Babraham Nursery

Babraham Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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221547 Unique Reference Number 22 June 2007 Inspection date Heidi Falconer Inspector

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17-18 The Close, Babraham, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB22 3AQ Setting Address

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01223 835580 Telephone number babraham.nursery@bbsrc.ac.uk E-mail Babraham Institute Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care, Out of School care Type of care

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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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The Nursery, Babraham and Fun Pack Playscheme opened in 1990. They operate from two converted semi-detached houses in the grounds of the Babraham Institute. A maximum of 60 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open from 07.45 to 17.45 Monday to Thursday and from 07.45 to 17.15 on Fridays. The setting is open for 51 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 91 children aged from six months to under five years on roll. Of these, 35 children receive funding for early education. Children come from a wide catchment area, as most of their parents travel in to work on or around the local area. The nursery currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery employs 26 members of staff. Of these, 15 hold appropriate early years qualifications and four are working towards a qualification.

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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

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Children benefit from a nutritionally balanced diet where fresh meat, fish and vegetables play a significant part in promoting their growth and development. For example, children enjoy well presented meals such as salmon, potato and roasted vegetable, braised lamb with cous cous and paella with broccoli. A separate menu is planned for children who follow a vegetarian diet and for babies under the age of a year. Babies receive foods in suitable consistencies to support excellent weaning processes, which are in line with parent’s wishes. Babies’ meals are individually prepared and labelled up by the kitchen staff to ensure that all individual needs are catered for. All food is hygienically prepared by the nursery’s chef and his assistant. Meticulous arrangements are in place to ensure that all staff are fully aware of any specific dietary requirements and any allergies are clearly recorded. The setting operates a buddy system at

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Helping children to be healthy

mealtimes to ensure that children with food allergies are appropriately supervised and supported by a member of staff who is fully aware of their allergies and any treatment, which may be required in the event of an emergency. All emergency medication is clearly labelled and brought through to the dining area at each mealtime.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are successfully protected from the risk of cross-infection as staff follow meticulous hygiene routines. Staff consistently wear gloves and wash their hands after changing each child’s nappy and all children are provided with individual and clearly labelled bedding, which is washed on a regular basis. The nursery has a detailed sickness policy which ensures that parents are fully aware of the need to keep unwell children at home to prevent the spread of infection. When there is a case of an infectious illness such as conjunctivas or sickness and diarrhoea the manager displays clear signs which detail the symptoms, incubation times and exclusion periods. Extensive records and documents are in place to record accidents and any medication which has been administered. For example, when a child has an accident to their head parents are informed and the children get to wear a fun ‘bumped head’ sticker. Parents

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Helping children to be healthy

sign all accident records and they receive a photocopy of the accident record. Children receive appropriate and prompt treatment if they have an accident. Twenty two members of staff hold paediatric first aid qualifications and there is a defibrillator on the premises, which some staff have been trained to use.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children develop an excellent understanding of healthy living and how to look after their bodies through planned activities and spontaneous conversations with staff. Children demonstrate this understanding through their role play. For example, as children pretend to climb aboard their train and go to the seaside they say ‘if we are going to the seaside we will need our sun cream and hats so that we don’t burn’.

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Helping children to be healthy

Excellent provision is made throughout the nursery for children to be outdoors in the garden and on outings. With parents consent and the provision of a covered and shaded area of the garden, babies sleep outdoors safely, in large, comfortable prams throughout the year. Babies also join the other children for outdoor play at least twice a day. All children in the nursery follow a ‘fun fit’ scheme which encourages the development of their physical skills. Older children enjoy energetic games and riding tricycles and bicycles in the outdoor area. They use climbing and balancing equipment with increasing skill and show a good awareness of others as they have races on their bikes. This helps ensure their safety and that of others. Children are able to test out and challenge their physical skills as they build obstacles which require them to crawl over, under and through a range of resources.

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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 outstanding. Children are cared for in a bright, welcoming and child-centred environment. Staff place a great emphasis on making sure that the nursery is welcoming and stimulating to children of all ages and their parents. The different rooms and outdoor area are expertly set out before children arrive each day, with a wealth of exciting and challenging activities, which stimulate children’s interest. For example, as babies come into their base room they are eager to explore a water play activity. Displays of children’s art work, mobiles, photographs of activities and lots of written labels, many of which have been written by the children, support their learning.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All children have access to an extensive range of good quality toys and resources. Resources have been carefully chosen to support children’s play and safety. For example, safety mirrors are provided at the height of young children and babies. Children are attracted to these as they are shiny and reflect the light around the room, whilst also providing opportunities for the children to explore what they look like and who they are. To ensure that all resources are clean, safe and hygienic for the children the staff in each room, follow a comprehensive system for the cleaning and checking of toys. Children are able to explore and make choices as toys are stored in low level units, enabling them to develop their independence.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children’s safety and security is given utmost priority by staff who carry out daily rigorous safety checks and risk assessments, which ensure that any hazards are effectively minimised. Each year the outdoor area and play equipment is inspected by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) and any suggestions for improvement are quickly responded to. Children’s safety is greatly enhanced by the excellent security systems which are in place to restrict access to the setting. For example, all parents are given a coded swipe card to access the building.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children’s welfare is safeguarded exceptionally well. Staff have an excellent understanding of child protection issues and know what to record and who to share their concerns with both internally and externally, if they believe a child is at risk. All staff complete safeguarding children training as part of their induction and mandatory training programme. A comprehensive written policy is in place, this is reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that it is in line with changes in legislation. Parents are made fully aware of the settings duty to report concerns.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Children's care, learning and play is of a very high standard as a result of the confident and knowledgeable practitioners that look after them. Staff working with children who are under the age of three have attended training on, and successfully use the 'Birth to three matters' framework to plan activities and assess children’s progress. All staff spend the majority of their time interacting with the children, asking questions and providing resources to extend their play and learning. All children have a key worker who knows their needs well.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Babies thrive, they are happy and benefit from high levels of staff interaction and support. Babies build close attachments with staff who are caring towards them. This helps them to feel safe and secure. Staff work diligently to ensure that babies reach their full potential through very enjoyable play opportunities which are varied. For example, babies enjoy many opportunities to explore materials using their senses. They enjoy exploring the different textures of natural materials through the use of a ‘Treasure Basket’. Other activities include playing with glitter

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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 bottles, shredded paper, ice cubes, gloop, bubbles, water and sand. As babies join in these activities staff are close by and spend much of their time talking to the babies and copying their babbling. This develops babies’ impulse to communicate.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Toddlers and young children at the nursery particularly enjoy the wide range of stimulating creative activities. They have opportunities to explore shaving foam, cornflour, play dough and sand. In addition, they enjoy activities such as hiding toy insects in onion skins, which encourage them to explore further. As the children get older and move rooms they are progressively encouraged to become more independent. For example, two year olds enjoy opportunities to freely access scissors and paper under the close supervision of staff. In addition, they are encouraged to access resources freely and choose resources which are not readily available from a ‘what toys would you like out’ book. Toddlers communicate effectively with staff. They confidently use ‘Tiny Talk’ gestures to indicate that they would like more food or a drink. Staff respond by copying the gesture and saying the words to develop the children’s communication

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children who attend the ‘Fun Pack’ holiday playscheme are able to take part in an extensive range of activities which are stimulating and fun. Recent activities have included, building dens in the woods, face painting, making circuits with electricity kits and batteries, pond dipping and using overhead projectors. Each week staff plan a theme and activities and trips out are related to the topic. Children have membership cards and complete questionnaires about the activities on offer and staff use this to provide activities which match their interests. As a result, children feel a sense of ownership of the club.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. Children benefit significantly from the staff’s excellent knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum and of how children learn. Planning is exceptional, staff understand how everyday activities and routines support children’s learning and they plan a balanced programmed of activities to build on what the children know. Activities are innovative and stimulate the children’s interest. For example, after reading the story 'We're going on a bear hunt' the children had opportunities to re-enact the story by 'squelching' through mud and walking through 'swishy swashy' grass. There is an excellent balance between adult and child-led activities. This allows children to pursue their own interests and learn at their own pace. Highly effective systems are in place to observe, monitor and record children’s achievements. For example, when children start in the pre-school

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

room their parents are encouraged to complete an 'All about me book' which gives staff detailed information on what parents know about their child’s learning in the six areas. Parents have regular access to their children’s assessments and they are actively encouraged to share with staff what they know about their child’s progress.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are thoroughly engrossed in the activities on offer and they confidently initiate and extend their own activities. For example, children have free access to junk materials, sticky tape, scissors, glue and stickers and they use these materials to design and test out their ideas. Children show great pride in their creations as they describe with great delight how they have made ‘ant’s houses’ from boxes and ‘sugar’ for the ants from plastic cups. Children are very independent they serve themselves, when they are ready, from the ‘rolling snack bar’ and confidently apply their own sun cream. Children talk with understanding as they describe how they must rub sun cream on their arms from side to side so that they are fully protected from the sun.

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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 Children’s speaking and listening skills are developing very well. They confidently make valuable contributions to group discussions and happily listen as they make up stories together. As they make up stories as a group, the children understand that when they have the bear this is their time to talk. Children used their imagination to introduce new characters to stories, describing in detail the adventure of their three characters who went swimming and had ‘so much fun’ eating ‘tuna and cucumber’ sandwiches in ‘Australia’. As children listen to these stories they laugh and giggle as the story progresses demonstrating their enjoyment. Children use writing for a purpose, they confidently write their names on their pictures and staff include their writing on displays. For example, currently on display is a list of children’s wishes. Children have written

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

that they wish for ‘hundreds of rabbits', a ‘visit from a panda bear’ and for ‘gold money’. A vast amount of materials, such as empty shopping lists, menus, postcards and envelopes are accessible for the children to promote these emergent mark-making skills through everyday play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

A strong emphasis is placed on developing children’s free expression and imaginative skills. Children express their imagination by re-enacting familiar scenarios in the extremely well resourced role play area. For example, as children use microphones and make up songs to sing on the stage, other children use clipboards and pens to act as judges giving the children scores out of ten. Children enjoy many opportunities to listen and move to music. For example, as children pretend to be figurines in a music box, they move rhythmically to the music. Children are also able to recognise repeated sound patterns and make up their own rhythms.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have a well developed understanding of number, counting and calculation. Many children can count confidently to twenty and they are showing an awareness of written numerals as they find the days date for the calendar. As they read a story about bees in a honey pot children confidently subtract the bees as they leave the honey pot. Staff are skilled in developing children’s learning through their interests. For example, during the story staff responded to the children’s interest in the honey by asking the children where honey is made. Children say that bees go into the flowers to collect the pollen, later stating that this makes the bees ‘dizzy’.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Children receive excellent care which is appropriate to their individual needs. Extremely well thought out settling in procedures ensure that children feel emotionally secure at the nursery before being left for a full day by their parents. The settling in visits are arranged to ensure that children have experienced different aspects of the daily routine. For example, children have visits where they can stay for lunch or have a sleep at the nursery. These settling in visits also apply to children who are transferring to a different room. Prior to their children moving rooms parents receive a letter which details all of their child’s visits. In addition, parents receive a well written and attractively presented booklet which gives them information about the staff who work in the room and the activities on offer. Staff encourage parents to complete 'All about me' books with their children to ensure that staff are fully aware of each child’s individual

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Helping children make a positive contribution

needs, including their likes and dislikes. Very effective relationships with parents ensure the staff know the children very well. Parents of children under the age of one receive daily feedback sheets which give them information about sleep, nappy changes, food intakes and activities which their child has taken part in.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff positively encourage parents to share information with them about their cultures and family backgrounds. As a result, in addition to learning about more familiar festivals such as Diwali and Chinese New Year the nursery also celebrate the festivals and national days which the children celebrate at home. For example, the children recently celebrated Japanese Doll’s

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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 day. Children learn about diversity and different parts of the world through activities. For example, the children have tasted bread from different parts of the world and more recently they have made a display of the world which shows which bears are native to the different countries. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children who have learning difficulties or disabilities receive excellent care and are very well supported by experienced and caring staff. Staffing arrangements are designed to meet the needs of all children who have been identified as needing some additional support. One member of staff has attended training in this area and she supports the children by working with them on a one to one basis and by working with the children’s parents and key workers to develop individual care plans. In addition, the nursery staff are proactive in supporting the children by working with other professionals and purchasing specialised equipment where necessary.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children throughout the nursery behave very well. They receive praise and encouragement, and learn what is right and wrong. Children who attend ‘Fun Pack’ help to formulate the rules of the setting and these are them printed on the back of their membership cards. To promote good behaviour staff running 'Fun Pack' operate a house points system, where children receive additional points for helping, choosing healthy snacks at the tuck shops and for being kind to others.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers of children receiving funded education is outstanding. Parents receive a comprehensive range of information about the Foundation Stage and how it is implemented through the setting's prospectus, display boards and newsletters. For example, at the start of each topic parents receive a detailed newsletter, which gives them information about the areas that they will be covering. These newsletters also informs parents of how they could contribute, for example, by bringing in objects from home, and suggests further activities that parents may like to try at home to support their child’s learning. This enables parents to be fully involved in their children’s learning both at the nursery and at home. As well as written information, parents’ evenings are held twice a year. These meetings enable parents to understand and contribute to the development records for their children and share what they

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. Children’s safety and welfare is protected as rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures are in place. This ensures that all staff employed to work at the nursery are vetted and have appropriate skills and knowledge to work with the children. All recruitment procedures are overseen by the human resources team who are based at the institute. An extremely comprehensive induction programme ensures that the whole staff team have a secure knowledge of their roles and responsibilities. For example, all staff are required to attend training courses on child protection, food hygiene and health and safety. In addition, they also attend three days induction training at the institute which covers areas such as manual handling and the use of fire extinguishers.

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Organisation

Children’s health, safety and well being is significantly enhanced by the exceptional organisation of the setting. Staff work extremely well as a team to provide a provision of consistently high level of care for all children throughout the nursery. Policies, records and procedures are wide-ranging and clearly underpin the successful organisation and management of the setting. The nursery gives high priority to the professional development of the staff. The staff’s training needs have been identified and a training programme is in place to continue to update their

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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 knowledge and skills. Staff are actively encouraged to share the knowledge that they have learned to ensure that the practice of all staff is in line with current legislation.

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the nursery education is outstanding. The nursery manager works very well with senior staff and together they have a clear vision of the high quality childcare and education that they wish to provide. Their wealth of experience and expertise is shared with all staff and this has helped to create an extremely child-centred environment which puts children first. The manager effectively monitors the quality of the provision for nursery education. The manager and staff continually evaluate the effectiveness of the provision and strive to improve it further. Overall, children's needs are met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the nursery agreed to review their risk assessment document and take appropriate steps to minimise the hazards presented by the chairs stacked in the portacabin and on the upstairs landing. The staff took immediate action to complete this recommendation. The risk assessment policy has been reviewed and chairs are now stacked safely. As a result children’s safety is promoted.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the 1 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 outstanding. 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 outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the care

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of care are outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of nursery education are outstanding.

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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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