The Carlton Day Nursery

Carlton Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY264343 Inspection date 13/02/2012 Inspector Melanie Arnold

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Setting address The Carlton Centre, Outer Circle Road, LINCOLN, LN2 4WA

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Telephone number 01522 787070 Email 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 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 Carlton Day Nursery is one of a number of nurseries belonging to For Under Fives Ltd. It opened at the beginning of 2004 and operates from purpose-built premises that are situated in a new, mixed residential and retail complex in Lincoln city. It is an accessible, single storey building and has a secure outdoor play area. Children are cared for in separate rooms according to age.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 64 children under eight years may attend the nursery at any one time and the nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery opens weekdays from 7.30am to 6pm all year round, with the exception of public holidays. There are currently 108 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for three- and four-year-olds and supports children who have English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 24 childcare staff. Of these, five members of staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 4, 14 members of staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and five members of staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2.

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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 fully supported, valued and respected in line with their individual needs, backgrounds and beliefs. Systems to support children's development and the organisation of the environment and resources are mainly effective, which enables every child to make good progress towards the early learning goals. The implementation of the clear policies and procedures, safeguards children and protects their welfare. Partnership working in the wider context provides continuity of care and learning for all children. Improvements made since the last inspection have further enhanced children's care and learning experiences in most areas and a robust system of self-evaluation is used to promote continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further a stimulating outdoor environment for babies that offers a range of activities which will fully encourage their interest and curiosity  develop further the ongoing observational assessment throughout the nursery to inform planning for each child's continuing development through play-based activities  ensure the setting fully values linguistic diversity and promotes opportunities for all children to develop and use their home language in their play and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 learning.

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the early years provision

Children are happy and settled in the well-resourced and organised indoor environment. Space and resources are effectively stored to provide all children with free access to a good range of developmentally appropriate toys and resources. The outdoor play space is interesting and motivating for older children and although babies are now provided with daily opportunities to access outdoor play, the actual outdoor environment is not always as motivating or challenging for these younger children. The setting are aware of this and they are currently working on creating an accessible, interesting outdoor environment to further enhance all children's learning and development. Children are safeguarded through the setting's robust recruitment, vetting and induction procedures, which ensure the suitability of the staff team working directly with the children. The staff team are experienced and qualified, working well together for the benefit of children's

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the early years provision

care and learning. Records and documents are accurately maintained, with staff implementing the clear policies and procedures to protect children's health and safety. For example, risk assessment systems are in place and used by staff to identify and minimise potential hazards and staff's good knowledge of child protection further safeguards children from potential harm.

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the early years provision

The nursery promotes equality of opportunity, ensuring the inclusion of all children regardless of their backgrounds and beliefs. Staff work closely with parents, carers, other providers and professionals to promote an integrated approach to children's care and learning. The use of an 'all about me' form enables comprehensive information to be obtained form parents and carers about their children's individual needs and abilities. This results in staff providing individualised care and learning; building on each child's specific starting points. Parents receive clear information about their children's care and progress through written daily diaries, monthly newsletters, notice board displays and accessible observation and assessment files. Regular parents' evenings enable children's progress to be discussed in more detail with parents and carers and through regular activity afternoons, parents are given

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the early years provision

an insight into the play opportunities provided for their children as they are encouraged to take part in a range of activities. Staff work well with other providers and professionals to ensure children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are fully supported and included. Effective systems are also in place to ensure children with English as an additional language are integrated into the nursery. However, staff have yet to fully provide opportunities for children to use their home language in their play, to ensure children's linguistic diversity is more effectively promoted. The nursery monitors and evaluates their practice and procedures through a clear process of self-evaluation. The system incorporates the views of all users, leading to continuous improvements being made. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children show confidence in their surroundings as they relate well to the staff team. They have fun as they engage in play and access their own range of developmentally appropriate toys and resources as they are cared for in different rooms according to their age and abilities. Children's health and safety is protected through clear practice and procedures. For example, the nursery is securely maintained and the well-deployed staff team ensure children are constantly supervised. Effective health and hygiene routines minimise the risk of cross- infection and children's health is further promoted through the provision of healthy meals and snacks which meet their dietary requirements. Children are beginning to learn how to maintain their own health through the daily routine, regular events and planned activities. For example, children develop good hand washing practices as part of the routine and planned activities help children to learn about the

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and outcomes for children

benefits of being active. During activities children show their good awareness of safety issues as they discuss that the member of staff must be careful when using the scissors. Children's good behaviour is promoted through staff offering lots of praise and encouragement to develop their self-esteem. Strategies are in place to manage any unwanted behaviour, which includes working with individual parents and carers to promote consistency between home and the nursery. Children's awareness of differences and diversity is effectively promoted through their play, discussions and planned activities.

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and outcomes for children

Children make good progress in their learning and development from their unique starting points. Mainly effective planning, observations and assessment systems are in place, providing children with a wide range of hands-on learning experiences. However, although children's next steps for learning are identified they have yet to be fully linked to planning by all staff to ensure every child is sufficiently challenged. Babies are warmly cared for by attentive staff. They are provided with real life resources which they enjoy investigating and exploring. For example, they have lots of fun as they play with apples, oranges and peppers. Babies touch, feel and smell them, before transferring them to a pan as they pretend to cook them. Babies also enjoy mark-making opportunities, sitting on and around a large sheet of paper on the floor using crayons to colour with. Two-year- old children use their imagination as they make aeroplanes out of bricks and they

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and outcomes for children

also like to post their toys through a letter box in a play door. When one child tries to post a train through, they quickly decide it is too big and therefore will not fit. Children within the pre-school room develop their creativity when they use paints and a range of vegetables to make prints with. They identify that the swede is the biggest vegetable and the carrot is the smallest as they dip them into the paint and then make prints and patterns on their paper. Children's awareness of number is promoted during singing activities, with children holding up both hands and advising the member of staff this makes ten. They then sing a descending monkey number song, with staff encouraging children to count their fingers to identify how many monkeys are left. Children access and use a range of programmable and electronic toys and resources, including a computer, showing skill as they complete a range of programmes.

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and outcomes for children

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 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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