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Our
latest Ofsted Report:
Inspection
report for early years provision
Unique Reference Number 321469
Inspection date 06 November 2007
Inspector Elizabeth Patricia Edmond
Setting Address The Pavillion, Rawcliffe Lane, York, North
Yorkshire, YO30 6NP
Telephone number 01904 651767
E-mail
Registered person York Childcare Ltd
Type of inspection Integrated
Type of care Full day care, Out of School care
About this inspection
The purpose of this inspection is to assure government,
parents and the public of the quality of childcare and,
if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was
carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced
by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education
is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and
Framework Act 1998.
This report details the main strengths and any areas for
improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements
included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes
for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National
Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where
nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for
the foundation stage.
The report includes information on any complaints about
the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since
the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever
is the later.
The key inspection judgements and what they mean
Outstanding:
this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality
Good:
this aspect of the provision is strong
Satisfactory:
this aspect of the provision is sound
Inadequate:
this aspect of the provision is not good enough
For more information about early years inspections, please
see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which
is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.
THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION
On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:
The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered
person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care
and childminding.
The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.
WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?
Joseph's Day Nursery opened in 1990. It is one of three
nurseries owned and run by the charity York Childcare. It
is situated in the Rawcliffe area of York and operates from
a detached two storey building which is set back from the
road. Children aged under two are cared for on the first
floor in an open plan playroom with separate milk kitchen,
changing area and laundry. Sleep facilities are provided
using cots in the playroom. The ground floor has been divided
to create two rooms for the two year olds and the pre-school
children respectively; each room has its own toilet facilities.
There is an enclosed outdoor area at the rear of the premises
with equipment for outdoor use and the nursery has use of
the adjoining playing field. Children would not normally
access the kitchen, office or staff facilities.
The nursery serves the local community and surrounding areas.
It cares for a maximum of 58 children aged from birth to
eight years, 18 of whom may be under two years. The nursery
is registered with the local authority to provide funded
nursery education to those children of eligible age. Of
the 80 children currently on roll 27 children are in receipt
of such funding. The nursery opens from 08.00 to 18.00 Monday
to Friday all year round with the exception of Bank Holidays.
Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery welcomes
and supports children who have learning difficulties or
disabilities and those who speak English as an additional
language.
The management board employ 13 staff to work with the children,
the majority of whom have appropriate qualifications and
experience. Extra staff are employed for additional duties,
such as cooking and cleaning. The manager has a supernumerary
role; additional administrative support is provided at the
head office. The nursery occasionally receives support from
the local authority's development workers. It is a member
of the National Day Nursery Association (NDNA) and the Pre-School
Learning Alliance (PLA).
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROVISION
Helping children to be healthy
The provision is good. Children are cared for in a warm
clean environment where they learn to manage their own personal
hygiene needs independently. The babies wipe their own hands
at the table before eating and the older children wash their
hands, use the hand drier and wipe their own noses with
the minimum of adult direction. The toddlers, proud of the
smiley face stamp on their potty chart, also learn to manage
their personal hygiene. Staff follow procedures for preventing
cross infection diligently which further promotes the children's
good health.
Children enjoy the healthy meals and snacks provided by
the nursery's cook. The babies relish the homemade lasagne
and wave their hands excitedly as they see their lunch arrive;
older children often ask for second helpings. Fresh fruit
or vegetables are included on the menus each day; older
children guess which fruits will be served for tea and are
pleased when it is apple, pear and banana. A high level
of independence is also encouraged and this is, on the whole,
very successful. For example, babies learn to use a spoon
very well and older children pour their own water very capably
when they want a drink. Younger babies are held closely
by an adult as they have their bottle; content and nourished
they play happily, sleep well and wake refreshed.
Because of the layout of the building access to the garden
is not easy for all children. For example, there are not
always enough staff to help to carry the babies downstairs
at a time when they are awake and the pre-school children
have to pass through the toddler room to get out. However,
the staff provide opportunities for the babies to enjoy
their developing mobility in their play room; there is good
space available for them to crawl and toddle and they develop
their muscles and skills as they bounce on the small trampoline.
A programme to aid the pre-school children's physical development
means that they enjoy developing their strength and balance
indoors and they enjoy running in the 'big field' or playing
on the larger equipment at the nearby park when they are
taken out as a group. This timetabled access to the outdoors
does not fully promote the children's health and development.
Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them
stay safe
The provision is good. Children can play freely in the indoor
environment because staff and management have a professional
approach to identifying and minimising risk. They use general
risk assessment documents and daily check lists to ensure
that the premises are safe and suitable for the children.
Because the emergency evacuation procedures are practised
regularly staff are very confident in how to get the children
out of the building quickly. This is particularly important
because of the babies being cared for on the first floor;
the overall procedures and responsibilities of each staff
member are very clear. Children learn to keep themselves
safe because staff talk to the children in terms that they
understand and help them to remember for themselves what
they need to do. For example, when prompted, older children
remember that they need to wear gloves when holding sparklers
because they get very hot. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding
of how children need to learn to keep themselves safe without
their play and development being hindered; to this end they
remind toddlers to hold on carefully as they climb up the
slide and down the ladder. Consequently, toddlers also learn
the necessary skills to keep themselves safe as they develop.
There is broad range of equipment and good quality child
sized furniture so that the children can play and eat together.
The resources are in good safe condition and are generally
freely accessible to the children or rotated as appropriate
to provide a good level of variety. However, whilst the
baby room is bright and cheerful, it is not very homely.
For example, whilst babies enjoy the commercially produced
toys, there are few household items in the baby room to
add interest to their play. Similarly, there is no domestic
furniture to assist the children's developing mobility and
to continue their normal life experiences. Clear policies
are in place to protect the children and safeguard their
welfare. This includes a rolling programme of child protection
training for all staff, and the support of the company's
senior management. All local and national guidance are kept
on file and displayed clearly for staff should advice be
needed.
Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do
The provision is good. Children are happy and settled in
the nursery environment and they enjoy their time there.
The babies are happy to explore their surroundings supported
by the staff with whom they develop trusting relationships.
For example, they raise their arms to staff to be lifted
up and they smile broadly as staff bob them up and down
on their laps. They crawl or toddle to explore the toys
set out on the floor by the adults; more mobile babies laugh
as they peep through the playhouse window. Children aged
under three enjoy different types of messy and creative
play presented appropriately for their level of development.
The babies enjoy scooping up the sand and are fascinated
as it trickles on to the floor. Toddlers develop their fine
motor control and strength as they squeeze and shape the
freshly made play dough. Some children are very confident
in their role play; they roam the larger spaces freely wearing
the dressing up clothes and bags. The babies also engage
in pretend play in their own way, having removed the doll
from the cot they experiment with size and shape by trying
to fit into it themselves.
Babies develop their language skills as they babble into
the toy phones and watch the adults' faces carefully when
they are speaking. Toddlers are also listened to as they
practise their communication skills. This means that as
well as practising these skills they know that they adults
value what they are trying to say. All children develop
an interest in books and they enjoy the stories and pictures.
Babies often snuggle onto an adult's lap and point at the
pictures as they try to repeat the words. Toddlers confidently
help themselves to the low level book case and they learn
to handle the books carefully. Older children listen intently
at group story time and explain about the characters and
what happened in the story. They laugh as they retell the
part about the giant's trousers falling down. Children enjoy
music. Babies move their arms excitedly as the staff sing
'Wind the Bobbin up.' More-able children join in enthusiastically
with the words and dance energetically to the action rhymes,
sometimes following the instructions and sometimes making
up their own dance to the music.
Young children develop their natural curiosity as learners.
Babies are motivated to explore their surroundings, sometimes
simply spending time examining something they have found
under a cot or they sit engrossed as they observe their
faces in the moving mirror. Toddlers confidently help themselves
to the range of opportunities offered in their area. This
is because there is an effective balance of free play and
group time as appropriate to their age.
Nursery Education
The quality of teaching and learning is good. There have
been some staff changes; but because of clear plans and
effective team work staff worked well to support the children's
learning. Staff have a good understanding of the Foundation
Stage for children's learning and they plan and provide
activities which help the children to make good progress.
Plans also show how the whole curriculum is covered effectively
by focusing on particular areas of learning each term. A
key strength at the setting is in staff's consistent use
of informal conversational questioning throughout the day
to challenge the children to think about what they are doing
and to offer them additional vocabulary as they play. For
example, staff join in with the children's role play and
encourage them to check if they have enough cups for everyone,
and how many more they will need; similarly, they ask them
what is special about two particular words when they rhyme.
Staff are beginning use observation to establish what the
children can do and what they are interested in and it is
used to inform activity plans. However, this information
about the children is not yet being harnessed to maximise
individual learning.
Children play well together and generally they become confident
motivated learners. Their good behaviour is an asset to
their learning because they sit well at group time and they
listen attentively at story time. However, there is an over
emphasis on the use of adult led activities to facilitate
learning and this inhibits children’s confidence at
times. Children learn to count well. Staff encourage them
to check how many spoons they will need for their lunch
and to use simple mathematical language to talk about size
and shape as they play with the construction. There is a
wealth of number in the indoor environment and children
learn to recognise familiar numbers.
The new role of the staff with responsibility for communication,
language and literacy is beginning to have a positive impact
on the children's development. Children speak and listen
well, and they develop their vocabulary to a good level
and begin to hear rhymes in words. More importantly, when
children want to talk about the fireworks that they saw,
staff take the time to listen and join in the conversation.
This means that they know that what they say will be valued,
thus encouraging their language skills. Children understand
about print carrying meaning; they find their name card
to register that they are here and they use letters to write
their names and their families’ names as part of adult
led activities.
Children enjoy learning different paint and craft techniques
as part of adult led activities for their art work and sometimes
have opportunities for free painting. For example, they
learn how to use printing and collage as adults focus their
attentions on such matters as Diwali or to prepare puppets
to act out the story about the 'Three Bears'. There are
merits in this because children learn about the topics coving
all areas of learning in a fun and interesting way. However,
the over use of adult-led craft activities to facilitate
learning in other areas means that children have few opportunities
to express themselves freely in their art work. The pre-school
room is decorated with pictures which all look the same
because the adults have chosen the subject matter, the material
and have often cut out the shapes first. This does not value
what the children have to offer. Children enjoy role play
and this is also used well to aid the children's development
in other areas of learning.
Children learn about the world around them. Because adults
provide gardening activities, children know how flowers
and tomatoes grow and they learn that the fish have to be
fed each day. Children begin to understand time. They name
the days of the week confidently because they help to complete
the calendar each day and staff engage them in conversation
about the past. Children's assessment folders show that
they use information technology to support their learning
in other areas; however the computer was broken at the time
of the visit.
Helping children make a positive contribution
The provision is good. Children are welcomed warmly into
the nursery and staff get to know the children and their
families very well. This means that children feel valued
and respected as individuals and have their needs met. For
example, staff are especially caring because they know when
babies are teething and they work with parents to sensitively
include all children in the range of activities. Children
have good opportunities to learn about the wider world and
their local environment through a range of activities. For
example, they learn about festivals, such as Diwali and
they play happily with the range of resources showing positive
images of diversity within the community. Children are relaxed
and confident in the care of the adults and they behave
very well. Proud of the warm praise and encouragement they
receive for pulling themselves up, helping to tidy the room
or for sharing the bricks they are encouraged and motivated
to repeat the action, thus aiding their behaviour and their
development. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural
development is fostered.
Partnership with parents is satisfactory and relationships
are positive. Children are beginning to develop effective
three way relationships with the staff and their parents.
The close liaison, mainly in relation to the children's
care promotes a coordinated approach. However, the key worker
system is not yet fully developed to strengthen this relationship
further. There is information for parents in written and
verbal form. For example, newsletters, activity plans and
time tables as well as main policies, such as how to make
a complaint, are all easily accessible to parents. However,
it is not clear which policy statements are the most up
to date and some are less accessible; also the registration
certificate, whilst displayed, is not in a very prominent
position. Parents have access to their children's development
folders and sometimes add their own comments. Parents of
pre-school children are provided with the 'poem of the month'
so that they can help their children to learn the words.
A professional approach to working with parents means that
their views can be sought and any concerns addressed at
the regular parents forum meetings. These are sometimes
well attended. Parents are pleased with their children's
level of learning, particularly in relation to their social
skills.
Organisation
The organisation is satisfactory. The quality of leadership
and management is satisfactory. A well established supervision
and appraisal system highlights any quality or training
issues and some staff talk with enthusiasm about recent
and forthcoming training which will improve outcomes for
the children. For example, since recent training, the staff
member with responsibility for the outdoor environment has
started detailed plans showing the intended development
of the outdoor classroom. However, because staff training
files are not kept on site, it is difficult to establish
whether basic requirements for first aid or minimum qualification
levels were being met. Measures put into place during recent
staff changes have provided the children with a good sense
of continuity and robust recruitment procedures means that
staff's suitability to be working with children is clear.
For example, staff have quickly been appointed to take on
additional roles on such matters as child protection, or
communication, language and literacy and relevant training
has been arranged. Similarly, pre-school staff are now becoming
more confident with the nursery's planning systems. The
group welcomes the inspection process as part of their overall
development and the local authority has also visited occasionally
with advice.
Children are secure in the well-organised regular routines.
Babies settle quickly for their nap and they enjoy sitting
at the table with their friends ready for lunch. Toddlers
also assemble themselves quickly for snack and prepare themselves
when it is their turn to play outside as a group.
Pre-school children are similarly confident in their routines
which are on the whole meaningful and sometimes necessary.
For example, they help to lay the table, count how many
spoons they will need for their desert and can put on their
own boots to play outside. They also help to complete the
daily calendar and find their name card for self registration.
This develops their skills and their independence to a good
degree. Children follow these routines patiently and listen
to story attentively. However, some routines take up too
much of the children's time. For example, because snack
is taken as a group and activities have to be rearranged
for this, children spend time waiting until the tables are
prepared, for the snack to be served and then for the activities
to be set out again. The outdoor learning environment is
still being established and currently outdoor play is also
arranged as a group activity. Children have to wait until
the room is cleared, and then again until everyone has their
boots and coats on before they can all go out. Therefore,
some of these routines impact on the children’s opportunities
to extend and develop meaningful play and independent learning.
A professional approach to maintaining records about the
children's care ensures that all records, such as those
of accidents, medication and attendance are kept up to date
and signed by parents where appropriate. Staff update babies’
daily care records vigilantly through the day so that effective
feedback can be given to parents when children are collected.
Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the
children for whom it provides.
Improvements since the last inspection
Care
At the last inspection two recommendations were raised in
relation to the care of the children. The group was asked
to ensure that the arrival and departure times of the children
were recorded consistently and to attend to the maintenance
of the outdoor area. Records of children's attendance are
now clearly recorded and kept up to date at all times. At
the last inspection the outdoor area contained play equipment
which was in the process of being discarded. This was removed
immediately after the inspection.
Nursery Education
At the last inspection of the funded nursery education several
key issues for improvement were raised in relation to the
children's learning. Staff were asked to actively encourage
the children to make choices and independently access the
resources that are available in the areas of learning, to
plan and provide opportunities for the children to regularly
access and use the nursery computer, to use mark making
to support their play in other areas and use a wider range
of techniques and resources to join materials. They were
also asked to improve the presentation of the role play
area so children are motivated to use this area to develop
their imaginative and creative skills. These specific areas
of the children's development were addressed to a degree
at the time. Since the last inspection the partitioning
of the room and the new arrangement of the resources has
provided the type of environment where children can access
all areas freely, confidently and independently for their
play and learning, thus addressing all the issues raised.
However, the overly adult-led routines and activities currently
provided inhibit the children's independence and their true
creativity.
A further key issue was raised to develop a system to enable
the parents to contribute their observations to their child's
records of progress. Parents now occasionally use a post-it
note system to add to the children's folders and there is
a parents' comments box for them to comment on the observations
made by staff.
Complaints since the last inspection
Since the last inspection there have been no complaints
made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take
any action in order to meet the National Standards. 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 AND NURSERY EDUCATION
On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:
The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered
person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care
and childminding.
The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.
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):
improve the environment for the babies by introducing more
household items to enhance the children's play and by providing
some domestic style furniture
ensure that up to date policy statements as well as the
registration certificate are more easily accessible to parents
record staff's training in such a way that suitability can
be evidenced
establish routines to improve all children's access to the
garden and ensure that all areas of learning can be freely
accessed there by all children. (also applies to nursery
education)
The quality and standards of the nursery education
To improve the quality and standards of nursery education
further the registered person should take account of the
following recommendation(s):
review and revise routines for outdoor play and for snack
to meet children's independent learning needs and preferred
learning styles
make improvements to the outdoor area as indicated in the
care section above.
Any complaints about the inspection or the report should
be made following the procedures set out in the leaflet
Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints
about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare
and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available
from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk
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