Victoria House Day Nursery

Victoria House Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY428432 Inspection date 14/02/2012 Inspector Susan May

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Setting address Victoria Road, MARLOW, Buckinghamshire, SL7 1DL

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Telephone number 01628 488548 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

Victoria House Day Nursery is part of a chain of nurseries run by Child Base Limited. It operates from a renovated building to provide purpose built nursery accommodation, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Children have access to enclosed gardens for outdoor play. The nursery offers childcare facilities to children in the local community and surrounding areas. The nursery offers support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 48 children may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 21 children on roll, of whom children aged three years are in receipt of free early education. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm for 52 weeks of the year with the exception of bank holidays. The nursery offers the facility for

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Description of the setting

extended hours from 7.30am to 6.30pm on request. Children may attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery employs five staff, four of whom hold relevant childcare qualifications.

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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 play in an attractive and friendly environment where they clearly feel safe and secure. Highly stimulating play resources support children's progress effectively. Children make good progress in their learning as staff plan for individual children with most development records demonstrating their progress effectively. The nursery offers an inclusive environment as all children and families are valued and respected. Staff have good relationships with parents and carers with most information accessible and shared daily. To enhance and maintain the good quality care and learning, the nursery identifies areas for development and takes action to address them. Therefore, the nursery demonstrates a good capacity to sustain ongoing improvements.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the two-way flow of information with parents through providing consistent information about children's daily routines and encouraging them to access their child's developmental records  improve systems of assessment for tracking children's progress towards the early learning goals. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Staff create a bright, attractive, well thought-out and extremely well resourced environment. This provides children with good opportunities, both indoors and outdoors, to consolidate their learning successfully. Toys and resources are in excellent condition, promote all areas of learning and are easily accessible to children both indoors and outside. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding children, as well as the policies and procedures. The nursery has robust recruitment procedures in place. All staff have had appropriate checks, visitor procedures are stringently followed, and any person not suitably vetted is never left unsupervised with the children. Clear induction procedures, appraisals and ongoing training ensure that staff knowledge is relevant and up-to-date. Staff successfully deploy themselves to be on hand to support children, and are sensitive to each child's needs. Inclusion is threaded throughout practice as all

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the early years provision

children and families are valued and respected and the uniqueness of each child is recognised. All required policies and procedures are in place, reviewed regularly and shared with parents. Records of children's details are thorough, contain all relevant information and are securely stored with confidentiality observed at all times. To help keep children safe, risk assessments are in place for the premises. Staff carry out checks on the nursery and complete ongoing visual checks throughout the day. Comprehensive risk assessments for outings help to ensure that all possible hazards when off the premises are identified and risks minimised.

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the early years provision

Standards of care in the nursery are consistently maintained and significantly support children's welfare, learning and development. The staff, under clear leadership and support from management, drive improvements forward and continually review their practices. Input and feedback from staff, parents and assessments, and advice from outside agencies such as the local authority is positively encouraged and implemented as appropriate. In-house, external and local authority training is ongoing. Parents express confidence in staff and highly praise the care and learning experiences the children receive. They feel well informed of nursery practice. They have access to a notice board and receive information about the setting from a variety of sources, such as e-mails, newsletters and daily verbal exchanges. However, while there are clear and accessible channels for two ways communication, the quality of the information

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the early years provision

given to parents of children's daily events is not always consistent leading to some gaps in the shared knowledge of the children's day. Nor is it made clear to parents from the onset that they may access their children's development records at any time. Management and staff are proactive in establishing links with other providers. They build links with other provisions and schools in order to provide consistency of care and education for children as they move through the education system. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The planning for children is flexible as the children's key persons know them well and respond skilfully to their interests and individual needs. Regular observations and assessments of the children are used to successfully highlight each child's next steps during planning. Each child has a learning journal that includes comments from parents about events at home. However, on occasion information provided by parents about children's development is not fully recorded. Staff do not track all children's achievements consistently in order to monitor their progress towards the early learning goals over time.

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and outcomes for children

Children have a lovely relationship with staff and each other, inviting adults into their games. Children are lively, but behave well, learning to share and take turns as they play alongside each other companionably. Children's independence is promoted as they select resources and address their personal hygiene needs independently. To further promote independence, build self-esteem and feel a sense of belonging within the setting; children have their own named coat pegs and place mats, help set the table for snack and meal times and serve themselves. Children and staff chat with each other as they eat the healthy meals offered helping provide a sound basis for future eating habits. Children show an exceptional understanding of good hygiene as they inform staff that hands need to be washed to prevent germs that might make them cough. There are excellent opportunities for children of all ages to engage in a wide range of physical

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and outcomes for children

activities, both indoors and out. For example, babies climb and crawl through tunnels indoors and play with a variety of age appropriate equipment on the decking outdoors.

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and outcomes for children

A vast range of resources is available to promote positive images of culture, gender and disability, and staff demonstrate a good understanding of inclusion. For example, all children are encouraged to participate in activities, festivals and events important to the children and their families. Children find out about the natural world as they grow plants in the garden, searching out mini beasts using magnifying glasses and bug finders. Children begin to find out about the local community as they go on outings around the local area, and find out about sustainability as they discuss recycling. Book areas throughout the setting are warm, inviting places where a wide selection of books is enjoyed by children by themselves or at planned story times. Children join in with stories with obvious pleasure beginning to recognise that stories have a beginning, middle and end. Staff are pro-active in helping develop children's language skills. They constantly

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and outcomes for children

ask open ended questions, have simple phonics sessions and repeat words and sentences back to babies and young children to help them recognise that words have meaning. There are ample opportunities for mark making, as children use the 'smart' interactive white board, use their fingers to make marks in the 'gloop' outdoors and have accessible writing materials on hand at all times. Opportunities for children to develop their mathematical understanding through their early experiences is well promoted. They have opportunities to help them recognise number, explore shapes, size and volume and extend their vocabulary through the use of mathematical terms in everyday play. Examples of children's work This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 throughout the provision demonstrate the good opportunities children have to use a range of media with which to explore their imagination and creativity. Children's

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and outcomes for children

work is clearly valued and displayed attractively. Opportunities to explore music are evident as children access unusual musical instruments from around the world or select more conventional musical instruments with which to make sounds. Children develop their control and co-ordination daily as they use tools such as cutlery, build with both small and large construction equipment and complete puzzles. Staff are knowledgeable about the Early Learning Goals and steps towards them, demonstrating that they have a clear understanding that children learn through play and providing a positive environment that help children thrive. 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 1 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 1 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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