The Little Penguins Day Nursery

The Little Penguins Day Nursery 53 Kingsway South, WARRINGTON, WA4 1LQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/04/2014 11/07/2012

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 Safeguarding policies and procedures are in place in order to protect children from harm. Practitioners demonstrate a clear understanding of the procedures to follow should they have any concerns regarding children's welfare.  Educational programmes cover the seven areas of learning and support children's general development. Children are provided with age-appropriate activities and enjoy their time at the nursery.

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It is not yet good because

 Children's health and hygiene are not fully promoted as fresh drinking water is not available and accessible to children at all times.  Arrangements for performance management are not robust enough to ensure that all staff are consistently performing at a high standard. This means that children's learning and development is not fully promoted.  Nappy changing procedures are not always carried out in a suitable area. This means that children's privacy and dignity are not fully respected.

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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 three playrooms and outdoors.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of the staff working with the children.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

The Little Penguins Day Nursery was registered in 2012. It operates from three rooms in a converted property in Warrington. The nursery serves the local area. The nursery is accessible to all children and there is an enclosed area for outdoor play. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round from 7.30am to 6pm, except Bank Holidays and one week at Christmas. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of 41 children in the early years age range at any one time. There are currently 58 children attending who are within this age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 15 members of staff. Of these, seven hold appropriate

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Information about the setting

early years qualifications at level three, and three staff are qualified teachers. The manager has a BA Honours in Early Childhood Studies. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure that fresh drinking water is available and easily accessible to children at all times.

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

 develop further the systems for monitoring the performance of practitioners across the nursery, in order to fully promote children's welfare, learning and development through a high quality workforce

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

 reconsider the arrangements for nappy changing in the room for two- and three- year-old children in order to respect children's privacy.

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who attend

Practitioners have a satisfactory knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this knowledge to offer children age-appropriate activities. Children generally enjoy their time at the nursery and are occupied, although on occasion activities are mundane and lack a good level of challenge. Children in the baby room are provided with a selection of resources which are stored in baskets on the floor and low shelves which allows them to independently choose which resources they wish to play with. Practitioners set out the sand tray on the floor and children enjoy using tools to dig and scoop the sand, as well as picking it up in their hands and letting it run through their fingers. Additional sensory resources, such as bottles of coloured water and shakers enable children to explore using touch, sight and sound. Children enjoy moving to music and begin to use early language when singing familiar action rhymes with practitioners. This helps to develop their

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who attend

communication skills. In addition, children look at picture books and enjoy a shared story with practitioners which helps them to develop a healthy interest and enjoyment of reading. Babies are comforted when they are unsettled and practitioners respond appropriately in order to meet children's needs. Toddlers who attend the nursery are offered a variety of age-appropriate resources and activities which they can select from during the day. Children spend their time playing with vehicles in the play garage, moving wooden trains around the track, exploring with toy dinosaurs in the sand tray and chatting with their friends in the play tent. Children sit together for story time and take part in some art and craft activities. However, practitioners do not always make full use of the resources available in order to provide further stimulating activities. Practitioners interact with children at an appropriate level, for example, by singing nursery rhymes and reading

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who attend

stories together. However, they do not consistently extend children's thinking or language skills through the use of questions and quality discussions.

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who attend

In the pre-school room children benefit from activities that are planned in advance to support their learning and development. Practitioners engage children in interesting and motivating activities where they are encouraged to develop their writing, listening and communication skills. For example, through activities such as 'scribble while you wriggle' children develop creativity as they make marks using a variety of tools. In addition, practitioners work with children in small groups at different times throughout the day to support their skills in reading and writing. Children learn about the natural world through interesting experiences, such as waiting for chicks to hatch from the eggs in the nest box, and watching caterpillars transform into butterflies. Practitioners encourage children to think critically and support their use of language as they ask questions about what will happen to the caterpillars, and what the children think the butterflies will look like.

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who attend

Children have opportunities to play imaginatively with the dressing-up clothes and the small world play and develop their number recognition and counting skills through everyday activities. Practitioners use resources effectively to create interesting activities for the children to learn from. During an experimental baking activity using a selection of edible ingredients, children are encouraged to talk about what they are doing, use language for thinking and explore their senses. As they mix the ingredients together children talk about how it feels, the colour it has changed to and what it smells like. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported within the nursery. Practitioners ask parents for key words in children's home languages to enable them to support children during the settling-in period. Practitioners work with the children one-to- one at different times to help to develop their understanding of English and increase their

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who attend

vocabulary when learning to speak a new language. This means that children feel valued and their cultural backgrounds are shared with their peers.

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who attend

Each child has a development folder in which a selection of observations and information about children's progress is stored. Although practitioners do carry out observations on children's learning, there is some inconsistency in how effectively this information is used in order to inform planning for children's next steps. This means that children's progress is not promoted as effectively as it could be. Parents are welcomed into the nursery and are encouraged to provide information about their children's starting points on entry. Parents are aware that children's progress and development is tracked and they can see their files on request. Practitioners talk to parents about children's general welfare and development and parents' evenings are planned during the year.

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

Children behave well and play cooperatively. They are generally happy and settled and are confident to access the resources on offer without support, showing self-confidence. Routines are established and the children are aware of things that happen during the day. Consequently, they are settled and aware of their surroundings. Visits to the nursery to enable children to become familiar with practitioners and children in their room support children to settle more easily during this transition from home. Each child has a key person which helps most to form secure attachments with those working with them. Parents are encouraged to complete an 'all about me' form in advance of children attending which means that, on the whole, key practitioners have a clear understanding of children's individual preferences. Transitions to the next room in the nursery are supported as children have visits to their new room beforehand which helps them to settle

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

when they move on. Practitioners talk to children who are preparing to leave the nursery for school which helps to prepare them for this transition. Their development folders are passed on to parents who are able to provide information to the school about children's progress to date. Children begin to understand about cultural diversity by learning about various festivals and celebrations, such as Easter and Chinese New Year. Children's individual families are also celebrated through wall displays and various books and resources which promote positive images of diversity are available.

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

Children are offered nutritious snacks and meals throughout the day, which include pancakes, vegetable soup with bread, and apple crumble and custard. Drinks are provided at meal times; however, fresh drinking water is not freely accessible to children throughout the day. This means that children cannot help themselves to a drink if they are thirsty. Children develop some independence in their self-care skills, for example, toddlers and pre-school children are encouraged to wash their hands before they eat. Children have daily opportunities to access the outdoor area where they can enjoy fresh air and physical exercise. Children ride on wheeled toys, play on the small slide and dig in the soil. Babies are able to crawl on the soft ground and children who are learning to walk are given opportunities to develop these skills under close supervision. Children begin to learn about safety as they are reminded of the need to tidy away toys before they prepare for

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

lunch. Areas that children access are checked each day and written risk assessments are in place for the nursery and routine outings they may take part in. An emergency evacuation procedure is in place and fire drills are carried out at different times throughout the year. This helps children to gain an early understanding of keeping themselves safe in an emergency.

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

Children's individual sleep routines are respected. Babies and toddlers sleep in buggies, floor cushions or bouncer chairs and are able to rest according to their own needs. Older children in the pre-school room are able to visit the toilet independently which helps them to develop self-confidence and prepares them for the move to school. Younger children have their nappies changed by familiar staff according to their individual needs. However, the privacy of toddlers is not respected as nappy changing is carried out on the floor of the playroom. This also presents a risk of cross-infection as other children play alongside them.

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provision

Practitioners have a clear understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures which helps to protect children from harm. The nursery has designated safeguarding officers who take overall responsibility for ensuring children are safeguarded. These have attended specific training in this area. All other staff have attended basic safeguarding training and are kept up to date of any changes in policy through regular discussions during team meetings. There are adequate recruitment and selection procedures in place to ensure that only suitable people are able to work with children. The nursery keeps satisfactory records of accidents, medication and attendance. Appropriate procedures are followed if children become ill while they are at the nursery and practitioners demonstrate an understanding of how to protect children's well-being. The nursery is kept secure through the use of a buzzer system and closed-circuit television is installed for the manager to use

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provision

in the event of a concern. Outdoor areas that children use are kept secure when the children are accessing them.

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provision

The management team have compiled a written self-evaluation record and have used the reflection process to identify areas for improvement. For example, plans are in place to develop the outdoor area in order to enhance the experiences and learning opportunities for children. Since the last inspection, steps have been taken to meet the recommendations made. For example, the nursery has been developing the system for observations and assessments of children's progress. However, there are inconsistencies among practitioners with regard to how well the information gathered is used to extend children's learning and development. The management team carry out appraisals and discuss training and development with practitioners in the nursery. Recently, they have introduced peer observations which have been informative and some areas for development within the nursery rooms have been identified. However, further progress is

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provision

required in order to ensure that all practitioners are performing at a consistently high standard in order to fully support children's learning and development.

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provision

The managers of the setting have formed close relationships with parents and carers; consequently, they are aware they can approach them if they have any concerns. Parents spoken to on the day of the inspection reported that they were happy with the care their children receive and they were kept generally well informed about their child's day. Information regarding children's learning and development is given to parents to pass to other settings who may find it helpful. The nursery receives support from the local authority and links with outside agencies are developed when required.

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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 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 EY438504 Local authority Warrington Inspection number 967913

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 41 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Sarah Jayne De Groot-Buckley Date of previous inspection 11/07/2012 Telephone number 07743889282

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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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