University Hospital Day Nursery

University Hospital Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 254647 Inspection date 07/06/2011 Inspector Tina Garner

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Setting address Queens Medical Centre, Derby Road, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG7 2UH Telephone number 0115 9420978 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

University Hospital Day Nursery opened in 1989. It is a privately owned nursery based in two designated units within the grounds of Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham. A maximum of 122 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 6.30am until 6.30pm with the exception of Public Holidays. All children access a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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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. There are currently 250 children aged from 8 months to under five years on roll. The nursery is for the sole use of children whose parents are employed by the Nottingham University Hospital NHS trust. The nursery supports children with special needs and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 46 members of staff. All of which hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives support from the local authority and has achieved the Nottingham City Quality Kitemark.

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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 are cared for in a well thought out, calm, enabling environment which ensures that they are the focus of the many learning opportunities both indoors and outside. Children are happy, settled and quickly separate from their parents. Staff offer an inclusive and welcoming service, supporting all children to actively participate in activities which meet their individual interests and developmental needs. Relationships with parents and others are positive and friendly. Effective systems are in place to ensure children's care needs are known and met. The management team have a clear vision for the setting. The self-evaluation process demonstrates a positive attitude towards continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further staff skills of undertaking sensitive observational assessments of children's progress, using the information gained to clearly identify and prioritise next steps in learning and plan a range of activities to support each child to make as rapid progress as possible  develop parent contribution to the Learning Journeys to support staff in assessing children's starting points and their ongoing development. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children's safety and welfare is effectively promoted. Sound recruitment and vetting procedures are regularly reviewed to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. Staff fully understand their responsibilities to safeguard children and capably describe procedures for working with relevant agencies to protect children from harm or neglect. The management team are committed to the ongoing professional development of the staff team and many hold high level qualifications in childcare and education. They actively seek out and engage in local authority accreditation projects to enhance professional knowledge, and to advance children's development and learning.

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the early years provision

Good links are forged with local schools and community childcare organisations to support and enhance children's well-being. The nursery team introduce innovative educational schemes into their practice. For example, to develop children's communication, speech and language. Staff work in cooperation with various specialists to ensure that children with additional needs receive prompt and early intervention. Systems to support children and families learning English as an additional language are excellent. Visual aids, signs and symbols are used effectively to help children understand the routines of the day. Staff use key words in the children's home language to help individuals settle and to communicate with their parents.

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the early years provision

The setting is very well-maintained and attractively presented to help children and adults feel welcome and included. Displays of photographs, children's work and age-appropriate resources create a child-friendly environment. Parents are informed of ongoing developments which enhance the nursery environment. A broad range of comprehensive policies and procedures are effectively implemented to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the nursery. A series of daily checks and thorough risk assessments are completed, indoors and outside, to minimise the likelihood of accidents.

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the early years provision

Children are cared for in designated rooms which are specifically designed to meet their individual and changing needs. This provides good scope for children to be actively engaged in a range of exciting activities. As a result, older children confidently make choices about what they want to do. Babies can rest and sleep as part of their own routine, whilst others continue to play. Additional resources are freely available in low-level storage cupboards, further enhancing children's ability to make choices and decisions for themselves. All children enjoy daily opportunities for outdoor play, benefiting from regular fresh air and physical activity. The inspirational outdoor play area invites children to continue in their creative and investigative play.

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the early years provision

Children and their families receive effective support from the staff and management team. Good communication systems between parents and each child's key worker enable children to feel safe and secure and to form close bonds. A good level of information is gathered from parents at the outset to support children to settle in and to enable staff to respond well to their care needs. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 However, this information does not yet extend to include information relating to what children can do in relation to their learning and ongoing development. Children's individual interests, backgrounds and culture are considered when planning themes and projects, valuing diversity within the group.

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the early years provision

The management has a clear sense of purpose. Effective self-review systems bring about positive improvements for children's welfare and learning. Information obtained through discussion, meetings and questionnaires is reviewed and used to raise standards. This ensures continuous improvement for the benefit of the children. Regular staff meetings and frequent opportunities for staff development and training ensure that all are kept up-to-date with changes and are continually improving their skills.

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and outcomes for children

The children receive a warm welcome on arrival and are clearly very happy in this setting. Relationships are very strong, and children appear confident and feel safe and secure because of the good quality of care they receive. Children look forward to their time spent in the nursery and have enjoyable experiences and are provided with interesting and exciting activities that enable them to make good progress in their learning and development. The nursery is robustly laid out to ensure all areas of learning are covered, with excellent quality resources easily accessible for children, and to encourage their independence through making their own choices of activity.

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and outcomes for children

The learning environment is a colourful and stimulating place that reflects many of the experiences that children have had through displays of their work. Children are constantly developing their fine motor skills through regular opportunities to engage in creative activities that involve pencil and brush control. Collages and paintings are colourfully decorated in a variety of ways and evidence of drawings indicate the developing control children are gaining through the use of various media. The promotion of the development of number skills is given regular attention with many opportunities for children to use their counting skills during focused sessions and daily routines. When using a computer program children demonstrated the ability to count up to nine objects on their screen, and correctly identified a range of different shapes and colours. Children are becoming very adept at manipulating the mouse to successfully work through the program. In the

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and outcomes for children

outdoor area children enjoy being active whilst climbing and balancing and playing with a variety of wheeled toys. The outdoor space is beautifully presented and contains an excellent range of equipment in order to provide an exciting range of experiences. Throughout the setting children happily move from one activity to another experimenting with both wet and dry sand, wood chippings, pine cones and finger paints. Adults circulate and intervene sensitively to support children's learning; they are skilled at gently questioning children and extend their learning well.

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and outcomes for children

Joint planning by all staff in each different group room results in themes being This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 chosen and developed. Key activities ensure that all aspects of the areas of learning are covered and staff evaluate these activities effectively to ensure they have met their intended purpose and whether they are worth repeating or developing. This ensures that children enjoy their play and have good opportunities to consolidate their learning. Staff observe each child and use these observations to assess each child's progress towards the early learning goals. However, in some cases these observations are not yet being used as well as they might be to fully identify children's next key steps and to provide fully appropriate challenges for them to help them make as rapid progress as possible. Children have good opportunities to consolidate their understanding and express their

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and outcomes for children

creativity through the continuous provision of role play areas and art and craft tables. Older children begin to recognise their names through finding their name mat at meal times. They develop their language and speech through, for example, joining in with rhymes and they have pens and pencils set out for them to use at any time to mark make. Currently, children are watching as their seeds grow into flowers as part of their recent topic work. They experience cooking and baking activities and good links are made to healthy eating as children are made aware of foods which are good for them, and are provided with healthy meals and snacks. Children are taught to be safe in their play as they move around the setting and to be aware of others. They understand the need for regular hand washing, and benefit from gentle reminders not to run indoors and to sit safely on chairs.

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and outcomes for children

Children's behaviour is good and they form strong relationships with each other and with the staff. They play harmoniously together and also work independently showing good levels of interest and concentration. They co-operate well and are very good at following routines and helping to tidy away toys and equipment at the end of the activity. The overall good progress they make including language acquisition, understanding of number, and personal and social skills is preparing them well for the time when they transfer to school. 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 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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