This is what OFSTED said about us when we were last inspected in June 2006. Since then they have given us permisson to expand the nursery.Some of the highlights of our last OFSTED report...
- Children are confident and happy in their environment.
- They are well mannered and are consistently praised during their time at nursery.
- Children are protected and their well being is enhanced.
- Younger children benefit from routines which are consistent with their experiences at home promoting their feelings of security and ensuring continuity of care.
- The staff are interested in the children and value what they say and do, they respond enthusiastically giving praise and encouragement.
And this is the rest of the OFSTED report...
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROVISION
Helping children to be healthy
The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a clean and well maintained environment, where most procedures and practices ensure that children's physical, nutritional and health needs are addressed. Menus are displayed to inform parents of what snacks and meals children are to receive on a weekly basis. The staff provide adequate support and guidance to ensure that children develop a good understanding of hygiene, such as encouraging them to wash their hands after visiting the toilet and before eating. Children have daily opportunities for fresh air, as they freely access the outdoor play area and use a range of sit and ride toys. Children show awareness of space themselves as they enjoy music and movement sessions dancing to music using hoops. However, larger apparatus is very limited.Some of the staff hold a current first aid certificate and there is a fully stocked first aid kit available. Written policies regarding sickness, accidents and administration of medicines are in place and initially shared with all parents. The nursery medication policy states prior written permission is received from parents before administering any medication. However, this procedure is not being carried out, which means that children's health and safety is compromised in the event of medication being given. This is a breach of the National Standards.
The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a warm and welcoming environment, which is well maintained. The nursery room and resources are well organised, which enables children to move around freely and safely. They have access to a suitable range of well maintained toys and play equipment, which meet the needs of all the children attending. For example, the baby area is welcoming and comfortable with appropriate equipment, such as baby gyms, colourful push and pull toys, musical toys and they also have access to sand and water play when being used by the older children. Children benefit from a satisfactory range of safety measures, for example, through the use of colour coded locked gates and a secure outdoor play area. They develop an awareness of safety through regularly practising emergency evacuations. The children are supervised at all times, they are never left unattended and are never left alone with persons who have not been vetted. The system for managing access to the building is good and unauthorised persons are unable to gain entry. However, the nursery do not have a signing in procedure of people who are visiting the nursery. Staff have a good understanding of child protection issues through having attended training, ensuring that children are protected and their well being is enhanced.
Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do
The provision is satisfactory. Staff provide a suitable range of activities and play opportunities to foster most areas of children's development. Planning and children's assessments are used effectively to extend learning. Children take part in a range of sensory and creative experiences, such as baking, painting, collage work, water, sand and malleable materials. This develops their senses as they use their creative skills to make sense of the world around them. Activities and resources in the nursery are age specific for children attending and these are all easily accessible ensuring children have free choice, which promotes independence. The daily routine is varied and flexible with times for children to have snacks, meals, activities indoors, outdoors and time for rests. Younger children benefit from routines which are consistent with their experiences at home promoting their feelings of security and ensuring continuity of care.Children relate and play well with their peers and the children are happy and settled. The staff balance their time carefully to allow children to play and learn independently as well as giving time to support and encourage. The staff are interested in the children and value what they say and do, they respond enthusiastically giving praise and encouragement.
Helping children make a positive contribution
The provision is satisfactory. Children's awareness of diversity and respect for others is enhanced through a good range of resources to promote a positive awareness of the wider world. For example, staffing successfully reflects the cultural diversity and gender of the children. Equipment such as books, puzzles, dressing up clothes and small world toys positively reflect images of race, gender, culture and disability. Children are confident and happy in their environment. They are well mannered and are consistently praised during their time at nursery. The children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effectively fostered.The quality of partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents are fully encouraged to share what they know and are effectively informed about their children's progress and achievements. They receive information about the provision. For example, welcome packs with information about the setting and the notice board is changed with news bulletins and what activities are provided on a weekly basis. They are greeted warmly and a detailed exchange of information about their child takes place with the key worker on a regular basis. The staff are proactive with regard to informing parents about their children's progress and achievements. The children's progress reports are available for parents to access independently.
Organisation
The organisation is satisfactory. Most policies and procedures are appropriately written and shared with parents to promote the care, welfare and learning of the children. There are satisfactory systems in place to protect children from unvetted persons and a sound recruitment policy that ensures that staff understand and can carry out their roles and responsibilities. Staff are committed to training and have the opportunity to access a range of suitable training opportunities. They receive regular support from senior members of staff and suitable systems are in place to assess areas for further development. The environment for children is generally well organised and consequently the children are happy, settled and confident in their surroundings. Documents are stored in a locked cabinet in an office which ensures confidentiality and security. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.
Improvements since the last inspection
At the last inspection the nursery was asked to further develop ways to share information with parents, to improve the child protection policy and to enable children to access resources more easily. The nursery has a prospectus, a notice board displaying daily activities, daily routines sheets for babies and profiles on all the children. The nursery child protection policy has a written procedure to follow in the event of allegations of abuse or neglect. Children now have more opportunities to access resources independently. This ensures children and parents benefit from the improvements made.
Complaints since the last inspection
There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since the last inspection.The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.
THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE
On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:
The quality and standards of the care are satisfactory. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.
WHAT MUST BE DONE TO SECURE FUTURE IMPROVEMENT?
The quality and standards of the care
To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s):
ensure parents give prior written permission to administer any medication
ensure a record is kept in the nursery of all visitors.
