Helpringham Primary Academy

Compass House Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 151091 Inspection date 07/03/2011 Inspector Christine Clint

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Setting address Compass House, West Meon, Petersfield, Hampshire, GU32 1LX Telephone number 01730 829249 Email j.wake1@btopenworld.com 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

Compass House Day Nursery is located in West Meon in Hampshire and registered in 2000. The setting is privately owned and operated by one family. Children play on the ground floor only and have freedom of movement between the pre-school room, the larger playroom/reception room and the kitchen/dining area. There is a separate sleep room located on the first floor; all other facilities for children are available on the ground floor. There are also two fully enclosed outdoor play areas and one is under cover. The nursery operates from 8.00am until 6.00pm from Monday to Friday. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 31 children in the early years age group on roll. The nursery provides funded educational places. Children attend from the village and from a wider catchment area. There are four members of staff employed to work with the children, and two supplementary staff

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Description of the setting

who include music and French sessions regularly. Most of the staff are qualified in early years childcare and education and one staff member has an early years degree. The provision works closely with the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The nursery is very well organised and key staff show a high level of dedication and a significant focus on children's individual development. All the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are fully met and there is a purposeful commitment to continual improvement and extending staff qualification levels. Children are very happy and settled. They make independent choices at all times during free play and they all show enthusiasm and are keen to share activity time with staff; they are thriving on the closely founded relationships in place. Excellent developmental progress is evident even for the youngest children attending, and overall, the strong links with parents are effectively supporting children's ongoing progress.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 encouraging parents to contribute regularly to children's learning records and include information about children's achievements at home to promote and enhance their progress This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children's safety is a high priority in the nursery and there are comprehensive systems in place to protect children. Closed circuit television alerts staff to anyone entering the perimeter and staff are vigilant in their supervision at all times during indoor and outdoor play. All visitors to the premises are recorded and there are very detailed registers to show all children's times of attendance. The provider plans very effectively to ensure that the ratio of adults to children fully meets the regulations. The provider also understands the regulations for ensuring staff are suitable and has developed sound systems to show that any recruitment processes are followed and effectively documented. Staff have attended training in child protection, they are fully aware of the procedures for referring any concerns and this ensures children are safeguarded. The nursery has clearly accounted for all areas of health and safety throughout the setting and detailed documents show

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the early years provision

that this promotes the well being of children and staff. There are recorded assessments of hazards in each area of the nursery and for outdoor play; these have added information to highlight any specific risks. A daily check list is also in place and staff often have the help of the children in completing this. For example, notes on today's sheet show that children helped to wipe off the outdoor play equipment as it was wet from the early frost, they all talked about slipping on the wet plastic; this effectively encourages children's understanding of managing their own safety. Plans are recorded in advance for ensuring children's safety on outings and the nursery has assessed these for a forthcoming local walk. There are regular fire drills and an evacuation procedure is displayed; each fire drill practise is recorded and all fire equipment is in place within the nursery. A complaints procedure is included for parents and the provider is fully aware of her

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the early years provision

responsibility to record all details and ensure the information is available. All permission from parents is fully recorded to meet the regulations and the nursery has well-established systems for recording accidents, administering medication and meeting children's individual welfare needs.

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the early years provision

The family nursery has a high level of staff continuity which encourages close and effective working relationships; there is a fully collaborative approach to sharing all child care responsibilities throughout the day. An extensive range of policies and procedures are in place and these have continued to be adapted to meet the regulations; the nursery has included a detailed action plan to show how improvements are developed and implemented. Staff are continuing to evaluate the systems in place for assessing and developing children's records of progress and these include clear and well-described evaluations of activities and topics. The records show that staff are very aware of the impact on children's understanding and learning. Nursery staff show a strong capability to evaluate the provision and determine their own progress, which also fully improves the quality for all children attending.

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the early years provision

The nursery enables children to learn through the daily routines and the wide variety of play provision throughout the day. Children show high levels of This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 confidence in communicating with staff and making decisions, because they are fully nurtured and have developed close and affectionate relationships with staff. They have an exceptional sense of belonging and this individual care raises children's self esteem and narrows the achievement gap for all children attending. Children have regular French lessons and show delight in taking part in the music, singing and dancing sessions. They are widening their knowledge of the diversity in the world.

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the early years provision

Children have well-organised resources within the nursery rooms and they know where to find play equipment to follow their interests, they move freely and staff encourage their growing independence by suggesting where to look for items. They carry play equipment between the rooms when they need more space and they fully enjoy the easy access to outdoor play, especially the availability of activities under the covered area and the wheeled toys on the hard surface. Children's play is a priority and the planned group times for music and dance are equally enticing to children.

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the early years provision

Parents show a keen willingness to liaise very regularly with staff, they are full of enthusiasm and appreciation for the nursery; they clearly recognise the dedication of staff and the strong relationships that are built with their children. Parents also show confidence in their own children's progress and achievements and some parents have recorded this in their children's records of development. Parents do provide full details about children's care needs and their daily routines, they are encouraged to provide details of children's starting points in development and sometimes this is included. The nursery has a good reputation and there are valuable links within the community, this enables staff to liaise with other local providers, especially when children transfer to school.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very happy and show high levels of contentment during their time in the nursery, because they have an excellent level of attention from staff and this promotes their feelings of security and well being. All children show a keenness to take part in dancing and learning how to balance on their toes; they move to the music and use their arms and legs fully to create rhythm. They have ample space and freedom of movement to learn how to hop, skip and bounce; they are encouraged to use their eyes at all times to ensure they can see where they are going. Children wear the dressing-up clothes to enhance their feelings of taking part and developing creative movement. They show high levels of recognition and learning when they name instruments as the teacher plays them; they know the cymbals, the maracas and the rain stick. Children clearly use their hands and hold these horizontally to show how the rain stick must be held to stop it sounding.

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and outcomes for children

Children choose instruments to play together and they are very adept at accompanying and sounding the rhythm when the teacher plays the piano. They are encouraged to play fast and slowly, they are praised for stopping on time. Children show vibrant enthusiasm for singing, they recognise the pictures in the nursery rhyme book and know these well, they all sing very loudly to 'London's This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 burning' and make their voices strong and low when they sing like elephants to 'Do your ears hang low?'

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and outcomes for children

Children find construction toys and carry these through, they build towers and play with the castle, finding smaller items and keenly showing these to staff. They are interested in stories and help to turn the pages, they ask questions and recognise insects in the pictures. They readily name colours and include counting in low numbers, showing how they are beginning to remember sequence and understand quantity. Children paint with confidence and ability, they use a variety of colours and say they are painting an aeroplane, they then fold the paper and make a butterfly print. Children also paint their hands and spontaneously make hand prints.

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and outcomes for children

Many children choose to play outside under the covered area where they ride on wheel toys and enjoy making more noise and interacting with each other. They successfully manage to put on socks and shoes and find their coats, staff encourage them to think about the weather and making sure they are warm enough, this increases children's understanding of health and promotes their awareness. They have ample praise for putting on their socks, their shoes and finding their own coats. Children learn to manoeuvre themselves on bikes and in cars, they play in the sand and the water trough. Children are keen to talk about the fish and crabs they are collecting in buckets, they notice the colours and show interest in counting. They begin to share and swap fish for crabs in each other's bucket. Children pour the water through the water wheel and recognise how it changes direction, turning one side and then the other. They play with the dry

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and outcomes for children

sand watching this fall through a funnel and they start to fill containers and talk about how much sand they are collecting; they begin to think about how many more shovels they need to add.

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and outcomes for children

Children gather around the snack table, they pour their own water and choose to have satsumas, they ask for help in peeling these and they count the segments together and show surprise when they count nine pieces. They are encouraged to recognise which Satsuma has the most segments when more fruit is peeled. They also enjoy eating raisins and breadsticks, they talk about the cereals they like best. Children have freedom to eat healthy snacks and drink water when they are hungry and thirsty; staff recognise that this meets the individual needs of children of various ages. Children show increasing ability to manage their own personal needs independently and they are encouraged to wash hands regularly and learn about routines for hygiene. They all wash before snack time and before lunch and children know when their hands are feeling dirty with paint or sand, they can easily access the low sink and paper towels available.

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and outcomes for children

Children have ample opportunity to communicate with staff and many activity sessions involve discussion, children show interest and good skills of listening. They know the boundaries and follow these willingly, showing their awareness of when to enter the kitchen. They have learned about the dangers of fireworks and show their understanding of how to remain safe by staying with their parents; many children arrived with leaflets about firework safety following the firework topic. Some children have shown concern about the dark when playing in pretend caves made from blankets during a dinosaur game and staff used explanation and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 reassurance to encourage children to feel safe.

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and outcomes for children

Children have positive attitudes towards each other and they show care and concern by helping each other to find items in the role play area; they show affection and accept each other's levels of ability because of the close involvement they all have with children of all ages in the nursery. Children have growing skills of awareness and understanding of the world; they use the computer and learn to type letters and numbers and they practise with programmable toys. All children show very high levels of progress in personal, social and emotional development and this entirely encourages their progress in all other areas of development, especially their growing skills of communication. 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 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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