Smileys Creche

Smileys Creche Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 218487 Inspection date 22/08/2011 Inspector Parm Sansoyer

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Setting address Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust, Staffordshire General Hospital, Weston Road, STAFFORD, ST16 3SA Telephone number 01785 220720 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.

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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

Smileys Creche opened in 1990. It operates in a single-storey building in the grounds of Staffordshire General Hospital in the town of Stafford. The creche provides a service for employees of the hospital and for children from the local and surrounding areas. All children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered to care for a maximum of 66 children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than 24 maybe under two years. There are currently 138 children on roll in the early years age group. The setting also offers a before and after school club and holiday play scheme for children aged from five to eleven years. Currently there are 126 children on roll, of whom 98 are under eight years and 10 are in the early years age group. The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting 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

The setting is open each weekday throughout the year and sessions are from 6.45am to 6pm. There are 24 staff employed, of whom 19 hold a qualification at level 3 in early years, four hold a qualification at level 2 in early years and one is unqualified. The setting receives support from the local authority and is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association.

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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 settle well due to the warm and caring staff approach and the positive relationships fostered with their parents and carers. All children are happy, content and comfortable within a safe and secure environment, and their individual care needs are well met. The activities, resources and teaching systems, which are mostly effective, help children make good progress in learning and development. Children are fully safeguarded because all of the staff team have good knowledge of child protection issues. Relationships with parents, carers and other settings and professionals are strong. Systems to evaluate and monitor the setting's effectiveness in its provision for the children's welfare, learning and development are good.

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further?

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

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further?

 broaden the range of experiences on offer for children under three years to explore, investigate and be creative with resources, such as, sand, water, paint and dough.  provide increased opportunities for children with English as an additional This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 language to develop and use their home language in their play and learning to help value language diversity, and strengthen systems for parents of these children to contribute to their children's developmental assessments with what they know about their children's language development.

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the early years provision

There are clearly written policies, strategies and procedures in place to ensure the safeguarding and welfare of children. A designated member of staff has clear management responsibility in relation to child protection and all staff are aware of this. All staff know and understand clearly their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children. There are effective procedures in place to ensure adults caring for children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so, and are qualified and experienced. All records, policies and procedures required for the safe and efficient management of the service and to meet the needs of all children are in place and regularly reviewed. Children are kept safe because staff supervise them well at all times, and effective written risk assessments of the environment indoors, outdoors and for any outings undertaken with the children help identify and eliminate risk.

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the early years provision

A good range of planned, purposeful play and exploration especially for children over three years plays a key role in supporting and extending children learning and development. Outdoors is especially popular with the children as they freely choose, explore and discover with curiosity. Regular observations and assessments of what the children do and like are used effectively to support and extend their learning. All adults are deployed very well to support children's learning and their care needs. An effective key worker system means adults know the children well and help them feel fully included and valued. There are a number of children attending with English as an additional language and they are supported well to help them initially settle and to learn English. However, staff do not provide opportunities for these children to develop and use their home language in their play and learning to help value language diversity. Also, opportunities for these

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the early years provision

children's parents to contribute to their children's developmental assessment with what they know about their children's language are not well developed enough. There are effective systems in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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the early years provision

The setting is committed to working in partnership with parents and carers and has established effective partnerships between staff, parents and their children. The positive relationship with parents and carers means they are kept well informed about the provision and their children's care and achievements. Parents and carers are clearly happy with the flexible service provided and the support their children receive. Partnerships with the local feeder school, other schools, nurseries and agencies are effectively established to help support transition, continuity of care and those children with additional needs.

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the early years provision

The management team have a clear understanding about the service they provide for children and their families and have a clear vision and overview of how to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 further improve the setting. The well-established staff team are happy and work well together, collaboratively testing new ideas and questioning practice to help extend practice. Staff are motivated and supported to further raise their skills and qualifications. Self-evaluation is accurate, realistic and challenging, and supports the setting's good capacity to maintain continuous improvement.

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and outcomes for children

Children's personal, social and emotional development is supported very well. All children are happy and confident due to the well-organised routine of the day and the close relationships they develop with both adults and each other. Babies form close attachments with their assigned key person and familiar staff, and show a real sense of belonging, feel safe and have a sense of trust. All children confidently explore and investigate their surroundings and resources. Children are well behaved and show good levels of concentration and involvement in their play and interactions.

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and outcomes for children

Children's communication, language and literacy are supported well. Children build good foundations for early literacy through having good opportunities to make marks, both indoors and outdoors. For example, outdoors, children freely use water with brushes on the ground, use chalk boards and the wipe clean boards, which are mounted on the wall and enjoyed by the children. Children develop a keen interest in books because they are made easily accessible, both indoors and outdoors. For example, many children independently sit on the logs and in the wooden structured tepee to enjoy a book. Babies enjoy being physically close, make eye contact and use their voice and touch to communicate with adults, who support this well.

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and outcomes for children

Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is supported well to help them make sense of the world. Children benefit from meaningful experiences as they get involved in growing sunflowers, carrots, lettuce, pumpkins, potatoes and cress, and learn how to care for them. Children have first-hand opportunities to observe and predict, such as when they followed the life cycle of a butterfly. Children have good opportunities to use their senses and explore natural items, such as, bark, fir cones, stones and soil, which are made easily accessible outdoors in large rubber tyres. Children begin to learn about their own and others' cultures and customs through themed activities, such as craft activities and food tasting. Younger children have good opportunities to explore and find out how things work as they use a varied range of programmable toys and resources with knobs, flaps, keys and shutters.

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and outcomes for children

Many children enjoy a wide range of experiences to express their creativity and imagination through experiencing a variety of arts and crafts materials and engaging in role play. For example, older children easily adopt roles and make good use of the pretend classroom to help them prepare for the transition to school. However, children aged under three years have fewer opportunities to explore, investigate and be creative at their own leisure with resources, such as, paint, sand, water and dough. Children's problem solving, reasoning and numeracy This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 are building well. They seek patterns, count, sort and match through using a range of construction toys, puzzles and games.

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and outcomes for children

Children attending the before and after school and holiday play scheme benefit from a broad range of creative experiences, such as glass painting, picture frame making and cooking activities. They enjoy well-planned visits to places of interest and leisure activities, and also benefit from visitors to the club who deliver a range of workshops which capture the children interests.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop a good understanding of dangers and how to stay safe as they move around safely, both indoors and outdoors, and respond well to gentle reminders from the staff. Themed activities and visits to the setting from a fire fighter and the local community officer help reinforce the importance of keeping safe. The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles is good. Staff and children follow effective hygiene practices to prevent the spread of infection. Children benefit from the access to the outdoor environment and challenge, test and extend their physical skills. Children benefit from well-balanced, nutritious meals and snacks. Children become active and inquisitive learners, which contributes well to helping them develop good skills for the future. 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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