Busy Bees Day Nursery at Chorley Brooke Street

Busy Bees Brooke Street

Inspection report for early years provision

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Busy Bees Brooke Street

310276 Unique Reference Number 29 January 2007 Inspection date Susan Janet Lee Inspector

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Busy Bees Brooke Street

Brooke Street, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 3BS Setting Address

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E-mail

Busy Bees Nurseries Ltd Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of 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

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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 satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Busy Bees Day Nursery was registered in 2000. It operates from a purpose built building, close to Chorley town centre. The setting is run by an organisation.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Children are grouped according to their age and stage of development in 12 playrooms. There is a separate building to accommodate children who attend the out of school facility. There is also a fully equipped gymnasium and a secure outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 07.30 until 18.00 all year round with the exception of Bank Holidays. The provision is registered to provide care for a maximum of 199 children at any one time. There are currently 196 children on roll. Of these, 50 children receive funding for nursery education. The setting currently supports a number of children with additional needs and also a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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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 The out of school provision is open Monday to Friday from 07.30 until 09.00 and again from 15.30 until 18.00 during term time. The holiday club is open Monday to Friday from 07.30 until 18.00 during school holidays. There are currently 209 children on roll.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs 41 members of staff, of these, 25 hold an appropriate early years qualification and five staff are working towards an appropriate qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a well maintained environment. They stay healthy because staff exercise good hygiene procedures to minimise the risk of cross infection. For example, they follow good standards of hygiene when changing nappies to help protect very young children and use colour coded cloths and mops for different tasks. The children learn about personal care routines as they wash their hands at appropriate times of the day and blow their noses as needed; disposing of their tissues appropriately. The written sick children's policy ensures appropriate measures are in place when children are ill. The first aid boxes are well stocked, ensuring accidents may be dealt with quickly and effectively.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's dietary requirements are successfully met as staff gather information from parents regarding their children's dietary needs and this information is taken into account when planning snacks and meals. Menus are well balanced, cater for all age groups of children and also offer a vegetarian alternative. Children develop an awareness of healthy eating as snacks and meals are well balanced and include lots of fruit and vegetables to aid children's growth and development. The children are able to quench their thirst as drinks are freely accessible to them in individual named beakers and bottles. Lunch time is a relaxed, social occasion; older children develop their self help skills as they serve themselves under the supervision of staff.

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Helping children to be healthy

Babies are able to move around freely and practice their large motor skills such as rolling, sitting, crawling and pulling themselves up to the standing position. All children have opportunities to enjoy and develop their physical skills as they have access to an indoor gymnasium and an outdoor play area on a daily basis. They learn and discover about their bodies and develop control and co-ordination. Toddlers have lots of fun playing in the gymnasium. They crawl through a tunnel; climb, slide, swing to and fro on rocking toys and jump about in the ball pool. Staff ensure that the children have drinks during their physical play and that they rest accordingly. They support the children well in their physical play whilst still giving the children appropriate challenges. Children in receipt of nursery education move around with confidence. They have access to a satisfactory range of outdoor play equipment but there are limited

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Helping children to be healthy

resources available to present challenge for the older children. The children work together and collaborate in sharing tasks. For example, they take turns to move their bodies to move the seesaw backwards and forwards. The children negotiate appropriate pathways and show respect for other children’s personal space.

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Helping children to be healthy

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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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The children are cared for in a warm and welcoming environment. Children's artwork, posters and information for parents is displayed and makes the setting bright and stimulating. There is lots of space available for the children to move around and extend their play. Staff organise space well to accommodate separate active and quieter activities. There is a good selection of equipment, furnishings and furniture available to allow babies and older children to play, rest and eat in comfort. The setting provides a wide range of resources to help children make progress in all areas of their development. Staff also use a local resources centre to further enhance children's experiences. They check equipment and resources on a regular basis to minimise risks to children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have a good understanding of safety. Written risk assessments are in place and adhered to; ensuring that the environment in which children are cared for is safe and secure. Staff practise the emergency evacuation procedure with the children on a regular basis; helping the children to develop an awareness of what to do in the event of an emergency such as a fire. The outings policy and associated risk assessments ensure children are kept safe on outings. Staff are vigilant and supervise the children well; enabling them to play safely and independently. They use age appropriate distraction and explanation techniques to keep very young children safe. Older children develop an understanding of keeping themselves safe through daily routines and play activities. For example, staff gently remind the children not to run indoors and the children know they need to line up before going out to play. Staff use road safety resources

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

from the resource centre during outdoor play. They talk to the children about road safety as they 'cross the road'.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All required documentation is in place and staff have a secure understanding of child protection matters and procedures; ensuring children's welfare is effectively safeguarded.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Staff have a developing awareness of the 'Birth to three matters' framework and provide a range of activities to help children develop their physical, intellectual, emotional and social capabilities. The children are actively engaged and occupied. Play plans are flexible to meet the varying needs of the children. Staff observe the children at play and use this information to chart children's developmental progress and to plan future play and support.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The individual group rooms and the key worker system enable staff to get to know the children and ensure that they receive care from consistent adults. Staff have an understanding of children's individual needs and meet these well on most occasions. They deploy themselves well to enable them to provide appropriate care and support to the children. Staff sit at the same level as the children as they play and interact with them to extend their language, introduce new words and concepts and to encourage imaginative play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The playrooms are well organised and set up to look interesting and inviting. Babies have access to a range of resources that are colourful, tactile and that make noises to help them develop

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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 their sensory experiences. They also enjoy exploring sand, paint and shredded paper. They use their fingers to spread the paint over the table; they follow the long strands of paper with their fingers then screw them up with their hands. Staff support the children in their exploration of the sand and introduce words to describe the texture of the sand as it falls between the children's fingers. The babies make connections; they shake rattles and hear the noise the rattle makes and they press buttons on toys and figures pop up. Babies begin to find a voice and listen and respond as staff listen when they attempt to communicate and respond in gentle tones to help reinforce early speech patterns.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Older children move freely from one activity to another. The children have curious and confident characters. They enjoy being creative as they make collage pictures and paint. They use all the colours of paint available and use large circular strokes and dots and dabs to fill the paper. The children talk to staff about their pictures; staff admire their creations and ask them questions about their pictures. A group of children enjoy being imaginative as they play in the home corner; they dress up to act out their game and they invite staff into their play. The children are curious and confident.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children attending the out of school club clearly enjoy their time at the setting. They have a snack on arrival from school and chat to staff before choosing what to do from a range of age appropriate activities and resources. They comment that they like playing with their friends and chat about their favourite activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children in receipt of nursery education are grouped in three playrooms. All staff working with these children hold an appropriate early years qualification and three have attended some training in relation to the Foundation Stage. Staff have a satisfactory understanding of the Foundation Stage and provide a range of activities to help children make satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals. Staff deploy themselves well to enable them to offer appropriate support to the children. They interact with them to extend their language, challenge their thinking and to encourage imaginative play. Staff prepare well for focussed activities; ensuring they have all the necessary materials to hand. They engage the children well at the beginning of focussed activities; ensuring all the children are able to see the story book and pictures. They introduce the story to the children and talk about the pictures whilst telling the story.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff set realistic expectations for the children and share warm relationships with them.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Play plans are in place and show a balance of the early learning goals; however, these do not document all areas of provision provided and do not include children’s next steps in learning. Staff evaluate focussed activities but evaluations do not give sufficient detail of what the children have learnt. Staff observe children during play and use this information to chart their developmental progress and to inform planning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children’s personal, social and emotional development is well supported by staff. The children show good levels of involvement in their chosen activities. They share friendships with other children and seek them out to join in their play. The children clearly feel safe and secure and

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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 are confident to express their needs and wants. They show good levels of independence in their self help skills as they use the bathroom; put on dressing up clothes and coats, serve lunch, sweep the floor and help to tidy up. The children use language well to explain what they are doing, to anticipate what will happen next and to modify and adapt their play. They show emerging confidence to speak to others. The children have favourite books and handle them with care. They learn about letters and sounds as they concentrate on one letter a week; they find items around the room that begin with the letter and work with flash cards. The children recognise their own name as they self register on arrival and find their beakers with their name on. They have opportunities to mark make with a variety of tools; they ascribe meaning to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

marks and begin to understand that we write for a purpose as they use mark making in a variety of play activities and role play situations.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children learn about mathematical concepts such as number, shape and size through a range of activities and daily routines such as story time, singing and imaginative play activities. However, there are limited opportunities for children to use problem solving skills to begin to calculate. The children use words such as ‘big’ and ‘little’ during a story. They develop an awareness of capacity and measure as they play with measuring jugs in the water and take part in baking activities. Children talk about the shape of every day objects and are able to sort by colour and shape. They explore materials such as paint, dough, sand, water and cooked pasta and use their senses to explore different textures. The children have access to a range of construction materials and join them together to build with a purpose in mind. They benefit from daily access to a computer; they are confident and able to operate equipment and complete

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

simple programmes. The children develop a sense of time as they follow the setting’s daily routine. They talk about past, present and future activities. They develop a good sense of place as they talk about where they live and receive visits from other people in the community; such as the police and the fire service.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children have opportunities to express their own thoughts and ideas in a variety of creative ways. They enjoy singing songs and playing with musical instruments. The children have lots of opportunities to re-enact own experiences and develop their understanding of the world in which they live as they have access to a wide range of small world resources and a variety of role play situations. The children introduce a story line into their play and play together to act this out. They show an interest in what they see and talk about their experiences; entering into conversation about their models, pictures and imaginative games.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The setting displays posters as a means of promoting equality of opportunity. Staff gather a wealth of information from parents about their children's individual needs to enable them to meet these needs. Children gain an awareness of their local community through trips out and visits from other people in the community. There is a good range of resources that reflect our diverse society; helping children to develop an awareness of the wider world. The children also celebrate their own and other festivals; helping them to value each other's similarities and differences and to develop respect for other people's cultures and traditions. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to meet children's additional needs.

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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 Staff act as good role models to the children. They treat them with care and concern, use 'please' and 'thank you' and encourage the children to share and take turns. As a result, children develop an awareness of what is expected of them. Staff praise children at every opportunity for their efforts and achievement. For example, helping to tidy up; lining up at the door and admiring their pictures and models; consequently, children develop confidence and self-esteem. The children develop a good sense of belonging. They enter with ease and go happily to play with their friends. The children enjoy being in the company of staff and their friends and they make choices as they decide what to play with. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff work with parents to help settle their children. They encourage a gradual settling in period to help children feel secure and to establish trusting three way relationships. Effective systems are in place to keep parents informed about the setting and their children's activities. Regular news letters keep them informed about forthcoming events and staff complete daily records to keep them informed about their children's daily routines and activities. There is a parent liaison group which meets with the management team on a regular basis to share views and ideas. Parents are also involved with fund raising events. Discussion with parents show they are happy with the service provided, levels of care and activities afforded. They also feel that staff form close relationships with their children and are very supportive to meet parent's needs. The partnership with parents of children in receipt of nursery education is satisfactory. Parents

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Helping children make a positive contribution

are provided with a good source of information regarding the Foundation Stage. Effective systems are in place regarding starting points for children already attending the nursery; however, there is no system in place to gather information about the starting points of children who have not attended the nursery before. Regular parent’s evening events keep parents informed about their children’s developmental progress. Staff encourage parents to be involved in their children’s learning. For example, parents help their children with work on letters at home; they are asked to contribute items for display purposes and they are encouraged to take part in the setting’s activities.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. An effective vetting procedure ensures children are well protected. A good induction procedure ensures staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Staff attend training to further develop their childcare practice. Ten staff have valid first aid certificates ensuring they have up to date knowledge of what to do in the event of an accident or minor injury.

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Organisation

The record of children's attendance and observations during the visit show that ratios are maintained to promote children's care, learning and play. Staff work well together as a team and they organise space, time and resources well to meet children's needs.

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Organisation

All required policies and procedures are in place and work well in practice to promote children's health, safety and ability to make a positive contribution. All required documentation is in place; this is well organised and stored securely to maintain confidentiality.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of nursery education is satisfactory.

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Regular management and staff meetings ensure open lines of communication. Satisfactory systems are in place to monitor and support staff in the delivery of nursery education. The management team are aware of the strengths and areas of development and are currently working with an advisory teacher from the registered organisation and also with Lancashire Surestart in relation to practice and future development.

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Organisation

Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection in 2003 and the last nursery education inspection in 2004, recommendations were agreed in relation to furnishings, staff training, documentation and play opportunities for children in receipt of nursery education.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The setting now provides appropriate bedding for children who rest or sleep. Staff have attended training regarding special needs. Documentation has been reviewed; an operational plan is in place which defines roles, responsibilities and care tasks. Staff ensure that parents sign the accident record and that written parental consent for administering medication and for emergency medical attention is in place. Children in receipt of nursery education have more opportunities to develop their early writing skills and mathematical concepts; they play outdoors on a regular basis and have more opportunities to explore and experiment with a range of textures and materials.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since April 2004 there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints 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 record may contain complaints other than 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 satisfactory.

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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):

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • continue to develop staff awareness of the 'Birth to three matters' framework and continue to work with parents to best meet children's individual needs.

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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): • continue to develop staff awareness of the Foundation Stage, develop teaching practices to encourage children to begin to use problem solving to calculate and provide older children with more challenge regarding physical development • develop planning to incorporate all areas of provision and children's next steps in learning and develop evaluations so that they include more information regarding what children have learnt • develop systems to gather information in relation to new children's starting points • further develop systems to monitor the provision of nursery education.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) 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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