Carousel Day Nursery

Carousel Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 310405 Inspection date 29/03/2012 Inspector Jane Wyncoll

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Setting address Oxford Road, Waterloo, Liverpool, Merseyside, L22 8QE

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Telephone number 0151 928 6661 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

Carousel Day Nursery was registered in 1994 and is run by a private partnership. It operates from a converted school building in the Waterloo district of Liverpool. The nursery serves the local area and has strong links with a nearby school. The nursery is accessible to all children and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery opens from 7am until 6pm Monday to Friday, for 51 weeks of the year. A maximum of 62 children in the early years age range may attend the nursery, of whom not more than 12 may be under two at any one time. There are currently 58 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage, children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery provides funded early education for children aged two, three and four years. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 10 members of child care staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications, nine of which are at level 3 or above. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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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 confident and eagerly explore stimulating environments, both indoors and outdoors. An enthusiastic staff team plan a, generally, broad variety of interesting activities which enable children to make good progress in their learning and development. Clear policies and procedures ensure children's safety and security consistently. Overall, positive and caring relationships are formed with families through a developing range of communication methods, this means children's well-being and development is reliably supported. Partnerships with schools and local authority personnel provide effective support for children's additional needs and transitions. Robust systems of self-evaluation identify relevant priorities in order to improve outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 provide further opportunities in children's free play to help them understand that people have different views, cultures and beliefs, that need to be treated with respect This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  develop the range of ways for communicating with families to ensure all parents have opportunities to share knowledge about their children's routines, preferences and interests to further support their learning and development.

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the early years provision

Safeguarding policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and effectively shared with all staff and parents. Appropriate recruitment procedures and checks are carried out, which ensure all staff are suitable and well qualified to work with children. Children are effectively protected from hazards because systems for undertaking risk assessments, recording and monitoring accidents and administering medicines are robust and followed consistently. Clear entry procedures and emergency evacuation routines ensure that children are kept safe and secure.

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the early years provision

The nursery has a strong commitment to developing practice and striving for improvement. Mangers embrace support from their local authority to implement development plans. They have begun to extend the ways they work with parents and are providing training to increase staff knowledge of planning for children's literacy. A varied range of resources are used imaginatively. These provide creative environments which motivate and engage children and provide good opportunities for learning. For example, the hairdresser's role play and the outdoor bug garden are very popular. The nursery strives to provide equal opportunities for all children. When children come from bilingual homes, staff liaise with parents to help children communicate in both languages at the nursery. However, in their free play children do not access sufficient resources which reflect the diverse nature of the world to help them understand differences and similarities between themselves and others.

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the early years provision

Most parents complete an 'All about me' sheet to share information about their children's routines, needs and interests. This means staff can, generally, provide for their children's preferences. For example, they make sure babies have the special comforters they need to help them sleep. 'Wow moments' sheets are provided and some parents use these to share their children's interests and achievements from home. Parents are encouraged to share their skills, such as, baking or reading stories, through a 'Stay and Play' scheme. They are invited to coffee mornings and parent evenings to find out about their children's learning and progress. However, not all parents currently access these opportunities so they may not be as informed as possible about their children's progress. There is a good 'shared care' system with the nearby school for children who attend both settings. When children's additional needs are identified, support and advice is sought from

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the early years provision

the local authority. This helps staff provide effective learning opportunities, so all children make appropriate progress. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children confidently and freely explore both indoors and outdoors. Adults join in with children's play which enables them to support learning throughout the day. Staff have a good knowledge of children's learning and development through their regular observations. They use these to identify and provide for the next steps in children's learning. Babies and toddler's patterns of play are noted so that relevant resources can be provided. Therefore, all children make good progress. Recent training has enabled staff to support literacy effectively. Children learn good listening skills as they try to hear sounds outside or identify the initial letters in their names at registration times. They learn about reading through taking books home to share with their parents. Babies quickly begin to talk as they name animals and sing favourite songs. Children learn to recognise numbers as they create '10 green bottles' or take turns to count during their game of hide and seek.

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and outcomes for children

Children have a very good knowledge of the natural world. They eagerly talk about how they are waiting for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly. Outside children choose to dig in the bug area. They look under logs where they find snails and woodlice and explain that the snails have shells on their backs.

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and outcomes for children

Opportunities to plant seeds and grow their own vegetable are helping children to understand about healthy eating. They have plenty of opportunities to acquire good physical coordination because they are outside regularly, riding bikes, digging or playing with balls. Babies are able to throw and roll balls and have their own outdoor area where they practise crawling and pulling themselves up. Children help themselves to water or hats when it is hot outside. They take part in a dental health programme which helps them to learn about brushing teeth and supports families in registering with a dentist. This promotes healthy lifestyles very well. They know how to keep themselves safe and help staff to move the crates back so that they can safely jump onto the soft surface. Children use the spades carefully as they dig near their friends.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn to behave well in the nursery. Every day they talk about their 'promises' to have kind hands and feet and respond to the praise they receive when they remember to do this. They show good independence skills. For example, they confidently pour water from the jugs for their drink at snack time. At mealtimes they talk to their friends at attractive tables set out with tablecloths and paper flowers. This helps develop good social skills. Children gain some understanding of different cultures as they take part in activities to celebrate Chinese New Year and a parent shows how to write Chinese characters. They are also developing good technological skills when they complete educational programs. Visits to the nearby school, when they go to see the recently hatched chicks, help children to become familiar with teachers and the premises. This means that they are developing good skills which will help support them in their

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and outcomes for children

transitions and their future learning. 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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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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