June 2015 - Cardiff Day Nursery

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 Day Nursery
David Lloyd Club
Ipswich Road
Roath
Cardiff
CF23 9AQ
Type of Inspection – Focused
Date(s) of inspection – Thursday, 14 May 2015
Date of publication – Wednesday, 10 June 2015
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Summary
About the service
Cardiff Day Nursery is one of a number of nurseries operated by Asquith Court Nurseries
Ltd and has been registered with Care Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) since
1999. It operates from within the David Lloyd Leisure Club, which is situated off Newport
Road, Cardiff and is registered to provide care for up to 51 children aged from eight weeks
to under the age of five. The nursery offers full day care from Monday to Friday from
7.30am to 6.00pm. Children are cared for in two separate groups; one for children aged
under two and the other for those aged two and over. There is nominated person who acts
as the responsible individual (RI) on behalf of the company and the registered person in
charge (PiC) is Clare Dare.
What type of inspection was carried out?
An unannounced, focussed inspection which concentrated on the Quality of Life theme
was undertaken by two inspectors on Thursday 14 May 2015. The following methodology
was used to gather evidence for this report:
observations of care routines and practices, some of which were through the use of
the SOFI2 tool (Short Observational Framework for Inspectors) The SOFI tool
enables inspectors to observe and record life from a child’s perspective; how they
spend their time, activities, interactions with others and the type of support
received.
discussion with manager and others members of the staff team
conversation and feedback from two parents
tour of the premises
consideration of a sample of the children’s developmental records
consideration of information held by CSSIW
What does the service do well?
The nursery offers an extensive, child led induction programme, free of charge to all
parents/carers.
The nursery operates monthly open days in which parents/carers are able to attend,
advice and support is offered on key themes such as nutrition and play activities.
What has improved since the last inspection?
There were no areas of non-compliance or areas for further improvement identified at the
last inspection.
What needs to be done to improve the service?
There were no areas of non-compliance noted at this inspection. However, the following
areas were identified as areas for further improvement:
invest in trays so that bowls/plates of food are not placed directly onto the floor
when feeding children during meal times
consider wiping tables between courses, so that children are not eating their
desserts from tables which have food debris from the main course present
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consider wiping hands and faces of children between courses
ensure that a member of staff continually sits with and supports children during
meal times
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Quality Of Life
Over all, we (CSSIW) found that children were generally happy at the nursery; they had a
range of good quality of resources to play with and had positive and caring relationships
with the people who cared for them.
Children have choice as throughout all of the rooms we saw that there were plenty of
good quality resources which the children were able to play with. During our
observations in the baby room we noted that there was an array of soft toys such as
building blocks, soft books and cuddly toys in baskets on the floor which children could
access with ease. In addition to these toys we saw that there was a messy play activity
set up of shredded paper which many of the babies enjoyed playing with. Throughout
the room we saw that there were cause and effect toys and musical instruments which
caught the attention of the children and many were seen to enjoy playing with these.
These activities provided the babies with a range of sensory experiences which provided
them with stimulation and different points of interest which will help and support their all
round development.
Children have the opportunity to develop skills. This is because in the over twos room
we saw a range of activities which promoted children skills. These included art and craft
tasks as well as undertaking an adult led singing and movement session, which the
children were seen to thoroughly enjoy. All base rooms had direct access to an outside
play area which had recently been refurbished so that it provided a safe and stimulating
place to play and learn. Inspectors spent some time undertaking observations in the
under two base rooms and felt that at times the older babies lacked direction and focus.
This is because we saw that some children were seen to wander around the room
aimlessly and there did not appear to be a focus for them. We noted that one member of
staff sat and played with the “babies” (dolls) with up to six children, many of them
engaged and enjoyed playing immensely, but one or two of the children wandered off
and started to climb on the tables. Simultaneously another member of staff was seen to
undertake some cleaning tasks and their time may have been better spent engaging and
playing with the children so that all of them experienced positive interactions and
engagement.
We noted that there were some good practices relating to health and hygiene as before
lunch, we saw that children were encouraged to wash their hands. Small sinks had been
installed in the base rooms to enable children to wash their hands independently and we
noted that children used paper towels to dry their hands. We also noted that staff wore
aprons when serving food and washed their hands. Hand sanitiser was available
throughout the nursery in wall dispensers. Staff and visitors had to remove their shoes
before entering the baby room or wear shoe protectors. However, during our
observations in the under two rooms at lunch time we saw that there were some
practices which could be improved upon. When feeding babies we saw that food bowls
and drinks were placed directly onto the floor and felt that it would be more hygienic if
these were placed onto trays and away from the feet of the children. The manager
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agreed that she would invest in some trays for this purpose. During our observations of
the older babies, we saw that they were encouraged to sit at the table and some fed
themselves with a fork. For some children sat at one table, they struggled with this and
resorted to using their hands. We discussed this with the manager and suggested that a
spoon be provided as well as a fork and that a staff member sit with all children for the
duration of the meal so that such difficulties are identified and responded to. We also
noted that the tables and the children became quite messy. We informed the manager
that we felt it would be beneficial for children’s hands and faces to be wiped between
courses, as well as the tables, to avoid children eating their dessert amongst food debris
left over from the main course. The manager agreed that she would give this further
consideration
Children experience warmth, attachment and belonging as the nursery employed a key
worker system for children and their families and this provided a specified point of
contact. When we spoke with staff, it was obvious that they knew the children in their
care very well. They were able to discuss with us the children’s needs and preferences.
We saw at lunch time that there was a specific and controlled way in which those
children with food allergies were fed, meals were stored/ served on different coloured
trays and children with allergies were sat together and supported by one member of staff.
We saw that children were given praise and warm words. For those children who needed
it, they were cuddled to sleep and babies’ routines were seen to be individualised and in
keeping with children’s preferences. We noted that children had close bonds with staff;
they called out their names, sat on their laps, followed them with their eyes and sought
them out to play with. It is important for children’s social and emotional development that
they have close bonds with their care givers and this is something that the management
and staff of the nursery understood and promoted. This is further demonstrated by the
lengthy and individualised induction process that the nursery offers to new parents, in
addition to the monthly “open days” that the nursery operates to further promote parental
inclusion at the nursery.
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Quality Of Leadership and Management
This was a focussed inspection, which examined the Quality of Life theme only and
therefore did not consider the theme of Leadership and Management. This will be
examined in further detail at future inspections.
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Quality Of Staffing
This was a focussed inspection, which examined the Quality of Life theme only and
therefore did not consider the quality of staffing. This will be examined in further detail at
future inspections.
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Quality Of The Environment
This was a focussed inspection, which examined the Quality of Life theme only and
therefore did not consider the quality of the environment. This will be examined in further
detail at future inspections.
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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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