Darfield Family Centre NurseryOfsted inspection, 24 Aug 2011

Darfield Children's Centre Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY409396 Inspection date 24/08/2011 Inspector Angela Howard

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Setting address Darfield All Saints Childrens Centre, School Street, Darfield, BARNSLEY, South Yorkshire, S73 9EU Telephone number 01226753366 Email teresadrew@barnsley.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

Darfield Children's Centre was registered initially in 2006 and re-registered as part of the Barnsley Central Children's Centre Programme in 2010. It operates from a purpose-built unit within the vicinity of All Saints Church of England Primary School, Darfield, serving families who live in the surrounding area. The Children's Centre has one main playroom, which includes two separate areas for the younger children, with adjoining sleep room, kitchen and toilet facilities. There is a fully enclosed area for outdoor play. The Children's Centre is open every weekday, between 8am and 6pm for 50 weeks of the year. It is registered to care for a maximum of 52 children in the early years age range. There are currently 86 children on roll, of whom 19 access nursery education funding. The Children's Centre is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. Children are cared for by a team of 24 staff, all of whom have

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Description of the setting

relevant early years qualifications or are working towards them, and supported by ancillary workers.

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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 thoroughly enjoy their time at the setting and eagerly engage in activities that fully reflect their uniqueness. Parents and carers are delighted with the provision made for their children. The management of the setting are forward thinking and are rigorous in their approach to self-evaluation of the setting.

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further?

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

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further?

 build further upon the links established with other settings providing for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure that the education provided compliments the education received at other settings  plan more rigorously for outdoor play for older children and babies.

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the early years provision

All staff are able to safeguard children from harm or abuse as they complete child protection training and are fully aware of the setting's policies and procedures and their duty of care towards all children. Comprehensive policies and procedures are implemented consistently and robustly to ensure any concerns are dealt with effectively. Thorough recruitment and vetting procedures ensure the well-being of the children and there is a strong and successful induction for all new staff. The rigorous monitoring of visitors to the setting further ensure risks to children are minimised. Staff are very proactive in keeping children safe. All areas children access are thoroughly checked before and after each session, allowing children to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 discover and learn safely. The environment is very conducive to learning and is well maintained. Children can safely reach all toys which are stored at their height,

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the early years provision

so children are confident in their decision-making. They enjoy accessing a safe, stimulating environment and arrive at the setting eager to play with their friends. The environment reflects users of the provision and a range of people in the wider world through positive images of diversity reflected in toys and displays. This helps promote children's developing awareness and understanding of people's differences and similarities. Children with specific needs are able to fully participate because of the specialist knowledge and skills that staff have to enable them to meet their individual needs. They are successfully nurtured, respected and discrimination is never accepted. Therefore, the outcomes for children and their experiences are very positive.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents are good as staff are highly committed to working closely with them to ensure children make good progress in their learning. Recently introduced parents evenings provide opportunities to talk together about children's progress and well-being. The feedback from parents is very positive. They say that they strongly agree that the children are well cared for and are happy. Comments recorded conclude that staff are professional and that it is a supporting environment where staff put children's interest first. Parents feel at ease leaving their child and say that all staff are kind and give the best care and early education. The setting's ethos is to work very closely with all agencies, providing support for parents, children and families. The staff have been very proactive in establishing links with other providers. However, the system in place to ensure a two-way flow of information for children in shared care is not yet

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the early years provision

sufficiently well developed to show a clear and positive impact on children's progress and continuity of care and education. The management team have a clear action plan for embedding ambition. Moral is very high and belief in the setting's success runs through all levels of staff. They make good use of a self- evaluation, which leads to planning for the future being focused and robust, tackling key areas of weakness and building on strengths.

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and outcomes for children

Children have good opportunities to learn and benefit from being cared for in a warm, caring, welcoming and stimulating environment. Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and implement it successfully to promote children's learning and development. They value children as unique individuals and use this information well to assess starting points, plan activities and record progress for each child. Activities are well planned and children make good progress across all areas of learning. Children show great curiosity, want to explore new things and are inquisitive. The pleasure shown by the children is wonderful to observe at the 'busy feet' exercise session. They watch and listen attentively to staff and join in all the actions from a very young age, skilfully learning new words and movements, such as, turning around in a circle, moving fingers like raindrops and playing an air guitar. The heuristic play

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and outcomes for children

throughout the setting, with a selection of both natural and man-made household items encourages children to discover and investigate. Outdoors, children show This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 great enjoyment when they pour the water out of the bowl and attempt to chase the water trail down the path. They use language well to describe it running fast and in a wiggly line. They work with sustained concentration for more than 15 minutes with no intervention to ensure the water continues to move along the ground. Children use the hosepipe tubes to blow and make bubbles, but soon remember that, if they suck, the water will come up the tube and they will be able to pour it on the floor and it will run down the path again. This results in children being engaged in purposeful play which helps to develop strong skills for future learning. There is a strong focus on developing children's communication and

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and outcomes for children

language skills. The babies and toddlers successfully communicate in a range of ways through repeating words and using gestures. There are lots of free-flow conversations and young children repeat words and make the sounds of animals they can see in books. Group time is used well to encourage children to listen to others and at song time they join in with gusto. Older children constantly chatter about what they are doing and answer questions with confidence. They share with others their ideas to extend play and describe that they are making 'cakes' with the play dough. Children recall to staff about mummy going to the shop to buy bananas, like the one at snack time and that it was yellow too. There is great emphasis on building children's self-esteem and a good disposition and attitude towards learning. All children develop a strong sense of worth through the good interaction, care and attention they receive from the staff. For example, children

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and outcomes for children

respond eagerly to constant praise and encouragement and enjoy the warm, caring reassurance from the staff. They feel good about themselves, show respect for each other and are beginning to manage their own behaviour successfully.

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and outcomes for children

Children's understanding of developing a healthy lifestyle is promoted well. They are cared for in clean, well-maintained premises and they effectively follow good personal hygiene practice to prevent the risk of infection. They all wash their hands independently and enjoy a wide variety of healthy snacks and meals. Children love the freedom to go outside where they have space to run around and ride toys. They can be seen totally absorbed in watching the bubbles in the bowl appear, concentrating very hard as they work out that the harder they blow, the more bubbles they make. Overall, the range of physical activities is generally good. However, the planning for babies' experiences outdoors is limited and older, more able children are able to complete activities with ease. Therefore, this area lacks challenge. Babies feel safe in their warm and trusting relationships with staff because their individual routines are followed. They are happy and very confident

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and outcomes for children

to explore their environment. Children's understanding of danger is good. Very young children explore riding on a wheeled toy down the ramp of the slide. They skilfully and confidently ride it, putting their feet down to stop themselves crashing or falling off. Sensitive reminders about rules help children to begin to take responsibility for keeping themselves safe. They enjoy a good balance between the freedom to explore and the staff setting safe limits, which gives them confidence to explore and learn in a safe and secure, yet challenging, environment. 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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