The Rowan's Day Nursery

Rowan Sure Start Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY336016 Inspection date 09/08/2011 Inspector Cordalee Harrison

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Setting address The Rowans Sure Start Childrens Centre, 13a Moorfoot, Fullers Slade, MILTON KEYNES, MK11 2BD Telephone number 01908 563269 Email rowans.nursery@milton-keynes.gov.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.

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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

The Rowan Sure Start Day Nursery opened in 2006. It is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is located in the Sure Start Children's Centre in Fullers Slade, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Milton Keynes Council owns the nursery. The nursery is comprised of two main rooms for children, plus an office, kitchen, nappy changing and washing and toilet facilities for the children. The nursery operates weekdays for 51 weeks of the year. It opens from 8am until 6pm.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered to care for a maximum of 48 children under eight years. Currently there are 45 children in the early years age group on roll. The nursery is in receipt of funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery supports children for whom English is an additional language. Four staff and a manager work in the nursery. They are all qualified to level 3 in childcare and education and one member of staff is currently training to gain a foundation degree in early years studies. The Childrens Centre provides a range of services for parents and children. These services include, a crèche, a Citizens Advice Bureau, access to health care professionals including health visitors, a breast feeding group, toy and book library, play sessions for children with additional needs and stay and play sessions for parents and children. Some services are specifically arranged for families from the

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Description of the setting

immediate area. The Rowans Sure Start Childrens Centre's advisory board includes parents, health and education professionals.

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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 relaxed and settled in the nursery and all are making good progress in their learning and development overall. Leadership and management organise most systems effectively to meet children's well-being, with effective use of resources overall. Many aspects of children's health are competently supported, although some personal hygiene routines are not always consistent. The nursery works harmoniously with parents and other professionals to meet the needs of a diverse group of users. The nursery shows satisfactory capacity for continuous improvement, addressing recommendations from the previous inspection to gain positive improvements for children overall.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  support children?s growing knowledge of healthy lifestyles through consistent attention to personal hygiene procedures concerning hand washing and nappy changing routines  develop assessment systems to plan the next steps in older children?s developmental progress and regularly review this approach  improve the nursery's organisation to make the most effective use of its resources, such as the outdoor area for the benefit of every child.

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the early years provision

The nursery safeguards and promotes children's welfare effectively. There are clear policies and systems in place for the management of matters relating to safeguarding. The recruitment procedure is well developed to ensure that all checks and references are completed for all staff to work on the premises. Arrangements for safeguarding children are robust and regularly reviewed in line with the local authority's safeguarding procedures. Staff are experienced at working with the appropriate child agencies to deal with safeguarding matters. The physical environment is safe and secure for children. The nursery carries out effective risk assessments and makes sure that hazards are identified and addressed in all areas. The nursery takes good precautions to promote children's physical safety. Equipment and resources are of good quality and they are safe and suitable for the varying ages of the children who use them. Practice, such as

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the early years provision

evacuation of the premises, is well rehearsed. Children demonstrate that they know what to do when the fire alarm sounds.

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the early years provision

There are some examples of good hygiene practice in the nursery. However, not all staff are consistent in their management of such matters. For example, while they all take care to ensure that children are all clean and comfortable, some of the nappy changing practices present some risks of cross infection. Children eat food that is balanced and nutritious. Staff are supportive to all children at meals times; this helps children to enjoy their food and develop positive attitudes towards eating. Staff meetings, supervision and reflective practices contribute to developing staff knowledge of learning and development and the welfare requirements. The nursery is using self-evaluation to drive improvement suitably. However, the process does not fully capture all that needs to improve. For example, all key persons observe their children and plan for their interests though next steps are not consistently reviewed for older children.

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the early years provision

Although the nursery makes effective use of most of its resources, it does not maximise essential resources such as the outdoor play area. For example, the nursery does not use all of the space well to challenge and inspire children's learning. Equality and diversity are central to the nursery. The nursery meets the needs of a very diverse user group. Resources are diverse to raise children's awareness of cultural diversity and disabilities. There are no children on roll with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, the nursery is very experienced at providing for such children. Policies and strategies are flexible. For example, these support parents to attend classes that will improve their English This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and help to narrow the achievement gap for their children's communication skills. The staff are enthusiastic, regularly gaining parents' input to develop the service

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the early years provision

and the arrangements for children. The nursery finds out what parents want their children to achieve. In addition, they encourage parents to aim high for children. Parents praise the nursery and state that the staff are caring, approachable and interested in the children. Partnership working is at the heart of the nursery's practice. Children attend a number of activities that are facilitated by the centre staff. The nursery has strong working partnerships with health and education professionals. In addition, the nursery is working jointly with an outstanding provision to drive improvement for the benefit of the children.

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and outcomes for children

Across the nursery, staff plan and deliver activities which introduce children to all areas and different aspects of the areas of learning. Child-initiated activities are a key feature of the nursery's provision for children. All staff in the nursery have a common sense of purpose to support children to help them to achieve as well as they can. Free-flow play between in and outdoor play encourages the children to make purposeful choices about play and to experience learning from different viewpoints. For example, they record information about their understanding of travel when they role-play in doors and they 'write' labels for the vegetables that they are growing in the garden. They learn to use safely a range of equipment such as scissors and gardening tools. Children learn about cause and effect as they use a number of items such as interactive play centres, as they pedal bikes to gain speed and when they use water to moisten the soil so that they can dig it.

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and outcomes for children

Through first hand experiences children are achieving and enjoying through play.

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and outcomes for children

Children demonstrate that they are developing different aspects of communication. They are curious to understand what is happening around them. For example, they engage with the local community police officer as they want to know how the radio works. They take turns to talk and to listen, so that everyone can hear what is happening. Children show that they are developing good understanding of the wider world and technology. For example, they develop the conversation about the officer's hat to include different hats that are used for different jobs, such as, builders and fire fighters. Children are making the connection about protective clothing and safety. They demonstrate that they are developing useful skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning about different aspects of a healthy lifestyle, for example, they get lots of physical exercise each day, babies are able to crawl, roll, and shuffle according to their stage of development and they experience activities outdoors each day. Older children use a range of resources to develop large and fine movements and balance. Children have opportunities to develop their self-care skills, such as learning to wear hats out in the sun, to drink water at regular intervals and to wipe their noses independently. However, hygiene routines in respect of hand washing are not consistent to fully consolidate children's learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children move around the safe nursery environment freely, they interact easily and confidently with staff and demonstrate that they feel safe in the nursery. Many photographs of children and displays of their work help to foster a sense of

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and outcomes for children

belonging for all children in the nursery. This positive reinforcement helps children to understand that they are important and help them to understand that their contributions are valuable. A visual timetable, books with different scripts as well as English and practical resources that positively reflect a multi-cultural society help all of the children to understand about similarities and differences as well as to value others regardless of their background. 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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