St Aidan's Catholic Primary School

Walkers Private Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 101801 Inspection date 07/04/2011 Inspector Jenny Read

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Setting address St David's Walk, Church Street,, Moreton - in - Marsh, Glos, GL56 0LT Telephone number 01608 651334 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

Walkers Private Day Nursery opened in 1986 and has been registered under the current ownership since 1999. It is a privately owned nursery located in the Cotswold market town of Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire. The nursery operates from a converted school and comprises of two main playrooms, a small kitchen area, office and toilet facilities. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area with impact absorbent surfaces. The nursery is within walking distance of St. David's Primary School and other local amenities including the library, park and local shops. The nursery serves both the town and surrounding rural areas.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It may provide care for a maximum of 24 children under eight years at any one time. There are currently 76 children on roll aged from 18 months to the end of the early years age group. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are currently three children attending before and after school in the later years age group and two children over eight years. The nursery supports children with special education needs and/or disabilities, and children who learn English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open each weekday, between 8am and 6pm, for 48 weeks of the year, including a two-week break at Christmas. Children attend on a full- and part- time basis. Staff walk to St. David's School to drop-off and collect children during school term times. The nursery employs nine staff to work directly with the children on a full- and part-time basis and three staff work on a voluntary basis. The manager holds a relevant early years degree and the deputy is currently working towards one. Two other staff members hold a degree level qualification and five staff hold suitable early years qualifications at level 2 and 3. One staff member is currently working towards a level 4 qualification in management; three staff are working towards a relevant level 3 qualification.

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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 management team is ambitious and drives the quality of the provision to secure improvement well overall, successfully addressing recommendations from previous inspection, and feedback from parents and children. Management staff are confident about what the nursery needs to do to improve further, however, although they identify many strengths and some weaknesses, their evaluation of the provision overlooks some significant areas for development in regard to children's safety and learning. Overall, the nursery is suitably placed to maintain continuous improvement. Children make sound progress in their learning, overall, although the programme for their creative development requires further attention. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Satisfactory arrangements exist to ensure children's safety and good measures are taken to promote their health. Wider partnerships are strong and good links with

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

parents help to involve them in their children's care and education and ensure they are kept well informed of their children's progress.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 obtain necessary information from parents in advance of a child being admitted to the provision, including information about who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility for the child (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 27/05/2011

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further?

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

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further?

 improve children's understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe by ensuring all staff understand the nursery's procedures and their responsibilities for implementing these, so children learn to use resources and real tools safely  improve the programme for children's creative development, by encouraging children to use their senses to explore a range of media and materials freely, and to express and communicate their ideas  review daily routines to ensure these meet children's needs, particularly during the quiet time after lunch.

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the early years provision

Staff have sound knowledge of most of the day-to-day procedures they need to follow, including satisfactory awareness of safeguarding issues and the procedures to follow with any child welfare concerns. Systems for the recruitment and vetting of new staff are secure. Induction procedures and appraisals are not sufficiently robust to ensure that all staff know and implement the agreed safety measures and rules during outside play. As a result, some children are allowed to walk around while using scissors and the sand pit becomes very over-crowded, which limits children from being able to play and move around safely. Records and documentation to support children's care are mostly in place and contain appropriate detail. However, the provider is in partial breach of a specific welfare requirement because information about who has legal contact and who has parental responsibility for the child is not always gained before a child joins the

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the early years provision

setting. Policies and procedures are well written. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The enthusiastic management and friendly staff team work well to create a cheerful and inviting environment for children to play and learn. Colourful displays decorate the walls and staff welcome children and parents enthusiastically. The broad range of resources are mostly displayed in low-level, labelled draws, enabling children to select many toys for themselves. The implementation of some daily routines, particularly quiet time after lunch, means children are very restricted in what they are allowed to play with or where they are able to play within the room.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents are positive; parents take an active part in the nursery and their children's care and education. Effective communication through parent information evenings enables parents to discuss their children's achievements, to review their yearly progress report and to talk about the next steps in their children's learning. The nursery helps parents and carers to support their children's learning in different ways by providing activity ideas in the yearly progress report, and encouraging them to 'stay and play? and join in topics and themes within the nursery. Children make satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals and their individual needs are generally well met because staff identify a child's need for additional support as early as possible. Good communication takes place between settings and other professionals that support individual children. The key person provides a detailed report covering the areas of learning and children's next

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the early years provision

steps. This partnership ensures information is regularly shared and is used appropriately to fully support children's achievement and well-being.

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the early years provision

The manager is highly motivated to seek further improvement and is actively involved in the day-to-day routines to model good practice and monitor the quality of the provision and outcomes for children. The manager communicates high expectations to staff about securing improvement and actively promotes staff development through access to regular training. Systems for self-evaluation are satisfactory. They are fully inclusive and target setting takes account of other quality checks and the views of staff, parents and children to inform important decisions about the nursery and children's wellbeing. Personalised and creative settling-in programmes help children to become familiar with the nursery and support transition periods. The nursery actively promotes equality and diversity. This helps children understand the society in which they live. Occasional use of Makaton signing, displays in the different languages spoken at the nursery, clearly

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the early years provision

value children's backgrounds and raise awareness about their own and other cultures well.

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and outcomes for children

Children understand and adopt healthy habits, such as good personal hygiene routines and practices. They understand the importance of healthy eating, and show good awareness of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. They benefit from healthy, wholesome food Children engage in a range of physical activities, both indoors and out. These include ballet lessons, music and dance and use of large This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 equipment, which help to extend their understanding about the importance of regular exercise and keeping fit. They begin to develop a sense of how to stay safe within the setting through occasional explanations from staff. Some children are beginning to use their initiative and take responsibility for their own safety; however, most require prompting by staff and some safety issues are not rigorously monitored or adhered to. Although children practice the escape plan

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and outcomes for children

every six weeks, older and more able children show little knowledge of safe action to take in an emergency.

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and outcomes for children

Children make sound progress in their learning and development. They are broadly content, settled and willingly take part in planned activities. For example, during group time, children eagerly count the number of ducks in a bowl and remain enthralled as they take turns to fish one duck out and calculate how many are left. Older and more able children quickly respond to staff questioning, confidently working out what number comes next. Staff work in partnership with parents to help support and encourage children's language and interest in books. Each child chooses a book to take home in their book bag to share and read with their parents. This all helps them gain useful skills for their future lives. Children display a strong sense of belonging. They are happy and settled and respond well to regular praise. This values their achievements and promotes their self-esteem and as a result, children are confident and well behaved. The mixed

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and outcomes for children

age groups work well. Children get on well together. They benefit from daily opportunities for deciding whether to play indoors and outside. They benefit from group work specific to their age and ability and opportunities to actively join in whole group activities. However, inappropriate implementation of some key routines, results in some children becoming frustrated and bored because staff rigidly restrict them in what they can play with and where they can play. This significantly limits children's experiences and their ability to make choices at particular times of the day.

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and outcomes for children

Activity plans are well thought through based on observation of children's interests, accurate assessment to track and monitor progress and setting of individual goals to provide suitable challenges. Children benefit from a broad range of activities and interesting experiences across the six required areas of learning. There is a balance of adult-led and freely chosen play opportunities. Children are beginning to select some resources for themselves to help them plan their own play, accessing a wide selection of toys, games and puzzles.

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and outcomes for children

Most children generally secure the skills they require in order to progress in their learning. They are beginning to develop independence during play and some daily routines, such as using paper towels to dry their hands and helping to tidy away their toys. However, children are not encouraged to take an active part during mealtime routines to further enhance skills of self-help, independence, counting, calculating, and recognition of letters and sounds. During some adult-led craft activities, staff do too much for the children and fail to encourage the older and more capable to do things for themselves. This prevents children from practising useful skills, provides little challenge and restricts their creativity. 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 3 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 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 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 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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