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

Swffryd Sunflowers

Flying Start Childcare, Nursery Building Swffryd Primary School Swffryd Road Swffryd NP11 5DW

Type of Inspection – Baseline Date of inspection – Friday, 16 October 2015 Date of publication – Thursday, 12 November 2015

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Summary

About the service Swffryd Sunflowers is registered with the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) to provide care for up to 26 children between the ages of two and three years of age under the Welsh Government Flying Start initiative. The group operates five morning sessions a week from the old nursery building in the grounds of Swffryd Primary School. Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council operates the service and has nominated a Responsible Individual (RI) on their behalf to oversee it. There is a Person in Charge (PiC) on a daily basis, and a named deputy is in place. English is the language of the service with incidental Welsh used throughout the session.

What type of inspection was carried out? This was a scheduled, unannounced baseline inspection. It reports on all four quality themes. The evidence for this report came from: ● discussions with the deputy, staff and parents at inspection ● observations of care practices throughout the session including personal care ● scrutiny of daily records, staff files, child profiles, statement of purpose and quality care review report ● use of the SOFI (Short Inspection Framework for Inspection) tool. This provides CSSIW with evidence as to levels of child engagement and quality of interactions between staff and children.

What does the service do well? The service provides a high quality experience for children, working in partnership with other professionals and parents to ensure children develop fully and systems are in place to meet their individual needs.

What has improved since the last inspection? The outdoor play area had been completed and included a mud kitchen, dry river bed, sensory and wild flower gardens. This had greatly enhanced the play and learning experience for children.

What needs to be done to improve the service? There were no issues of non compliance to report.

In order to continue to comply with regulations the deputy and RI were advised to include the views of children and staff as well as parents in the next Quality of Care Review.

Quality of Life

Overall we, (CSSIW), found that the needs of each child attending was placed firmly at the centre of the service. Staff were respectful and warm towards children and their parents. Child led play was the priority with staff encouraging enquiry through discussion, questioning and exploration.

Children are encouraged to speak and express themselves. Staff used active listening skills to promote discussion and open questioning to develop enquiry. There was a strong emphasis on linguistic development and communication skills. Staff spoke clearly and made eye contact with the children when speaking to them. Language skills were developed throughout the session through circle time songs and rhymes. Throughout the session when instigated by the children staff read books and took part in role play in order to extend the children’s vocabulary.

Children have opportunities for freely chosen, unstructured and self-directed play. Due to the flexible routine and high staff ratios children were free to follow their interests indoors and outdoors and be supported by staff as necessary. We saw that for the greater part of the session play was child led and that staff supported this by ensuring that children had all the resources they needed for meaningful play.

Children have their individual needs recognised and catered for. As there was a key worker system in place, children were assessed on entry to the group along with ongoing observations to confirm their progress towards developmental milestones. When an individual child was identified as having additional needs staff drew up an Individual Play Plan and decisions were made as to whether the child would benefit from one to one support. We observed a child who had this support and found that their experience had been enhanced because of the support given. The staff member had undertaken specific training to support the child and toys had been purchased. We undertook a SOFI observation of the staff member working with the child and noticed that they provided good opportunities for the child to be integrated and become part of the group. The staff member was inclusive, warm and engaged fully with the child.

Children are encouraged to gain independence and self help skills. We saw staff encourage self reliance when the children were putting coats on to play outside, with toileting and during snack time pouring their own drinks. This meant that children were taking responsibility for tasks and developing skills such as putting on and taking off coats.

Children’s development is promoted through healthy food and drinks. A healthy snack was provided for the children consisting of wholemeal bread, sliced banana and pineapple and a drink of milk or water. Staff were seated with each group of children as they had snack and chatted with them about what they had been playing with and enjoyed on the day. This was then recorded in the child’s daily diary. This meant that the key workers had opportunities to consult with the children and understand what the children enjoyed to do when at the group.

Children experience warmth, attachment and belonging from a consistent staff group. This is because the staff group were responsive and warm towards the children. Appropriate physical reassurance was offered to children who were missing a parent orhad become distressed during the session. There was an atmosphere of calm, tolerance and reassurance which helped children to settle quickly and get the most from their time in the group.

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Quality of Staffing

Overall we found that children were cared for by an established staff group, the majority of who were present at the previous inspection. Staff worked in key worker groups and were responsible for named children. We saw that staff had been recruited, appointed and supported in their roles by the PiC and RI as evidenced in staff files.

Children receive responsive care. This is because staff anticipated and met their needs. Staff were attentive and alert whilst giving children the opportunity to do things for themselves. Staff responded swiftly to distress or accidents and children were quickly reassured.

Children receive care which is based on up to date knowledge of child development. This is because under the Flying Start contract all staff must undertaken mandatory training. This gives them a wide knowledge base in which to recognise development delay and know which agencies to contact in order to secure the most appropriate assistance for the child.

Children benefit from motivated carers who make a positive difference to the child’s experience. All staff had worked at the service at the previous inspection and had forged a strong, tight team. They were upbeat in dealing with parents and welcoming children into the setting. In discussions with us staff demonstrated how they had adapted activities and tasks to suit the needs of the children in their care. This demonstrated commitment to the children and meeting individual children’s needs.

Care giving is relaxed. As a result children settled quickly and happily approached all staff throughout the session. Staff dealt with difficult situations calmly and with humour maintaining a calm atmosphere. The group was very happy, welcoming and children busy throughout the session. This meant that children left at the end of the session eager to share their experiences with parents.

Children with complex needs receive skilful care. Children with additional needs were assessed and appropriate supervision and care identified through their care plan. When appropriate children received one to one care and this facilitated learning tailored to the child’s individual needs. Additional training was provided for support workers so that communication, physiotherapy and language needs could be integrated into the session for the child. Additional equipment and specialised toys were provided to further extend learning potential.

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Quality of Leadership and Management

Overall we found that parents could be reassured that their children were safe because the service was well managed and well run on a daily basis. We saw well organised administrative processes with all records required under regulation being maintained. In discussions with the deputy and staff they demonstrated to us a good understanding of the aims and ethos of the service.

Children and parent’s expectations about what the service provides are matched by their experience. We spoke to a number of parents as they collected their children at the end of the session. They told us that they were very happy with improvements to children’s language and social skills. Children with particular needs were very well supported and staff were open and approachable for parents. This indicates that there is a strong partnership developed between parents and staff. We noted that parents had access to varied information on the noticeboard in the foyer. Should they wish to discuss any issues confidentially there was an office area off the foyer and away from the play room.

Children and parents using the service are partially involved in defining and measuring the quality of service. Parents are fully involved in the process through questionnaires circulated to them. Children and staff are consulted however their views were not included in the latest review dated December 2013. The RI and PiC were advised that in future reviews the views of parents, children and staff should be equally expressed.

Parent’s can be confident that their children are safe because the service is run with due care to the national minimum standards and regulations. Staff had been appropriately recruited and vetted as confirmed by evidence in staff files. Risk assessments were in place for indoors and outdoors and a visitors’ book was in use to monitor visitors to the service.

Children and parents benefit from a consistent, improving service. This is because of the adjustments made to the playroom in response to the needs of the children to improve accessibility to resources and toys. Also the outdoor play space had been transformed to create areas of interest for quiet time within the story circle, sensory experiences and table top activities. This had really enhanced the service and ensured that children received a high quality experience in both the indoor and outdoor environments.

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Quality of The Environment

Overall we found that the wellbeing of children is promoted by the range of toys, equipment and planned play opportunities provided for them. The building is owned and maintained by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. It was well lit, ventilated, and had colourful displays to engage the children’s interest.

Children benefit from a stimulating indoor and outdoor environment. Since the last inspection the staff group had evaluated the layout of the indoor space and consulted with parents in order to change it and make it more suitable for the age group and the needs of the children. This meant that at the end of the session children were seated so that they did not have direct view of the parents waiting outside to collect them and this meant that they were not distracted or upset by seeing their parent waiting for them. The outdoor space had been re-designed and permanent fixtures such as a story circle, dry stream bed, mud kitchen and wild flower garden had been created to provided and enhance sensory experiences for the children.

Children find it easy to do things for themselves or with minimum support. Both indoor and outdoors equipment and toys were stored in areas and at heights which meant that the children could access them easily. Pictorial and bi-lingual labelling meant that children could be independent and recognise the words for the toys they wished to play with.

Children benefit from a good range of toys and equipment that promote their all round environment. As a Flying Start group, equipment and resources were plentiful and of a high standard. Staff were seen to be vigilant in checking the safety of the toys and the spaces that children were playing in. The deputy told us that broken toys were removed and replacements secured quickly.

Children’s safety is promoted within the setting, outside play area and on outings. We saw that written risk assessments were in place for in and outside the service. There were tight security systems in place to ensure that visitors’ were vetted and completed the visitors’ book. Outer doors and gates were seen to be kept locked during the hours of operation and were child proof to prevent children leaving the service. We noted that staff were vigilant in removing hazards, wiping up spills and reminding children to take care around others when outside and playing on bikes.

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How we inspect and report on services We conduct two types of inspection; baseline and focused. 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.

 Focused 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. Focused inspections will always consider the quality of life of people using services and may look at other areas.

Baseline and focused 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.

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