Jesters Childcare Ltd

Jesters Childcare Ltd Stanhope Primary School, Keyworth Road, Gedling, NOTTINGHAM, NG4 4JD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/07/2013 14/06/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 3 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The provider does not have a sufficient understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, for example, ensuring the qualification and training requirements are met and maintaining an accurate record of children's attendance. Therefore, children's learning, development and safety is not fully supported.  Observation and assessment of children's learning is weak. Some practitioners lack sufficient knowledge of how to assess children's learning effectively to identify and plan for individual children's needs. Observations are not frequent enough to build on children's progress.  Poor planning for the educational programmes and a lack of stimulating resources outdoors prevent a suitable balance of interesting activities across all seven areas of learning. This means that children are not always motivated to learn and sometimes lack enthusiasm.  Children are not learning the importance of good hygiene practices and healthy eating.

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It has the following strengths

 The partnership with parents is effectively managed as practitioners are skilled in sharing relevant information regarding the children, ensuring that their needs are met.

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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 the main play room, adjoining classroom and the outside play areas.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the provider/manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the provider/manager, practitioners and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journey records, planning documentation, a selection of policies, practitioners and children's records.

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Information about the setting

Jesters Childcare Ltd is privately owned and opened under new ownership in 2010. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in two classrooms on the site of Stanhope Primary School in the area of Gedling, Nottingham. The wrap-around care setting serves the local area and school. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play with additional access to the school playground and fields. The entrance to the setting is not suitable for wheelchair access as there are a number of steps. However, by arrangement another entrance in the school can be used.

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Information about the setting

The setting opens Monday to Friday, all year round, except public bank holidays. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are 150 children on roll, of whom, 10 children are in the early years age group. The setting employs four members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 3 and one holds a Playwork qualification at level 2.

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enforcement action:

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to;

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enforcement action:

ensure a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance is maintained.

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must:

 observe and assess each child's starting points across all areas of learning and development in relation to their age and stage of development and use this information to accurately identify their needs and plan for the next steps in their learning

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must:

 ensure that at least half of the staff team hold at least a full and relevant level 2 qualification

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must:

 ensure there is a named Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator in the setting

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must:

 ensure there is a named deputy who, is capable and qualified to take charge in the manager's absence.

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

 increase the resources and enhance experiences outside to offer children more choice and to extend further their own development in all seven areas of learning

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

 ensure children know the importance for good health practices with regard to healthy eating and in managing their own basic hygiene and personal needs.

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who attend

Practitioners do not always effectively support children's learning and development and the quality of some teaching is poor. The planning does not effectively support individual children in their learning and development. It covers some areas of learning but does not provide appropriate challenge for all children. This means that some children do not make sufficient progress towards the early learning goals. Children have their own learning journey record but these contain old or very limited information. This is due to practitioners not being fully aware of how to observe and assess children's development effectively. This has an impact on the practitioners being able to identify appropriate children's next steps in learning and then to plan suitable activities for individual children. For example, the learning intentions are not clear and some children do not have any next steps planned for at all. The monitoring of the education provision is very weak and not

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who attend

effective. As a result, children are not making sufficient progress.

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who attend

Some practitioners do not have the skills to question and challenge the children, such as when younger children try to complete their own sticky picture or box model. Practitioners take over and do the picture and model for them, lot allowing the children to explore and experiment and learn for themselves. This practice inhibits children's learning and self- confidence. The provider/manager has systems in place in order to review the progress of children aged between two and three years and has started to do these. This review is shared with parents informing them what their child's strengths are and if any concerns have been identified.

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who attend

Younger children help themselves to what they want to play with, now the resources have been made available. For example, a younger child helps themselves to a helicopter out of the transport box. The child makes the noise of the helicopter as they move the blades around and moves in the air as if the helicopter is flying. Children have fun as they play with the musical instruments together. When building a tower with the wooden blocks, children count routinely. A very young child counts confidently to six as they build a tower with six blocks. As children arrive, they greet their friends warmly and their peers are pleased to see them. Younger children have their own comforters and use these to help them to go to sleep or just to rest and relax. Children enjoy painting and learn new colours as they mix the paints together. The make marks with their fingers in the paint and the practitioner encourages the use of letter sounds as she writes the child's name in

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

A key person system is in place to help children feel secure and develop a warm relationship with the practitioners. Children come into the setting happy and willingly approach the practitioners for their needs. Key practitioners form close relationships with parents and get to know them well, so that they develop knowledge of children's individual care needs. However, due to the practitioners lack of understanding of the learning and development requirements children's overall needs and well-being is inadequate. Practitioners do not always encourage children to wash their hands or explain to them the reasons for good practice. For example, the older children manage the tuck shop at snack time and they handle food that is given to the other children. During this time, no child was encouraged to wash their hands, so children are not protecting themselves against cross infection or learning how to protect themselves. Also some of the

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

foods that are provided for the tuck shop are not healthy, which means that children are not learning to make healthy choices regarding their diet and healthy living. In discussion with the provider/manager, their menus for breakfast and afternoon tea are being addressed to ensure they are more nutritional for young children. Drinks are readily available for the children and the practitioners do encourage children to drink to keep hydrated in the warm weather.

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

When playing outside, the younger children are generally encouraged to wear sun-hats and put sun cream on. However, at times, the children do not wear their hats and practitioners do not remind them. Practitioners encourage the younger children to play in the shade to protect them from the sun. Mealtimes are pleasant social occasions when the children sit together in small social at low tables and chairs and eat their own packed lunch. Children enjoy fresh air and exercise as they play outdoors. However, this area is not well-resourced and does not cover all areas of learning effectively. This means that children's learning outdoors is not challenging and moving them forward.

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

Children behave well as they play with their peers. The younger children are beginning to learn the routines of the setting as they stand in line for their snack. Practitioners praise the children appropriately so they know when they have done well. The older children are given small tasks and responsibility. For example, they run the tuck shop with support from the practitioners. Children have some opportunities to learn about other cultures and beliefs as the practitioners provide activities and experiences. For example, they complete activities with the children around different festivals and celebrations and talk with the children.

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

Practitioners consider children's safety and have procedures and policies in place to help keep children safe. Routine risk assessments ensure that indoor and outdoor environments are mainly safe. Practitioners have identified that the crazed paved banks to the playground present a risk to the children and have brought this to the school's attention. Practitioners work well as a team and are deployed within the setting to ensure children's safety and allow them to access all areas with support. Children are taught to keep themselves safe as they take part in regular fire evacuation drills. They enjoy a smooth transition from home to the setting as the practitioners work closely with parents. Practitioners are aware of how to support and prepare children in moving on to their next provision and work closely with the host school. They are now beginning to share summary documents to ensure children experience a smooth transition.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward by Ofsted following a recent investigation of concerns being raised by a parent. While the provider/manager was found to be meeting the Statutory framework requirements that the concerns related to, they were issued with a 'Notice to Improve' which required that a policy which promotes equal opportunities and addresses how the needs of all children would be met was in place. The provider/manager re-devised her equal opportunities policy to be more effective in meeting all children's needs. During the inspection, it became evident that the provider/manager is not ensuring that all of the statutory safeguarding and welfare, and learning and development requirements are fully met. The practitioner team are not sufficiently qualified or trained to care for the children. For example, the provider/manager holds a relevant childcare qualification, but half of the other practitioners are not appropriately qualified. The

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provision

provision does not have a named deputy who is capable or qualified to take charge in the manager's absence. Furthermore, they do not have a named Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator who has receive relevant training. This means that practitioners have too little understanding of the learning and development requirements. Children are insufficiently challenged and learning opportunities are not always extended.

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provision

Since the last inspection the provider/manager has started to address the issues raised, For example, she has instigated appraisals for some of the practitioners and these have identified training needs around first aid and food hygiene. They have also started self- evaluating their practice and provision, but this is still in the very early stages of development and has had little impact on the provision for children. Two practitioners have attended safeguarding training to improve their knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues and action to be taken if they are concerned about a child. The practitioners have reduced the risks to children by providing appropriately sized tables and chairs for them to use. The main indoor play environment has been reorganised to offer the younger children more choice and encourage their independence as they now can freely access the resources and activities for themselves. The provider/manager is

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provision

beginning to monitor the provision and is using the support from the local authority to aid this. Together they have devised an in-depth improvement plan, towards which the provider/manager and practitioners are slowly working.

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provision

Practitioners are aware of the possible types, signs and symptoms of child abuse and they know what to do and who to contact if they have any concerns. Children are appropriately supervised at all times and the practitioners deploy themselves carefully around the setting, especially when children are playing outdoors. For example, practitioners position themselves near the steps to ensure the younger children are safe as they go up and down them. The provider/manager has suitable recruitment procedures in place and ensures appropriate checks are undertaken to confirm practitioners are suitable to work with children. The setting keep appropriate records to safeguard children, however, the current system of recording children's attendance is not effective and does not fully protect children. This means that legal requirements for both parts of the Childcare Register are also not met. Policies and procedures are in place and these are reviewed on

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provision

The outdoor provision is not effectively resourced to cover all areas of learning and inhibits children's development as they cannot fully explore, build, move or role-play. Children have areas where they can relax or rest in the new cosy area or on the sofas. These sofas are also used for the younger children to sleep on,if needed. Practitioners supervise the sleeping children at all times to ensure their safety. The partnership with parents is a strength of the provision as the practitioners have a good relationship with them. Satisfactory systems are in place to obtain information about chi,dren's individual needs. For example, parents are now asked to complete a more detailed document about the child in order for practitioners to gain a better understanding of where the child is in their development. Around the setting there is lots of information for parents about how the setting operates. Practitioners maintain a secure two-way flow of information with the

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provision

parents and hold regular informal discussions. The provider/manager is aware to link with other professionals as needed to support children. She also has a good relationship with the school and exchanges information with the teachers about the care and development of the children.

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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:

 keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (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 EY407637 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 923891

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 150 Name of provider Gail Eunice Brown Date of previous inspection 14/06/2011 Telephone number 01159520411

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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