Clever Clowns Day Nursery

Clever Clowns Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY361171 Inspection date 28/03/2011 Inspector Anne Drinkwater

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Setting address 283 Hollyhedge Road, Gatley, Cheadle, Cheshire, M22 4QR

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Telephone number 0161 428 5414 Email cleverclownsdaynursery@yahoo.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. 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

Clever Clowns Day Nursery registered in 2007 and is privately owned by an individual. The nursery operates from three rooms located over two floors in a converted house, an enclosed rear outdoor play area is available. It is situated in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 30 children may attend the setting at any one time. There are currently 46 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. Of these, five children receive funding for early years provision. The setting also offers care to children aged over five but currently no older children attend. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the setting

The nursery currently supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round, with the exception of Christmas, statutory holidays and staff training days. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.00pm. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 10 members of childcare staff. Of these, the majority hold appropriate early years qualifications. The centre 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 satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development through the provision of some suitable learning opportunities. The nursery appropriately promotes the children's welfare in most areas. However, the nursery has not maintained all the requirements in relation to staff suitability and the reporting of allegations. The good partnerships with parents ensure the needs of the children are met by valuing each child as a unique individual. The nursery through self- evaluation and reflection state they now have a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and are now able to identify actions in order to secure continuous improvement and improve outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve further the risk assessment for the premises so that it more clearly identifies aspects of the environment and outdoor areas that children come in contact with in order to minimise any hazards and ensure the safety of children This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  improve further the arrangements for planning, observations and assessments so they can be used to incorporate children s initial starting points and next steps and assist in providing challenging learning and development experiences to all children  improve further the access between the indoor and the outdoor environment so children can move freely between them and ensure planning provides a broad and balanced continuous curriculum covering all areas of learning for all children  improve further the good partnership working by inviting parents and other providers delivering the learning and development requirements to contribute

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further?

to the ongoing observations of children's learning to fully support and inform planning for the next stages in children's development and ensure the children's learning journeys are available to parents  improve further the procedures for identifying children's beakers, the storage of dummies and ensuring children always have their own individual blankets to minimise the risk of cross-infection.

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the early years provision

Staff have a clear understanding of child protection to enable them to effectively safeguard the children in their care. Robust systems ensure staff are suitably qualified for their role, and a record is maintained of all visitors to the premises. The required documentation is stored to respect confidentiality. All consents relating to the welfare of the children are in place and a suitable vetting procedure for staff is in place.

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the early years provision

However, the provider has failed to notify Ofsted of a significant event affecting the suitabilty of a member of staff, this is a specific legal requirement in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Ofsted does not intend to prosecute on this occasion. In addition, the required risk assessments do not cover all potential hazards to minimise or eliminate risks to children both inside and outdoors.

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the early years provision

The staff work effectively as a team to ensure children make satisfactory progress in their learning and promote their welfare. The staff team are committed to ongoing training in order to continually enhance their knowledge and practice. Staff work well together and know each of the children as individuals. Regular supervision and appraisals highlight areas for future development and additional training needs. The nursery has a good awareness of their strengths and weaknesses and has responded positively to the two recommendations from the previous inspection. Information from other quality checks, including the local authority is used to identify targets for improvement. Questionnaires given to parents and carers enable them to express their views and contribute to the evaluation of the nursery.

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the early years provision

The organisation of space within the nursery encourages some purposeful play and exploration and appropriate staff deployment encourages the children to participate in most areas of learning. The nursery places a strong emphasis on This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 creating the positive partnerships with parents and as a result, this is a key strength of the setting. Parents and carers are positive about the service provided. Staff have a clear understanding of parents and children's backgrounds and needs through discussions before children begin their care. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. A parent's pack, regular newsletters and some information about the children's progress is shared through an overview of their children's achievements which includes opportunities for their comments. Parents and carers are given opportunities to comment and support

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the early years provision

their children's learning within the home, however, parents are not fully involved in planning the next steps in their child's learning or sharing their children's initial starting points on entry. In addition, systems to share information with providers of other settings that children attend have not yet been established. Therefore, it is not clear whether the provision complements the care and education received by the children at home and at other settings.

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and outcomes for children

Children are secure and feel safe within the nursery as a result of the interaction from staff and stability of the routines. They behave well and are developing an understanding of the expectations of the nursery as they are encouraged to share and take turns.

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and outcomes for children

Staff's understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage is variable. Some staff are still developing effective systems to observe, assess and plan for children's progress. All staff spontaneously observe and as a result they know their key children well. However, not all observations are linked to areas of development or identify next steps to be able to plan in response to individual needs and interests, planning is also variable throughout the nursery, and as a consequence does not always offer challenge, cover all areas of learning or optimise each child's learning potential.

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and outcomes for children

Days are organised to provide children with a balance of rest, learning and play which involve lots of child-led activities. Babies and younger children have lots of eye contact with staff, who respond to their gurgles and early attempts to form words. They take and active interest in their environment as they crawl over to the newly created sensory area. Staff extend children's literacy and numeracy skills and share number rhymes, songs and stories. Resources and activities which promote children's awareness of the wider world are plentiful. These include dressing-up clothes, posters, play figures, jigsaws and books. They learn about life cycles and an exciting new addition to the nursery are the chicks which the children incubated, and are now rearing. Regular visitors to the nursery are used very effectively to enhance children's experiences and their welfare. Visits from the police officers and fire team help the children learn and explore issues of staying

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and outcomes for children

Children make independent choices from the available resources, however, not all areas of learning, such as, information technology, creative play and outdoor physical play are available to all children on a continuous basis everyday. That said This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 when children do get the opportunity to go outdoors they can balance on tyres, climb, slide and manoeuvre the wheeled toys. The staff are proud of the ongoing imaginative development of the outdoor grounds and their plans for the future will improve the outdoor learning and development opportunities for the children.

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and outcomes for children

Parents complete an 'All about me' sheet when children are first attending the nursery, this gives the staff an insight into the child's likes, dislikes and family, but these do not identify the children s abilities on entry across the six areas of learning to reflect the individual children's future learning and inform planning.

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and outcomes for children

Staff demonstrate some effective levels of commitment to implementing strategies to promote children's social, physical and economic well-being. The children are encouraged to eat fruit at snack time and have access to water to quench their thirst. The lunch menu such as pasta bake provides children with healthy options. Children are encouraged to adopt good hygiene routines, such as, hand washing and the disposal of their tissues. However, baby's beakers are not routinely marked to avoid confusion, dummies are not hygienically stored and some children on occasion are not given their own personal blankets. This breakdown of the correct procedures by some staff impacts on the nursery's ability to promote the good health of the children. 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 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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: 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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