Unique Reference
Number EY362493 (download avialable here)
Inspection
date 04 June 2008
Inspector Carole Argles
Setting
Address Fovant Rainbow Centre, Tisbury Road, Fovant, SALISBURY, SP3 5JY
Telephone
number 01722 714255 E-mail Registered person Fovant Rainbow Centre 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 good.
WHAT SORT
OF SETTING IS IT? Fovant Rainbow Children's Centre was re-registered under private ownership in 2007. It
operates from three buildings within the Rainbow Centre in the village of
Fovant in Wiltshire. Children have access to enclosed outside play areas.
The setting
is registered to provide full day care and provides flexible provision,
including holiday care, for children
up to the age of 11 years. A maximum of 52 children under the age of eight
years old may attend the setting at any one time. The setting is open each
weekday between the hours of 08.00 and 18.00, for 51 weeks of the year. There
are currently 57 children on roll, of
whom 14 children receive funding for Nursery Education. The setting supports children who have learning
difficulties or disabilities. At present, there are no children who speak English as an
additional language.
There are
10 members of staff who work directly with the children. Of these, six hold
an appropriate early years qualification
and two members of staff are workng towards a qualification.
A community
based toddler group for families who live in nearby villages operates from the
premises one morning each week.
THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROVISION Helping children to be healthy.
The
provision is good. Effective measures are in place to support the children's
good health. The premises, toys and equipment are kept clean and hygienic. The
risk of infection spreading between children is minimised because staff provide
separate bedding for each child. They implement sound precautions during nappy changing and have rotas in
place to ensure that all toys and equipment are cleaned frequently. Children
are not cared for if they are ill or infectious. There are appropriate procedures in place in the event of a
child sustaining an accident or other
emergency. The staff hold suitable first aid certificates and first aid kits
are kept in every room. There are sound procedures in place for the safe
administration of any medication to children and appropriate consents and
records are maintained. The children are protected from the harmful effects of
the sun and many wear hats when playing out in sunny weather. Shade is provided
in the outside play area and the staff ensure that sun cream is applied.
Children's
dietary requirements are met well. Staff and parents exchange information
to ensure that any specific
requirements are met. Details of all allergies and dietary needs are displayed so that all staff are aware. The
children are reminded of the importance of drinking plenty and water is readily
available for them to take when they are thirsty. Parents provide packed
lunches for the children. They are given information about nutritious contents
and which foods can be safely stored without refrigeration. Baby foods are
provided by parents and the staff ensure that these are stored and reheated
safely. The children receive healthy and varied snacks which include a choice
of fruit. There is a café style system and children can make decisions about
when they eat their snack. They develop independence for example, spreading
soft cheese on their tortilla and peeling their banana. Children who attend
the after-school provision receive a
substantial snack which may consist of crumpets, cheese, fruit, and yoghurt or
baked beans on toast.
The
children learn to look after their own health. They develop good hand hygiene
routines and know this is important to prevent them becoming ill. They often
talk with the staff about healthy eating and are knowledgeable about which
foods are good for them to eat. For example, they know that they should eat sweet foods such as cakes as a
treat. These messages are
reinforced during other activities. The children help to prepare food and take
part in cooking activities, making foods such as vegetable soup and smoothies.
A health visitor had come to talk with a group of children about healthy eating
and good dental care, and they knowledgeably answered her questions. The
chilren have exercise daily and this helps to keep them fit. They have boots
and suitable clothing readily available so that they can play outside in all
weathers. The children develop good control and coordination of their movements
and staff help them learn new skills. For example, a member of staff held the
hand of a young child to give her confidence as she learnt to balance as she
walked along a row of blocks. The children use a wide range of age-appropriate apparatus including small
climbing frames, slides, and wheeled toys. More challenging climbing activities
for older children are provided at a nearby park. A wide variety of bats and
balls are available and children were enjoying playing games of tennis with the staff
during the after-school club.
Protecting
children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe.
The
provision is good. The children's safety is promoted effectively by the staff.
The premises are well maintained and securely fenced. The staff have created
a welcoming and child-friendly
environment for the children who are comfortable and settled. There are many
displays of posters, photographs and children's artwork creating an interesting
environment for children and parents alike. The buildings are used well to meet
the children's developmental needs. Care has been given when choosing the
equipment. For example, the screens used to partition the baby room are
transparent to allow children to see through. The outside areas are well used
throughout the day to extend the learning environment and experiences available
for the children. There is a wide range of toys and resources to support all
areas of children's development. Items are of good quality and provide
challenge and interest for
children of all ages. The staff check that all are safe and suitable for use,
logging any concerns so that items will be repaired or replaced. Throughout
the setting, toys and resources are
stored in low units and this allows the children to access them independently and make choices
about what they do.
The staff
have a good understanding of ways to reduce the likelihood of accidental injury
to the children. Regular risk assessments are carried out on all aspects of the
children's care and staff check the premises daily. The premises are kept
secure against unauthorised entry, and visitors and parents are only admitted
by the staff. Appropriate safety equipment is in place to prevent children
accessing potentially hazardous areas such as electrical sockets or the
kitchens. Staff supervise the children
well at all times and if they are leaving an area, they inform others so that
they can be extra vigilant. Care is taken when young children use the steps to
the baby unit and the area is kept under close control. However, the steps are
not gated and some are becoming worn and are beginning to pose a tripping
hazard to all. Suitable fire safety precautions are implemented and regular
fire practices are carried out so that
all adults and children know how to act in an emergency. A community minibus is used to transport older
children to and from local schools and the provider ensures that appropriate
insurance and seat belts are in place.
There are
sound safeguarding procedures which contibute well to protecting the children
from harm. Staff know the signs that may indicate that a child is being abused
or neglected. They have a clear understanding of the action they must take if
they have concerns about the welfare of a child in their care. There are robust
procedures to ensure that children are only collected by people authorised by
their parents and they are never left alone with adults who have not been
vetted.
Helping
children achieve well and enjoy what they do.
The
provision is good. The children are happy and settled. They separate readily
from their parents and are greeted by staff as they enter. They develop relaxed
and friendly relationships with the staff who know them well and respect them
as individuals. The children are
grouped by age and ability and this allows their needs to be met effectively.
They receive praise and encouragement which promotes their confidence and self-esteem.
There is
good use made of the children's time and a balance of adult-led and child
initiated activities. The outside areas are well used and outdoor play is part
of the daily routine. There is an interesting programme of age-appropriate
activities for the children. The staff observe what the children can do,
recording and monitoring their progress. This information is used to inform
their planning making sure that they move the children forward in their
development. Whenever possible, the staff accommodate the children's interests, incorporating their suggestions in
the plans. The children are encouraged to be independent. They help to tidy
away toys and learn to put on their coats and shoes, and to manage their own
personal care. Older children help prepare the snack, cutting up salad
vegetables.
The babies'
usual routines are respected by the staff who take time to settle them,
sometimes rocking them until they fall asleep in their arms. There are good
levels of interaction between the staff and children who develop good
communication skills. The staff sit on the floor with the younger children as
they play, readily sharing books with them and extending their vocabulary and
learning. The children have many sensory experiences and opportunities to
investigate a wide variety of natural materials. A child was exploring a box of
pine cones and dried leaves, whilst another was gingerly putting her feet in a tray of dry peat and feeling
it between her toes. There are many activities which promote the children's
hand-eye coordination and muscle control. They use stacking and sorting toys,
and move beads along threading frames. They join simple construction pieces and
use larger play equipment in the
outside area, crawling through arches and climbing steps to use the slide.
In the
after school and holiday clubs, a wider age range of children are cared
for together. The staff are careful to
ensure that the youngest children are not overwhelmed and their needs are met. They adapt activities so that all
can participate at their own
ability. The children were using clay and tools to make models of their choosing. Others were
looking at books and engaging in pretend play together. As in other areas,
there are a variety activities and resources stored so children can make
choices about what they do. Staff interact well with the children, making suggestions about what
they can do and readily taking part in outdoor games. The children play cooperatively together and are well
occupied and enjoy what they do.
Nursery
education The quality of the teaching and learning is good.
The
children are making good progress towards the early learning goals effectively.
Staff have a clear understanding of how children learn and they are skilled at
asking questions which encourage them to think. They create a stimulating
environment for children that allows them to operate independently. For
example, by having a wide range of creative materials and resources readily
available for them to select and use for their own purposes. The staff
continually observe and monitor what the children can do. They meet together weekly to plan the activities,
deciding how they will extend or support individual children's learning.
However, many activities are child-initiated and staff make the most of
opportunities to support their learning and development by asking open
questions around their planned learning outcomes. There are brief adult-led
times at the beginning of each session when staff and children talk about what is set out
available for use and at the end when they talk about what they have learnt and
achieved. Adult-led times, including for stories and singing, are optional but
most children choose to participate and enjoy what they do.
The
children are interested in the activities and keen to take part, often showing
sustained concentration. There are clear expectations for behaviour which
the children understand. They relate
well to others and play cooperatively together. For example, a child
spontaneously gives another a train carriage as he has two. At times, the
children decide to collaborate on tasks and two were sitting and cutting out
dinosaur teeth for a picture they were making together.
Most
children speak clearly and confidently, readily offering their ideas and speaking in group situations. They develop
good listening skills and the staff frequently remind them, how they should sit, watch and listen
attentively at circle times. They enjoy stories and books sometimes selecting
them independently and asking a member of staff to read with them. They listen
carefully and readily predict what may happen next. The children develop
excellent communication skills because staff continually ask questions, encouraging them to explain
what they are doing and why. The children are developing the skills necessary
for writing and there are many activities which promote their small muscle
control. They join construction
pieces, use simple tools including scissors and knives, and manipulate small
objects such as pegs. They enjoy painting using large arm movements and brush
strokes in the outside area, they make more precise marks using paints and
crayons on paper, and marks with implements in play-dough and clay.
The chldren
are interested in numbers and counting. There are many activities to help them
match to the correct number of objects to a numeral. Many children can
recognise and name simple geometric shapes and they learn to identify them by
the number of sides and angles. They are beginning to understand the concepts
of weighing and measuring and a member of staff explains that the amounts are
the same when the balance is level. Although the children are encouraged to
solve many problems, for example, in their model making and creative
activities, they are rarely asked to think about problems involving using
numbers, for example, by matching, comparing or separating groups of objects.
There are
many opportunities for children to explore and investigate a wide range of
materials and objects and to find out independently how they work. Staff
arrange exciting 'Discovery Days' when the whole outdoor area is dedicated to a
theme and children throughout the setting are able to take part. Recently they
explored a wide range of construction materials including sand, bricks, wood
and drain pipes along with other toys and pieces of equipment. The children use
their imaginations well at all times. They talk about imaginary ideas and
recreating what they have seen and heard, for example, pretending to make their
own popcorn following a previous adult-led activity. The children are given the
freedom to use their imaginations and to try out their own ideas and experiment
in art and craft activities, perhaps deciding to make a mask or a model robot.
They enjoy music and singing and they often begin to sing songs or action rhymes with staff in small or large groups
during their play. They make simple musical instruments such as shakers and
investigate the sounds that a variety of objects make when tapped. Staff plan
activities to increase children's knowledge of the world around them. They go
for walks to the village or in the adjacent woods and have visited the local
church. They find out about the culture and traditions of the wider world and celebrate festivals simply
through food, stories and art activities.
Helping
children make a positive contribution The provision is good.
The
children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. There
are many displays of photographs of the children involved in activities. Their
achievements are valued and their artwork and models are put on show, and they
receive praise and encouragement. This gives them a sense of pride in what they
do and they are confident and develop good self-esteem. There are many resources in use including
posters, role play toys and books, which show positive images of diversity. The
children begin to find out about their own community and the wider world and
this helps them to develop understanding and acceptance of others. They
sometimes use chopsticks when eating their snack and find out about life in
different countries through stories and books such as 'Handa's Surprise'.
Preschool children greet each other at circle times through signing and in a
variety of languages.
The
children's individual needs are well met because their parents and staff work
closely together. There is an effective process to help new children settle
quickly at the setting to ensure that they are confident and secure before they
are left. Good two-way exchange of information, for example, by use of daily
diaries, promotes continuity in the younger children's care and ensures that
staff can follow their usual routines. The setting has appropriate procedures
to promote equality of opportunity and to ensure that all children and their
families are included. The premises are adapted to ensure that they are
accessible to anyone with reduced mobility. There is good support available for
children who have any specific needs. The staff work closely with parents and
other professionals to plan and monitor the children's care and learning. They
adapt activities to ensure that all children are fully included.
Most
children behave very well as a result of the staff's good understanding of positive and age-appropriate behaviour
management strategies. The staff set clear and consistent boundaries for what
the children can do and explain these carefully so that they know what is
expected of them. The children are praised and rewarded so that they know when
they have behaved well. They are helpful and play cooperatively together, sharing and
taking turns. A minority of the oldest children in the after-school provision
occasionally show some unwanted behaviour. However, staff are implementing
sensible strategies to address this and are involving them in discussing the
rules of the setting and introducing a new reward system.
The
children benefit from their parents and staff working effectively together.
There is a friendly relationship between them and parents speak highly about
the setting, staff and the care provided for their children. The parents are
kept well informed about what their child will be doing and about their
progress. Comprehensive information about the seting is available including a prospectus with précised information about the policies and
procedures. There is also an informative website and parents can choose to
receive information by email. There are notice boards in all areas of the
premises displaying information about general childcare issues and what is
happening at the setting. There are many photographs showing the children at
play and parents can watch video footage of them on a computer to further their
understanding of what is provided for their child.
The
partnership with parents and carers is good and this supports the children's
learning and development well. Clear information is available to parents about
what and how their child will be learning and why. Each week they receive an
abbreviated copy of the week's activity plan. Parents and staff talk about the
children daily. They are kept well informed about their progress towards the
early learning goals and given opportunities to view their records at termly
meetings. Their opinions and involvement in their child's learning is valued by the staff. They are encouraged
to contribute details to their developmental records and given information to
help them understand how to support their child's learning at home.
Organisation
The organisation is good.
The good
organisation of the setting supports the children's care, learning and safety
effectively. All the required policies, procedures and records are in place and
implemented appropriately. Staff request written consents from parents so that
they can be sure they are meeting with their wishes for their child. Any
sensitive information is kept
confidential and secure. There are sound procedures in place to ensure that
adults are suitable to work with the children. There is a suitable process for
addressing and recording any complaints.
Good adult
to child ratios are maintained throughout the setting and the children receive plenty of attention and support.
They are grouped appropriately by age and ability to ensure that their
developmental needs are met. Where possible, there is consistent staff working
with the babies and youngest children to promote continuity in their care. The
staff work cooperatively together and understand their roles and
responsibilities which ensures that all runs smoothly for the children. The
staff's performance is monitored and
there are effective processes to plan their professional development and
several members of staff are currently undertaking training. At present, the
regular staff working with children aged under two years have not received
specific training in this area of work. There is an appropriate key person
system in place which promotes continuity in the children's care and provides an identified person with whom
their parents can liaise. The provision meets the needs of the range of children
for whom it provides.
The
leadership and management is outstanding and there are very clear and comprehensive management structures in
place. Following several changes of staff, a new team has been constituted who
are highly motivated and work very effectively with the children. They have a thorough understanding of
their roles and responsibilities and ensure that these are implemented fully.
There are unambiguous
aims and objectives for the children's learning and action plans for how these
will be achieved. Weekly staff meetings are held and staff are given non-contact time to allow them to keep
up-to-date with their planning and assessment duties. Frequent in-house and external training takes place
and this has a very beneficial impact on the way that the staff work with the
children. This is reflected in their learning and progress towards the early
learning goals. Wide-ranging
monitoring and evaluation systems are in place which assess both effectiveness of the setting and the children's
progress and learning. All activities are evaluated to determine how well they
have supported the children's learning. Staff use this to inform their
decisions about the next steps in each child's learning. In addition there is
monthly monitoring of the curriculum and this has recently correctly identified minor gaps in the
children's learning which staff have already planned to rectify.
Improvements
since the last inspection Not applicable.
Complaints
since the last inspection Since registration, 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.
