Quality statement
We produce a quality statement for CSSIW and parents every year to reinforce the good work, care and value for money the Nursery has provided through the year.
Quality Statement / Review of 2009
During 2009 the setting has become more comfortable with the new parts of the Nursery, settling into an easy, manageable and happy routine. Parents, staff and the children have helped to develop this routine through suggestions, discussions, observations and trials to achieve a day filled with new opportunities and lots of time to play freely whilst maintaining the foundation phase planning for children of all ages. The children move around different areas with differing play zones whilst still maintaining a regular base area for continuity and security. The garden has been extended at one end and a raised area removed, more freedom of movement between activities has been observed as well as more frequent social interactions whilst using the large cars. The child have stated'look how fast I go','can we race', due to the increased free running space.
The new, neutral colour schemes on the lower floor of the building has proven very calming this year with a noticeable difference in behaviours, use of areas and concentration on activities for both the children and adults. Neutral shades painted on the walls, new light wooden flooring and increased natural lighting has helped transform the whole area into a more spacious, airy and exciting space to play. The attic space has been made accessible, increasing storage and allowing for many pieces of equipment to be stored and regularly rotated to keep the children actively interested in their surroundings.
The foundation phase continues to lead our planning with the children becoming more involved in what they learn and how. Every week the pre school children get together to discuss what they have learnt and help to plan the following weeks activities using the mind map technique, with the observations of the weeks activities used to take into account the needs of the children also. We continue to work beside the LEA advisors to ensure our planning and activities are up to standard and fulfilling the children's needs. In 2008 we rolled out the foundation phase to all age groups which continues to develop well with weekly observations and planning being available to all parents.
The Nursery has continued its ongoing commitment to training during 2009 with staff attending many training courses such as First Aid, Food Hygiene Level 1&2, Speech & Language, Child Protection and Vehicles to Learning. All staff feel they have benefited from the training provided by EYDCP and the Nursery, which is recorded via post training discussions as part of our Investors in People Accreditation. We are very proud that this year many staff have achieved formal qualifications such as Lisa and Jane, Officer in Charge and Deputy have achieved their NVQ4 qualification in Child Care, Learning and Development, Jodie and Sharon have achieved their NVQ2. Kelly, Shawna and Rhianne are working towards NVQ 3 plus Sam and Clare are working towards their NVQ 4. All staff are continually supported during their qualifications and training via other colleagues or managers and time given for discussions and activities to aid their learning. Clare has been upgraded this year as Team Leader becoming a further point of contact for staff queries, ideas or problems and representing staff to the managers if required. This post has proven very effective allowing for queries to be answered or problems resolved very quickly and effectively.
The Nursery successfully maintained the Baby Effective Early Learning Accreditation (BEEL) in 2009 in recognition of the work, activities and environment provided for the children under 3 and we continue to maintain and develop within the CSSIW and ESTYN regulations as well as Investors in People, all of which are regularly reviewed, updated and training provided for.
Parents, grandparents and carers continue to be kept up to date with what is happening at the Nursery via our large notice boards and information books in the reception, our regular monthly newsletter, regularly updated website and by regular contact with the staff. Parents have time to talk to staff regarding any change such as their child moving up to the next group, which we do gradually, introducing the child on a regular basis until they feel confident to move permanently. The increased settling in time for new children have proved a success with children feeling happier and more confident by attending many times for short periods before starting their first official day at Nursery.
Being part of the Pontypool community is very important to us and we have continued this in 2009 by links with Melin Housing for cross generational activities, visiting the library and museum to participate in their activity days, visiting the local church for the Chris Tingle celebration and taking part in the many town centre activities. The Nursery provided the under 3's play area and lost child post at Pontypool Carnival this year as well as providing activities for the Pre School Playgroup Teddy Bears Picnic in Cwmbran. I am an active committee member with Torfaen PPA, this year becoming Chair Person, attending their meetings and activity days as well as attending many Pontypool Town Centre Traders committee meetings. This year the nursery has also joined the National Day Nurseries Association and has used its many advisory points to help keep staff informed on the forth coming Vetting and Barring Scheme as well as tips on quality and reviewing customer satisfaction.
During 2009 a full review and update has been carried out on every one of our Policies, Risk Assessments and Pubic Information booklets bringing them fully up to date and in line with current affairs, regulations and staff laws. A full copy of our Policy Guide and Risk Assessment is now displayed in the entrance hall of both the upper and lower floors allowing staff, parents and visitors easy access and time to browse. This has had a positive impact on the staff, customers and visitors—being better informed, transparent and having answers to questions available at all times. All customers have been given a copy of our new Terms and Conditions booklet giving clearer information about what they can expect from us and what we expect from them, as well as new updated registration forms to ensure accurate and up to date information This year we have sought the advise of the Federation of Small Businesses, NDNA, Newport and Gwent Enterprise and Welsh Assembly Government to ensure our business practices and child care methods are relevant, most up to date and appropriate, leading to many changes such as new policies for Sun Care, Use of Photographic Media and Social Networking as well as changes to our attitudes with regard to customer care and risk assessment.
In April 2009 we sent questionnaires to all our customers, here are a few comments -
'Seeing T & C's development and their happy smiling faces proves what a good job you're all doing there. We were so pleased with how you helped them to settle in at the start.'
'..if you need something they are always willing to help as best they can.'
'The first time I made a phone call to Osbourne Lodge they was very helpful. The nursery treats my both children as I would myself as a parent.'
The expansion has'...very positive improvement, making access a lot easier, bright and open.' '...made an already excellent nursery twice as good.''improved the Nursery significantly, the entry system is very safe and secure.'
Nikola Masters (Registered Person & Proprietor) Dec 2009
Quality Statement / Review of 2008
During the past year the Nursery has undergone major transformation with the opening of our new baby floor and renovations of the lower original floor. We now have pavement level access and full disabled facilities for the first time at the Nursery which is a massive improvement for all using our facility.
During the first few months of opening the new floor the parents and staff played a very big role in deciding how the floor would run overall , what changes are needed to the lower floor and many changes were made to improve systems overall via questionnaires and direct conversations. The children using the new spaces were observed on a regular basis to see how they found the environment and changes in equipment and placing were made regularly to encourage more movement and use. The new floor of the Nursery always has such a calm atmosphere which we attributed to more light, space and neutral colours on the walls and floors. We decided to carry this theme to the whole Nursery to see its effect on behaviour and atmosphere. After removing many partition walls and total redecoration, the staff and children have been observed to be much calmer and have much more clear space for freedom of movement. The children have commented on their new areas stating "This is fab, I want my cars all over this floor". The renovated lower floor now has a fully fitted soft play room, snug with fully padded floor, construction room and imaginary room. When asked what the children like best about Nursery most indicated the soft play room and imaginary room, other comments were,'I like to play with the dinosaurs', 'Can we go to the park today, I like the park', 'I like playing with the play dough', 'I love it in the bouncy room'.
The Nursery has continued its going commitment to training during 2008 with many training courses such as First Aid and Makaton being held at the Nursery premises to enable all to attend. All staff feel they have benefited from the training provided by EYDCP and the Nursery, which is recorded via post training discussions as part of our Investors in People Accreditation. The most memorable training course for all has been the conference held by Ros Blackburn, an autistic lady with a major insight into childhood autism. We are very proud that this year many staff have achieved formal qualifications such as I, Nikola Masters has gained NVQ4 Child Care and Development Qualification, Vicky Lander has achieved NVQ level 3, Shawna and Kelly has achieved Level 2 and Sharon has qualified for Food Safety Level 1 & 2. Both Lisa and Jane, Officer in Charge and Deputy are currently working towards their NVQ4 Qualification and aim to complete in 2009, Kelly and Shawna are working towards NVQ 3 plus Jodie and Sharon are working towards NVQ2. All staff are supported during their qualifications and training via other colleagues or managers and time given for discussions, especially Sharon who is hoping to expanding her role from cook to child care assistant.
During this year we have successfully rolled out the foundation phase right across the Nursery , including the younger children. This gave us the opportunity to look at the whole Nursery again to see how improvements could be made to help implement the foundation phase. The garden has been rearranged and a play house, growing garden, bug area, water tubes, composter, wall paintings and road system added to increase activity, science and social interaction and fun. The children have been observed to play together more rather than run around with no direction. Many children have spent over 30 minutes playing with the water tubes at a time and the play house complete with furniture has evoked many home play situations.
We achieved the Baby Effective Early Learning Accreditation this year in recognition of the work and activities done with under 3's. many hours of work went into the supporting evidence and observations which in itself helped highlight areas for improvement, such as staff training and play opportunities. We continue to work and develop within the ESTYN regulations as well as Investors in people, both of which are regularly reviewed.
Parents are kept up to date with what is happening at the Nursery via our large notice boards and information books in the reception, our regular monthly newsletter, regularly updated website and by regular contact with the staff. Our new entrance hall has provided a meeting space and seating area for parents to confidently discuss their child or family, with a staff member always available to talk. Grandparents have been more encouraged to get involved this year with newsletters being provided for them and regularly asked their opinions. Parents have time to talk to staff regarding any change such as their child moving up to the next group, which we do gradually, introducing the child on a regular basis until they feel confident to move permanently. We have increased our settling in time for new children, this is discussed with parents who sometimes visit 5 or more times before starting full sessions at the nursery aiding their settling in process and parents confidence at leaving their child.
We have always prided ourselves on being part of the Pontypool community and this year have forged closer links by joining together with Melin Housing to for cross generational activities, such as the children attend Anerin Beven Court to help the elderly with their gardening and the residents have attended the Nursery for teatime and stories with the children. We also provided the under 3's play area at Pontypool Carnival, combining the lost child area with the play are for Cwmbran Carnival. I am an active committee member with Torfaen PPA, attending their Teddy Bears Picnics and activity days as well as attending many Pontypool Town Centre Traders committee meetings.
During 2008 we have done a full review of our Policies, updating many and renewing our brochure to contain more up to date and relevant information. All staff and parents were given new copies of the policies as well as reinforcing them on the notice boards. We have had the following two studies made of the Nursery this year, Sustainability & Development Analysis by Bangor University and Risk Analysis Report by NG Group. These studies highlighted areas of improvement in relation to environment, sustainability, safety, good practice and long term prospects. Many changes were made in reflection of finding made such as an environmental policy, individual training logs and advertising.
Here are a few comments made this year by our parents -
"All the staff at Osbourne Lodge give 110%, they are a credit to the Nursery as a business and to themselves"
"Well when J...... arrived at Osbourne Lodge, you said your care was the best and I'm glad to say you more than delivered! You should be very proud of your staff, they are flawless. J........ has grown into a well mannered young boy (most of the time). All down to your Nursery!"
Quality Statement / Review of 2007
We are all very proud at the Nursery of our relationship with parents and other professionals we deal with on a regular basis, they are very important to us and we respect their views and wishes greatly. We regularly chat informally with parents who then feel able to ask questions and make suggestions for change.
We issue all parents with questionnaires on a regular basis to ensure we are giving the best care to their children and are meeting parents expectations. Further to this we have an open suggestions box for parents to air their views verbally or even anonymously and we are always open to new ideas. These are a sample of statements parents have made either in the questionnaires, suggestion box or on the numerous thank you cards we have had through the year.
"All the staff at Osbourne Lodge give 110%, they are a credit to the Nursery as a business and to themselves"
Since going to Osbourne lodge my son has really come out of himself, thank you for taking such good care of him"
"I know that when my daughter goes to Nursery every morning she will receive the care and attention that she would receive at home."
Parents are kept updated monthly with our newsletter and website, which is maintained on a regular basis to include a weekly diary. We have a great deal of information available to both new and existing parents consisting of our brochure, notice boards and our 'All About Us' file, which contains our latest multi agency reports, policies, staffing and much more.
Staff keep updated with new ideas on training courses which are made available by EYDCP and other agencies. All staff have the opportunity to attend courses and any new ideas and information is cascaded to all staff who could not attend. All staff at the Nursery have a current First Aid and Food Hygiene certificate and attend yearly Child Protection courses. This year we were reassessed for our Investors in People Status which we first achieved in 2001, our inspection was excellent and we retained the status which recognises the value placed on staff, the importance of ongoing training and our commitment to customers. To maintain our standards of quality and knowledge Lisa, Jane and myself have committed to studying NVQ4 in Childcare Learning and Development with Aspiration Training.
Lisa and Jane have worked hard this year towards BEEL accreditation which is currently being assessed ready for inspection and Clare helped us exceptionally to achieve a very good report from the ESTYN inspection in October. The Nursery proudly attended a presentation for achieving the Healthy Early Years Award 2007 plus retained our Positive about Disability People symbol and Bronze Award from Environmental Health.
This year I have become a committee member of the Torfaen branch of the Preschool Playgroup Association and the Gaer After School Club as well as continuing membership of the Federation of Small Businesses. We feel that membership of these groups help us maintain up to date on changes in law, standards and local issues. Linked to this the Nursery also takes delivery of regular publications to maintain up to date standards and ideas for the curriculum.
Our customers and members of the community have been very supportive this year during renovation work to the upper floor of the building, especially as the improvements have been immense. We look forward to improving the quality of our surroundings over the coming year.
Nikola Masters ( Registered Person & Manager)