Charlestown Private Day Nursery Ltd

Charlestown Day Nursery Turner Lane, ASHTON UNDER LYNE, Tameside, OL6 8LW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/05/2013 14/02/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 1 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Staff have knowledge of how to maintain children's emotional security and they work with other professionals in order to support children's progress and welfare.  Children make progress in learning because staff provide activities and resources which support their development. Observations of children's learning are used to assess their progress and staff share this regularly with parents to keep them informed.  The nursery has comprehensive resources for outdoor play and this enables children to take part in staff led activities and freely chosen play that develops their enjoyment of exercise and physical challenge.

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It is not yet good because

 The quality of individual assessment, planning and observation for all areas of learning is not consistent, so some opportunities to extend children's next steps in learning are not fully used, including exchanging detailed information about children's progress with other settings they attend to inform planning.  Monitoring and evaluation of practice is not rigorous enough to ensure that staff have completed statutory records for accidents and to ensure all staff have a comprehensive understanding of their roles and responsibilities.  The system for staff performance management does not effectively enable staff to reflect in depth on their individual practice, in order to better promote children's welfare and learning.

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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 reviewed a range of information available about the nursery to prepare for the inspection, including information on the internet.

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Inspection activities

 A tour of the premises was made, and the inspector had an initial meeting with the manager and owner to establish a timetable for the day, which included time to discuss their management of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out observations on childcare staff and their interactions with children throughout the day and examined samples of documentation related to children's welfare and learning.

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Inspection activities

 A joint observation of a member of staff leading a small group activity was carried out by the inspector and the nursery manager.

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Inspection activities

 Staff were interviewed to ascertain their knowledge of areas, such as safeguarding and individual children's learning.  The inspector also spoke to children to gain information about their learning.

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Inspection activities

 Parents were encouraged to share their views about their children's care and learning in the nursery.

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Information about the setting

Charlestown Day Nursery opened in 1989. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is situated in purpose-built premises in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside and is privately owned. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There are large, fully enclosed areas available for outdoor play. Twelve rooms are used for childcare.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 42 members of staff. Of these, one member of staff has Early Years Professional Status and two have Early Years Foundation degrees. 34 staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and the nursery also employs a secretary and five domestic staff. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round except for bank holidays. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 259 children on roll, of whom 129 are in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. There is also provision for children over the age of five years as the nursery provides wraparound care before and after school and in school holidays. It supports a very small number of children who speak English as an additional language and a small number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery receives

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Information about the setting

support from the local authority and is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association.

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must:

 ensure that a written record is kept of all accidents or injuries and first aid treatment and that the completion of the record is rigorously monitored

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must:

 develop more robust monitoring of staff knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities in implementing the revised Early Years Foundation Stage

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must:

 develop rigorous monitoring to ensure that children's individual next steps for all areas of learning are consistently and precisely incorporated into the activities and experiences planned throughout the nursery.

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

 develop the use of frequent self-reflection by staff to enable consistently strong practice across the nursery.

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who attend

Staff have recently introduced an updated record for tracking children's progress, as part of their work to implement the learning and development requirements of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage. They make observations on children's interests and learning. However, there are inconsistencies across key groups in the quality of their detail and also the effectiveness of how they are used to plan for children's future learning. Some key persons do not use their observations to make detailed individual plans that cover all areas of learning for children as part of the short term planning. Also, short term plans displayed in rooms do not always reflect the individual planning in children's files. This leads to inconsistency in the planning, observation and assessment process to identify the next steps in children's learning. Staff provide activities that enable children to learn and progress, such as exploratory play with materials like sand or feathers. However, in

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who attend

some of the rooms for pre-school children and those aged two, the precision with which tracking of progress is recorded does not always carry through to precise planning for all children. The implementation of effective short term planning which reflects the needs of individual children is most evident for babies. Overall, staff prepare children adequately for their next steps in education, and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make steady progress. Children in the pre-school room who show exceptional progress in learning for their age are well supported by their key person to enhance this. Although, children's progress in some rooms is due to staff responding to children's spontaneous play, along with the comprehensive range of resources, rather than consistently precise planning and observation.

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who attend

Babies enjoy action songs and rhymes with staff and join in enthusiastically with the actions when they can. This helps to develop their physical coordination and also the use of rhymes and rhythm contributes to speech development. Staff notice when babies begin to place handfuls of pebbles in large toy trucks outdoors. They develop their play by showing them how to fill containers and pour them into the truck, modelling problem solving and developing children's hand-eye co-ordination. Babies show fascination with wind chimes and staff lift them up so that they can experience them first hand, by tapping them to make a sound. Staff talk to them about the similar experiences they have had at home, helping them to make links between events and places. This shows comprehensive knowledge by some staff of children's learning experiences away from the nursery, and also contributes to developing children's communication skills. Two-year-olds play with

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who attend

sand and water, pouring and filling containers, developing their hand-eye coordination, as well as learning how to share resources as part of their social development. Staff support children to mould and shape play dough using a variety of tools and offer them different ones, to help them learn by trying new ideas. Children listen to staff read, learning that text carries meaning and staff also ask children questions about the noises that the animals in the pictures make, to find out what they know and address any gaps. They develop children's communication skills in doing so and also extend their knowledge of the natural world. Children make pictures of different shapes, which develops their learning about early mathematics and enables them to learn actively.

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who attend

Pre-school children have opportunities for creative play with collaging materials and by colouring and drawing. This helps to develop their pencil control in preparation for learning to write, as well as enabling them to experience a variety of textures to achieve different effects in their artwork. They listen to traditional stories and express opinions when staff ask if the main character is behaving thoughtfully towards others. This helps to develop their awareness of the effect of actions on other people and also reinforces the concept of text carrying meaning. Staff lead small group sessions on letters and sounds to develop pre-school children's ability to match rhyming words, and to reinforce their knowledge of the alphabet, in order to prepare them for future learning in full time school.

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who attend

The nursery has implemented the progress check at age two, in order to provide an assessment for parents and any professionals involved with children, such as health visitors. However, some staff in the two-year-olds' rooms demonstrate inconsistent knowledge of when this should be completed, indicating a lack of familiarity with the assessment requirements of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework. This means that staff's knowledge and understanding of this area of practice is not well monitored through the supervision and appraisal process to ensure children are effectively assessed.

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who attend

Parents can engage with their children's learning through access to their learning files and also through an area of the nursery website. This is password protected, so that they can view photographs and artwork by their children. Information is displayed about the Early Years Foundation Stage in all rooms and the entry area so that parents can gain knowledge and understanding of this. Meetings between key persons and parents are available at the termly parents' afternoons and the twice yearly parents' evenings, as well as during informal chats at the daily handover times.

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

The nursery operates a key person system in order to support children's emotional welfare and provide a contact point for parents. This enables parents and key persons to exchange some information about children's progress and welfare, in order to support future learning. Rooms have photographic displays to show parents and children who is in which key group, to support information to parents and support children's awareness of others in their room. Key persons can talk to children about some significant people or events in their lives, because of contact with parents. However, some key persons do not demonstrate a depth of knowledge of all children in their groups, such as about additional languages that they may learn at home. This means that not all information is available to support individual learning and staff do not have a secure understanding of their roles and responsibilities in implementing the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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

Children's learning is supported due to them having emotional security when in the nursery. Children demonstrate this confidence by exploring the space and resources thoroughly and interacting with staff, such as by replying to questions or making eye contact and vocalising. The nursery has effective security measures to prevent unauthorised entry to the premises, on both internal and external doors. Checks are carried out daily on the outdoors areas before children are allowed to use them, to protect them from hazards. All areas of the nursery are clean and well maintained, including the kitchen, the toilets and the nappy-changing areas, to help support children's good health and prevent accidents. Toys are checked regularly for signs of wear and removed when considered unsafe.

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

Children's behaviour is, generally, good and most use resources appropriately, showing regard for their own safety and the safety and feelings of others. Children have independent access to a range of resources that covers all areas of learning and the outdoor areas are particularly well resourced. Children are well protected by a range of parental permissions and policies regarding matters, such as infectious illness and sun protection.

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

The nursery provides an outdoor environment which gives children extensive opportunities to take reasonable risks in their play, with careful supervision, in order to develop physical coordination. This includes a very large climbing frame with a platform, an articulated bridge and slide, along with rocking toys mounted on springs fixed into the ground, to help children develop whole body control. Children can run, climb and pedal in the outdoor area to further develop this and also can explore using tunnels and slopes in their play. Babies play in the outdoor area, which has an emphasis on sensory play in order to develop their experience of enjoying exercise outside. The nursery also provides comprehensive opportunities for physical play indoors with a large soft play room. This is used for both planned and spontaneous sessions. Overall, the nursery's provision for physical and outdoor play is strong and children's needs in this respect are well met due to

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

the range of resources available. Staff are observed to make effective use of the outdoor area, such as when they lead an activity for children on bikes and tricycles to help them learn to pedal. This also reinforce children's knowledge of 'fast' and 'slow' being opposite in meaning.

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

Staff ensure that children develop knowledge of hygiene routines to help prevent spread of germs by supervising hand washing before meals and snacks and after they have used the toilet. Snacks and meals are healthy, with plenty of fruit and vegetables, and children have water or milk to drink. Some opportunities are used at meal times in the pre-school rooms to help children take on small responsibilities, such as having two children help to serve bread to other children at the tables. Children in the pre-school room are encouraged to serve themselves water when they are thirsty, to promote awareness of their own needs and, therefore, develop their self-help skills.

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

The nursery requests information from any previous settings attended by children in order to inform their initial planning and also seeks information from parents to supplement this. Suitable information to support children's good health and well-being is kept from when children join the nursery in order to meet their needs, such as any dietary requirements and any allergies. Parents receive a detailed pack of information about the nursery's policies and procedures prior to children joining and sign to show that they have read these as part of the induction procedure. The nursery liaises with parents and other professionals to ensure that children with ongoing special educational needs and/or disabilities have care plans to support their well-being. Appropriate contact information is held for all children, staff and students in the case of emergencies, such as the need for hospital treatment.

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

Transitions between rooms are suitably managed by an initial meeting between parents and staff, followed by a period of visits which gradually increase times in the new room. This helps to support children's and parents' emotional well-being at a time of change. The nursery passes information about children's progress and welfare to next settings when they leave, including full-time school, to support continuity. It also welcomes staff from children's next schools to come and observe children in an environment in which they are confident and settled. This means that these staff can gather information for future planning prior to children moving on to school.

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provision

The inspection was brought forward following an accident to a child. At the inspection the manager explained that a child had bumped his head but there was no consequence to this. The child was comforted by a member of staff and the parent informed. However, the accident record was not completed to show this and accident records are not always completed to show all accidents. This is a breach in requirements that puts children at risk of harm. This demonstrates an inconsistency of awareness by some staff of their responsibilities to complete required records and a lack of robust monitoring by the management team to ensure this. Suitable staff ratios are maintained across the building to meet statutory requirements and rooms have internal telephones to enable staff to draw on further help if needed. Risk assessments and safety checks are detailed and regularly reviewed to enable children to play safely and freely, on the premises. Staff

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provision

receive externally delivered training in safeguarding and demonstrate a suitable understanding of how to follow procedures to manage any concerns they may have about a child's welfare. Staff and volunteers are checked and vetted for suitability to work with children. All childcare staff have valid qualifications in paediatric first aid in order to manage any emergencies..

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provision

A range of policies and procedures are used to support care and learning for all children in the nursery, including an appropriate policy for the use of mobile phones and cameras on the premises. The nursery has a written policy for managing and recording complaints from parents, along with outcomes, and maintains a complaints record.

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provision

There are suitable procedures in place to recruit staff to ensure that appropriately qualified people are employed. There are also procedures to manage staff performance, although, these are not rigorous enough to ensure that all staff have a secure knowledge of their responsibilities with regard to implementing the revised Early Years Foundation Stage. Induction procedures are in place to support new staff, students and volunteers in order to protect children's welfare. Staff identify areas where more training is needed through regular discussion in staff meetings and the appraisal process. Quality of teaching by staff is managed by observations and questionnaires as part of the yearly appraisal process. However, the depth in which staff are expected to reflect on their practice is not strong in the appraisal questionnaire. This means that a culture of regular self-reflection about how to improve individual practice and knowledge is not well embedded as part of the drive

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provision

Observations, assessments and planning for children's learning are monitored, but this has inconsistencies. The monitoring process is not rigorous enough to ensure that observations are produced for each child regularly for each area of learning, limiting the effectiveness of the planning process. Effective partnerships are formed with other professionals involved with children and members of staff with particular responsibilities for special educational needs and safeguarding demonstrate a sound knowledge of their roles with regard to multi-agency working. The nursery has established some links with the very small number of other early years settings that also provide care and education for children to exchange information about children's well-being. Although, this has not been extended to support continuity of planning, which means that this source of information is not available to better inform staff about all areas of children's learning.

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provision

The nursery has established partnerships with parents, who praise it for the care, activities and resources provided for children, as well as the warmth and friendliness of the staff. Parents contribute to the evaluation process both through verbal and written means in order to share their views. Staff have regular opportunities to share information for the evaluation process at whole staff meetings and also as part of their appraisal. The nursery maintains links with early years support from the local authority, as a source of advice and support in its evaluation of practice. The information gathered through evaluation enables the owner and managers to identify some areas where improvements can be made. Although, the overall process is not consistent enough to ensure that a full evaluation is made of all areas of the provision, including all statutory records required to be kept. The nursery owner and managers demonstrate an awareness of the need for continuous

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provision

improvement in practice regarding children's care and education; however, the monitoring of documentation, planning and observations needed to achieve a very high standard of provision has not been maintained since the previous inspection.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that a written record is kept of all accidents which occur on the premises where childcare is provided (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that a written record is kept of all accidents which occur on the premises where childcare is provided (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 312298 Local authority Tameside Inspection number 913394

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 140 Number of children on roll 259 Name of provider Charlestown Private Day Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 14/02/2012 Telephone number 0161 343 2528

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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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