Castle Hill Day Nursery

Castle Hill Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 303710 Inspection date 02/06/2011 Inspector Susan Heap

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Setting address Castle Hill Day Nursery, 5 King Street, Todmorden, Lancashire, OL14 5SL Telephone number 01706 814800 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

Castle Hill Day Nursery was registered in 1981 and has been under the current ownership since 1998. It is owned and managed by a private company. It operates from three rooms in a detached property situated in a residential area of Todmorden, close to the town centre. There is a fully enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year and is closed for Bank Holidays. The building is accessible by a ramp. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

It is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 36 children in the early years age range may attend at any one time. There are currently 41 children on roll. This includes a number of three- and four-year-old children who are in receipt of nursery education funding. The nursery is also registered on both parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the setting

There are nine permanent staff members who work directly with children and, of these, five hold relevant childcare qualifications at level 3, three at level 2 and one is working towards a level 2 qualification. The deputy manager has a foundation degree in Early Years and Childcare and starts a BA (Hons) degree in Early Years and Childcare in September 2011.

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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

The management and staff team work closely together to ensure positive relationships are fully developed with parents and their children. Most systems to ensure children's progression in all areas of learning and development are in place. As a result, children make good progress in the warm, welcoming environment. Indoor and outdoor areas provide a good range of opportunities to extend children's learning and development. Most systems to evaluate the nursery are developing well and include the identification of key strengths and areas for improvement. Systems to ensure the safeguarding of children and promote their safety are robust.

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further?

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

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further?

 consider developing systems to seek parents' views on the care and education provided to drive further improvement  establish monitoring systems to ensure that observation and assessment records of children are up-to-date to ensure each child's next steps in their learning and development are identified and met. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

All children are safeguarded because staff have undertaken child protection training and have a good understanding of the safeguarding procedures to be followed. Staff are suitably vetted and their ongoing suitability is checked through the annual appraisal system. Staff are knowledgeable and work well as a team to ensure that safety procedures are implemented and adhered to at all times. For example, risk assessment includes the checking of toys, equipment and outings, and that visitors' identities are verified.

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the early years provision

Children benefit greatly from being cared for by a caring, professional staff team who value and respect each child, which means that equality of opportunity is fostered well. The capacity to make further improvements on an ongoing basis is strong. The self-evaluation is developing well and involves the whole staff team, although this does not currently involve parents. For example, through accessing funding, the outdoor environment has been made more accessible and interesting for children. The nursery has successfully applied to vary their registration to increase the numbers of younger children and change the use of rooms. This is to meet the changing childcare needs of the local community. Improvements through recommendations made at the last inspection ensure children's safety and welfare are well maintained and their learning is effectively promoted.

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the early years provision

Engagement with parents is good. They have free access to their child's learning and development files at all times and are actively encouraged to contribute their own observations and photographs to these. Daily verbal conversations between the parents and the children's key person ensure children's needs are continually identified and met. Comments from parents are very positive and state how they are highly satisfied with the care and learning offered to their children. The nursery successfully liaises with other settings that children may attend to ensure continuity and consistency of care and learning. For example, they have been involved in behaviour management training with nursery school staff.

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and outcomes for children

Children have good opportunities to learn about the importance of keeping healthy and those things that contribute to this. They learn about the importance of hand washing through the daily routines and eat healthy nutritious meals which include vegetables, fruit, pasta and various meats. Through planned activities and discussions, their learning is further developed. The nursery has successfully been awarded the Cute Fruit award for promoting a healthy diet and good dental hygiene. It has also achieved a five star environmental health award. Activities, such as the incredible edible scheme, develop children's understanding of planting and growing their own vegetables. They nurture their growing seedlings and talk about how they need sunshine and water to grow. Visits to the local shops support their growing understanding of a healthy diet and the food cycle as they purchase fresh fruit and vegetables to eat. All children enjoy daily access to the outdoor area

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and actively choose to spend the greater part of the day here. They play cooperatively together in the large sandpit, take part in sack races or play games with coloured beanbags. The children like to take their indoor toys and equipment outside with them to play with and enjoy making choices about what they would like to do each day. They enjoy using different tools to draw, play card games or engage in role play with the hairdressing equipment. Younger children enjoy practising their physical skills as they kick footballs.

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and outcomes for children

The children are well behaved and have a high regard for one another. This is particularly evident in the pre-school room due to the mixed age group of children attending during the holiday period. Older children are supportive of the younger ones, while the latter learn skills from the older children. For example, during a planned activity to develop children's ability to link letters and sounds, such as the letter 'S', children take it in turns to think of a word beginning with the letter. Other activities include going on 'listening walks' to develop children's skills in recognising different sounds. They successfully learn to differentiate between the sound of a motorbike or a car, repeat the sound of a bird call or note the way that leaves crunch beneath their feet.

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and outcomes for children

Children's starting points are initially established through discussions with their parents, and staff build on this knowledge. They regularly undertake observations to assess children's progress and plan a range of activities to meet individual children's needs. A tracking system enables staff to identify at an early stage any gaps in children's learning. Staff know children very well and are strongly aware of their interests so that they can plan motivating learning experiences for each child, which are successfully incorporated into the weekly plan. However, sometimes records of children's progress are not always kept up-to-date and the next steps in their learning are not always clearly identified.

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and outcomes for children

Children use information and communication technology to support their learning, such as the use of cameras and a laptop computer. They show interest and understanding of the way which things work and fit together, such as magnetic construction bricks. Babies and toddlers are intrigued as they enjoy exploring push-button, battery-operated toys. Children use numbers and mathematical language regularly throughout the day in songs and stories or while playing in the water or sand.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop a good understanding of their own personal safety. They learn to cross the road safely on local outings and through role play and visits from the road safety team. Monthly fire drills ensure they learn what to do in an emergency situation. The youngest children show they feel safe and confident in the staff's care as they smile in greeting to visitors or snuggle up to listen to stories. Their daily routines are consistently managed to follow their home routine and ensure continuity of care. The staff team are to be highly commended for the way in which they have managed the recent changes to the way rooms are used. Consequently, children are well settled and happy and continuity of care has been successfully managed. 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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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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