Four Brooks Day Nursery - Tommies Childcare

Tommies Children's Centre Parkville Highway, Coventry, West Midlands, CV6 4HZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 05/07/2013 11/08/2009

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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

 Staff ensure that children participate in purposeful play and exploration, and children are consistently challenged to reach the next stage in their development.  Children's personal, social and emotional development is given a high priority by staff. Consequently, children are happy, confident learners.  Staff ensure that parents are actively involved in their children's learning and development. They work effectively with external agencies or services to ensure that children are supported well.  Steps taken to safeguard children are robust. Staff successfully identify and minimise risks within the premises and they are fully aware of their responsibilities to protect children from abuse and neglect.  Children's communication and language development is promoted well by staff. When talking with children, staff encourage them to think and they give children plenty of time to respond.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Communication between staff and other early years providers is not maximised in order to ensure full coherence of care and learning for children.  Children's learning with regard to health and self-care is not maximised by staff. This is because on a hot and sunny day they do not talk with children about all possible effects of the weather on their bodies.

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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 observed activities in playrooms and the outdoor learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the provider and area manager of the provision and spoke to staff and children.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the area manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of children's assessment records and planning, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting, the provider's self- evaluation and a range of other documentation.  The inspector took account of the views of parents.

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Information about the setting

Tommies Children's Centre opened in 2006. It is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The setting is privately owned and managed and is part of a chain of settings run by the same provider in Coventry and Warwickshire. It operates for early years children from the ground floor of a converted and extended scout hall in Coventry. Provision for school aged children is accessed via stairs on the first floor. There is an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 104 children on roll. Of these, 88 are in the early years age group and four of the early years children attend before and after school. The setting provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. Operational hours are all year round, Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 5.45pm. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions.

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Information about the setting

The provision employs 16 childcare staff. The manager holds an early years qualification at level 5, 11 staff members hold a qualification at level 3, and two hold an early years qualification at level 2. An area manager holds a level 7 qualification and Early Years Professional Status, and she supports several settings in the chain. The provision holds Pre-School Learning Alliance and National Day Nursery Association membership.

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

 extend children's self-care awareness, for example, by discussing with them the effects that hot and sunny weather has on their bodies, and what steps they can take to cool down and avoid dehydration

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

 maximise the partnership with other early years providers to ensure that continuity of care and learning for children is fully effective.

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who attend

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of how children develop and learn. They support children well, and children are making good progress. Effective observation and assessment of children leads to planning for learning that is tailored to individual needs. Children are challenged effectively to ensure that they reach next steps in their learning. The learning environment is stimulating inside and in the outdoor play area. Staff support children well so that they develop skills in readiness for nursery class and school. Key persons engage with parents effectively to ensure that they contribute to their child's progress, including identifying starting points and supporting children's learning in the setting and at home.

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who attend

Children are settled and happy. They move freely between indoor and outdoor play space and confidently choose from a good variety of activities and resources that are safe and meet their development needs well. Staff support children's learning effectively as they play with water in a tray outside. Children notice that spilled water is creating a trail on the hard surface, which is on a slight incline. Their language and mathematical learning is promoted well by staff as children are encouraged to observe, anticipate, and talk about which trail is the longest and which is the fastest. Staff continually promote children's language development well because they engage in conversation with children, ask open- ended questions and give children time to think and then respond. Babies and young children express themselves through expression and their language is developing well. Staff offer good support as they repeat single words that babies begin to say. Children

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who attend

who speak English as an additional language are supported well in using their home language as well as learning to speak English. The range of activities and resources is varied, inside and outside. Babies explore their senses and make marks as they enjoy playing with sand and paint. Older children choose to draw, paint and create collage pictures. Older children spontaneously use mathematical language well while they independently play with sand. They talk about containers being, 'full up to the top' and 'empty'. Books are always available and children's interest in books is promoted well with the creation of a library. Children choose a book each week to take home and read with their parents.

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who attend

Children's physical development is promoted well by staff. They develop confidence and skills because they have access to challenging large physical play equipment. Manipulative skills are good because they are practised with use of a full range of safe small tools and toys. Children build with large and small blocks and bricks outside. They are supported well in building their own balancing track with wooden blocks and planks. Some confidently move quickly across and balance well, and some ask for staff support. Children are encouraged to talk about and decide if they prefer to move forwards or sideways. Opportunities for children to explore and investigate are good. Cooking activities are regularly organised and staff ensure that learning across several areas of learning is promoted well. Children weigh ingredients and know that they must stop when the dial on the scales reaches the number four. They know when they have added too much and

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who attend

what they must do to achieve the correct weight. They explore change as they mix ingredients, develop physical skills as they use tools, and count and calculate. For example, they initially scoop ingredients into two cake cases and when all have had their turn they are offered another turn. Staff then ask them to calculate how many cases they have each filled. They then count the total number of cakes.

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who attend

Children enjoy singing and playing musical instruments and staff support them well in tapping out simple rhythms. Role play resources are good. Older babies are beginning to mimic staff as they pretend to feed baby dolls, and older children play with their friends in pretend situations. For example, they pretend to be different super heroes and they make dinner and care for babies in the home corner. Children can choose to play with different information, communication technology equipment. Babies investigate interactive toys. A favourite toy is a truck that they know plays, 'Old McDonald had a farm' when it is moved backwards and forwards.

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

Children's personal, social and emotional development is promoted well by staff. They support children effectively in the transition from home to the early years setting in a manner sensitive to their different needs and those of parents. Transition within the nursery is well organised to ensure that the emotional security of children is maintained. Relationships are good, children are happy and confident, and staff are fully aware of and address their different needs. Children's self-esteem is addressed well because staff praise and encourage their achievements and positive behaviour. A 'Kindness Tree' is displayed and identifies children's positive behaviour. Children behave well and demonstrate an awareness of behaviour and safety rules, such as, why they must walk and not run in the indoor play area.

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

Children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning and transitions into school. For example, reception class teachers from local schools are invited to visit children in the setting. Good organisation of resources encourages children's independence as they are able to choose and select resources for themselves. Good practice encourages children to gain an understanding of difference. For example, resources reflect positive images and children learn about different traditions, customs and beliefs.

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

Staff support children well in understanding the importance of a healthy diet and managing their own hygiene needs. A high priority is given to providing healthy meals and snacks. Children learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn how to protect themselves in an emergency situation because the evacuation procedure is regularly practised. Children's well-being is protected well by staff, for example, they remind children to wear sun hats and sun cream on a hot day. Children are developing an ability to attend to their self-care needs. However, this is not fully maximised by staff because they do not talk with children about the effects of the hot weather on their bodies and why they need to drink more water than normal. Drinking water is easily accessible. Parents are provided with clear information on staff practice in policies on safety, illness and accidents. Children are encouraged to be physically active, for example, they enjoy

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

joining in with actions to different songs. Large physical play equipment challenges children well.

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provision

The provider, management team and staff use their experience and skills effectively to monitor the educational programmes. As a result, children's care and learning needs are well met. Staff are successful in ensuring that all children make good progress. The provider and staff continually review and seek to improve practice. The setting is linked to a local quality assurance scheme and support from local authority development workers is welcomed with regard to improving practice. A current priority for improvement is to extend links with all local schools to maximise transition for all children. In order to share expertise across settings in the chain, managers are going to audit other settings to give teams opportunities to reflect and evaluate practice and space. The Ofsted self-evaluation form is currently being reviewed. Procedures for monitoring, supervision meetings and appraisal are fully embedded. The setting recently achieved Coventry Healthy Early Years

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provision

Award for their commitment to children's and parents health and well-being.

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provision

Staff create a welcoming, safe and healthy play environment. They are aware of their responsibilities with regard to supervising the children in their care and ensure that children are never left unsupervised with a person who has not been vetted. The provider and manager ensure that required staff to child ratios are constantly maintained. Risk assessment is robust and potential hazards have been identified and addressed. Staff are fully aware of their responsibilities to protect children from abuse and neglect. Procedures for recruitment, selection and induction are thorough and vetting procedures for staff are comprehensive. Parents are aware of a clear safeguarding procedure and the Coventry Safeguarding Children Board procedures. The provider ensures that all staff members' child protection knowledge is kept up-to-date.

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provision

The choice of resources is good and meets children's needs well at their different stages of development. Attendance and other required records are well maintained and are kept up- to-date. Policies and procedures required for safe and efficient management of the Early Years Foundation Stage and to ensure that the needs of all children are met are well maintained and implemented. The information obtained from parents on their child's individual care and learning, and communication between staff and parents is good. Consequently, they work well together to meet children's different needs. The provider seeks and welcomes parents views on the provision through the implementation of a questionnaire and easy access to a suggestions box. Parents share very positive views on the service provided. Partnerships in the wider context are used effectively with regard to ensuring that a child gets the support he or she needs from other professionals. However,

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provision

communication between staff and other early years providers is not currently fully effective in order to ensure that consistency of care and learning for children is maximised.

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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 EY271635 Local authority Coventry Inspection number 924828

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 84 Number of children on roll 104 Name of provider Tommies Childcare Ltd Date of previous inspection 11/08/2009 Telephone number 02476 366944

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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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