Kids Academy - West Park

Kids Academy - West Park Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 319383 Inspection date 11/03/2011 Inspector Mrs Abigail Cunningham

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Setting address West Park Drive, Spen Lane, West Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS16 5AS Telephone number 0113 216 1090 Email westpark@kidsacademy.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

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

Kids Academy West Park is one of two nurseries owned by Kids Academy Ltd and was registered in 1997. It operates from four rooms within a converted church hall in West Park, Leeds. The nursery serves the local and surrounding areas and has strong links with local schools and children's centres. The nursery is accessible to all children and there is a fully-enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.00pm. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. A maximum of 55 children may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 68 children attending who are within the early years age range. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds. The group supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 13 members of child care staff. Of these, 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications at Level 3 or above. Two members of staff are working towards a Level 2 qualification and one member of staff is working towards a foundation degree. The nursery manager holds Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery 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 good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The staff team are highly committed to working in partnership with parents. Self- evaluation is effective and the senior management team are able to demonstrate how they have made significant improvements to the provision. The staff team are good at promoting the children's welfare. They work extremely hard to ensure all children are included and their individual needs are met. All children, including those who learn English as an additional language, make good progress towards the early learning goals.

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further?

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

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further?

 further develop the ways in which you share relevant information with other childcare providers.

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the early years provision

Safeguarding procedures are secure and all required checks have been carried out on staff and committee members. Staff have completed safeguarding children training and this is also included within staff induction procedures. As a result, they This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 know to record any concerns and seek advice where necessary. Supervision of children is good and the system to manage access to the premises is effective, as unauthorised persons cannot gain entry and visitors are recorded.

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the early years provision

The staff team are very friendly, helpful, motivated and committed to improvement. They are fully involved in planning, evaluating and developing practice, for example, through staff and planning meetings. There are clear improvement plans in place and these are devised after the views of parents, children and the staff team have been sought. For example, the outside play equipment was purchased and installed after consulting service users. The management team have demonstrated the capacity to tackle any identified areas of weakness appropriately.

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the early years provision

Staff have created an inclusive environment in which to care for children. They are fully aware of children's backgrounds, individual needs and home language. The staff team are experienced in working with children who speak English as an additional language. Some staff are bilingual and can speak different languages, such as French and Urdu. Pre-school age children also enjoy participating in regular French lessons and name colours and animals in both English and French.

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the early years provision

The setting has highly effective relationships with all parents. Parents are extremely well informed about all aspects of their children's achievements, well- being and development. For instance, regular written reports are sent home and parents meetings carried out, to pass on information about each child's progress. Parents also receive information via notice boards, newsletters and daily verbal feedback from the staff. This highly inclusive system of communication ensures that there are consistent and productive partnerships with parents. As a result, children make positive progress across all areas of learning.

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the early years provision

Parents have excellent opportunities to be involved in their child's learning. For example, they can attend stay and play sessions and borrow books from the nursery to share with their child at home. Parents are also invited into the setting to participate in planned events. For example, during music week many parents came into nursery to play musical instruments for the children. The nursery also involves parents in various charity fundraising events.

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the early years provision

In order to promote the transition from nursery to school positively, reception teachers from local schools are invited into the nursery. The setting has started to communicate with other childcare providers who also support children who attend the nursery. For instance, they send an additional copy of the child's progress report home, so that parents to give this to the other setting their child attends. However, these links are not fully established as they have not made direct contact with the other settings. The nursery does have strong links with the local high school and, after school, their 6th form students help out at the nursery. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The cook has completed food hygiene training and meals, such as tuna pasta and fruit salad, are offered to the children. The children have good appetites and enjoy their food very much. They develop their self-help skills successfully; they pour their own drinks independently and serve their own lunch. Planned activities such as growing, harvesting and eating herbs and vegetables introduces children to healthy ingredients. They adopt healthy habits, as they cooperate with hand- washing and teeth-brushing routines.

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and outcomes for children

Children of all ages enjoy playing outside. Pre-school children have great fun participating in regular cheer leading and music and movement sessions. They also have fun playing in the sand pit and enjoy the challenge of using the balancing beams and pole. As a result, children are developing a positive attitude to exercise and being healthy.

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and outcomes for children

Activity planning responds directly to each child's individual needs and interests. The system for assessing and recording children's development accurately identifies their achievements and progress. Monitoring systems are implemented and tracking processes accurately identify any gaps in curriculum planning and staff training needs. As a result, the nursery is able to show how all children make good progress in their learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop a positive attitude to others and a good understanding about the wider world and local community. They enjoy playing with a broad selection of resources which reflect positive images. For example, an empathy doll, books, play figures and music from different countries. They also learn about interesting events, such as Chinese New Year, Eid, St George's day and St Patrick's day. Children have regular opportunities to learn about the local community and natural world. They are taken out of the nursery to visit various places of interest, such as the library, farm and museum. Interesting visitors are also invited into the setting, such as the police and firefighters.

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and outcomes for children

Staff are positive role models and consistently give children much positive praise and encouragement. As a result, children are very well behaved. For instance, more able children use good manners without being prompted to do so and enjoy the responsibility of being helper of the day. Younger children are keen to participate in activities and are proud of their achievements. For example, they showed off daisy the robot keenly. This was a robot which they had made out of cardboard boxes and shiny materials.

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and outcomes for children

Young children know how to use various tools and equipment. For example, they enjoy rolling and cutting out shapes in the play dough. Children enjoy singing songs and listening to stories in small groups. They delight in singing humpty dumpty and twinkle twinkle chocolate bar, daddy's got a rusty car. More able children recognise their own and other children's names. They form recognisable letters and write their own name. Children show an interest in technology and know how to operate equipment. For example, they take photographs using a This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 digital camera. All of these activities develop children's skills and contribute to their future economic well-being. 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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