Cute Companions Private Day Nursery

Cute Companions Private Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 302025 Inspection date 31/05/2011 Inspector Lindsay Dobson

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Setting address 542 Leeds Road, Idle, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD10 8JH

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Telephone number 01274 614291 Email info@cutecompanions.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. 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

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

Cute Companions was registered in 1997 and is a privately owned full day care nursery. It operates from a converted house in the Thackley area of Bradford. There are five main play rooms set over three floors in the main building and with a single storey annexe in the outdoor area.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register to care for a maximum of 66 children in the early years age range. There are currently 102 children on roll, attending on a full and part-time basis. The nursery is open each week day from 7.30am to 6pm all year round. The setting receives nursery education funding for children of eligible age and supports children with special educational needs and disabilities.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 25 staff employed including the nursery manager and a cook. The majority of staff working with the children hold a recognised childcare qualification to Level 3. The nursery receives support from the local authority advisory teacher and is a member of the National Day Nursery Association.

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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

Children's welfare, learning and development are positively promoted within a friendly, welcoming environment. Practitioners enthusiastically demonstrate very good teamwork in order to effectively meet the children's individual needs. Children are very well supported as they learn through play, ensuring they make good progress in all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Overall, documentation is effective to support the efficient management of the setting. Partnerships with parents and others are secure and practitioners are committed to the continuous development of the provision, working hard to improve the outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 review policies and procedures to ensure all copies reflect current practice providing up to date and accurate information to staff and parents  develop the systems of observations and assessment to ensure accurate information is recorded, children's next steps are consistently recorded and parents are encouraged to contribute to them. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

All staff understand their responsibility to safeguard children from harm. The nursery has a clear, detailed safeguarding policy and a designated staff member to take the lead if concerns about children's safety arise. All staff are fully checked with the Criminal Records Bureau to ensure they are suitable to work with children and they learn about the internal procedures routinely as part of their induction and act accordingly to keep children safe. The security of the premises is good and procedures for arrival and departure ensure children are handed over safely to a known adult. Risk assessments are carried out in each playroom daily by the staff and any safety issues are passed to the manager who acts efficiently to address these. Full assessments of the setting are also carried out at regular intervals throughout the year, ensuring all areas, equipment and resources are safe. Risk assessments are also completed for the outings that children are taken on.

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the early years provision

Children are learning to keep themselves safe through regular practises of the emergency evacuation drill and the gentle reminders from staff to walk inside and tidy away the toys. Effective staff deployment ensures all children are well supervised and supported. There is a good range of toys and resources available throughout the nursery, which are well organised to allow children to make spontaneous choices and extend their own play and learning. This includes a variety of resources that reflect images of diversity, so that children start to develop a positive self-image and awareness of the wider world. Children who have special educational needs and disabilities are well supported. A full range of policies and procedures are in place and overall support the effective running of the setting. However, there is a lack of consistency in some versions of the policies to ensure accurate information is

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the early years provision

provided to staff and parents. Systems to self-evaluate the provision are good. Completion of the Ofsted online self-evaluation form is the basis for this and the setting also contributes to the local authority quality assurance scheme enabling them to identify clear plans for future development. The manager and staff are enthusiastic and committed to continuous improvement and seek the views of parents and children as part of this process. Partnerships with parents and carers are secure and positively ensure children's individual needs are met, with regular communication exchanged in a wide range of ways. Parents are made to feel welcome through warm greetings and conversation. They access information on the notice boards, through face to face discussion with staff and through an informative website. Parents also receive daily written information regarding their children's welfare, food intake and sleeps.

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the early years provision

Positive feedback from parents has been received about the quality of care given to the children and the range of activities available to them. Partnerships with others take into consideration the needs of the children and the setting has good working relationships with other professionals. They are working hard to develop secure partnerships with local providers, such as nurseries and schools in the community. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Across all age groups babies and children are happy and enjoy accessing the child- centred environment. There is good emphasis on child-led activities with colourful age appropriate toys, resources and play areas attractively laid out for them. Children are able to make good choices in their play, promoting all areas of learning, and explore and learn independently according to their individual needs. Staff also engage children in focused adult-led activities which they are now basing on children's individual interests and linking to the newly implemented system of planning, making learning and development fun and stimulating for the children. Staff are actively on hand to support and encourage learning during play. They interact well with children building on what they know and can do. Overall, children are well motivated and demonstrate that they are making good progress towards the early learning goals. For example, babies vocalise happily, exploring

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and outcomes for children

their enabling environment as they crawl and begin to pull themselves to standing, play with activity centres or develop their feel and touch as they enjoy different materials. Staff are making regular observations of the children and supporting these with photographs of them at play. Observations are linked to the areas of learning and some show children's next steps to inform future planning. However, across all age groups, staff are not consistently recording some required details, such as the children's age or date of the observation and in some cases the next steps. Also parents are not actively encouraged to contribute to their children's learning journeys to ensure they are fully informed about their child's development.

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and outcomes for children

Children of all ages enjoy developing their creativity and are provided with good daily opportunities through free and planned painting activities, model making and box craft, play dough and joining in with singing and action rhymes. A good use of corn flour, pasta and other malleable materials enable children to develop their feel and touch, with the more able children beginning to understand how substances change. For example, as they play with the corn flour they say 'it is hard' as they try and spoon it into the dishes and as they hold their spoons up they shout 'look now it is runny'. Children's language and vocabulary are well promoted in the setting. Throughout the nursery and in the outdoor play area there is clear labelling developing the children's understanding that print carries meaning. Each play room has a comfortable and well resourced book area and children of all ages enjoy looking at books alone, with their friends and with the staff. The children

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and outcomes for children

enjoy circle time where they have opportunities to tell the staff and their friends about their home life and their personal experiences and they visit the mobile library regularly to choose and exchange books. More able children show confidence in using information technology as they use the computer, choosing their own educational games and skilfully using the mouse and touch screen. Whilst the younger children and babies learn about cause and effect as they press buttons and turn handles on the activity centres.

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and outcomes for children

Children are provided with regular access to the exciting outdoor play areas throughout the day. They enjoy the good range of available resources which provide opportunities across all areas of learning. Children learn about the local This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 community through a variety of people coming into the setting to talk to them and their visits to the local shops, parks and woods. Physical activity is part of the setting's policy to promote a healthy lifestyle with children. They are provided with healthy snacks and meals by the on site cook and learn positive routines of hygiene through free access to hand washing and toilet facilities. Children's behaviour is good and staff act as positive role models, offering consistent praise and support, which raises children's self-esteem. More able children are aware of the boundaries of the setting and use good manners as they speak to each other

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and outcomes for children

and the staff. Younger children are appropriately nurtured and praised for their achievements, which promotes their sense of 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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