Kiddies World Day Nursery / Kids Club
Inspection report for early years provision
Unique reference number	EY309893
Inspection date	11/11/2008
Inspector	Lisa Jeffries
Setting address	21-21a Culford Drive, Birmingham, West Midlands, B32 3JH
Telephone number	07786 513 565 or 0121 476 0567
Email
Type of setting	Childcare on non-domestic premises

Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration whichever is the later, which require Ofsted or the provider to take action in Annex C.

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable.  The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.   

Description of the   setting    

Kiddies World Day Nursery was registered in 2005 and operates from purpose-built premises in the Bartley Green area of Birmingham. A secure enclosed outdoor area is used for outdoor play activities. A maximum of 84 children may attend the setting at any one time. The group is open six days a week from 07:15 to 18:30 for 52 weeks of the year. The premises are easily accessible to all.

There are currently 34 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Practitioners take and collect children from local schools. The setting also offers care to children aged over five years, before and after school and during school holidays. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

There are 13 members of staff employed to work with the children, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. In addition, the setting employs two members of staff for domestic duties.

Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are provided with high levels of care and make positive progress in their learning and development. Staff strive to offer an inclusive and welcoming service, supporting all children to actively participate in activities which meet their individual interests and developmental needs. Children are confident, independent and clearly enjoy their time at the nursery. The nursery is led by a motivated and experienced manager who embraces the process of self-evaluation and demonstrates a very positive attitude towards continuous improvement, helping to bring about sustained improvement to the early years provision.

What steps need to be taken to improve provision further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: continue to establish links with other providers and practitioners to support transition.

The leadership and management of the early years provision

The manager and practitioners work together as a motivated and cohesive team as they share a commitment to offering the best possible experiences to children and their families. Children are cared for by practitioners who have completed a range of training to ensure they have strong knowledge and understanding. The manager provides very clear guidance to the staff team and a comprehensive range of written policies and procedures are in place to fully support the running of the provision. Thorough risk assessments of the areas accessed by the children are conducted and the setting is stringent in the organisation of outings to ensure children's safety is prioritised. Precise vetting procedures are in place to ensure that children are cared for by suitable people. All practitioners are aware of the roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children.

Children benefit as the manager and practitioners strive to improve their practice, consistently monitoring and evaluating the quality and standards at the nursery. Regular staff meetings and in-house training sessions provide valuable opportunities for all staff to share good practice and to identify their training needs, which are prioritised by the manager. Recommendations made at the last inspection have been fully addressed and have had clear benefits to children's experiences at the setting. A positive equality and diversity policy outlines a commitment to promoting inclusive practice at the setting, ensuring all children can achieve as well as they can regardless of their background.

Practitioners demonstrate a clear commitment to working in partnership with parents and strive to provide regular opportunities for parents to become involved in their children's learning. Parents speak highly of the setting's approach to sharing their children's developmental records and feel very well informed regarding their children's care and progress. Although the manager is in the process of establishing links with the other early years settings that children attend, this requires further development to ensure optimum continuity of care. The setting dedicates time to getting to know children and their families, fostering strong relationships and helping to ensure that children settle quickly and feel secure. The manager employs a whole setting approach and is enthusiastic and passionate about her role in raising standards for children.

The quality and standards of the early years provision

Practitioners demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how to promote children's learning and development. The setting effectively acquires children's starting points at registration and this enables practitioners to value and build upon their existing skills. Practitioners plan purposeful activities, which reflect a range of learning opportunities, covering all six areas of learning. Children benefit from a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities and the routine is flexible to allow them to pursue their own interests. Children are motivated and interested to learn. The ongoing two-way exchange of information between nursery and home has a positive impact upon children's welfare. Parents and carers are welcomed into the setting by friendly, approachable adults and information is shared readily on a daily basis.

Practitioners are intuitive of children's individual learning needs and routinely undertake sensitive observational assessment to identify children's learning priorities. As a result, all learning experiences are relevant and match children's stages of development. Practitioners demonstrate a positive approach to supporting children's learning needs and to enriching the quality of education provided. There are lots of opportunities for children to play alongside each other and practitioners introduce situations to encourage turn taking and sharing of resources. In addition, practitioners make good use of incidental opportunities to develop children's natural curiosity. For example, initiating discussions about insects after finding a worm in the leaves.

Children benefit as practitioners spend the majority of their time at their level, interacting with them. Practitioners are becoming skilled at asking questions to develop children's thinking and to consolidate their learning. Children are able to make choices and can easily access a wide variety of resources and equipment. Children develop good language skills as practitioners talk to them constantly about what they are doing. Children use the words 'hot', 'cold' and 'warm' to describe the eggs when making fairy cakes. Practitioners understand that some children require additional support to enable them to be fully involved in the activities provided.

The learning environment is bright, welcoming and child  friendly, affording children plenty of space to explore. Older children have free-flow access to toilet facilities which fosters their ability to manage their personal care needs. Children develop an understanding of how to stay safe as practitioners use outings as a valuable opportunity to discuss road safety and this is consolidated at the setting with a variety of realistic props. The premises are clean and hygienic and children regularly wash their hands. The nursery fully promotes healthy eating by providing all children with a well-balanced range of highly nutritious meals and snacks. In addition, children have meaningful experiences which help them to learn about being healthy, such as brushing their teeth after eating.

Practitioners use positive strategies to help children to observe good social skills, behave well and respect each other. Children are offered praise, encouragement and rewards and practitioners understand that this helps to foster their confidence. Children are beginning to develop an understanding of diversity as practitioners encourage positive, open discussion about people's similarities and differences. Children develop basic numeracy skills from a young age to enhance their future economic well-being. For example, children are encouraged to develop their counting skills throughout everyday routines, such as singing along to number rhymes and counting bricks as they construct a tower.

Children have opportunities to develop collaborative skills and problem solving. For example, whilst playing with sand children describe and talk about what they see. During water play, children use different sized jugs and transfer water from one container to another. They begin to understand variations of size and use language, such as 'empty' and 'full'. Younger children play with musical toys and enjoy messy play, seeking and delighting in new experiences. Practitioners are effectively deployed and are always nearby to get involved and to support children's learning. Children learn to become independent through secure relationships with their key person. All children belong and feel part of the group.

Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

Overall effectiveness

How effective is the provision in meeting the needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?	2
How well does the provision promote inclusive practice?	2
The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement.	2

Leadership and management

How effectively is provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage led and managed?	2
How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement?	2
How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others?	2
How well are children safeguarded?	2

Quality and standards

How effectively are children in the Early Years Foundation Stage helped to learn and develop?	2
How effectively is the welfare of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage promoted?	2
How well are children helped to stay safe?	2
How well are children helped to be healthy?	2
How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve?	2
How well are children helped to make a positive contribution?	2
How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being?	2

Any complaints about the inspection or report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are:

Met

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are:

Met

Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted

This section of the report includes details of any complaint/s made to Ofsted when:

·        we took action for the provider to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or

·        we asked the provider to take action in order to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or

·        the provider had already taken any necessary action to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register.

We will not report on any complaint where the provider met the requirements of the Early Years Register or did not require any action by Ofsted or the registered provider.

Detail of the complaint/s

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since registration.

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.