Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales

Transcription

1 Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 Child Minding and Day Care (Inspection and Information for Local Authorities) (Wales) Regulations 2010 The Child Minding and Day Care (Wales) Regulations 2010 Inspection Report Cardiff University Day Care Centre Park Place Central Cardiff CF10 3BB Type of Inspection Baseline Date of inspection 17 th October 2013 Date of publication 22 nd November 2013 You may reproduce this Report in its entirety. You may not reproduce it in part or in any abridged form and may only quote from it with the consent in writing of Welsh Ministers Please contact CSSIW National Office for further information Tel:

2 Summary About the service Cardiff University Day Nursery is located near the centre of Cardiff and is registered to provide full day care from 8am-6pm, for up to 64 children under the age of 8 years. The nursery operates on the ground floor of a university building and has an enclosed garden area at the rear. The nursery mainly caters for children of the students and staff at the university but spaces can be given to children living in the area. What type of inspection was carried out? This was a scheduled, unannounced, baseline inspection. The methodology used included the following: Consideration of the information provided in the Service Data and Self Assessment documents. Discussion with and observations of staff on the day of inspection Discussion with children in the pre school room. Observations of activities, routines and procedures throughout the day. Discussion with 2 parents Inspection of a range of documents, operational records and policies. Examination of CSSIW s questionnaires received. (2 staff and 6 parents) What does the service do well? The nursery has a good induction system which included a mentor for each new member of staff to help them settle into the role and understand the nursery s procedures. New staff are also supported by the manager with weekly meetings until they both feel confident that the team member has a good understanding of the procedures in place at the nursery. There is good use of the Welsh language to support children in their transition to school and to build a basic awareness of the language for all children. What has improved since the last inspection? The nursery has new carpets throughout and has improved their newsletter for parents. All staff have updated or undertaken First Aid and Food Hygiene training What needs to be done to improve the service? There were no issues of non compliance to report. The following good practice recommendation was discussed; To encourage independence and free flow play more, particularly in the pre school room. 3

3 Quality of life Overall, we (CSSIW) found that children were happy, settled and cared for in a setting that can meet their needs. Children and parents have a voice and are encouraged to speak up. The nursery had several mechanisms in place for the parents to provide feedback and had systems for capturing information from children. The nursery provides parents with questionnaires as part of their monitoring arrangements and encouraged parents to chat to the staff on a daily basis. Information from our parent s questionnaires showed that they were happy with the opportunities they had to talk to staff, which was mostly on a daily basis. We spoke to two parents who both confirmed they felt comfortable in chatting to all the staff and managers when they dropped off the children or collected them. The staff told us they capture children s comments and feedback on a daily basis. Staff record these where most appropriate but they share this information in meeting s. Children have the opportunity to develop skills and experience time out of doors. The nursery has a garden at the rear of the property which has been sectioned off for each of the rooms to use freely. There are smaller sub sections to the garden to encourage free flow play however; we only saw free flow play in the younger toddler room. Children in the pre school room were taken outside to collect leaves for an art activity. When they had finished collecting leaves they were able to play on the patio area with some hoops. We saw an area which had been used for planting earlier in the year which staff said children enjoyed. We discussed further developing the free flow play experience for the children and including sand and water outdoors in line with the Foundation Phase. The manager agreed to consider this further after the inspection. Children are able to access opportunities to learn, follow interests and develop skills. The nursery has several areas which are structured to suit the needs of the children attending depending on the age and stage of development. We saw staff undertaking a circle time activity where children were encouraged to practice their numbers and days of the week in the Welsh language. Children seemed familiar with the language and staff had basic phrases displayed around the nursery setting to remind them to use the Welsh language more. Although there were more than ample resources available to the children the setting offered limited free choice and children were seen to ask if they could move to a different activity rather than follow their natural curiosity. The manager told us she had identified this and was working with the staff to provide the children with more opportunities to develop independence and choice in line with the Foundation Phase principles. Children are encouraged to manage their behaviour in a positive manner and strategies are in place to support this. The nursery had a behaviour policy in place and minor behaviour issues were dealt with promptly. We saw staff providing praise and encouragement towards children who shared and were kind to each other. Any minor disagreements between children were dealt with quickly and staff explained the importance of sharing to the children. Staff remained calm and the focus was diverted away from any negative situation. 4

4 Quality of staffing Overall, staff were found to support children and care for them appropriately ensuring their needs were met. Children receive care which is based upon current knowledge of child development. The nursery has a training plan in place and encourages staff to undertake additional external courses that enhance their knowledge and learning. We saw a training matrix which was maintained by the manager and staff qualifications are displayed in the nursery corridor. All nursery staff had undertaken their First Aid and Food Hygiene qualification and the nursery updated these regularly. New staff are provided with a good induction and weekly meetings with the manager as well as having a mentor that they can use as a support mechanism during their induction period. This ensures staff are familiar with nursery s procedures and provides consistent care for the children. Children s needs are anticipated and they benefit from timely decisions and responsive care. Appropriate staff to child ratio s were maintained during the inspection and staff supervised and supported children in their care. Children that required personal care such as nappy changing and wiping noses were attended to promptly. We saw staff communicating with children as they undertook their duties providing reassurances to those who were unsettled. They observed younger children who showed signs of needing a nap or becoming hungry and they respond to their needs by cradling them on their lap or preparing their meals. A child in the pre school room was unsettled for the large duration of the time he was there, we observed staff trying various strategies to comfort him and when these failed the parent was called to prevent further distress. Children are cared for by a familiar carers and staff turnover is low. There was an effective key worker system in place. We saw information relating to the key worker groups displayed around the nursery and parents told us they knew who their child s key worker was. CSSIW questionnaires received from parents all indicated they knew who their child s key worker was and spoke to them daily. We staff at the nursery were settled and confident in their roles even though some of them had moved from other rooms recently. Children have good interactions with carers and feel enhanced well being as a result. Staff undertake daily observations of the children and maintain development records for each child. We saw staff responding to children s questions as they played with blocks on the floor. Staff were seen to offer praise as the children showed them what they made and they took a photograph for their files. We saw a group of toddlers in the art room enjoying painting and playing in the sand as some were taken aside to make a spider for Halloween. During their time in the room the staff were chatting to the children about they felt and what they saw and offering them support. The children seemed happy with their end results. 5

5 Quality of leadership and management Overall the nursery was found to provide a consistent service based upon quality improvements. Parents using the service are clear about what it sets out to provide. The nursery provides information for parents when they enrol at the setting and additionally there is plenty of information on the service displayed in and around the nursery. We saw photographs of current staffing outside each room with their names so that parents were able to see who cares for the children. Some policies and procedures were displayed along with the certificate of registration. Parent questionnaires indicated they are given all of this information and more. One parent told us they also received a newsletter informing them of current information. Parents can be confident their children are safe because the provision is well run with due care and attention to the Regulations and National Minimum Standards. The nursery had regular staff meetings to ensure staff have a good understanding of the role and information was shared. We examined some staff files and saw staff had regular supervision and annual appraisal following a successful induction. Records were organised and well maintained by the manager. Parents know who is accountable and who is overseeing the service. This is because the nursery provides information on the management of the setting for all visitors. The Statement of Purpose was clear and concise and Complaints Policy was in place. We spoke to 2 parents on the day who told us they were comfortable raising anything they might want to discuss and knew exactly who to speak to if they were at all concerned. Children experience a consistent service based upon quality improvement and well planned programmed of care. The nursery has monitoring arrangements in place and undertook an annual Quality of Care review. The manager and deputy told us how keen they were to improve their nursery and give the children the best service they could. They worked together with the staff to ensure there was planning in place for each room and plan ahead to ensure there was consistent staffing. This was evident with the use of lunch cover staff to ensure children always had a familiar face present. Monthly and weekly plans was seen in the base rooms. 6

6 Quality of environment Overall we (CSSIW) found children were cared for in an environment that was safe, stimulating and secure. Children find the environment light, airy, fresh and clean. The nursery has plenty of natural light and procedures in place to ensure it is kept clean and tidy. Each room, except for the babies had direct access to the outdoor garden. The nursery temperature was monitored and recorded and we saw the rooms were well ventilated. The children s work is displayed around the nursery which provided bright, attractive colourful pictures to stimulate the children. Children s wellbeing is promoted because of the range of toys, facilities and equipment provided to meet their needs. This is because the base rooms are all divided into sections to support role play, quiet area and table top activity. We saw toys were varied throughout the visit and children had access to a well resourced garden to support their physical development. Children have an opportunity to experience different areas but have a familiar base room. The nursery ensured all children are registered in their base room but ensure they access other areas during the day. We saw one child being taken to visit a sibling who was in another room and staff were seen to join together after lunch to allow children to socialise with each older children. There was a shared art room where children were taken to in small groups to undertake messy play but one of the groups undertook this activity in their base room. We discussed encouraging independence and access to messy play with the manager and she assured us that messy play is routinely occurring in the base rooms. Children and parents are reassured that they can be safe from strangers entering the premises. The nursery has a secure door entry system and procedures in place to ensure all visitors to the nursery are greeted. On arrival we were approached and asked to sign in before being greeted by the deputy manager. The visitors log was seen to be maintained. Parents are aware they are not to let anyone into the building even if they recognise them as another parent to ensure staff are aware of who is in the building. We saw parents abiding by this rule during the visit. Parents can be confident the premises are physically safe for their child. The nursery has systems in place to check the nursery to minimise risks for children. The last fire drill was undertaken on 23 rd July 2013 and documented with another planned for October During the inspection we discussed the process for risk assessments as the staff member we spoke to was unclear. The manager confirmed risk assessments are undertaken daily as part of the on-going care and are documented around the nursery. We did not view these at the inspection however, general risk assessments were seen in the office. 7

7 How we inspect and report on services We conduct two types of inspection; baseline and focussed. Both consider the experience of people using services. Baseline inspections assess whether the registration of a service is justified and whether the conditions of registration are appropriate. For most services, we carry out these inspections every three years. Exceptions are registered child minders, out of school care, sessional care, crèches and open access provision, which are every four years. At these inspections we check whether the service has a clear, effective Statement of Purpose and whether the service delivers on the commitments set out in its Statement of Purpose. In assessing whether registration is justified inspectors check that the service can demonstrate a history of compliance with regulations. Focussed inspections consider the experience of people using services and we will look at compliance with regulations when poor outcomes for people using services are identified. We carry out these inspections in between baseline inspections. Focussed inspections will always consider the quality of life of people using services and may look at other areas. Baseline and focussed inspections may be scheduled or carried out in response to concerns. Inspectors use a variety of methods to gather information during inspections. These may include; Talking with people who use services and their representatives Talking to staff and the manager Looking at documentation Observation of staff interactions with people and of the environment Comments made within questionnaires returned from people who use services, staff and health and social care professionals We inspect and report our findings under Quality Themes. Those relevant to each type of service are referred to within our inspection reports. Further information about what we do can be found in our leaflet Improving Care and Social Services in Wales. You can download this from our website, Improving Care and Social Services in Wales or ask us to send you a copy by telephoning your local CSSIW regional office. 8