Toad Hall Nursery Chessington

Toad Hall Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY274840 Inspection date 17/05/2011 Inspector Christine Stimson

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Setting address 74-76 Bridge Road, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2ET

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Telephone number 020 8391 4447 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

Toad Hall Nursery, Chessington, opened in September 2003 and is one of the 16 nurseries run by Toad Hall Nursery group which is part of Careroom Ltd. The nursery is located in ground floor premises in a converted church in Chessington, Surrey. It consists of four playrooms, two of which are the baby unit, a kitchen, an office, storage, laundry, staff and toilet facilities, together with two enclosed outside play areas. The provision serves the local community.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 57 children under eight years may attend the nursery, of these not more than 21 may be under two years at any one time. There are currently 52 children in the early years age range on roll. This includes children who are in receipt of nursery education funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions or for full day care. The nursery welcomes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery opens five days a week, 51 weeks a year. Sessions are from 8am to 6pm. There are 15 members of staff including the manager who is supernumerary. Of these, 11 hold appropriate qualifications to at least National Vocational Qualification level 2. They have one member of staff who has achieved Early Years

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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

Children are cared for in a secure environment that is regularly risk assessed. Staff have a sound knowledge of child protection issues and know how to proceed if they have concerns about a child. Children are making satisfactory progress in their learning and are able to access to a range of age appropriate resources. The nursery plans activities for children based on their starting points, staff observations and next step notes. Most regulatory documentation is maintained, but the nursery has breached regulations by failing to obtain written consent to administer medication to children on several occasions. The nursery has developed partnerships with parents and key persons at other settings children attend. Children at the nursery aged over two years are not taken on outings, do not have access to larger scale equipment and do not have opportunities to run off energy. This impacts on their learning and development. The nursery encourages staff to

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

embrace training opportunities as part of the drive for improvement of practice. Management has involved parents and staff in trying to evaluate practice, but has not used this information effectively. At the last inspection five recommendations were made to improve practice, but only four of these have been met

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further?

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 obtain prior written permission for each and every medicine from parents before any medication is given (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) (also applies to the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register). 01/06/2011

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further?

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

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further?

 encourage children to negotiate space successfully when playing racing and chasing games with other children and provide regular opportunities for children to use larger equipment for climbing and balancing  make effective use of outdoors, including the local neighbourhood to enable children to learn about their local community and the wider world  organise evacuation procedures so that all children have opportunities to learn how to leave the building quickly and safely  lead and encourage a culture of reflective practice, self evaluation and informed discussion to identify the setting's strengths and priorities for development that will improve the quality of the provision for all children

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the early years provision

The nursery has policies and procedures in place, including ones to help safeguard children's welfare. These are shared with parents in a handbook at the time of placement. All regulatory documentation is in place, but some medication record forms do not have written consent from parents to administer medicine to their children; this is a breach of regulations. Staff vetting procedures ensure only suitable people work with children and over half of the staff currently employed are qualified and experienced. Evacuation procedures are regularly conducted, but there is no system in place to ensure all children have taken part. Fire fighting equipment is installed in the nursery and regularly checked to ensure it is in working order. Risk assessments are in place for the premises and various outings, but children over two years have not been on an outing for over a year. This impacts on children as they do not have opportunities to learn how to cross roads

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the early years provision

safely and find out about the local community or the wider world. They also do not have opportunities to visit parks and playgrounds to develop physical skills. Procedures are in place to record accidents and parents are informed on the day. Written consent for seeking medical advice or treatment has been sought from all parents.

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the early years provision

The nursery is equipped with age appropriate toys, furniture and equipment in each of the four base rooms. Children can self-select resources and make a choice in their play. The nursery promotes inclusion through their partnership with parents, children and other outside agencies. Partnerships are particularly effective with other childcare settings and the schools children are moving onto. For This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 example, development notes are exchanged and teachers invited into the setting to observe children in the nursery environment. There are systems in place to support children who have English as an additional language. Information is gathered from parents at the time of placement to ascertain children's starting points, enabling staff to build on their interests and abilities.

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the early years provision

The management has asked parents and staff to help evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the nursery, but have not been pro-active in using this information to improve practice. Children have yet to be asked for their opinions. Staff are encouraged to embrace training opportunities and many have done this to help improve outcomes for children. Parents are aware of the key person system and daily verbal communication between parents and staff keeps them informed of how their child's day has gone. Twice yearly meetings are arranged between parents and their key person to discuss children's progress.

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the early years provision

Since the last inspection some improvements have been made. The nursery has made sure the cleanliness of the fridge and equipment used for toileting is maintained. They have improved systems for making observations and noting children's next steps; children now cover all six areas of learning as part of the curriculum. However, one recommendation from the last inspection has not been met and that is to provide children with opportunities to experience climbing on large scale equipment. A similar recommendation has been raised as part of this inspection.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy their play, which the majority of the time is child initiated. Staff plan activities for individual children each day to capture their attention. The activities are based on notes made during observations of children's play to take them to next steps. Once engaged in activities staff support children by asking them open questions, but this is not consistent practice as some staff are better than others at doing this. Each child is allocated a key person when they first join the nursery and children's starting points are noted to make sure they are provided with activities and resources that stimulate and challenge them. Staff are quick to praise children's efforts and achievements and generally make sure they have activities to occupy them. As a result, children are well behaved and cooperative.

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and outcomes for children

Children have opportunities to mark make as they access easels, paints, paper and pencils within their rooms. Younger children also have this opportunity, supervised by staff. Children are lost in their imaginations as they create bumble bees from paper plates and paints and are proud to show their work to passing staff. Sounds of letters are explored in pre-school and more able children show the ability to spell their names when asked. Children are confident to approach people not familiar to them, initiate conversations and show curiosity when visitors are present in their rooms. Opportunities are limited for children to go on outings to explore their local community or learn about road safety and the wider world. Physical play is encouraged in the outside area and children ride around on This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 tricycles and scooters showing off their pedalling and manoeuvring skills. Although

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and outcomes for children

children generally have free flow access to the outdoor areas, this does not extend to allowing them to explore larger scale equipment and there is little room for them to run off energy and negotiate space. Children explore volume using a variety of vessels in the water tray. They pour water from the bottles into watering cans and from the watering cans into cups. Other rooms have water trays that are not used so effectively.

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and outcomes for children

Children generally follow routines of hand washing before meals and snacks and after using the toilet. This helps them to learn good hygiene procedures. However, as snack time is chaotic in some rooms a few children do not wash their hands as a matter of routine. For example, some children sit at the table to eat snack and have their drink whilst others come in from the outside area, take a breadstick from the box and wander off eating it. Children over two years learn about technology as they have access to computers within their rooms. Younger children have programmable toys they can press, push and pull to make them work. A variety of diverse resources are available and regular activities are planned to celebrate the festival of children from other cultures who attend the nursery.

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning to keep themselves safe. Staff are on hand to offer explanations of why they must not do things that could be unsafe for others. For example, a member of staff speaks to a child who has put some soil and stones on the slide and on the steps leading up to the slide. She asks him what he thinks might happen to another child who uses the slide. He hides his face in her legs whilst she explains the consequences of his actions. She comes down to his level to ask if he understands and he says he does. He runs off happily to play somewhere else. Some children behave in ways that are safe for themselves and others. This was demonstrated during tidy up time in the pre-school room where children help staff to pick up items from the floor. One member of staff was sweeping sand into a dustpan and told a child 'I am picking this up in case one of you slip on it'. He offered to help and began sweeping the sand into a pan.

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and outcomes for 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 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 3 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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report 01/06/2011

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report 01/06/2011

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