training towards Early Years Professional Status. However, the deployment of staff is not always effective. For example, despite extremely

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the early years provision

high ratios of staff to children at times children are insufficiently supported; staff make children wait with their coats and boots on until all children are ready and have had their nappies changed, before going outside. Toys and equipment in some rooms are clean, age appropriate, accessible and attractively laid out. However, this is not the case in other rooms where there is insufficient sand in the sand tray, the home corner lacks resources, and those available are not clean or maintained safely for the children who use these. Resources laid out on tables are sometimes the same as those put out in the morning within one room, with many toys still strewn over the floor, presenting a tripping hazard and not encouraging children to respect them. Good quality resources are also in evidence but not used effectively to support children's learning and development. In addition, broken toys are left around the garden and plastic barriers put up to keep children safe when

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the early years provision

sleeping are not appropriately secured and result in falling onto children who have just woken up. Staff in the baby room state their garden is not suitable for their use, although they do make use of other areas of the garden. There are some resources reflecting diversity and the ethnicity of children on roll. Staff have been using a system in line with Every Child a Talker to identify and support children who may require further support from speech and language therapists. Staff share information on children's basic care needs, such as sleeping, feeding and nappy changes on a daily basis and, for some children, provide home communication books with parents to encourage the two-way flow of communication. However, parents are not encouraged to be actively involved in their children's learning. There are some basic channels of communication with other providers delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage and overall, wider

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the early years provision

partnerships are appropriately developed.

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and outcomes for children

Leadership and management negatively impacts on children's enjoyment and achievement. Although babies and children benefit from being cared for in groups, they have a different level of care dependent on where they are based within the nursery. For example, babies and toddlers are happy and well settled within an attractive nursery room. Children based in the two to three-year-old room and the pre-school room benefit from free-flow between the inside and outside areas for the majority of the day. However, their achievement and learning from activities is not always supported effectively by all staff. Most children enjoy a range of inside and outside activities and can access suitable resources. Resources set out for the two to three-year age range of children are often the same throughout the day and sometimes fail to stimulate and challenge children of this age in their learning and development. Physical play resources provided for toddlers are not sufficiently

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and outcomes for children

challenging. Children who attend after school choose to play outside or select This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 activities of their choice. A newly employed teacher has begun to monitor children's learning and development and set target areas for improvement. However, children's achievement records are currently sporadic, which does not promote equality. The records note children's interests but do not clearly identify progress through use of evaluation. Only some information is used to inform future planning and parents are not encouraged to contribute to their children's records. Children walk over toys left on the floor and draw over furniture and resources. Staff do not help children to learn how to respect their environment or belongings by role modelling good practice. Children are encouraged to help pack away resources at the end of the morning session. Staff have attended training in

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and outcomes for children

behaviour management which helps to ensure that most unacceptable behaviour is managed consistently. Staff do not always promote children's good health through effective hygiene routines. For example, children open other children's sandwiches which have been put out onto plates and they are not encouraged to wash their hands after using tissues. This increases children's risk of cross infection. However, children are routinely encouraged to wash their hands before eating and after toileting. Children bring food provided by parents and staff offer children fruit at snack time. Children have regular opportunities to play in the fresh air and practise their gross motor skills within the enclosed garden area and in the nearby playing fields Children's safety is compromised due to a lack of comprehensive risk assessments throughout the nursery. Babies sleeping in cots are safe and checked regularly, however babies sleeping on floor mats are not safe due to ineffective and unsafe

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and outcomes for children

barriers that do not fully protect them from mobile children. Toys left on the floor frequently present a tripping hazard and children are not encouraged to pick these up, or made aware of the potential risks. As a result, children gain little awareness of safety issues. 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 4 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 4 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 4 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 4

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 4 The extent to which children feel safe 4 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 4 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 4 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 4

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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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the Early Years Register section of the report (Suitability of persons to care for, or be in regular contact with, children; Records to be kept) 22/12/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 undertake a risk assessment of the premises and equipment:at least once in each calendar year, andimmediately, where the need for an assessment arises ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any indentified risks (Suitability and safety of premises and equipment) 22/12/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the Early Years Register section of the report (Suitability of persons to care for, or be in regular contact with, children; Records to be kept) 22/12/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified on the compulsory part of the Childcare register(Suitability and safety of premises and equipment 22/12/2010

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