Little Angels Day Nursery

Little Angels Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY415060 Inspection date 21/06/2011 Inspector Wendy Dockerty

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Setting address Golborne Children's Centre, Talbot Street, Golborne, Warrington, WA3 3NN Telephone number 01942 777616 Email info@littleangelsdaynursery.net 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.

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as 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

Little Angels Day Nursery was initially registered in 2007 and re-registered in 2010. It is owned and managed by a limited company. It operates within Golborne Children's Centre which forms part of Golborne Community Primary School in the borough of Wigan. Children use three nursery rooms, the maintained nursery, school hall, two bays and activity room for their care, play and learning. There are four secure, fully enclosed outdoor play areas. It primarily serves children living in and around the local area.

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Description of the setting

The provision is registered to provide care for 73 children under eight years, of whom all may be in the early years age range at any one time. There are 109 children on roll in the early years age range. It is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm, and provides an all year round service with the exception of a week at Christmas. It also supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children with English as an additional language. The provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery also provides an out of school facility and holiday club. The nursery provides care for funded three- and four-year-olds, for children on respite arrangements and some funded two-year-old places are offered.

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Description of the setting

The provision employs 15 staff to work with the children, of whom 12 hold a qualification at National Vocational Qualification Level 3 or above. Two staff are working towards a degree in early years. Additional staff are employed for food preparation. They receive support from Wigan County Council.

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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

A well-developed knowledge of each child's needs makes sure that staff promote children's welfare and learning. Children's development in all areas of learning is supported, although the links between children's observations and the planned activities are not always clear. Documentation is generally well maintained, although there are some inaccuracies in required paperwork. Highly effective partnerships with parents and carers, outside agencies, the local authority and other settings successfully support children's development. The management team continuously evaluate the provision, involving staff and parents and identify areas for improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure that the information regarding children's next steps obtained from the observations and assessments of children's learning is linked clearly to the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 plans for future activities  ensure that information regarding who has legal contact with the child; and who has parental responsibility for the child is extended to include all children extend the frequency of the fire drills to ensure all nursery children are included and record details in a fire log book of any problems encountered and how they were resolved  ensure that staff check that the attendance register is accurately maintained at all times.

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the early years provision

Children's safety is given high priority and all staff have a secure understanding of safeguarding children's welfare. A written policy is in place which is shared with all staff during their induction period and includes appropriate information regarding the local authority child protection procedures. Training in this area is offered to several staff members and there are named staff members to take responsibility for dealing with any welfare concerns. Information regarding parental responsibility and who has legal contact with the child is in place for some, but not all children, because some contracts have not been updated. Detailed written risk assessments of the setting, the outdoor area and new equipment are in place and all play areas are checked daily. Children are cared for in a secure, safe and comfortable environment and steps are taken to protect them from harm. However, evidence of fire drills and checks of fire safety equipment is not held by the nursery, but by

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the early years provision

the attached school. This means that the nursery cannot maintain these records effectively and fire drills are only carried out in line with the school timetable, which impacts on nursery children who may attend at different times. In addition, there are occasions when attendance registers are not accurately maintained as staff have not checked the information completed by parents when collecting their children.

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the early years provision

Highly effective partnerships with parents and carers ensure that children settle into the nursery and are cared for according to their individual needs. Parents are provided with a welcome booklet when they first visit the nursery and information regarding the more pertinent policies is shared during the admissions procedures. The policy documents are also displayed in the entrance area for parents to access whenever required, alongside a selection of other useful information. Key workers discuss children's individual needs with parents when they begin to attend and make a record of their interests, likes and development levels. This information is used as a starting point to help staff to plan for children's future learning. Parents are kept informed of their children's progress and achievements through regular verbal feedback. Daily diaries and children's individual learning journeys are shared with parents frequently. Recent parental questionnaires have given parents the

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the early years provision

opportunity to share comments with the setting and raise any areas for future development. These have been taken into consideration by the management team. Comments boxes encourage parents to share their suggestions for improvement and parents' evenings are arranged so that parents can come into the setting and spend time with their child's key worker. Parents spoken to at the time of the inspection made positive comments regarding their children being happy and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 settled in the nursery and felt that as parents and carers they were kept well informed of their children's development and received a great deal of support and advice.

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the early years provision

The nursery works very closely with outside agencies in order to support children's progress and development. Professional colleagues come into the setting to work alongside nursery staff to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The designated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator ensures that children with additional needs receive appropriate support and that families and carers are provided with suitable information and advice. Links have been established with other early years settings which children attend, and the nursery welcomes visits from teachers in preparation for children's transition to school. Staff liaise with the nursery teacher in the adjoining maintained nursery to ensure a seamless link between the two settings as children spend part of the day accessing provision in both areas. The nursery is an inclusive setting and ensures that children's individual backgrounds and needs are known and catered for.

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the early years provision

Children who attend with English as a second language are supported in their development and the nursery has obtained key words in their home language to enable children to settle quickly into their new environment. Children develop an understanding of the wider world through everyday resources which reflect positive images of diversity, and as they celebrate a variety of cultural and religious festivals.

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the early years provision

A detailed self-evaluation document has been completed which has identified several areas for improvement that will have a significant impact on the children who attend. The management team ensure that staff and parents' views are included in this system and are committed to continuous improvement. Many actions have been put in place since registration and clear targets ensure the nursery remains focussed on future improvements.

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and outcomes for children

Throughout the nursery children are assigned to a key worker who supports the child to settle into the environment and develops an understanding of each child's needs and preferences. Observations and assessments of children's development are completed and entered into their learning journey, which tracks the progress children are making. Key workers identify next steps for children's learning based on these observations and help children to make progress as they play. Written plans are in place which indicate the activities and resources required for each week. However, the link between the next steps identified for children and the plans for activities for the younger children in the nursery is not clear. This means that children's individual progress and development is not promoted to full potential. The pre-school works in liaison with the maintained nursery which is accessed through an adjoining door. The nursery teacher takes responsibility for

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and outcomes for children

the longer term planning and identifies activities for each area of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage. Key workers then plan for individual children, ensuring that activities support children's progress towards the early learning goals. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children enjoy their time at the nursery and are provided with a wide range of experiences and activities which promote their learning. In all rooms children have free access to age-appropriate toys and equipment and are encouraged to make choices about their play. Babies and young children spend time playing indoors with role play equipment, looking at books and exploring cause and effect toys. They access their own enclosed outdoor area where they enjoy digging in the sand, climbing on play equipment, sitting on the rocker and rolling balls to chase after. Staff provide some creative activities at different times such as painting, play

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and outcomes for children

dough and exploring cooked pasta shapes. However, these are not always organised in advance to ensure children are engaged at all times.

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and outcomes for children

Older children in the toddler room also have access to their own enclosed outdoor area. Here they enjoy using wheeled toys, developing their early writing skills on the chalk boards and sitting in the cosy tent to look at books and have some quiet time. Children have helped to plant and care for tomatoes and flowers and have waterproof equipment so that they can enjoy the outdoors in all weathers. Indoors they have a wide selection of small world play, imaginative play and further books and mark making equipment. Staff spend time with the children in small groups at specific times throughout the day to ensure that all children have opportunities to interact with staff and explore a small selection of toys and resources based around a particular theme.

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and outcomes for children

As children move into the pre-school room they are provided with an extensive selection of resources and equipment which is used in interesting ways to support children to be active and creative learners. Children explore small world play with cars, trucks and a building site, and use their imagination in the role play areas to pretend they are camping outdoors. Children's early reading and writing skills are developed as they write their names on their drawings, recognise their names during self-registration and pretend to take the register just like the staff on their clipboard. Children access resources which support their development in information and communication technology, as they listen to story tapes with the headphones and access computer programs which develops their mouse and keyboard skills. Children learn a lot about the world around them and the natural environment through a selection of interesting activities. Tadpoles are swimming in

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and outcomes for children

a small tank in the room and children delight in looking at which ones have turned into frogs as they watch them through the magnifying glass. Outdoors staff support children to water the vegetables which they are growing, such as potatoes, peas, carrots and lettuce and talk about what will happen once the vegetables are fully grown.

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and outcomes for children

Children begin to learn about keeping themselves safe, for example, they are reminded of appropriate behaviours and why some actions can be dangerous. Older children learn about stranger danger and issues such as road safety when they go out of the setting on visits. Children begin to learn about keeping themselves healthy, for example, they are reminded to wash their hands when they visit the toilet with staff supervision. Procedures are followed with regard to nappy changing, providing individual bedding and drinks beakers to prevent cross- infection. However, procedures are not followed consistently throughout the nursery and some children are not encouraged to clean their hands before eating. 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 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 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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