Daisy Chain Day Nursery

Daisy Chain Day Nursery The Annexe, Norton Community Centre, Kempton Way, Norton, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 3AZ

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/05/2013 06/01/2011

p.1

early years provision

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

p.1

This provision is inadequate

 The required staff-to-child ratios are not always maintained during the early morning shift period. Consequently, children are not adequately supervised to ensure their safety and all children's needs are not met consistently.  Contingency plans in place to ensure the named deputy is able to effectively take charge in the absence of the manager and to oversee the smooth running of the setting and the safety of the children, are not robust enough.  The deployment of staff when outdoors, in particular in the orchard area, does not ensure children are supervised well enough, such as ensuring they are in sight or hearing of staff at all times.  The children's record of attendance is not accurately maintained at all times and not used consistently enough by staff to gain an accurate overview of children present, to fully secure the children's safety.  Resources, such as tunnels, slopes and low-level steps, are not made freely available

p.1

This provision is inadequate

for children under one year of age to use at their own leisure, which does not fully enhance their physical development.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Staff provide high quality resources, experiences and playful teaching across all seven areas in a highly stimulating environment.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playrooms and the outdoor play areas.  The inspector held a meeting with the deputy and a member of staff.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, the provider's self-evaluation form and a range of other documentation.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the feedback from parents and carers spoken to on the day and feedback questionnaires.

p.2

Information about the setting

Daisy Chain Day Nursery opened in 1994 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is privately owned and managed, and operates from its own building, which is situated in an annexe to Norton Community Centre in Stourbridge, West Midlands. Children are cared for in playrooms based on their age and stage of development. The premises are accessible via two steps at the front door. All children share access to secure enclosed outdoor play areas. The setting adopts the Reggio Emilia approach and the forest schools ethos in their work with the children.

p.3

Information about the setting

There are currently 152 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age group. The setting is open Monday to Friday all year round from 7.30am until 6pm. It is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early years education for two-, three- and four-year- olds. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children, who speak English as an additional language.

p.3

Information about the setting

The setting employs 27 staff. Of these, one holds Early Years Professional Status, one holds an early years qualification at level 6 qualification, one holds level 4, 18 hold level 3, four hold level 2, and two are unqualified. The setting receives support from the local authority.

p.3

must:

 ensure staff-to-child ratio requirements are met and meet the needs of all children, and ensure their safety and effective supervision

p.4

must:

 ensure there are effective contingency plans in place to ensure the named deputy is able to effectively take charge in the absence of the manager and oversee the smooth, safe and efficient running of the setting

p.4

must:

 ensure the effective deployment of staff when outdoors, in particular the pre- school area, so that children are always within sight and hearing of staff, to ensure their safety

p.4

must:

 ensure the record of attendance is accurately maintained at all times and used consistently by staff to gain an accurate overview of children present, in order to secure the children's safety.

p.4

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

 make resources freely available, such as tunnels, slopes and low-level steps, for children under one year of age, to further enhance their physical development.

p.4

who attend

The quality of teaching and learning is of a high standard. However, the weaknesses in leadership and management and the well-being of children have a direct impact on staff being able to consistently meet the needs of all children throughout the day. Consequently, outcomes in meeting the needs of the range of children who attend are inadequate due to not meeting the required ratios of staff to children, and the ineffective deployment of staff to ensure adequate supervision of children.

p.4

who attend

Staff provide challenging, playful opportunities across all areas of learning and development, which result in children making significant progress from their starting points. For example, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those, who speak English as an additional language, are fully integrated and valued. Staff use systematic observations and assessments of what the children do and like, to understand children's level of achievement, interest and learning styles. Consequently, children display high levels of independence, curiosity, imagination and concentration. The environment, both indoors and outdoors, is carefully planned and outcomes in children's education are clearly attributed to the wealth of resources and experiences on offer. Some staff have undertaken forest school training, and this approach of an outdoor- led curriculum is clearly evident through their work with the children. Consequently, the

p.4

who attend

outdoor environment, in particular, offers excellent opportunities for children to freely explore, discover and learn. Children's personal, social and emotional development is fostered very well for the majority of the day, but not on the occasions when staff-to-child ratios are not met. When staff deployment is effective, all children are supported extremely well to help them settle. Older children display high levels of confidence and work exceptionally well, both independently and with their peers, showing excellent negotiation and cooperation skills. Children are encouraged to share their interests and ideas, which are highly valued and used very well to plan stimulating experiences and activities.

p.5

who attend

Children's communication and language is supported extremely well through purposeful play and interactions. Children's interests in their environment, the wider world and their favourite books are used extremely successfully. For example, staff encourage children to speak, share their ideas and introduce new ideas, concepts and vocabulary. Staff continuously ask challenging and open-ended questions to make them think and give them time to respond, problem solve and value their questions. All staff use songs and rhymes at every opportunity during the day to further increase children's language development and enjoyment of music and musical instruments. Babies are encouraged to be physically close, make eye contact and use their voice and touch to communicate. The use of sign language by staff also helps further support their communication skills.

p.5

who attend

All rooms have attractive book areas to capture the children's interests, which also incorporate a wealth of natural resources and visual aids. The children's favourite books are used extremely well by the staff as they are often linked to the current topic to reinforce learning. For example, in response to the children's interest in a particular book, staff caring for the younger children have created a pretend tent, which has inspired children to make moth handprints and to act out and re-tell the story. Children build secure foundations for early literacy. An extensive range of opportunities engage children in making marks, both indoors and outdoors. For example, children use chalk, water, mud, sand and paint, and are thoroughly absorbed as they make their creations.

p.5

who attend

Outdoor play provides excellent opportunities for older children to test and extend their physical skills and offers meaningful planned, purposeful play and exploration. For example, the extensive area provides tyres, logs and trees for the children to climb. Indoors, babies have a safe environment to move, roll and stretch. For example, staff encourage babies to explore, grasp and squeeze by providing interesting objects that make sounds and are textured. These children share the outdoor area with children under three years of age. However, items such as tunnels, slopes and low-level steps are not made freely available often enough to further enhance opportunities for crawling.

p.5

who attend

There is an abundance of first-hand experiences on offer outdoors, resulting in children, who are active learners and are creative and think critically. For example, children have shown an interest in a heap of soil, which has recently been removed to make space for decking. This has resulted in children using the soil to make a pretend mountain and led to children using it as a mud kitchen. Staff use this opportunity very well to get children to be physical, consider texture and think about what happens when they add water, and to introduce new descriptive words.

p.5

who attend

Children show an excellent understanding of places, objects, materials and living things. For example, they learn to show concern for the many pet animals, such as the ducks, chicken, guinea pigs, rabbits and fish. Children become avid gardeners as they explain confidently what they have planted and what they need to do to make them grow. Recent visits to a museum have resulted in the pre-school children showing a real interest in recycling, the body, forces and the solar system. Staff use these opportunities extremely well to provide rich learning opportunities in all areas of learning, and interesting visual aids to support these interests and extend their learning.

p.6

who attend

Staff foster the Reggio Emilia approach of nurturing the close relationship that children share with their environment, at the centre of their work. They provide stimulating resources, in particular, natural materials, which are accessible, open ended and easily used, moved and combined in a variety of ways. They are used extremely well to foster children's mathematical learning. For example, staff use these skilfully to encourage children to sort, count, create patterns and consider concepts, such as weight, capacity, and measures. Children have time, space and encouragement to discover and use new words and mathematical ideas, concepts and language.

p.6

who attend

Staff demonstrate an exceptional commitment to working in partnership with parents and carers. A highly successful two-way flow of information and communication from the outset when children first start, as they settle and throughout their time at the setting, results in excellent partnership working. Parents contribute to their children's initial and continued developmental assessments, which further enhance the children's learning and development.

p.6

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

Care practices are variable and on occasions inadequate across the setting due to the ineffective staffing arrangements in place during the early morning shift from 7.30am to 9.30am. Staff acknowledge and report that this period is the busiest part of the day. For example, they are preparing children's breakfasts according to individual requirements, feeding children, speaking to parents and carers, settling children who are upset, and may well be dealing with spillages and changing nappies. Therefore, when there are insufficient staff, this results in inadequate supervision to ensure children's safety, and all children's needs are not met consistently.

p.6

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

In contrast, when staffing arrangements are effective, the children's personal, social and emotional development is fostered very well. For example, in the baby room staff know the children's eating habits, sleep routines, likes, dislikes and preferences. The well- embedded, assigned key person system works effectively to tailor the care to meet children's individual needs and build a close relationship with parents, carers and the children. This vibrant setting, both indoors and outdoors, and the superb range of resources and experiences provide an enjoyable and challenging learning experience for children. However, the deployment of staff is not consistently effective, and this compromises the children's safety and well-being. For example, the outdoor orchard environment allows an element of controlled risk taking for children, and the area offers a challenging range of structures for children to climb and dens for them to hide and play in. However, on

p.6

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

occasions, because staff are occupied interacting with groups of children, they do not ensure all children are in sight or hearing to fully secure their safety.

p.7

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

Children benefit from freshly prepared meals including breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks, which are healthy, balanced and nutritious. All areas are kept clean and hygienic, and staff adopt effective strategies to prevent the spread of infection, such as hand washing, using disposable gloves and aprons when changing nappies, and wiping tables prior to meals. Children are well behaved because staff adopt positive strategies to help them understand agreed codes of behaviour. For example, children in pre-school have helped create rules of behaviour, which they remind their peers of. Children learn to stay safe, such as clearly understanding safety in relation to the forest school 'fire circle'. Staff have recently undertaken up-to-date first aid training, which has led to children wanting to learn about first aid. Staff use this interest well and children eagerly take part in pretend scenarios, competently place each other in the recovery position and easily recall the emergency

p.7

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

Children are very well prepared for transition within the setting as they move from one room to another, and there are strong systems in place to share information with the local feeder schools and other settings that the children attend to support transition.

p.7

provision

This inspection was prioritised due to concerns received that staff-to-child ratios are not maintained, a lack of child supervision and poor contingency plans in place to cover during the current absence of the manager and some of the staff team. The inspection found that adult-to-child ratios were maintained on the day of the inspection. However, on checking staff and children's registers, and through discussion with staff, it found that the required staff-to-child ratios are not always maintained during the early morning shift period from 7.30am to 9.30am. Consequently, children are not adequately supervised to ensure their safety and all children's needs are not met consistently during this time. Therefore, the safeguarding and welfare requirement in relation to staffing arrangements and the supervision of children is not met.

p.7

provision

The staff qualification requirements are met and the named deputy in charge in the absence of the manager holds the required qualifications. However, the deputy has a developing knowledge of the leadership and management systems and her role as the manager. For example, she acknowledges she is not fully aware of where all the required records, policies and procedures are stored and what action plans are in place for further improvement of the setting. In addition, she has an assigned group of children and is included in the staff-to-child ratios. Consequently, she is involved in the daily and routine care of the children, and this hinders her ability to oversee the running of the setting. Therefore, contingency plans to ensure the named deputy is able to effectively take charge in the absence of the manager and to oversee the smooth running of the setting and the safety of the children, are not robust enough.

p.7

provision

All staff know and understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and child protection concerns, and therefore children's welfare is promoted. There are effective vetting procedures in place to ensure adults caring for children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so to secure their safety. The required children's records are in place. However, the children's record of attendance is not accurately maintained at all times, and staff do not use it consistently enough throughout the day to gain an accurate overview of children present. For example, they do not conduct a head count when children come in from outside. This compromises the children's safety.

p.8

provision

It is clear to see that the leadership team place a strong emphasis on raising children's achievement through the rigorous monitoring of the educational programmes and coaching of staff. The leaders and the staff team are innovative, creative and clearly committed to providing a highly stimulating and welcoming environment, which fully reflects the children's backgrounds. Despite these strengths, leadership and management is inadequate due to poor monitoring of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. This has resulted in poor staffing arrangements and children not being adequately supervised at all times and therefore their safety, welfare and well-being are seriously compromised on these occasions.

p.8

provision

Parents and carers are kept very well informed through regular newsletters, daily discussions, written diaries and useful information displayed about the topics and the curriculum. The home and nursery association group, which is a group of parents, carers and staff, along with feedback questionnaires, mean parents and carers are actively involved in shaping the service offered. All parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and the ongoing parental satisfaction surveys clearly indicate that they are very satisfied with the service provided. Collaborative working with the local feeder schools, other settings, professionals and agencies helps to support the children's education and care needs.

p.8

The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

p.8

actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

p.8

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

 ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

p.8

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.11

Setting details

Unique reference number 253797 Local authority Dudley Inspection number 918600

p.11

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 61 Number of children on roll 152 Name of provider Ketrina Hill Date of previous inspection 06/01/2011 Telephone number 01384 444031

p.11

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.

p.11

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.11

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.

p.12

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,

p.12

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’.

p.13

Type of provision

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

p.13