Lomeshaye Village Day Nursery
Inspection report for early years provision
Unique reference number	EY388023
Inspection date	28/07/2009
Inspector	Cynthia Walker
Setting address	Lomeshaye Village Day Nursery, Turner Road, Lomeshaye Village, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7DR
Telephone number	01282 619229
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 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    

Lomeshaye Village Day Nursery Ltd is privately owned under a limited company and was registered in 2009. It is situated in a converted mill on the Lomeshaye, Turner Road industrial site, Nelson, Lancashire. There is a baby unit on the ground floor for children under two years and on the first floor there is provision for children from two to eight years with supporting facilities. Children have access to a secure outdoor area. The nursery is open for 52 weeks a year, excluding five bank holidays, from Monday to Friday, 07.30 until 18.00.

The nursery is registered on the Early Years and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 90 children under eight years may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 148 children on roll and children may attend for a variety of sessions. There are 28 staff who work directly with the children and this includes the provider, manager and deputy. All staff have qualifications in early years and there are two members of staff with early year's professional status. Support staff are employed for cooking tasks. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with learning difficulties or disabilities. The nursery provides funded early education for three and four year olds.

Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good. Children enjoy their time in the nursery and staff provide interesting learning opportunities which meet the children's needs and effectively promote their welfare. The provider and staff value the diversity of individuals and are effective in ensuring all children are integrated into the nursery by ensuring children receive the appropriate support they need. The nursery has an accurate understanding of its strengths and weaknesses and plans for the future are well targeted.

What steps need to be taken to improve provision further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person shoul review the methods for analysing the children's observations to consistently reflect future learning and how this is to be achieved; and ensure this information is reflected within the weekly programme of activities   review the system for recording accidents that children arrive with at nursery from home.

The leadership and management of the early years provision

The provider and staff are providing good quality care and education for children. Documentation which is required for the safe and efficient management of the nursery is efficiently organised and promotes children's needs. There is a robust recruitment and vetting procedure which maintains the suitability of staff and promotes the children's safety. Policies and procedures are effectively shared with parents and they are reflected in practice, for example, behaviour. The nursery are committed to the continued development of the staff team and have introduced a training matrix with identified future training needs.

Self-evaluation is effective in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the nursery which reflect the views of the local authority and parents. The nursery has clearly identified their priorities for improvement which includes developing the outdoor play to enhance the continuous provision. Regular questionnaires on a variety of issues give parents and carers the opportunity to comment on the care and learning their children receive. This information is reviewed and presented to the parents and includes positive comments, such as, there is plenty of choice of activities and continuous provision has greatly improved. Detailed risk assessments ensure the staff team take effective action to eliminate and manage identified risks within the nursery. Staff have a good understanding of child protection and the full team has completed appropriate training to enable them to effectively safeguard the children in their care. However, at present staff are not following a consistent procedure to record accidents which children arrive with from home.

Parents and carers receive excellent information about the nursery which is reflected in the detailed notice boards outside each of the designated areas and includes details of the planned activities. Regular interesting newsletters ensure information is regularly updated. Parents and carers are well informed about their children's progress and achievements through parents evenings and children under two receive daily information slips. This is supported by an open door policy for parents and carers, regular discussions with key workers and opportunities to read their children's files which are regularly sent home, that parents identified as being very useful. A detailed overview of the children's progress and development titled 'all about me to school' is being used to create a smooth transition to school for the older children.

The quality and standards of the early years provision

The staff team effectively encourage the children to have a positive attitude to learning by interacting and supporting children at activities both in and out of doors. Planned observations are being completed on target children every four weeks which are supported by more regular spontaneous observations. The individual children's future learning is identified in the planned observations, however, future learning does not consistently reflect how staff will move individual children to the next stage of their development. Key workers take responsibility for using information from observations and identified interests to inform the next weeks planning of the continuous provision. For example, a small slide was introduced into the baby room as parents had highlighted their recent purchase of a slide at home. Although key workers have a sound understanding of individual children's learning, the quality of the planning sheets does not consistently ensure that activities are matched to individual children to support their learning. The provision of a balance of adult led and child initiated activities enables children to have an enjoyable and challenging experience. The constructive organisation of the nursery encourages purposeful play and exploration which enables children to make independent choices and be active in instigating their play and learning.

The recent introduction of an exciting computer suite actively encourages children to develop their skills as they complete simple programmes. Displays reflect colourful art work completed on the computer and children are able to copy initial outlines of letters. Younger children become animated as a treasure box is introduced and examine resources which include a shell from the sea side and they listen expectedly to see if they can hear the sea. Older children examine and discuss the properties of resources and test if they are magnetic with large magnets. Children under two explore and examine a wide range of resources and are fascinated with a small door which they repeatedly open and close. They explore their senses as they cover their faces with brightly covered muslin and play peek-a-boo with staff. Children are confident communicators and use language to give detailed explanations on how a particular resources works. Younger children are making marks on a board with bright red finger paint whilst older children confidently write their own name on art work from accessible resources. Younger children enthusiastically participate in the song 'Five currant buns' using cut out representations of the buns and are encouraged to count and estimate how many buns are left. Older children concentrate well as they identify items which are being removed from a covered tray.

The nursery is committed to good quality care which promotes children's health and well-being exceptionally well. Involvement in growing vegetables on the nursery allotments which contribute to their meals constructively reinforces children's understanding of healthy eating. The involvement of parents who provide food relating to their celebrations enriches the children's cultural experience and encourages them to develop an understanding of diversity. Children have access to a wide variety of activities which develop their physical skills which includes skilfully controlling wheeled toys in the outdoor area, using the monkey bars at the allotment or practicing their football skills on the local pitch. Older children are encouraged to make healthy choices about what they eat and drink as they serve themselves at snack and meals. Children have established positive relationships and they behave well in response to the positive responses from staff. They play harmoniously together and work co-operatively at activities as they take turns and share resources.

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?	1
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?	1
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