Darfield Family Centre NurseryOfsted inspection, 10 Apr 2013

Darfield Children's Centre Darfield All Saints Childrens Centre, School Street, Darfield, BARNSLEY, South Yorkshire, S73 9EU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/04/2013 24/08/2011

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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

 Children enjoy consistency in their learning because strong partnerships with parents mean that they are supported very well in helping their children to make progress in their learning at home.  Children are kept safe at all times because safeguarding procedures are implemented very well by vigilant staff.  Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make rapid progress from their starting points because the nursery is proactive in initiating successful early intervention.  Thorough evaluation of practice means strengths and areas of weakness are quickly identified and acted upon. This means there is a continual drive to improve the provision for children and families.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children are not, always, presented with sufficient challenge because the delivery of planned, adult-led activities and use of open-ended questions to help them extend their rapidly developing ideas is, on occasions, inconsistent.  There is scope to improve the very good working relationships with parents by ensuring they always know who to go to if they have a complaint. At present the lines of accountability between the children's centre and nursery management teams are not made clear to them.

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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 compulsory part 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 observed activities in the play room and the outside learning environment.  The inspector held meetings with the management team.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children and discussed improvement plans.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Darfield Children's Centre nursery was registered in 2006. It is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a purpose built premises, in the Darfield area of Barnsley, and is managed by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from one large room and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 20 members of child care staff. Of these, 14 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level three or above, including one who has Qualified Teacher Status.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 50 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 84 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 enhance the skills and knowledge of practitioners, to ensure the delivery of adult- led activities and open-ended questioning is consistent across all age ranges, thus, providing all children with sufficient levels of challenge

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

 enhance communications with parents, to ensure they know who to go to if they have a complaint, by making it clear to them who is responsible and accountable for the management of the nursery.

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who attend

The majority of practitioners in the nursery have a thorough understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Through regular parent evenings and meetings with the key person, the nursery obtains information from parents about children's starting points when they first enter the setting, and their interests. Practitioners in the nursery are knowledgeable about the needs of the community they serve and, as a result, educational programmes for the youngest children are structured to focus on communication and language and personal, social and emotional development. Developing communication skills is a fundamental part of children's learning and this is supported well through regular conversations and discussions, during group activities and meal times. Practitioners are also skilled in using props to enhance children's language development. For example, they use picture cards to support understanding of routines, such as traffic signals to indicate

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who attend

when snack is ready. 'Makaton' is used during small group sessions to support children who are not yet competent in their language skills, and also children who have English as an additional language. The nursery works closely with a range of professionals, including speech and language therapists, to support children who have special educational needs and or disabilities, and those who are not meeting the expected milestones for their age, this ensures that they make swift progress from their starting points.

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who attend

Differentiation in planning takes into account each child's individual interests and their next steps. Through partnership with the local authority early years coordinator, the nursery provides a wide range of interesting and stimulating activities, both indoors and outdoors, that support children's progress across all areas of learning. This ensures children are provided with activities that reflect their preferences for learning and are designed to help them make best progress across all areas of learning. For example, babies enjoy close interactions with practitioners as they explore a range of sensory experiences in the outdoor area. Although detailed planning is in place, the implementation of planned, adult-led activities by practitioners is not always consistent. For example, materials provided to engage children in a role playing activity in the outdoor area, are not used fully effectively. This means, that in some instances, staff do not

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who attend

always challenge children's thinking and extend their ideas.

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who attend

Children demonstrate independence in their explorations of the activities and resources provided, for example, they enjoy playing in the home corner and using different media to practise early writing skills. Children from different cultural backgrounds attend the nursery. They are developing a good understanding of equality and diversity through a wide variety of resources, such as small world resources and stories. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are fully included in the everyday life of the nursery. Through simple, age-appropriate explanations, children learn to consider the needs of others and by doing so are learning to tolerate each other's differences.

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who attend

Through observations, practitioners record individual children's achievements and the activities they enjoy. Feedback about children's progress is shared with parents on a daily basis and through regular meetings with their key person. Activities are shared with parents to enable them to promote their children's learning at home and they comment they are 'very much helped' by the information provided to them. Children who are moving on to school are given homework activities to develop their early literacy and mathematical skills The required progress check for children aged two is currently being completed.

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

Children in the nursery appear to be happy and settled. They attend settling-in sessions with their parents, to help smooth transition times and provide some continuity in their care. Those who have been in the nursery for longer periods of time are confident and self-assured. Parents comment that the nursery is a 'happy place for kids to be' and 'is like a second home'. Children talk freely about their experiences, their favourite activities and the friends they have made while in the nursery. Team working is a strong area of the nursery provision. A 'buddy' system is in place to ensure all children receive high levels of support when their key person is not in the setting. Essential information from parents and carers is shared through a 'communication book', so that all practitioners have a thorough understanding of the needs of each child. This means all practitioners are kept well informed and can contribute to a service that meets the individual needs of all the children

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

Children develop robust peer relationships based on mutual respect because practitioners are very good role models, saying 'Please' and 'Thank you', when they ask children to help them, and prompting them to do the same. Children are learning to negotiate, share and take turns. They show consideration for each other's needs and demonstrate behaviour which is kind and helpful, such as giving out cutlery and helping younger children to clear their plates away after lunch.

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

Free-flow access from the playroom into a well-equipped outdoor area means children can access the outdoor environment whenever they wish in all weathers. They enjoy developing physical skills using a range of equipment, while learning how their bodies benefit from healthy exercise. The nursery uses the community room in the children's centre to engage children in activities that also promote their physical development; for example, busy feet sessions. Children have access to drinking water, milk and healthy snacks. They make choices about the food they eat and this encourages their understanding about leading a healthy lifestyle. The nursery cook shares her 'recipe of the month' with parents and this helps them to promote healthy eating at home.

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

The cafe setting at mealtimes is used very well to promote social interactions between adults and children. Practitioners develop children's knowledge through discussions, such as why they drink milk and water rather than diluted cordials. They extend their thinking and help them make connections in their learning, for example, how does water get from the reservoir to the taps? They are well behaved because explanations appropriate to their stage of development support their growing understanding of right and wrong. Challenging behaviour is effectively managed and partnerships with parents ensure behaviour management strategies are supported at home. Children learn personal hygiene through practical routines and this helps them to be independent in their self-care when they move onto school.

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provision

Children's safety is given high priority across all areas of the provision. All practitioners in the nursery have attended child protection training and they demonstrate a good understanding of child protection issues. The management team support parent's knowledge of the nursery's practice, by providing them with copies of the policies and procedures so they are clear about the service they provide. Signs around the nursery, for example, showing that mobile phones are prohibited, reinforce nursery policy. Entrance to the nursery is through the children's centre reception where records are kept of all visitors. Daily checks ensure the environment is safe and suitable for children. Risk assessments are completed and reviewed regularly and procedures are followed to safeguard children when in the nursery. Procedures for recording and reporting accidents and incidents are implemented in accordance with the nursery's policies. All members of

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provision

staff hold a current first aid certificate, which means they can give appropriate treatment if there is an accident to a child in the nursery's care.

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provision

In some instances, communications with parents are not effective enough to ensure they know the correct procedures to follow, for example, if they wish to make a complaint. The lines of accountability between the children's centre and the nursery, and the responsibilities of the management team, are not clear. As a result, parents do not fully understand which members of the management team they should contact if they wish to make a complaint about the nursery provision.

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provision

Practitioners, mostly, have a thorough understanding of the learning and development requirements. With support from the local authority early years development coordinator, the senior management team monitors how these are implemented. Through regular appraisals, weekly team meetings and peer observations, practitioner's performance is monitored. They are encouraged to evaluate their own practice, identify strengths and weaknesses, and contribute to personal development plans. They attend training to ensure their knowledge is current and they have the skills to support children's learning. Visits to other early years providers enable the nursery to share good practice.

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provision

Through local authority monitoring using the 'Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale', and meetings with the staff team, the management team are evaluating their practice and are aware of their strengths. Action is taken through a comprehensive quality improvement programme to address any areas of weakness. The nursery has strong, established relationships with a wide range of professionals and their views are taken into account when assessing provision. The nursery seeks the views of parents through daily discussions, evaluations and parent evenings. They respond positively to any suggestions, enabling parents to be involved in the ongoing evaluation of their provision. For example, with support from the children's centre, the nursery have introduced the 'Voice of influence', to encourage parents to share their views. Children share their views and ideas during discussions, such as those conducted at meal times. This ensures the opinions of

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provision

all stakeholders are accounted for when identifying areas for development.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY409396 Local authority Barnsley Inspection number 910023

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 84 Name of provider Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Date of previous inspection 24/08/2011 Telephone number 01226753366

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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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