Busy Bees Day Nursery at Northampton Wootton Fields

Wooton Fields

Inspection report for early years provision

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Wooton Fields

Unique Reference Number 220155 Inspection date 14 July 2006 Inspector Diane Mary O'Neill

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Wooton Fields

Setting Address Wootton Hope Drive, Wootton Fields, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN4 6DY Telephone number 01604 702929

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E-mail

Registered person Princess Christian Day Nurseries Limited Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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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.

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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.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Leapfrog Day Nursery at Wootton Fields, is owned by Nord Anglia based in Burton-upon-Trent. It is situated at Wootton Fields Centre, Wootton Fields, on the outskirts of Northampton. A maximum of 100 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each week day from 07:30 to 18:00 with the exception of bank holidays. All children share access to a secure enclosed play area. There are currently 116 children aged from seven months to four years on roll. Of

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 these, 41 receive funding for early education. Children come from a wide catchment area. The nursery supports a number of children who have English as an additional language. The nursery employs 35 staff. Of these, 15 hold appropriate early years qualifications and three are working towards a qualification. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership and the Pre-School Learning Alliance.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children thrive because staff follow very good and effective procedures and practices which enable children's physical, nutritional and health needs to be met. The positive adult support and guidance helps children gain a good understanding of hygiene and become increasingly independent in their personal care. The staff wear protective aprons and gloves when changing children's nappies, as well as special aprons at meal times. Children benefit from a healthy diet where all snacks and meals are nutritious and freshly prepared on site. All the children's cups and bottles are individually named and staff double check babies bottles to ensure the correct bottle is given to a child. Staff also clearly record all feeds for babies and very young children. Parents are encouraged to share their child's dietary needs with the staff and any special dietary requirements are displayed clearly for staff to see in each room and in the kitchen.

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Helping children to be healthy

All children benefit from daily use of indoor and outdoor activities which enables them to develop control of their bodies and improve their physical skills through generally appropriate levels of challenge. For example, babies are supported to explore sensory type activities. Younger and older children enjoy climbing, using push and ride toys as well as taking part in construction, creative activities, sand and water play.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children's risk of accidental injury are minimised because staff are extremely vigilant and use thorough risk assessments to reduce potential hazards. A wide range of written policies and appropriate procedures are in place, including regular fire drills to help children know what to do in the case of an emergency evacuation of the premises. The nursery has different rooms for the various ages of children that attend. These are spacious, bright and airy and have well organised child height and suitable age appropriate play materials and equipment. Some of these can be easily accessed by children encouraging their independence, as well as starting to learn about choice.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 All the downstairs rooms open onto enclosed garden areas and the older children who are upstairs use a back stair case to access a shared garden with the toddlers. This enables them to have good access to physical activities throughout their daily routines. Staff have a good checking system that ensures all equipment and play areas are safe for children. However, some toys and equipment on the floor and rubbish in the garden cause a potential hazard for children. Children are very well protected by staff who have a clear understanding of child protection polices and procedures and give priority to children's welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time in nursery. They achieve well because staff are competent and use their skills, knowledge and understanding of early year's guidance, such as 'Birth to three matters' framework and the Curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage, to provide good quality care and education. All children are happy and eager to participate in the activities available throughout the nursery. Those who are new or feel unsure of their surroundings are helped to settle by staff who are sensitive towards their individual needs. Babies receive lots of cuddles and have strong bonds with staff which increases their sense of well-being. They benefit from routines which are consistent with their experiences at home. They enjoy the textures of natural materials and colours and sounds of manufactured toys which they explore with interest. They are actively encouraged to be involved in

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

various messy play type activities, such as painting. Babies develop early communication skills as they attract the attention of staff who respond to their sounds during play. All children within the nursery are confident in their relationships with staff. They begin to play happily together, and with adults, enjoying using resources such as, tactile type toys, messy play, painting, construction, books, crayons and outdoor equipment, suitable to their age and stage of development. Staff are beginning to use 'Birth to three matters' framework in their planning and organisation which is improving children's achievements. They have a good understanding of the range of experiences that enables babies and children to make greater use of their senses and creative abilities. Early communication skills are extremely well supported through good quality adult-child interactions, such as talking about activities they are

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

involved in and looking at books and pictures, encouraging children to name what they see in the pictures. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and children's learning is good. Staff have a good knowledge of the Foundation Stage and deliver a varied programme of play based activities which provide an overall balance across all six areas of learning. Children are making good progress towards the early learning

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 goals given their ages and starting points. Children are interested and inspired by the very good range of stimulating, relevant activities which are available to them. They easily access this range of resources which supports their learning across all areas of the stepping stones. All children are eager to learn, self-assured in their play and confident to try new experiences. For example, they play with different shaped and coloured ice, and watch it melt over time. Children work well together. For example, taking turns on the computer, helping each other put on plastic gloves and sharing the different ice shapes. Children extend their mathematical vocabulary and skills in planned activities and daily routines. For example, they gain confidence with numbers through everyday situations such as

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

singing rhymes and computer games. Children have plenty of opportunities to use their imagination in role play and make-believe with construction, cars and animals as well as when playing outside. A flexible approach to planning and a good balance between adult and child-lead activities allows children to learn at their own pace. Staff are perceptive to children's interests during self-initiated play and use questions very successfully to challenge children's thinking and language skills. They use sufficient systems to observe, monitor and record children's achievements to plan experiences that will help children take the next step in their learning. However, plans do not always clearly identify the evaluations to enable children's learning to be further challenged.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are effectively being taught to learn right from wrong through positive interaction from the staff. They are familiar with the routines and have a clear understanding of the rules. They are well behaved and are courteous to one another. Children receive praise and encouragement as they complete their tasks. They actively join in helping staff tidy away the equipment at the end of a session. Children have very good opportunities to learn about the diverse society in which we live through well planned activities as well as access to an interesting range of resources. This is further enhanced by the input of ideas and suggestions from the equal opportunities officer who is based within the nursery. This enables staff to expand and vary the topics for the children's learning. They talk about their families and what they do at home to learn about each other's family culture. This positive

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Helping children make a positive contribution

approach actively fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The partnership with parents and carers is good and contributes effectively to children's care and to the progress of children who receive funded nursery education. Parents receive regular information about the nursery's activities in news letters, notice boards in the entrance area and rooms within the nursery. Parents are able to see their child's records and regularly contribute to them. This two way sharing benefits the child and enhances their learning. This underpins their progress in the nursery and consequently their ability to fully contribute to the provision.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. Leadership and management is good and supports the quality of care and education provided. The management have an appropriate recruitment procedure which ensures that staff are suitably vetted and qualified to work with children. Annual appraisals help to monitor and evaluate the quality of the provision. The manager ensures all staff read relevant documentation policies and procedures. Staff show a commitment to on-going training and work very well as a team. Management further support training by giving students study time and space within the nursery routine. This shows staff are committed to meeting the children's individual needs. Staff have a sound knowledge of the Foundation Stage. Planning, observations and recording systems do incorporate resources and areas of learning. However, information gained within planning requires more defined evaluations so that challenge and development of children's learning can be more clearly recorded.

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Organisation

The premises are extremely well organised. Indoor and outdoor space is laid out to ensure children obtain the maximum play opportunities that will incorporate all areas of their development and learning potentials. All required documentation is comprehensive and supports the management of the nursery extremely well. There is excellent clear and concise information throughout the nursery for parents, carers, visitors and staff. Overall the provision meets the needs of the range of children whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the provider was asked to ensure that sufficient equipment is available to meet the needs of children, in respect of the number of high chairs for children aged under two years as well as having appropriate resources to promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice. The nursery has a very good selection of resources and play materials to meet the needs and learning potential of all the children. The provider was asked to develop staff's awareness and understanding of effective ways to manage children's behaviour, taking into account their age and stage of development. Staff, through training and on going observations of the children, maintain suitable age appropriate strategies for dealing with any behavioural issues that may arise. Also through training staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues has been further developed to safeguard children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The provider was asked to make sure there is an effective system for managing access to the premises, and that it is used. There is an intercom system on the entrance an there are notices for parents and staff not to let people into the building without checking with management. They also had to ensure that staff are deployed effectively within the premises to ensure the safety, welfare and development of children is consistently promoted. Staff to child ratios are very well maintained and

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 there are good systems in place to cover staff shortages, so children's care and welfare is maintained at all times. The provider agreed to ensure that anyone responsible for the preparation and handling of food is aware of, and complies with, Environmental Health requirements. The cook and assistant and a high percentage of the staff have attended a basic food hygiene course, so that food storage and preparation is carried out in such a way that children's health is not compromised. They also agreed to make sure that if the administration of prescription medicines requires technical or medical knowledge, then individual training is provided for staff from a qualified health professional. As well as ensuring written permission from parents for seeking emergency medical

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Complaints since the last inspection

There has been no complaint made to Ofsted since the last inspection. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints recorded may contain complaints other then those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure all inside and outside areas are suitable for children to play in

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • improve the association between planning, assessment and the stepping stones to secure continuous quality in learning.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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