Colets Nursery

Colets Health & Fitness Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY335074 Inspection date 07/02/2011 Inspector Nicola Hill

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Setting address Colets Health & Fitness, Speer Road, THAMES DITTON, Surrey, KT7 0PW Telephone number 0208 398 7108 Email dawn@coletshealthclub.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

Colets Health and Fitness was registered in 2006. It is a privately owned day nursery, crèche and holiday playscheme and operates from a number of self- contained rooms within Colets Health and Fitness Club in Thames Ditton, Surrey. Children in the nursery are grouped in rooms according to age and stage of development. The crèche has use of the 'long room' in the club and the playscheme has use of the 'junior activities room'. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. Children also have use of a soft play area, an indoor hall for physical exercise and an indoor swimming pool.

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Description of the setting

The provision serves the needs of families in the area and users of the health club. The group is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is registered to care for a maximum of 133 children under eight years; of these, not more than 45 children may be under two years at any one time. The group operate within these conditions to care for 23 children within the crèche, 40 children in the playscheme and 70 children in the nursery. There are currently 88 children on roll within the nursery. The number of children on roll at the crèche and playscheme varies. The group is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years, and welcomes 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 nursery operates each weekday from 7.30am to 6.30pm, excluding Christmas and Bank Holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The crèche is open Monday to Saturday from 9:30am to 1:30pm, and the playscheme is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm during school holidays. There are 16 full-time and three part- time staff currently working with the children, 13 of whom hold a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from the local authority and is currently taking part in a quality assurance scheme through Surrey County Council Early Years.

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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's welfare, learning and development are well promoted at this nursery. The well organised and involved manager enthuses staff to work effectively as teams and consequently they fulfil their individual roles with great commitment. Key workers ensure that each child's individual needs are known and properly met. They develop strong bonds with children and parents and child-centred working relationships with any other parties involved. Staff have a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and provide children with a stimulating range of experiences. The setting's robust evaluation procedures ensure that the manager, staff and carers all have meaningful opportunities to review and contribute to the ongoing improvement of the nursery, such as the recent development of the outdoor play area. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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further?

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

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further?

 continue to develop the outdoor environment to ensure that all six areas of learning are promoted outdoors as well as indoors in order to fully extend children's play and learning  devise a more rigorous system to monitor children's development records to ensure they are regularly updated, and ensure the weekly plans and written observations clearly refer to the six areas of learning  improve the use of documentation to safeguard children's welfare and care by ensuring that all medication records are signed by parents to acknowledge medication has been administered.

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the early years provision

There is a good awareness of safeguarding issues among the adults within the setting at all levels, all of whom receive regular training on safeguarding. In-depth policies and procedures ensure that staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting the children in their care. Children are further safeguarded by thorough recruitment and vetting procedures, including the successful induction of new staff. All aspects of the premises both indoors and outdoors are risk assessed effectively to ensure children are able to move with confidence and safely within the nursery premises. Overall, the general organisation of the nursery is effective. Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and evaluated to ensure that they cover all necessary aspects. However, management have failed to notice that not all medication forms have been signed by parents as an acknowledgement that medication has been administered.

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the early years provision

The manager of the setting succeeds in maintaining a motivated, well qualified and organised staff group, many of whom participate in ongoing in-house professional training. There are good self-evaluation procedures in place for identifying what works well and areas for improvement. The staff are committed and strive for improvement and to provide high quality care and education. They employ a whole setting approach and work collaboratively as a team and with parents and children to evaluate practice and implement action plans which lead to improvements in outcomes for children. For example, the nursery has recently developed a brand new outdoor play area which children thoroughly enjoy using, and they have invited more visitors from the local community such as the police, the fire brigade and an animal handling workshop. Recommendations from the previous inspection have also been addressed.

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the early years provision

The nursery is a relaxed and happy place for children and families. Staff create a welcoming environment which is both reassuring and stimulating. Children enter the nursery confidently and have the benefit of being accommodated in age This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 related base rooms, which helps them to feel settled and safe. All rooms are brightly decorated with the children's work, and each child has their own named coat peg and drawer, which gives them a sense of ownership and belonging. Children use a varied range of safe, good quality and developmentally appropriate resources. These are well-presented by staff, and children are able to choose from the inviting range stored at low level in all rooms. All children are welcomed and included within the setting. Their individual personalities and needs are well known and respected by staff. Children play an active part in the provision, making

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the early years provision

choices about activities they wish to participate in, and helping to tidy away resources. They have access to a good range of resources and planned activities to help them gain an awareness of diversity. For example, to celebrate the recent Chinese New Year, the pre-school children made a Chinese Dragon and Chinese lanterns and tried using chopsticks to eat noodles.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from the positive relationships which develop between staff and parents. Feedback from parents is regularly gathered and parents speak highly of the nursery and staff. Good systems are in place to ensure that parents are well informed about the setting including informative parents packs, newsletters and notice boards. A file of the nursery policies and procedures is also readily accessible. Parents of younger children are encouraged to share information with staff about their child's individual routines, such as sleep and meal times, which enables staff to ensure consistency with home. Parents also receive daily information about how their child has been through record sheets noting food intake, nappies and sleeps. All parents are kept fully informed of their children's development and progress through regular discussions, and access to their children's records. They have been given good information about the Early Years

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the early years provision

Foundation Stage, and details of planned activities are on display in each room. Parents are also asked to complete 'home-link' observation sheets about what their child has done at home, which helps staff to find out how each child behaves outside of the nursery setting and plan accordingly. The nursery is working hard to establish positive relationships with 'feeder' schools, and other providers delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage to children who may also attend the nursery, in order to ensure children's care and education is continuously supported.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from the well organised, stimulating and vibrant learning environment. Staff greet parents and children warmly as they arrive and ensure each child has their own named coat peg and drawer, which gives them a sense of ownership and belonging. Settling-in visits are offered to new children, and parents are asked to share their knowledge about their child's abilities. Using this information, staff observe the child as they settle, which gives them a good basis to start planning for the child's developmental needs. Throughout each day, staff document children's learning through photographs and written observations, and these are used to inform future planning. However, it is not clear on the recorded observations or the written plans, how staff are linking these to the six areas of learning. Staff use 'Learning Journeys' to track each child's progress towards the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

early learning goals. Not all children's development records, however, have been regularly updated to clearly show progression in learning. Therefore it is not always clear how staff can be fully planning for the next steps in their development, although when talking to staff, it is evident they know the children very well.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have a good working knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this to plan and implement a broad range of activities and experiences across the six areas of learning. They use various teaching methods to gain children's interest and help them develop. However, staff are not yet maximising children's learning opportunities or promoting all six areas of learning within the outdoor environment, although this is a very new addition to the nursery. Staff develop close and supportive relationships with children, allowing them to feel secure and confident in their play and learning. Older children speak confidently about what they are doing and enjoy sharing their thoughts. They work well together in small groups, building with wooden blocks and readily help to tidy up without prompts from staff. They have easy access to mark making materials and show curiosity in numbers as they talk about their ages and how old they are going to be on their

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and outcomes for children

next birthday. Many of the children thoroughly enjoy watching a member of staff with the puppets, and other children not initially joining in soon come over to sit and watch. The member of staff pretends that the puppet is sad about having a hair cut and the children start to reassure the puppet, telling it that they've had a hair cut and that it doesn't hurt. Babies and young toddlers receive lots of cuddles and babble and gurgle confidently to staff. They sit for some time playing with interactive toys with lights and sounds and make very good use of the new gym which allows them to experience stairs, a slide, a tunnel and a ramp all within a safe environment. Older toddlers enjoy looking at books and are starting to name objects they recognise in the stories. They are developing good imagination as they dress up, pretend to make cups of tea and care for their dolls. All children have regular opportunities to be creative; they enjoy painting, colouring and

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and outcomes for children

exploring materials such as sand, pasta, jelly and playdough. Staff are keen to point out that the focus is very much on the process and not on the end result, and it is clear therefore that the children's artwork is very much their own.

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and outcomes for children

Children stay healthy because they are provided with freshly prepared meals which are nutritious, varied and well balanced. Arrangements to minimise cross infection and ensure good standards of hygiene are good. Children show a firm understanding of good hygiene procedures and are well protected as the majority of staff have attended paediatric first aid training. Children have daily access to outside play and thoroughly enjoy playing on the scooters and tricycles and pretending to be pirates on the pirate ship. They have regular access to the soft play room, and many children also take part in extra specialist activities, such as music and movement classes, swimming lessons and yoga classes. The premises are kept secure, with CCTV in operation in all rooms, and staff undertake daily checks of their rooms and the outside areas. Staff are familiar with the nursery evacuation procedure and children practise this regularly. Older children show a

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and outcomes for children

good understanding of safety. For example, when the swimming instructor asks them why they must not run on the pool side, they reply 'because you might slip and bump your head'. Children behave well at the setting and respond to gentle prompts and reminders from staff. Staff are good role models and positive This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 methods are used throughout the nursery, that are age and stage appropriate, such as discussion, distraction, praise and encouragement. Staff provide children with the necessary resources, activities and opportunities they need to help them gain important skills for the future. 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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