Circle of Friends Day Nursery

Circle of Friends Day Nursery Lady Lane, Longford, Coventry, West Midlands, CV6 6AZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/03/2013 10/03/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The management team, especially the deputy, are very involved in providing hands-on care to the children. They support their staff and work very well together as a team. Staff are encouraged to develop their skills and feel very supported by management.  Children form trusting relationships with staff and other children. This helps them to settle well. They demonstrate high levels of confidence and relate well to visitors.  Good quality relationships are developed with parents. They are involved in all stages of their child's care, learning and development. They play an active part in the nursery by helping out on day trips. Therefore, they feel fully included.  Staff are very familiar with individual children's interests, and children are regularly encouraged to make decisions for themselves. Therefore, they are given the confidence to lead their own learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is room to extend children's understanding of hygiene and self-care during planned activities.  There is scope to improve opportunities for children to develop their skills in becoming independent at snack time.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the setting's self-evaluation document and a selection of policies, procedures and children's records.  The inspector observed activities in all rooms and the outdoor learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the management team, staff and children throughout the inspection.  The inspector conducted joint observations with the deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Information about the setting

Circle of Friends Day Nursery opened in 2005 and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from converted premises in the Longford area of Coventry. Children aged under three years have the use of the ground floor and children aged over three have the use of the first floor. Office and kitchen facilities are provided on the first floor.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open from 7.30am to 6pm all year round, excluding bank holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 74 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 11 members of staff to work with the children, all of whom have appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. It receives support from the local authority.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 extend opportunities for younger children to develop a greater understanding of hygiene and self-care through planned activities

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 extend opportunities for children to develop their skills in independence by encouraging them to set the table, prepare their own snacks and pour their own drinks at snack time.

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who attend

Children participate in a broad range of activities that enable them to make good progress in their learning and development. Staff have a good understanding of how young children learn and provide them with appropriate experiences. Staff are familiar with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and the progress check at age two. They are aware of the written information they need to provide for parents to inform the Healthy Child Programme. Staff have a secure understanding of the seven areas of learning. They plan experiences for the children which support all areas and they regularly encourage children to lead their own learning. For example, children create a game of looking for hidden treasure with magnifying glasses. Staff effectively ensure children benefit from activities that take into account their individual interests. For example, they lie on the grass and roll down small hills and participate in a game of football. Therefore,

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who attend

they are learning to move their bodies in a variety of ways. Each child has a key person who is responsible for monitoring their progress. Their key person makes observations of the children's learning and assesses their stage of development. This information is then effectively used to plan for their next stages in their learning journey. As a result, children are making good progress in their learning and development.

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who attend

Secure arrangements are in place to encourage parents to share information about their child when they first attend. Also, on an ongoing basis and through a variety of methods, they are encouraged to share their observations of their children's learning at home. This may be verbally on arrival or collection or by making written notes in their children's daily diaries. Staff provide parents with information about their children's current stage of development and how they can support them to develop further at home. As a result, they are kept fully informed.

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who attend

Babies through to pre-school children regularly make choices for themselves about what they would like to do. They choose between sand and water play, looking at books with a member of staff and looking at themselves in a mirror. Children have opportunities to participate in small and large groups through sitting with their key group at snack time and singing in a large group. Therefore, children are building relationships with children of a similar age. These developing skills help to prepare children in readiness for school.

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who attend

Children who speak English as an additional language have good opportunities to use their home language in their play and learning. For example, staff encourage children to pretend to be a teacher and teach them some words in French. Also, words in children's home language are displayed in the entrance way and in the children's playrooms. Therefore, children and their families are valued and included.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff warmly welcome and meet children and their parents on arrival at the nursery. They initiate conversations with them, showing a genuine interest in the family's home life. Secure settling-in procedures ensure children easily separate from their parents. For example, staff encourage parents to stay with their children until they feel their child is ready to be left in the care of the nursery. In the initial stages, staff obtain information from parents about children's individual needs. This information is then reviewed on a regular basis to ensure all details are up to date. Children who are new or less settled are comforted by their key person, which supports their emotional well-being. Consequently, children settle well and are happy in the nursery environment. Transitional arrangements are secure as children are supported as they move to other settings and as they move through the nursery. For example, their key person accompanies them on visits to their

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

new room to support them as they get to know the staff who work in the rooms. Therefore, children are successfully supported when they move on to the next stage in their lives.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children's behaviour is good. This is achieved because staff explain to them how to behave and routines help the children to know what is expected of them. For example, when all the children want to play with the magnifying glasses, staff encourage them to swap resources and share the most popular toys. Their good behaviour is also supported because they are always engaged in a stimulating variety of activities, both inside and outdoors.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Overall, children learn good personal hygiene through consistent routines and positive role modelling by staff. For example, older children understand that they need to wash their hands immediately after using the toilet. In discussion, older children confidently articulate why they need to wash their hands and how this prevents them from becoming ill. Younger children are provided with activities that are aimed at helping them extend their communication and language and understanding of hygiene and self-care. For example, staff prepare a tray with water, bubbles, baby wipes and dolls. As children play, staff talk to them about how to wash their hands and introduce them to new words. Staff model good hand washing by dipping their hands in the water and rubbing them together. They encourage children to use the baby wipes to wash the dolls. However, staff do not fully extend children's learning as they do not talk to them about all aspects of hand washing.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

For example, they do not talk to them about when they wash their hands, or that washing their hands regularly helps prevent the spread of germs. Therefore, at times, children's learning is not fully maximised.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children are developing skills in their personal, social and emotional development. At lunch time, children's independence is fully encouraged as they are involved in setting the table, pouring their own drinks and serving their own food. However, this practice is not extended to snack time. Therefore, children's skills in becoming independent are not always maximised. Children have access to a good variety of nutritional snacks. For example, they choose from a selection of fresh fruit each day. They are encouraged to drink milk or water at snack time. This helps to keep children nourished and hydrated. Outdoor play is regularly featured in the planning of activities. Children are physically active and thoroughly enjoy riding on bikes, rolling around on the grass and kicking footballs. Therefore, children's understanding of the importance of exercise is promoted.

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provision

There is good capacity for improvement as the management team are committed to ensuring the nursery provides high quality childcare. They accurately identify the strengths within the nursery. For example, they identify that have a consistent staff team who are all qualified and many continue to gain additional higher qualifications. This positively impacts on the quality of the service. They are also aware of where they need to improve, for example, by expanding on activities that get the children involved with the local community. The management team have taken into account the views of the staff and parents, and they act on recommendations made by their local early years advisers, for example, by re-organising the layout of the pre-school room. They also use tools, such as the early years rating scale, to improve and enhance staff practice. The secure monitoring of the educational programmes ensures the staff team are confident in delivering a broad

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provision

range of experiences that help children make good progress. The management team support the staff in their roles and the deputy often provides hands-on care to the children. She covers staff breaks and absences, and supervises staff's practice. They work very well together as a team. Staff are encouraged to develop their skills and feel very supported by management.

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provision

Management and staff fully understand safeguarding requirements. They attend training and all staff know who has the role of designated person within the nursery for child protection concerns. Information on the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures is easily accessible and the written safeguarding policy contains all of the required information. This policy and a range of other policies and information for parents are easily accessible. A record of all staff's Disclosure and Barring Service check is maintained. Designated staff have responsibility for checking the environment on a daily basis prior to the arrival of the children to make sure all areas they use are safe. In addition, children's safety is assured throughout the day as staff follow the nursery's procedures. For example, they make sure that hot drinks are made inaccessible to children. Children are effectively supervised at all times and ratios of staff to children are consistently met.

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provision

Therefore, children are fully safeguarded.

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provision

Inclusion is effectively addressed as secure arrangements have been established to work alongside other professionals. Consequently, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language are fully included in the life of the setting. Staff monitor children's involvement in activities and support them appropriately to participate.

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provision

On a daily basis, staff share information with parents about their child's overall care and the activities they have been involved in. Parents of babies are provided with a written daily diary detailing what they have eaten and how long they have slept. This ensures a consistent approach towards their care. Regular communication and organised parents evenings give them the opportunity to find out about their children's progress. Therefore, they can help their children to learn at home. Overall, parents speak positively about the provision. They share that they their 'children thoroughly enjoy themselves' and 'since attending nursery their children's speech and language has improved'. Parents also share they feel a part of the nursery as they are invited to help out on trips, for example, to a museum.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY295271 Local authority Coventry Inspection number 905500

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 0 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 74 Name of provider Circle of Friends Date of previous inspection 10/03/2010 Telephone number 02476 367 001

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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