Queens Gardens Childcare Centre

Queens Gardens Childcare Centre Queens Gardens Site, Wilberforce Drive, Hull, North Humberside, HU1 3DG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/08/2014 26/03/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff work closely with parents and keep them extremely well informed and involved. Consequently, strong and very effective partnerships are established.  Staff are very knowledgeable of how to promote children's learning and development. They teach children through a wide range of interesting activities and as a result, they make good progres in their learning.  Staff are very clear about implementing effective safeguarding procedures that keep children safe and well protected. They are confident about the action to take if they have any concerns, including what to do if they were worried about any inappropriate staff practice.  The well-qualified team are frequently monitored to ensure their performance remains at a high level. This includes being observed and evaluated by their colleagues so that good practice is shared.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always maximise all children's communication, word recognition and speaking skills by building upon the many home languages used by children in the centre.  The role play area in the pre-school room lacks real-life props, familiar signs and advertising logos to allow children to enhance their learning through experiences that makes links with home.

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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 manager provided the inspector with a tour of the centre.  The inspector spoke to children, staff, parents and a grandparent.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the centre's deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities for children in the play rooms and the centre's outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's assessment records, planning documentation, the centre's policies and procedures and other records.

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Information about the setting

Queens Gardens Childcare Centre is managed by Hull College and is attached to the main college building in the centre of Hull. The centre has been registered in its current purpose-built building since 2004. Hull College manages two other early years settings. Children attending the Queens Gardens Childcare Centre are cared for in four rooms according to their age. They share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The centre accommodates children of students and staff from the college and the general public. Families who use the centre come from a wide area. The centre is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 56 children on roll all of whom are in the early years age range. The centre supports children who speak English as an additional language. The centre receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four- year-old children. It is open each weekday from 8am to 5.45pm, with the exception of

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Information about the setting

bank holidays, a week at Christmas and one day during July determined by Hull College for staff training. There are 12 members of staff, including the childcare development manager, employed to work directly with the children. There are two staff members who have childcare qualifications at level 4, nine at level 3 and one at level 2. A cleaner is also employed to work at the centre. The centre receives support from the local authority and has achieved their Step One to Quality award.

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

 enhance all children's communication, word recognition and speaking skills by building upon the many home languages used by children in the centre

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

 enrich children's learning in imaginative, role play in the pre-school room by the addition of real-life props and familiar signs and advertising logos.

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who attend

Staff provide a broad range of interesting and challenging experiences that meet babies' and children's needs across the seven areas of learning. They make sure that the activities they plan and provide are fun and meaningful to help children to learn. For example, they regularly provide lots of sensory activities, particularly those they use to promote the youngest children's sense of touch. Staff provide activities, such as sand, water and a mixture of corn flour and water that makes gloop. They use the bubble machine to motivate babies and toddlers to watch the escaping bubbles. Children are highly delighted and eager to try and catch them before they pop and burst. This ignites young children's curiosity and their sense of wonder which shows that staff understand the learning needs of young children. Staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of how to promote the learning and development of young children. As a result, children make good progress

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who attend

Staff base their activity plans on exploring children's interests extremely well. They also provide a wide range of first-hand experiences for children. For instance, they invite parents and visitors to the setting to share their skills, talents and experiences with the children. Staff take children to places of interest in the community, such as the park and different museums. They are creative, competent and keen to try something new and different to help children to learn. They are confident to adapt the environment to support children's learning and have recently recreated a beach area in the pre-school room to enhance and extend children's recent holiday experiences. They have not yet fully explored the introduction of real-life props and familiar signs to the many resources already provided in the pre-school's role play area to further enhance children's learning and build on their home experiences. Staff know children very well and find out

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who attend

information from parents so they are able to meet children's individual learning needs. They share ideas with parents so that children's learning can be continued at home. They work closely with parents to ensure that children receive the support they need if there are any obstacles to learning, such as any speech and language issues or signs of developmental delay. This means children are helped to overcome any problems and they continue to make progress in preparation for their learning at school.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good because staff make learning fun for children. They quickly make up impromptu games for children in between planned learning experiences so that the pace is constant. Circle time for the older children takes place regularly as part of the daily routine and is expertly used by staff to enhance and extend children's learning. Excellent focus is given to help children to learn and recognise individual letters of the alphabet. This leads to them speaking and blending letter sounds to make words as part of their developing language and communication skills. Children are increasingly confident to name and write individual letters of the alphabet and the majority can easily recognise their own name. Staff expertly use what they have learnt from the Every Child a Talker programme to promote children's language and communication skills. They expertly support children to develop their speaking and listening skills through innovative and

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who attend

interesting play opportunities and activities. Staff recognise the wide range of different home languages of many of the families that use the centre. They display pictures around the centre that reflect a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. There are many additional resources that enhance children's learning including dual language books, puppets and home-made picture clue books for children to use who speak English as an additional language. However, the diversity of the children's backgrounds is not fully exploited by staff to enrich all children's communication, word recognition and speaking skills by for example, building upon the many home languages used by children in the centre.

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

Staff form friendly, warm and trusting relationships with children. They make it a priority to know all children very well so that each child's individual needs are well known. Because of this, children rapidly develop in confidence. They know they can approach staff to make their needs known which shows that they feel safe and secure. A strong key- person system is in place resulting in all children forming close attachments to their special person and, because they feel emotionally secure, they can relate well to other staff members. Transition arrangements for children into, through and out of the centre are well thought through. For example, new children and their parents are welcome to stay and play at the centre for flexible periods of time before they start. This helps them to adjust to the change and familiarise themselves with the new environment. Short visits are planned when the youngest children move into the next playroom. They play with their

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

older friends so when they finally make the move they are less anxious and feel more relaxed and familiar with the routine and environment. There are times each day when all children join together which helps them to form relationships and learn from each other. This effective planning supports a seamless transition onto the next stage for children and continues as the eldest children prepare for their transfer into school. Teachers are invited to visit children in the centre and staff make a point of talking to children about what they can expect when they start school to help them to be emotionally well prepared for the change.

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

The centre is very well equipped and playrooms are effectively organised to meet the needs of the different age ranges of children. The playrooms are welcoming, bright and clean. The very attractive displays, and toys and resources that are placed within babies' and children's easy reach, makes the environment conducive for all children's learning. The majority of the children freely move between the indoor and outside environments. This not only benefits their learning and development but has a positive influence on their good health and sense of well-being. The outdoor space complements children's indoor learning. For example, they help to grow a variety of herbs, fruit and vegetables, they experiment in the sand kitchen or sit on the large cushions to read books and relax in the fresh air. The range of equipment offers varying degrees of challenge for children to master so that they learn, understand and recognise their individual capabilities. This

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

provides children with the opportunity to manage some low-level risk within a safe, well supervised environment in order to begin to learn and understand about how to keep themselves safe and protected. Children are continually busy, well occupied and appropriately challenged and as a result their behaviour is exemplary. Children are well supported to learn to work and play with other children. They are encouraged to share the resources, tidy up after themselves and take turns. A large egg timer is used to help children to understand about time, particularly when using popular toys or pieces of equipment. This helps them to understand about being fair when they are working cooperatively with other children. This is of great benefit children when they move to school. Staff use stickers and certificates to reward children's efforts and achievements on a daily basis. This raises children's self-esteem and motivates them to repeat good

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

practice. It also helps to keep parents well informed. For example, staff provide superstar awards to recognise children's progress and successes. They place small, attractive notes in children's lunchboxes so that parents will easily find them. The information says 'Ask me what amazing thing happened today. I am fab!' This helps children to remember their achievements and share the good news with their parents. Children are very well supported to learn about healthy lifestyles. The centre staff provide children with nourishing, healthy snacks. Parents provide their own child's food which is usually a packed lunch for the older children and suitable meals for babies who are being weaned. Parents are supplied with information and leaflets outlining ideas and recommendations for healthy options to include in their children's lunch boxes. An award is given by centre staff to children who eat food from their lunch box that is healthy and

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

nutritious such as vegetables, salad and fresh fruit. During the daily routine, children wash their hands regularly to keep themselves healthy and adopt good self-care practices. They understand why they are doing this as they relate that they are washing their hands to get rid of the germs. The centre is recognised as being a suitable, friendly place for breastfeeding mothers and undergoes regular checks to ensure they maintain this very important status.

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provision

Centre staff fully understand their responsibilities to keep children safe and well protected. They know the action to take if they have any concerns about a child's welfare or well- being. They understand who to report any concerns to. If they were worried about any inappropriate behaviour shown by staff towards children they are confident to relentlessly pursue this with centre managers. A robust process for the recruitment, appointment and induction of new staff members is established. The centre is extremely safe, highly secure and well maintained which contributes successfully to how children are protected. There is a strong commitment towards staff's continual professional development which includes a rolling programme of first aid, safeguarding and food safety training. This means they keep these vital skills and their qualifications regularly updated. The centre team are secure in their knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities towards meeting the

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provision

safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

Good systems are established to ensure the performance of staff remains at a high level. The well-qualified team are frequently monitored, including having their performance observed and evaluated by their colleagues, so that good practice is shared. The staff are involved in regular team meetings which enables everyone to join together to discuss any relevant issues and to update knowledge and share ideas and information. Appraisals take place to enable the manager to gain a more in-depth idea of each member of staff's route for their continual professional development. This makes sure that staff are well supported to improve their knowledge, understanding and practice. The manager works closely alongside her team to offer support and guidance in order to improve or develop childcare practice. All staff contribute towards the planning of the activity programme. The observations and assessment of children's progress are made by each staff member for

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provision

their key children. This helps to shape and guide the varied activities and ensures the educational programme helps children make good progress in their personal journey towards the early learning goals.

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provision

A strength of the centre is the very effective partnerships with parents. They are kept extremely well informed and involved. There is, for example, an in-depth and comprehensive induction for all new parents which means they are provided with a wealth of information about the effective management and smooth operation of the centre. There is a wide and interesting range of written and well displayed information for them to access as well as face-to-face, friendly conversations that take place on a daily basis. Good use of photographs helps to keep parents well informed and updated in a meaningful way, regarding the many activities their child enjoys. Staff, parents and children get involved in fund raising and charity events which supports relationship building and means everyone works together for a worthy cause. Parents opinions are regularly sought which contributes towards the centre's plans for improvement. Parents

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provision

seek the views of the staff on a number of childcare issues, such as how to deal with the birth of a sibling or a family bereavement. Parents and grandparents, spoken to during the inspection, all spoke very highly of the staff's contribution to the good, all-round progress and development their child makes. A written comment from a parent praised the staff for their significant contribution to their child's well-being. This shows the very positive impact that the staff have on promoting children's welfare, learning and development. Partnerships with other providers are good, particularly with the wide range of schools that children move on to. Staff work conscientiously to make contact with each establishment and invite their staff to the centre and are very willing to share information. This shows a firm commitment to working with others to ensure children's individual needs are met. The recommendations raised at the last inspection have been addressed and the

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provision

centre staff have a clear vision for the improvement and further development of the centre.

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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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 EY266947 Local authority Kingston upon Hull Inspection number 860679

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 62 Number of children on roll 56 Name of provider Hull College Date of previous inspection 26/03/2012 Telephone number 01482 329943

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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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