Rhymes Day Nursery

Rhymes Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 205336 Inspection date 07/04/2011 Inspector Lucy Showell

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Setting address Birchensale Farm, Low Field Lane, Redditch, Worcestershire, B97 6QB Telephone number 01527 63900 Email Judith.Partridge@rhymesnursery.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

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

Rhymes Day Nursery opened in 2000. It is a privately owned and managed nursery and operates from a restored, listed farmhouse in the residential Brockhill and Batchley area of Redditch, Worcestershire. Children are accommodated in seven rooms over the ground, first and second floors, according to their age and stage of development. The nursery serves the local area and has links with local schools. There is a fully enclosed play area available for outdoor play with play equipment and some safety surfacing. There is adjacent parking facilities for staff and parents. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 58 children may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 92 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery have procedures to support children with learning

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Description of the setting

difficulties and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery opens five days a week for 51 weeks of the year, except for Bank Holidays. Opening times are from 7.30am until 6pm. There are 19 members of staff who work directly with the children. Of these, 17 members of staff have early years qualifications at level 3, including two who are currently working towards a Foundation Degree in Early Years. The setting also employ auxiliary and administration staff who hold relevant qualifications. The setting receives support from a mentor teacher from the local authority and has strong links with a local Children's Centre.

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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

At Rhymes Day Nursery the enthusiastic staff honour the uniqueness of each child. All children flourish due to the dedicated support and care shown by each member of staff. The highly valued relationships with parents and other early years professionals ensure individual needs are superbly met. Clear and extensive knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the welfare requirements ensures the high quality is meticulously maintained. The proficient and accurate systems of monitoring and assessment show considerable capacity for continuous improvement. The proactive identification of further improvements enables the setting to accomplish outstanding quality throughout.

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further?

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

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further?

 enhancing the systems to involve parents as part of the ongoing observation and assessment process. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Staff have confident knowledge of how to protect children. They attend up-to-date training on safeguarding and work proactively and effectively with both parents and other agencies when necessary. Protocols and practice for making referrals and sharing relevant information are comprehensive. This facilitates their ability to protect all children in their care. Rigorous employment and vetting procedures and intensive induction procedures are extremely thorough and ensure children are cared for by suitable adults. Extensive risk assessments and safety checks are maintained to the highest level and systems for reviewing procedures ensure risks are kept to a minimum. All policies are developed, monitored and evaluated through an excellent level of involvement from staff, parents and children. They clearly set out how children will be cared for and ensure parents are kept well informed at all times. The valuable staff supervision and appraisal systems

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the early years provision

encourage continued professional development and support the clear motivation of an appreciated staff team. They have an extremely positive manner and celebrate each other's achievements giving confidence throughout the team. There is an inspired vision with high aspirations shared by the whole nursery. The constructive methods of self-evaluation and detailed action plans have been drawn together from a range of quality improvement tools such as the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scales (ECERS) alongside their own quality auditing processes. The nursery is led by well-qualified staff who effectively steer and monitor the nursery to ensure sustainability.

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the early years provision

Staff show an exceptional commitment to treating children as unique individuals and meeting all their needs. They develop close relationships with children's families and strong links with the community and professionals from a range of different agencies and organisations. This ensures that children receive well- coordinated support, both during their time in the nursery and when moving on to school. The nursery is highly committed to providing a fully inclusive provision and goes over and above to ensure that all children's needs are met. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are fully involved as staff proactively seek advice and support. They welcome regular visits from outside agencies to improve their knowledge and ability to ensure all children thrive in this adaptable environment. One-to-one support and small group work ensures all children make excellent progress and careful planning of resources ensures learning activities are

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the early years provision

open and accessible. Staff ensure a wide range of activities are available to promote children's knowledge of differing cultures and the world around them. Great care is taken to communicate effectively with children and families with English as an additional language and activities adapted accordingly. Children have continuous access to varied resources such as dressing-up clothes and role play equipment which depict positive images throughout the nursery.

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the early years provision

There is considerable importance shown to the nursery's relationships with their parents. Valuable information about the children is discussed at initial meetings and settling-in sessions. Key persons share children's achievements during daily discussions, accessible learning records and progress consultations. However, clear systems for noting the observations or comments made by parents about their This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children's progress are not always used effectively as part of the ongoing assessment process. All families are well informed and very comfortable within the setting. They are often invited to share their expertise at purposeful sessions or to participate in many cultural festivities and special events throughout the year. These further enrich children's experiences and ensure that they have lots of positive role models. Parents are enthusiastic and highly complementary about the

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the early years provision

nursery and highlight the positive impact it has on their children's lives. They share their views and opinions through questionnaires, parents meetings and daily feedback.

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare is extensively promoted within this very safe and clean environment. Children are successfully encouraged to develop their own personal hygiene skills such as automatically washing their hands. They develop great understanding of the importance of healthy eating. For example, the 'children's kitchen' is used for various cooking activities and often children help in the preparation of meals. Staff explain that the chopping of vegetables and making sandwiches makes many children more willing to try new things. The four weekly rotational menus, which are displayed for parents, are constantly reviewed and where possible, contain locally sourced produce. The bright and welcoming areas are incredibly well used to provide a resourceful balance of adult-led, freely-chosen and child-led activities. Outside opportunities are provided in the well-planned garden which is safe and secure and eagerly accessed at regular intervals

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and outcomes for children

throughout the day. For example, children independently select appropriate clothing to go outside in all weathers. They share the equipment well, taking turns in the sandpit and taking care with the bikes, trikes and balls as they negotiate around one another. The thoughtful layout enables children to explore the smells, sounds and sights of nature and the changing dimensions through the seasons. For example, the seasonal planting and digging areas are enjoyed by children of all ages.

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and outcomes for children

Inside, each room is imaginatively organised, allowing children to explore and investigate the rich and wide-ranging experiences on offer. Downstairs the well- planned layout ensures that feeds can be prepared and sterile dummies easily accessed in the milk kitchen. The nappy-changing areas and toilet facilities are hygienic and encourage independence when children are ready.

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and outcomes for children

The babies enjoy cuddles on comfy cushions, crawling and climbing across low- level equipment and investigating a variety of sensory resources. They are captivated as they explore the treasures from the heuristic play baskets selecting favourite items from the man-made or natural 'real' materials which are readily available. Their overall learning and development is extensively promoted by the caring and motivated staff who create opportunities for children to increase their independence and skills. For example, a wide range of colourful and exciting activity centres, bead frames and sensory bottles are placed around at different heights to encourage babies to reach up, crawl or walk or to pull themselves to standing. Displays of the children's own work and photographs of them enjoying This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 their time at nursery adorn the walls. They enjoy getting 'messy' as they select

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and outcomes for children

from a wide range of creative media to paint and stick pictures to take home or display on the wall. In the role play areas children select various dressing-up outfits and truly engage in their adopted roles, re-creating real and imagined experiences. They count and compare as they build with construction bricks and predict whose tower is going to be the tallest. They sit attentively, listening to stories and sharing ideas for what will happen next. They participate enthusiastically, choosing and playing instruments, doing actions and singing with the 'music man' at their regular sessions. Staff skilfully interact with the older children extending discussions and challenging the children with realistic aims across the six areas of learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

Children's independence skills are excellent and they show an impressive level of responsibility for their age in the way they behave towards each other and work in harmony. For example, at mealtimes they lay the tables and help serve their own meals before clearing away the plates when they are finished. Behaviour is managed effectively and children are fully aware of their position on the traffic light display. There is a true sense of belonging as the children immerse themselves in their surroundings with confidence. They display their own creations on the walls and self-select from the wonderful array of resources on offer. Staff have clear and considered knowledge of individual children. This is informed by cherished information from systematic and spontaneous observations and assessments and is used efficiently to plan for their next steps for future learning. Planning is very flexible and opportunities and experiences are organised and

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and outcomes for children

adapted to reflect children's interests and abilities. The children are very involved in the planning of activities, offering ideas, extending play to their own agendas, and are highly confident when expressing their opinions to staff. Children receive plenty of praise and encouragement for their efforts and achievements and clearly enjoy the opportunities to explore at their own pace. Overall, children thrive in this wonderfully child-centred 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 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 1 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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