Knutsford Day Nursery Ltd

Knutsford Day Nursery Ltd Knutsford Day Nursery, 2a Brook Street, KNUTSFORD, Cheshire, WA16 8BN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/11/2013 25/02/2013

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff demonstrate appropriate teaching skills, therefore, helping children to enjoy their play and make sufficient progress in their learning. They interact positively with children and provide a wide range of resources for children to explore.  Staff work well with parents and other professionals, which contributes positively to children's care and learning and helps to ensure their needs are addressed.  Managers show a commitment to develop and improve practice. Following recent concerns, they have made positive efforts to strengthen procedures for safeguarding children, which means children are better protected.

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It is not yet good because

 The procedure for checking the identity of visitors is not rigorously implemented, therefore, increasing potential safety risks to children and staff.  There are some gaps in the recording of information relating to attendance registers and complaints, which does not fully meet requirements.  Initial information gathered about children lacks emphasis on their learning and development. This makes it harder for staff to accurately assess children's skills on entry and plan activities to meet their individual needs.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the three playrooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted joint observations with the deputy.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with children, staff and parents and held meetings with the management team.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and from information included in the setting's own parent surveys.

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Information about the setting

Knutsford Day Nursery opened in 2005 and is owned by a limited company. It is registered on the Early Years Register and operates from a converted library in the centre of Knutsford, Cheshire. The nursery serves the immediate locality and also the surrounding areas. It opens five days a week, from 7.30am until 7pm, all year round except on bank holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children are cared for in three rooms and have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 72 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are currently 14 staff working directly with children. Of these, nine have appropriate early years qualifications, including two at level 2, five at level 3 and two at level 4. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 improve security measures by ensuring all staff consistently implement the procedure for checking the identify of visitors before they enter the building

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must:

 improve record keeping by: ensuring registers are accurately maintained during outings; recording sufficient detail about any complaints received and their outcome.

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

 extend the system for gathering information from parents about children's starting points on entry, to establish a more accurate picture of children's prior skills, knowledge and understanding.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate sound teaching skills and they support children appropriately in their learning. For example, during a potato printing activity, staff use good questioning skills to encourage children to share their ideas and learn about shape, colour and number. Staff observe children regularly and monitor their progress at regular intervals. Assessment is routinely carried out, mainly accurate and shows children are within the typical range of development expected for their age, given their capabilities. Educational programmes support children's learning in all areas and parents comment that 'staff do lots of different activities with children'. There is a good variety of sensory and messy play experiences on offer, such as searching for letters in shaving foam. This enables children to explore different textures and supports their early literacy skills.

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who attend

Partnership working with parents is generally good and staff encourage them to become involved in children's learning. Staff have compiled useful information files to share examples of the full range of activities on offer and to demonstrate how they challenge more able children. Various methods are used to keep parents informed of children's ongoing achievements, such as, daily handovers, home books and planned parent meetings. Information gathered from parents on entry tends to focus on children's care needs and there is less emphasis on children's initial learning and development needs. This impacts on staff's ability to establish a clear starting point in children's learning and plan their next steps effectively.

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who attend

Staff work well with other professionals, so that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are appropriately supported. They are developing their skills at using sign language with children, to aid their communication. Older children are learning to be confident communicators, as they chat to staff and visitors about what they are doing. Staff support children's readiness for school by positively promoting their social skills and independence. For example, during rolling snack, they encourage children to chop the fruit and share it with their friends; explaining how to use the real knife safely. Children have good opportunities to develop their physical skills, both indoors and outside. For example, babies climb and roll on the soft play equipment and older children enjoy bouncing on the trampoline and exercising in the 'mini gym'. Children concentrate as they practise using the scissors and babies enjoy sitting closely to staff to listen to stories.

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

Key persons liaise closely with parents during the settling-in process and seek detailed information about children's care needs and routines. These are reviewed and updated, for instance, when children move on to the next room, which helps to support their transition within the nursery. Staff establish warm and friendly relationships with children. Babies are held and cuddled and children receive comfort if they become upset. Family books containing photographs of people important to children also provide reassurance when needed. This contributes to supporting children's emotional well-being and helps them to feel happy and settled. Playrooms are well-organised, with a good variety of resources on offer to support children's self-chosen play.

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

Staff support children to adopt a healthy lifestyle, for instance, by encouraging them to follow hygienic routines and enabling them to be active indoors and outside. The garden offers opportunities for children to climb, balance and ride on wheeled toys and children are taken for walks in the local area. Meals are freshly prepared and nutritious and parents make positive comments about the healthy food that children enjoy. Staff have made improvements to the organisation of lunchtime and sleeping arrangements in the toddler room. As a result, children enjoy their meal in smaller groups and they sleep soundly in the adjacent playroom.

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

Timers are used to alert staff to regularly check younger children as they sleep, which promotes their safety. Staff share their pleasure in children's achievements, therefore, helping to build their confidence and self-esteem. They remind children to share resources, use good manners and play well with their friends. Consequently, children learn about acceptable behaviour and they respond appropriately to staff requests.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward following concerns regarding employment procedures and the arrangements for safeguarding children. Ofsted took significant action following their investigation and the provider was required to address a number of actions relating to staff recruitment, safeguarding procedures and the accessibility of staff records. All actions were successfully met. As a result, safeguarding arrangements have been strengthened, particularly in relation to the safe recruitment of staff, therefore, more thorough systems are now in place to protect children. All staff have attended safeguarding training, which means they are secure in their knowledge of the procedures to keep children safe from harm. They understand how their personal conduct can impact on their professional role and they are clear about the procedures regarding internet safety and use of social media.

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provision

Managers understand their responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and overall, they ensure these are appropriately met. Detailed policies, procedures and records contribute to supporting practice and generally promote the safe management of the setting. However, some procedures are not always consistently implemented. For example, not all staff robustly scrutinise the identity of visitors before allowing them entry to the building, which exposes children and staff to potential risks. The complaints record does not consistently include enough detail about complaints received and their outcome and daily registers are not always accurately maintained when children are taken on outings. These are administrative breaches in requirements that have minimal impact on children. Managers took immediate steps to amend the format of registers during the inspection.

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provision

Some staff are undertaking additional training to enhance their skills and unqualified staff are supported to gain appropriate qualifications, which helps to improve teaching. The team show commitment to children, for example, staff on leave attended the nursery to discuss their role in supporting children with special education needs and/or disabilities. Managers monitor the quality of teaching, for example, through regular supervision and any under-performance is tackled appropriately. Computerised systems are used to monitor the progress of children aged two years and managers plan to use this tool to track the progress of all children. Self-evaluation is adequate. Recommendations from the previous inspection have been considered and practice improved. The team seek the views of parents and children to consider areas for development. They are beginning to use the Ofsted self-evaluation form to identify strengths and devise improvement plans.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are strong and parents speak positively about the nursery, particularly about the good communication. Staff also work well with other professionals to ensure children with identified needs receive the support they need.

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 EY315231 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 939342

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 64 Number of children on roll 72 Name of provider Knutsford Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 25/02/2013 Telephone number 01565 653147

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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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