The Romsey School

Little Sunflowers Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 137239 Inspection date 09/01/2012 Inspector Claire Parnell

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Setting address Shirley Crescent, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 4AZ

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Telephone number 020 8663 1835 Email little.sunflowers@virgin.net Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic 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. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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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 Sunflowers Day Nursery opened in 2000 and operates from purpose built premises in Cobalt Close to the rear of Marian Vian school in Beckenham. It is a private nursery run independently of the school. The nursery building consists of a preschool and baby room, disabled toilet, children's toilets, kitchen facilities, office and staff room area. There is access to secure outdoor play space. The nursery generally serves the local urban area of Beckenham and West Wickham but children attend from a wider catchment area. It is open from Monday to Friday from 8am until 6pm for 52 weeks of the year.

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Description of the setting

There are 43 children currently on roll and the nursery receives funding for free education for children. Children may attend for morning or afternoon sessions within the full day. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery receives support from the Early Years and Childcare Partnership. There are a total of eight qualified staff including the manager. Two members of staff are qualified to Foundation Degree level. The remainder of the staff team are qualified to level two and above. The Nursery employs its own cook.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The staff generally promote and meet the unique needs of each child to satisfactorily support their welfare and progress in learning, though some aspects of the routine are not conducive to children's enjoyment. Two regulatory requirements are not met as risk assessments are not being maintained and recorded appropriately, and parents do not have access to Ofsted contact information if they wish to make a complaint. Overall, staff use assessment appropriately to promote the children's ongoing development as a group and children are making sound progress towards the early learning goals. However, the planning and observation systems do not fully promote individual children's learning intentions or the full use of the outside area on a regular basis. The partnerships with parents and other services are positive which helps to promote continuity of care for children. The setting has identified its strengths and areas for

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

improvement and is developing an action plan to promote better outcomes for children. This demonstrates a sound capacity for improvement.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  provide parents with details for contacting Ofsted and an explanation that parents can make a complaint to Ofsted should they wish 10/01/2012

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further?

 maintain a record identifying aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis and by whom and when they have been checked. 10/01/2012

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the planning systems to identify individual children's learning intentions and to further promote children's experiences in the outside area on a more frequent basis  re-organise the lunch time period to promote a more enjoyable and effective learning experience for children  develop the observation and assessment system to provide a consistent approach for all children's achievements.

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the early years provision

The children are soundly safeguarded through the staff's practices and knowledge of safeguarding issues. Safety checks are carried out every day but risk assessments are not maintained or recorded to show who they were carried out by and when. This includes both the indoor and outdoor environments, and is a breach of regulations. Staff have a clear understanding of child protection information and have access to up to date procedures to follow if a concern arises. Most staff have received recent safeguarding training. Emergency evacuation procedures are carried out regularly to promote children's knowledge of how to keep themselves safe in an emergency. Appropriate recruitment and vetting helps to ensure that adults working with children are suitable to do so. Most policies and procedures are up to date and accessible to parents and staff alike, although the complaints procedure does not contain Ofsted's contact information if a parent

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the early years provision

should wish to make a complaint, which is a breach of regulations.

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the early years provision

Children have access to a wide range of resources that are stored in low level boxes and on accessible shelves. Children can access additional resources throughout the day to help them make decisions about what they want to play with. Staff are deployed well and are resourceful in interacting with groups and individual children well during play sessions. Staff use information from training as a positive resource, implementing changes to their practices. An appropriate amount of resources and equipment promote equality and diversity. Children celebrate some festivals throughout the year which supports their positive understanding of society's differences. Staff are made aware of children's languages spoken at home and these are soundly supported though the use of key words supplied by parents and some dual language books within the book corner. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The use of self-evaluation is beginning to address areas identified by the setting for improvement as well as pin-pointing their strengths. Staff are open to suggestions and show appropriate commitment to implementing changes to benefit the outcomes for children. The recommendations from the last inspection have been successfully met and implemented

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the early years provision

Partnership with other setting and services are in place. The setting has close links to the local primary school and encourages close relationships between pre-school staff and the reception teacher, to ease the transition for children to full-time education. The proprietor has made links with local nutritionists to support parents understanding of healthy eating for children.

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the early years provision

Parents have access to information about the setting and its commitment to the welfare, learning and development of their children. Parents enter the rooms when bringing and collecting their children and have daily opportunities to talk to staff in each room. Parents receive regular newsletters informing them of changes, new practices or events coming up. Parents are invited to attend an annual parents evening to discuss their children's progress with their key person and to inform staff about children's progress at home and how their children learn best. Future targets and next steps are discussed and agreed as a partnership.

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and outcomes for children

Children are greeted by staff warmly as they arrive and settle. Children's learning is supported well most of the time. Staff in both rooms engage children in interesting activities and conversations, using effective questioning to support children's inquisitive thinking. Children communicate clearly and with confidence, especially in the pre-school room, making their wishes and needs known to staff and visitors. Babies' speech is encouraged through repetition, gestures and eye contact. The routine play sessions throughout the day are suitably organised with sufficient engagement and interaction to support all children's learning. However, the organisation of the lunch period results in children of all ages sitting for long periods of time, resulting in individual children constantly being told to sit down and to wait for others. Staff do engage children initially in conversation and show interest in children's comments but this wanes slightly towards the end of the

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and outcomes for children

lunch period. Children are then expected to sit for a further session, listening to stories, whilst younger children are settled down for a rest. This means that children become bored, fidgety and disengaged.

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and outcomes for children

Children freely explore the space around them, intrigued by new equipment or visitors, confidently asking questions and inviting them into their play. Babies crawl and pull themselves up on low level furniture aiding their attempts to independently stand and walk. The children show positive social interaction towards others, helping each other by giving instructions or by showing them what to do. Children are quick to explain and demonstrate how things work. For This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 example, children press the buttons on the mobile phones and make imaginative calls, using hand gestures and voices that they have heard at home and at the setting. Children use materials accessible to them to create and explore textures. They practice new physical skills such as snipping at old Christmas cards with straight and zigzag scissors, gluing the pieces onto paper, making patterns and

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and outcomes for children

designs. They use pencils well in early writing, to design and create birthday cards for their relatives at home. The structured pre-school sessions encourage children to explain their learning in a more formal manner, particularly looking at children's understanding of sounds, letters, numbers and amounts. Babies are introduced to numbers as labels at an early age, helping young ones to count the balls held in their hand and to count the steps they make when first walking. These activities help to support children's skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Observational assessment goes some way towards demonstrating children's progress. The planning consists of group activities lead by key people but does not link to individual children's targets or learning intentions. The outside area is only used occasionally and children's experiences using the outside environment are not promoted fully through the planning or daily routine for babies and pre-school children. Some children's developmental profiles are concise, clearly monitored and used to inform planning, making confident links to the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, some children's profiles lack regular information and indeed some children do not have any observations made towards their achievements or future development. Therefore the setting does not use a consistent approach towards all children's assessment observations.

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and outcomes for children

Children's well-being and good health is mostly encouraged throughout the day. Older children access the bathrooms independently and younger children receive help and encouragement in toileting skills. Children are reminded about hygiene procedures such as hand washing and are given wipes to clean themselves appropriately after eating. However, some younger children have limited access to fresh air as outdoor play is not planned for or promoted as well as indoor play. Children have access to drinks at all times. Babies are given recognisable beakers with appropriate spouts and teats. Babies receive plentiful cuddles at feeding time which reassures and makes them feel cared for. Children eat a variety of foods mostly promoting children's understanding of making healthy choices. Children are encouraged to serve themselves at lunch time, making choices as to how much or little they want to eat. The staff and the kitchen communicate well towards

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and outcomes for children

meeting children's preferences and dietary requirements at all meal times.

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and outcomes for children

Children behave well most of the time. Staff give plentiful praise and encouragement, especially when achieving something for the first time. For example, a baby walks to staff for the first time and receives cuddles, claps and smiles. Children take turns and respect each others space. They are confident to confide in others and learn to co-operate and play together in social situations. Children demonstrate a clear understanding of keeping themselves safe. For example, two pre-school children explain in depth the dangers of using scissors and how to use them safely. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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