Ducklings Day Nursery

Ducklings Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY272143 Inspection date 10/03/2011 Inspector Dianne Sadler

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Setting address 170 Attleborough Road, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV11 4JW Telephone number 02476 341881 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

The nursery was registered in 1997. It is located in the area of Attleborough in Nuneaton and is within a short distance from the town centre. The nursery has sole use of the premises and there are two fully enclosed outdoor play areas.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 5.30pm, 51 weeks of the year and offers full or sessional day care for children. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 159 children on roll, all aged within the early years age group. The nursery supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 32 members of staff who work with the children, all of whom hold relevant child care qualifications. The setting receives support from an advisory teacher.

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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

Overall, the setting does not meet all the needs of children. Several established systems within the setting are not effective which results in a number of specific legal requirements not being met. This compromises children's safety and welfare. Systems to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision are not rigorous enough, consequently, the setting does not demonstrate the capacity for sustained improvement. Provision for children's learning and development is satisfactory and partnerships with parents and other agencies are being developed appropriately.

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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?

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 a full risk assessment is carried out for each type of outing. The assessment must be reviewed before embarking on each specific outing (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 21/03/2011

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further?

 request written parental permission at the time of the child's admission to the provision, to the seeking of any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment in the future (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 21/03/2011

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further?

 obtain necessary information from all parents to 21/03/2011 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 include who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility for the child (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare)  ensure the risk assessment identifies all aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis and maintain a record showing when and by whom they have been checked (suitable premises environment and equipment)(also applies to both parts of the childcare register) 21/03/2011

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further?

 take all reasonable steps to ensure all hazards to children, with particular reference to stairways, are identified and minimised (suitable premises environment and equipment). 21/03/2011

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 improve further the observational assessment of each child's learning to ensure each individual child makes the best possible progress towards all the early learning goals  improve systems used to make decisions of the suitability of staff so that they use evidence from the range of sources detailed in the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework and maintain records of these checks to ensure adults looking after children are suitable to do so  ensure there are suitable hygienic changing facilities for changing any children who are in nappies with particular regard to the nappy changing mats  continue to seek the views of parents and carers and include the information in the self evaluation system.

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the early years provision

Children are not adequately safeguarded because some procedures are not effective in practice or fully inclusive. Although the setting has updated the registration forms used to obtain and record information with regards children's care, existing parents have not been requested to complete the new forms. Therefore, the setting has not obtained information consistently from all parents with regards to who has parental permission for children and who has legal contact with them. In addition, the setting does not obtain permission from parents for the seeking of emergency medical treatment and advice. This compromises children's welfare. The setting does not conduct a full risk assessment of the premises or for outings. Consequently, some hazards indoors, with specific regard to stairways, have not been identified and minimised. This compromises children's safety. The setting has appropriate systems in place to recruit and ensure all staff working with

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the early years provision

children are suitable to do so. However, the setting does not always obtain information about staffs' medical suitability and does not always gain written references to support the decisions they make. Staff have a suitable knowledge of child protection issues and procedures to protect children from possible harm, which include the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation being This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 made against a member of staff.

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the early years provision

Leaders and managers do not drive ambition and secure improvement effectively because they lack knowledge about the settings performance. Although staff receive annual appraisals, their daily practice and their knowledge and understanding of the settings' systems is not adequately monitored. This compromises children's safety and welfare. The setting has taken tentative steps to complete the Ofsted self evaluation document and has sought support from the local authority, however, targets planned for future improvement are not focused on the main areas of weakness and parents views are not included. In addition, not all recommendations from the previous inspection have been improved upon.

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the early years provision

The learning environment both indoors and outdoors is interesting and stimulating. The setting uses the space available to provide children with areas focused on different aspects of learning to ensure they make appropriate progress. For instance, all children access a separate sensory room at different times of the day and older children benefit from accessing a physical play area upstairs. Children are provided with a broad range of resources that are bright, colourful and stored within their easy reach. However, some equipment used with children is not suitable or hygienic with specific regard to some of the nappy changing mats. All Children learn about similarities and differences through resources which show positive images of diversity and are being made aware of all religious festivals. For instance, children in the nursery room enjoy reading books which explore other religions such as the Jewish faith and show positive images of a Chinese family

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the early years provision

The setting is developing positive relationships with parents and there is a regular exchange of information. Parents benefit from being given a prospectus on admission and have access to written policies and procedures. They benefit from informative notice boards displayed within the setting which keeps them well informed of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Some parents support their children's learning by participating in the nursery. For instance, some fathers working in the army come into the setting in combat dress. Other parents attend a story telling session to develop their knowledge about the importance of reading books with their children. The setting understands the importance of developing positive relationships with other providers.

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and outcomes for children

Children's safety is compromised due to some systems implemented by leaders and managers being inadequate. Despite this, children have some opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe. For instance, all children regularly practise the emergency evacuation plan and some children benefit from planned themes such as 'People who help us'. All Children are developing a good awareness of how to keep themselves healthy and through daily routines are learning to adopt good hygiene practices. They benefit from healthy and nutritious home-made meals which include fresh vegetables and fruit. Mealtimes are sociable occasions and older children are learning to be independent as they help lay the table. All This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children access fresh air and exercise daily within separate age-related outdoor play areas, which are stimulating and interesting. For instance, babies access a

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and outcomes for children

secure area which is decked and where they benefit from observing mobiles fluttering in the breeze and listen to the noise wind chimes make.

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and outcomes for children

The setting has recently implemented a new system to observe and assess children's learning, but it is not yet fully effective in practice. Observations are linked to areas of learning and some next steps are identified. However, the progress children make is not assessed towards all the early learning goals which may compromise the progress some children make. All Staff provide a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities which supports the development of skills children will need for the future. Children enjoy their time in the nursery, developing the habits and behaviours of effective learners. They enjoy being creative and explore a variety of different media and materials. For instance, older children complete a collage using media such as feathers, sweet wrappers and tissue paper. They use all of their senses at this time and describe how it feels. This develops their language for thinking and communication. Babies enjoy

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and outcomes for children

exploring flour, shredded paper and metal items placed in a tray. 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 3 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 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 4 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 3

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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 section of the report (Suitable premises, environment and equipment). 21/03/2011

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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 section of the report (Suitable premises, environment and equipment). 21/03/2011

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