Mrs Cameron Day Nursery

Mrs Cameron Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY276052 Inspection date 23/02/2011 Inspector Emma Bright

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Setting address Gonville & Caius College, Flat 2 Springfield, Sidgewick Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 9DS Telephone number 01223 740688 Email wigwamltd@fsmail.net 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

The Mrs Cameron Day Nursery opened in 1999 and operates from three inter- connected rooms, in a converted and extended house in the grounds of Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge. Opening times are 8.30am to 5pm each weekday all year round. All children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 25 children may attend the nursery at any one time and there are currently 38 children on roll who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery currently supports children who have English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs seven members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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 individual needs are effectively met through exceptionally good communication between staff and parents. Children benefit from the close and nurturing relationships with staff where they are valued and acknowledged as individuals. Resources are well deployed to enable children to become active learners in a range of challenging experiences so that they make very good progress in their learning and development. Effective leadership and management of the setting enable the staff to identify areas for improvement to maintain continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further opportunities for children to use, hear and see their home language in their play and learning.

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the early years provision

Clear records demonstrate the effective systems that are in place for recruitment and induction of new staff to ensure they are suitable to work with children. The nursery is well organised and staff are very well deployed so children are safe and supervised at all times. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of safeguarding children procedures and they attend child protection training regularly to ensure their knowledge is always up-to-date. Thorough risk assessments are carried out on a regular basis to ensure that hazards are identified and minimised to safeguard children. Well-organised, comprehensive This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 documentation is in place for the safe running of the nursery and underpins the very good practice at the setting. Policies and procedures are implemented effectively by all staff and shared with parents. All these factors contribute to the

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the early years provision

nursery safeguarding children effectively and ensuring they are kept safe from harm.

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the early years provision

The management team provide strong and effective leadership; they communicate high expectations to staff to drive and secure improvement. All staff are enthusiastic; they work very well together as a cohesive team and they present as positive role models. This has a positive effect on children's welfare and learning, and consequently, outcomes for children are very good. There is a very strong emphasis on raising standards and effective monitoring of the provision identifies priorities for continuous improvement. For example, children's contributions led to the introduction of 'rolling' snack which allows them to continue their activities uninterrupted and enhances the flow of the session. This means children are effectively included in the life of the setting.

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the early years provision

The nursery works extremely well in partnership with parents and carers and staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of the benefits of working closely with parents. They strive to provide frequent opportunities for parents to become involved in their child's learning. For example, parents have regular opportunities to contribute to their child's learning journeys, sharing what they know about their child, and they receive information on activities they can do at home to further support their child's learning. Very good settling-in procedures that are based around their individual needs helps to support children in the transition between home and the nursery. The nursery is committed to working in partnership with others and has established channels of communication between all partners involved with individual children which promotes children's learning, development and welfare. Staff have clear strategies in place to care for children with special

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the early years provision

educational needs and/or disabilities and they work closely with parents, carers and other agencies to support the children's needs.

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and outcomes for children

Children and babies are independent because staff make sure they can make choices and direct their own play which enables them to be active learners and make decisions about their play. Staff use effective questioning to challenge children's thinking and making good use of spontaneous opportunities extends children's learning. For example, they explore the 'rainy day' box and excitedly discover small umbrellas which they delight in twirling round as they splash through the puddles outside. Children are relaxed and confident in the nurturing care of staff. They have high levels of self-esteem because staff are attentive and value their contributions. They praise their efforts and children confidently announce that they are 'super at tidying up'. Babies' emotional needs are met as staff gently cuddle them when they are upset and they snuggle into their key person's arms when they are tired.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy a wide range of creative activities such as drawing pictures with This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 chalk outdoors and making collages or models with a range of unusual materials and junk. Children count with confidence and demonstrate good problem solving skills as they persevere in picking up sand with a pair of tongs or they experiment posting shapes through small holes. Children have many opportunities to write for purpose. Some write their name on their work and younger children confidently make a mark to indicate own name. Children enjoy an environment rich in print which helps them to understand print carries meaning; they write lists for shopping, make notes on their clipboards and dictate captions for staff to write with their pictures. In addition, they follow recipes in cooking activities explaining to visitors that they are 'instructions'. These stimulating activities lay firm

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and outcomes for children

foundations for children's future learning.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have a very good knowledge and understanding of how young children learn and this enables them to provide challenging activities and practical experiences to support and extend each child's learning and development. Children's interests and stage of development are taken into careful consideration when planning activities to ensure all areas of learning are effectively promoted. Staff record each child's achievements through a balance of photographs, examples of work, information from parents and their own observations. This effective system of record-keeping demonstrates that children are making very good progress in their learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn to adopt healthy lifestyles; they readily help themselves to water and know that they need to wear warm clothing outside on cold days. Children and babies enjoy healthy meals, snacks and drinks which are provided by the college kitchens. Menus are shared with parents and any special dietary requirements are fully met to ensure that children can eat safely. Children learn about their own cultures and those of others. Staff value children's home languages to ensure cultural diversity is embraced and respected. However, children have fewer opportunities to use, hear and see their home language within the setting. Children learn to feel safe because staff allow them to take some risk and ensure they can do so safely which means children are challenged to extend their physical skills and learn to take acceptable risks in a safe environment. 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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