Poplars Day Care Nursery

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the so urce and date of publication are stated. Poplars Day Care Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY337327 Inspection date 07/11/2008 Inspector Nikki Whinton

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Setting address Stratton Road, Wanborough, SWINDON, SN4 0AA

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Telephone number 01793 790 774 Email enquiries@poplars-nursery.co.uk Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic 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. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Poplar Day Care Nursery registered under new management in 2006. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is privately owned and operates from a former hotel building near the village of Lower Wanborough, Swindon, Wiltshire. Children are accommodated in a variety of rooms, according to their ages. There is wheelchair access and ground floor facilities for those with disabilities. Children use a secure outdoor area, with varying surfaces. The nursery opens each weekday all year round, from 07.30 to 18.30, with the exception of bank holidays and major public holidays. A holiday club and after school provision are also available. Children are drawn from a wide geographical area including, the village itself and others in the surrounding rural area, as well as from Swindon.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 157 children under the age of eight years may attend at any one time. Currently, there are 158 children in the early years age group on roll. Of these, 44 receive funding for early education. The provision also cares for older children. The nursery supports children with learning difficulties and /or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 32 members of staff. Of these, 27 staff have appropriate early years qualifications and 10 are undertaking an initial or further qualification.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Poplars Day Care Nursery offers an inclusive provision, where the well-qualified staff respect the children as individuals and ensure all are able to participate fully in activities. Most required policies and procedures are in place, but some aspects of the provision are not always hygienically clean. The staff have a limited knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and are not using assessments effectively. The nursery undertakes ongoing self-evaluation of its provision and has the capacity to improve. All issues raised at the last inspection having been completed and the group liaises regularly with Swindon's early years advisors to prioritise identified weaknesses and to support future improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 take positive steps to ensure that the premises are kept clean and suitable for the children to use throughout the day  develop staff's knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage  develop the assessment programme in order that the observations undertaken by the staff and other key providers are used to plan a balance of purposeful indoor and outdoor activities across the curriculum in order to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 promote individual children's progress towards the early learning goals  ensure babies have regular opportunities for fresh air and to explore their local environment.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 maintain a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (Documentation) 08/11/2008

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provision

The manager and the staffing team are well-qualified, capable early years practitioners, who have all been cleared as suitable to work with children. Personal details sheets are in place for all children that are immediately available to support their welfare, such as in an emergency. However, the daily register of children's attendance in the senior pre-school room is not always accurate or keep up to date. This is a breach of regulations and means there is no true record available of when a child who is based in the senior room is actually in the provision's care. Required policies are maintained, although the complaints and child protection policies need amending and those available to parents in some base rooms are out of date. The staff have a positive relationship with the parents, who are kept informed about their child's day and the setting routines through the group's 'open door' policy, daily sheets for the younger children, newsletters and notice boards.

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provision

Parents are invited to review and discuss their child's progress at twice-yearly parents evenings, although they are not currently asked to contribute to assessments. The management team are reflective practitioners, who use ongoing self-evaluation, information provided from parental questionnaires and support visits from Swindon's early years advisors, to highlight the group's strengths and weaknesses. They are starting to put measures in place, such as by making alterations to the layout of the building and targeting staff training, to support the improvement in the quality of the welfare, learning and development offered to the children.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Poplars Day Care Nursery offers an inclusive provision, where staff are sensitive to children's differing requirements and treat each child as a valued individual. Children attending with additional needs receive good individualised support in order to promote their development and learning. All children are encouraged to be active independent learners, thereby helping to promote their self-confidence whilst in the setting. Older children are able to help themselves to resources stored on low-level units, whilst toys for non-mobile children are placed within their reach to enable them to make choices regarding the resources they wish to explore. Children in the pre-school room become absorbed styling the hair of a member of staff whilst engaged in self initiated role-play. Younger children enjoy exploring the texture of paint whilst string painting, gain pleasure from investigating resources This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

hidden in a wicker treasure basket and demonstrate an ability to concentrate when manipulating beaded curtains in the setting's sensory room.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The children behave well and are developing their self-care skills through practical daily routines such as putting on their coats for outside play or by pouring their own drinks at snack time. Children have a positive relationship with the staff and are consistently well-occupied. They enjoy listening to stories, learn to sing 'head, shoulder, knees and toes' in Punjabi, explore programmable toys and investigate the texture of warm rice pudding. They are gaining good social skills and benefit from the staff's positive role modelling. Children are able to share resources, such as when riding bicycles outside and to take turns, for example, when waiting to wash their hands prior to eating their snack.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The room leaders plan and provide a balance of adult led and child initiated activities, which are linked to the children's interests. Staff undertake written observations of the children whilst engaged in activities. However, some members of the staffing team do not have a secure understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum or how to extend activities in order to ensure children are sufficiently challenged. There are limited opportunities for children throughout the nursery to take part in regularly planned purposeful outdoor play. The staff are not effectively using information obtained from their own or parental observations and linking with other key providers, in order to assess the differing stages in children's development and to plan for the next steps in their individual learning. As a result, children's learning is not maximised.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children's well-being is safeguarded by a manager and staffing team that has a secure knowledge of child protection issues and the correct procedures to follow if concerned about a child. There is a range of measures to promote children's safety and to help avoid accidents. The premises are kept secure, door guards stop children trapping their fingers and gates prevent children leaving their base rooms unsupervised. However, risk assessments have not been completed for specified outings, fire drills are not recorded and staff do not consistently undertake effective risk assessments of the rooms prior to them being used by children.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children are learning about healthy eating through the varied menu of freshly cooked meals and snacks that they enjoy whilst in the provision. Allergies, religious or dietary needs are discussed with parents as part of the registration process. These discussions are recorded and made available for immediate reference by the cook and base room staff. Children are able to help themselves to drinking water throughout the day, which helps to ensure they are consuming fluids in sufficient quantities to meet their varying needs. Children are learning good hygiene practices, such as the importance of hand washing or of wiping their noses to prevent the spread of germs. However, some parts of the building used by the children are not always hygienically clean, which may impact on their health. In addition, babies have very limited opportunities to enjoy fresh air and the outdoor environment throughout the year.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

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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of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

How well does the provision promote inclusive practice? 3 The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement.

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Foundation Stage led and managed?

How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement? How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others? How well are children safeguarded? 3

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 3 How well are children helped to be healthy? 3 How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? 3 How well are children helped to make a positive contribution? How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being?

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

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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