Whitwood House

Whitwood House Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY218871 Inspection date 02/06/2011 Inspector Liz Whitehead

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Setting address 148b High Street, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS23 6BW Telephone number 01937 842198 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

Brook Babes at Whitwood House Day Nursery has been registered since 2002. It is one of a number of settings and is privately owned. It operates from two floors within a converted house in the village of Boston Spa, West Yorkshire. The nursery does not have a lift facility. There are outdoor play areas adjoining the premises. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm throughout the year. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 42 children under the age of eight may attend the nursery at any one time; of these, 42 may be in the early years age group. There are currently 64 children in the early years age group on roll. The nursery receives funding for three-and four-year-old children and welcomes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children with English as an additional language. There are 12 members of staff working

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Description of the setting

with the children, all of whom hold an appropriate early years qualification.

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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

Passionate leadership and management ensures that reflective practice is an integral part of nursery life. All children make excellent progress in their learning and development due to the highly effective partnerships with parents and other providers. The staff team is extremely dedicated and provides an excellent provision which is exemplary in fostering children's learning and development. They are committed to successfully meeting the needs of all children through promoting fully inclusive practice and ensuring that outcomes for children are consistently outstanding.

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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 further the setting's existing mobile telephone policy to include outings.

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the early years provision

Rigorous recruitment and selection ensures that all staff are highly skilled and fully committed to offering the best possible care to children. All required documentation, including highly effective risk assessments, plus many additional policies and procedures are meticulously implemented. Safeguarding children is given the utmost priority to ensure they thrive in a safe and secure environment. All staff have a secure knowledge of the signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect and regularly update and increase their knowledge through accessing in-depth This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 training. To further enhance this all staff adhere to a very strict protocol regarding not using mobile telephones whilst caring for children. All staff fully understand the importance and consistently follow this policy. However, it is not fully implemented on outings as a member of the management team takes their personal telephone

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the early years provision

to ensure they can contact parents in case of emergency. All visitors to the premises must sign to acknowledge they are aware that the use of mobile telephones is not permitted at anytime.

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the early years provision

The staff team fully embraces the Early Years Foundation Stage and is extremely successful in enabling all children to make outstanding progress towards the early learning goals. The management has extremely high aspirations to provide an exemplary service for families and is rigorous in the drive to ensure that all children and staff reach their full potential. They are extremely successful in this through embedding ambition and leading by example. Many changes have been introduced since the last inspection including, gaining a quality assurance award and fully embracing the value of self-evaluation and being extremely proactive in seeking the views and opinions of children, parents and other professionals. The staff work very closely with local schools and discussions are in place for the owner to speak to students regarding the importance and value of choosing childcare as a profession. Well-established systems ensure a consistent flow of information with

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the early years provision

parents and other settings that children attend. This is successfully achieved through daily discussions, written information, e-mails and online and thoughtfully displayed information. Parents value the effective communication and comment that 'staff know the children inside out'.

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and outcomes for children

Children behave very well, take turns and are polite, considerate and form strong relationships and friendships. They value and respect similarities and differences between people through the celebration of traditions and festivals and regularly access resources which positively reflect race, gender and disability. Additionally, children are developing a secure awareness of those less fortunate than themselves as they regularly participate in fundraising events. They understand about sustainability and protecting the environment as they make musical instruments from plastic bottles and sort paper for recycling. Older children have a wonderful time making a 'petrol pump' for their garage using a large cardboard box and the hose from an old vacuum cleaner. The nursery is awaiting delivery of a compost bin and water butt to further enhance children's awareness through recycling kitchen waste and rain water. The setting is fully integrated into the local

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and outcomes for children

community and invited them to participate in the nursery festivities celebrating the recent Royal Wedding.

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and outcomes for children

The staff team are highly passionate about providing the best possible start for all children and instinctively use fun activities to promote many areas of learning. Children have a wonderful time at the weekly baby ballet session. Staff use the walk to the nearby venue to talk about the various shops they pass and name the colours of flowers outside the florists. The children are fully aware of the importance of looking both ways and waiting until there are no cars coming before This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 crossing the road. They know not to stroke strange dogs and not to talk to people they do not know. Children fully understand the benefits of physical exercise and know that it is 'good for them, makes their muscles strong and keeps them healthy'. They practise moving in a range of ways as they stretch, point their toes, bend their knees whilst keeping their heels together and balance items on their

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and outcomes for children

head. Older children demonstrate an excellent understanding of good hygiene practice. They spontaneously wash their hands after exercising and after using the toilet. They know that 'it gets rid of bugs' and that 'bugs make them poorly'.

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and outcomes for children

Children have a wonderful time as they use a straw to make bubble pictures, press buttons to make animals pop up, experience the texture of shaving foam, read books and draw pictures. Staff actively follow children's interests and develop their mathematical concepts and ideas in the 'shoe shop'. Children thoroughly enjoy matching and pairing the shoes, trying them on and operating the till as the other children 'buy' them. Older children work cooperatively together to paint their 'petrol pump'. They concentrate well as they carefully use scissors to make a hole for the hose and have lots of fun as they wash tricycles and scooters at the 'car wash'. Children have a secure sense of belonging at the nursery and take their 'jobs' very seriously. They have an exceptional awareness of animals and nature as they care for the rabbits and chickens and cut nursery grown spinach for their tea. The children excitedly talk about the chicks hatching from eggs as they incubated

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and outcomes for children

Children's key person plays a significant role in their care and learning and spends lots of one to one time talking and playing with them. This promotes very high levels of self esteem and ensures children feel exceedingly valued and special and inspires them to learn. Staff sensitively assess and observe children and continually monitor their progress towards the early learning goals. They are highly efficient at using this information to develop objectives to ensure that all children achieve as much as they can according to their individual abilities and learning styles. Staff highly value and make full use of information from parents and successfully use this to shape the direction of each child's learning. All children make exceptional progress in communicating with others due to excellent interaction from staff. Some of whom naturally use sign language in conjunction with words and facial expressions enabling children of all ages to express themselves and make their

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and outcomes for children

needs known. 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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