Busy Bees Day Nursery at Salisbury

Leapfrog Day Nursery - Salisbury

Inspection report for early years provision

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Leapfrog Day Nursery - Salisbury

Unique Reference Number EY248267 Inspection date 19 July 2005 Inspector Catherine, Louise Sample

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Leapfrog Day Nursery - Salisbury

Setting Address London Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3YU

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E-mail

Registered person Leapfrog Day Nurseries (Trading) Ltd 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 satisfactory. 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 opened in 2003. It operates from 9 rooms in a purpose built premises situated towards the northeast of Salisbury. There are two areas for outdoor play. A maximum of 93 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery opens each weekday from 07.00 until 19.00. The nursery serves a wide area. There are currently 190 children on roll. This includes children in receipt of nursery education funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery supports

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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 children who have special needs. Currently there are no children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 26 staff. Of these, 15 have at least a level 2 qualification in Early Years and 5 are undertaking training. The setting receives support from a mentor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children's hygiene needs are met well through thorough hand washing and nappy changing routines. Staff wear disposable gloves for nappy changing and check that children have washed their hands after using the toilet. Children are becoming aware of their own hygiene needs. For example, a child tells a member of staff that he needs to wash his hands. Children's hygiene needs are also met through positive measures such as regular sterilisation of toys and clear procedures for the safe reheating of food. Children are well protected from the sun. They have a high factor sun cream applied in sunny weather and are not taken out to play between 11:00 and 15:00. Children are protected well from illness and cross infection. Each baby has a separate flannel, bib and bedding. Parents are informed of any illnesses in the nursery and there is information displayed in each room about contagious illnesses. Children's medical

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Helping children to be healthy

needs are met through appropriate steps such as administering medicines in the presence of a witness. Children's first aid needs are met appropriately through the presence of all least one trained first aider at all times. Children have easy access to healthy drinks. They can help themselves to drinks of water from the drinks station in each room. Children do not, however, receive a sufficiently balanced and healthy diet. Children do not have fresh fruit and vegetables on a daily basis and are not offered choices of what they would like to eat. Children's dietary needs are not met sufficiently. A vegetarian child is given plain pasta to eat and is so hungry that she starts to eat another child's chicken. Babies' rest needs are not fully met. When a baby is tired there are insufficient cots so he cannot sleep until another baby wakes up. Children benefit from daily physical activities that help them to keep fit. They have

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Helping children to be healthy

access to a selection of large and small play equipment including climbing frames, balls and hoops. Children use the sensory room for physical play when the weather does not allow outdoor activities.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are able to move safely around the rooms and use the well organised space

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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 properly for their chosen activities. Children play with good quality resources that are regularly checked for signs of damage. They are stored effectively to allow children to access them safely both inside and outside. Children are kept safe through many positive measures. These include finger guards on the doors to prevent fingers becoming trapped and high door handles to ensure that children cannot open doors by themselves. The outdoor play areas are fully enclosed and secure. Children are kept safe by the comprehensive security arrangements in place. There is a key card entry system which ensures that all visitors have to be let in by staff. Parents ring a bell for the room they wish to go to and a member of staff escorts them there. Children's safety is promoted through the

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

use of a password system if a child is being picked up by someone unknown to the nursery. Children's safety is promoted through full risk assessments of the building and for particular instances. For example, the nursery has made a risk assessment for serious allergies. The nursery has a good awareness of Health and Safety issues. A Health and Safety officer from central office visits regularly and staff have Health and Safety training and complete related questionnaires. Children are learning effectively about how to stay safe. The nursery planned Brake Week during which children focussed on road safety. Staff talk with children about safety. A child looks at a book with a fire officer in it and the member of staff reminds the child that 'we don't touch fire do we?' Staff alert children to potential dangers. For example, a member of staff asks a child to sit down on his chair 'or you could fall off

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

and hurt yourself'. Children's welfare is protected by the staff's clear understanding of child protection issues. Staff are knowledgeable about the indicators of abuse and are aware of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child. Parents are informed that the nursery has a duty to refer child protection concerns. The manager is supported by a child protection coordinator at central office.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are happy and settled in the nursery. Most separate confidently from their carers and a child was observed to run eagerly in to her base room. Children are confident. They ask the inspector what she is called and what she is doing. They are also confident to operate independently within their base rooms. For instance, a child explores the play house by herself. Children's self esteem is fostered by praise from staff. A child washes his hands on his own and is told what a good boy he is. Children benefit from a warm relationship with staff. Younger children enjoy cuddling up and looking at a book with staff. Children play harmoniously together. They share building a train track and play together with bats and balls. Babies and younger children are cared for effectively through frequent interaction with key staff. Carers chat to the babies and foster their development. For instance, staff help them to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

develop a sense of identity through encouraging them to look at themselves in the mirror.

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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 are learning through well planned and purposeful activities. Younger children have their developmental needs met effectively through planning based on the Birth To Three Matters framework. Activities include exploring treasure baskets and dressing up and cover all areas of the children's development. Older children benefit from planning for activities that cover all aspects of the Foundation Stage of learning. However, children have limited opportunities to freely choose activities. This is due to the inaccessibility and restricted range of resources. This is demonstrated when children play in the play house and with a play cooker but do not have access to the play food and pots and pans to go with them. The pre-school room has sufficient resources but the younger children have limited toys to play with. Children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

in the first steps room were observed to play with the same few toys throughout the inspection. Nursery Education. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children gain from the staff’s knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum and how children learn. This enables staff to plan suitable learning programmes that cover all areas of learning. Children’s learning is developed through staff’s good questioning and interest in the children. Children’s progress is measured through an effective observation and assessment system. Staff use these observations to identify the next steps for children’s learning, to ensure their progress through the stepping stones is appropriately addressed and recorded. Children develop a positive attitude to their learning as they share in a wide range of practical activities, for example writing their names in shaving foam. They choose from a range of resources to develop their skills, such as building with construction

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

toys, and drawing pictures using a variety of writing materials. However, children are not always given time to complete a task, particularly at the end of a session. Children demonstrate their interest in numbers as they play a game counting and matching shells to numerals. Children communicate their ideas and needs clearly. They are interested in books, choosing from a range of books both for enjoyment and information. They learn to link sounds to letters. They use computers to support their learning, for instance matching rhyming pictures. Opportunities for children to explore and experiment with a variety of art materials is good, for instance collage nursery rhymes. All children eagerly join in action songs to learn about number and sound. They frequently talk about the past and present events in their own lives, and about the lives of others, including those of other cultures. Children benefit from daily physical activities. Children develop confidence and good

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

co-ordination as they access a selection of climbing apparatus, and ride on toys, situated in the large outdoor play areas. They learn new skills, such as catching and throwing bean bags and rolling hoops. Children develop good small muscle control, for instance cutting with scissors and threading beads.

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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

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children behave well and know what is expected of them. They benefit from the good role models provided by the staff who always use please and thank you when speaking to the children. Children relate well to each other and know how to share and take turns fairly. For example, two children take turns at playing with a ball. Children of all ages are learning about other cultures through appropriate play resources and activities such as celebrating festivals. These are designed to broaden their knowledge of the wider world. For example, there are posters showing families from other cultures displayed in the baby changing room. However, not all staff are fully aware of how to promote equality of opportunity and opportunities to make children from other backgrounds feel welcomed and valued are missed. There are not currently any children with special needs attending the nursery. The

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Helping children make a positive contribution

special needs coordinator has a clear understanding of the code of practice. Once a child has been identified as having special needs she draws up an individual education plan for the child and works closely with the parents and any other agencies. The plan is reviewed monthly with the parents to keep them fully informed of the child's progress. The partnership with parents is good. Children benefit from the open and warm welcome that families receive. Parents are given good information about the Foundation Stage curriculum activities and their children’s progress through parents’ evenings, and daily discussions. Children benefit from this good partnership as families feel well supported and children’s needs are met in accordance to their parent’s wishes. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. They show concern for others. For instance, children welcome an apprehensive child to the

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Helping children make a positive contribution

group. They are beginning to communicate their ideas and emotions through domestic role play situations. They express delight in achieving a task, such as fitting shells into a jar. They have good self esteem which is fostered by praise from the staff. For example, a child proudly shows a member of staff his drawing and she tells him that it is 'fab'. Staff offer generally good support for the children. For example, a member of staff encourages a baby to look at himself in the mirror

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children benefit from a welcoming and inviting environment with colourful examples of their work displayed on the walls. Rooms are brightly decorated and most are spacious. However, one of the baby rooms has restricted play space for the number of babies which limits their play. Children have limited access to resources since few are kept at a low level particularly in the rooms for younger children. For example, the accessories for the play cooker are stored on a high shelf.

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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 Children's welfare is promoted through the keeping of extensive records, policies and procedures that form a detailed operational plan. However, parents have limited access to the nursery's policies and procedures. Paper work includes daily activity sheets that are shared with parents and records including nappy changes and fluid intake. Planning and assessment for younger children is based on the Birth To Three Matters framework and effectively covers all areas of the children's development. Children benefit from an appropriate key worker system. Children's welfare and progress are observed and assessed by consistent staff. They also liaise with parents to ensure the needs of the children are met. However, children's needs are not fully met at all times due to the way in which staff are deployed. At lunchtime staff

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Organisation

are fetching and serving food and drinks and cleaning up. This restricts the time that they spend with the children to support them at meal times. Overall the provision meets the needs of the range of children cared for. The quality of leadership and management is good. Much of the success of the pre-school group is the relationship between the manager and room leader. Annual staff appraisals means staff are able identify their training needs and develop their own practice. This has a positive impact for the children’s learning. However, limited monitoring of relief staff can result in lack of appropriate challenges for children. Staff work well as a team. They meet regularly to discuss planning and the children’s progress. An effective monitoring and curriculum evaluation system is in place. Staff are able to correctly identify their strengths and areas for development and act on their findings.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the provider was required to develop the staff's understanding of special needs and child protection issues. Recommendations were raised to ensure that parents receive information about the polices and procedures of the nursery and to develop a system for putting significant partnership issues with parents in writing. The nursery was required to increase the range of resources available for children under three and to ensure that staff actively engage with this age group. Finally, a recommendation was raised to ensure that staff deployment allows them to spend as much time as possible working directly with the children. The nursery has made good progress in developing staff's understanding of special needs and child protection. The nursery has a special needs coordinator who has a clear understanding of the procedures for the identification of special needs. Staff liaise with the coordinator to provide good support for children with special needs.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The staff have a sound understanding of child protection issues and are aware of the procedures to follow in the event of concerns about a child. The nursery has made limited progress in sharing policies and procedures with the parents. Parents are given limited information in the welcome pack and are informed that they can request to see the full policy and procedure files in the office. Therefore, policies and procedures are not fully shared with all parents. The nursery has now

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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 put a system in place to keep a written record of any issues with parents. This ensures that there are no misunderstandings of verbal discussions. The nursery has made limited progress in increasing the range of resources for children under three. Children still have a restricted range of resources and these are not always easily accessible. This limits the activities that the children can do and restricts the choices that they can make. Staff now engage well with under three's. This follow the introduction of the Birth to Three Matters framework which has helped staff to develop their practice with this age group. The nursery has made limited progress in developing staff deployment. At busy periods, such as lunchtime, staff are deployed to fetch and serve food and drink and

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Improvements since the last inspection

to clear up. This means that there are limited staff available to work directly with the children and to support their needs at meal times.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since April 1st 2004 Ofsted has received 2 complaints about the provider. The first complaint related to National Standards 1 and 11 regarding the way in which behaviour is managed by staff and the way in which the nursery works with parents. Ofsted investigated this complaint and issued 3 actions and 1 recommendation. These have been met by the provider. The second complaint related to National Standard 1 regarding the inappropriate handling of a child. Ofsted investigated this complaint and issued an action and a compliance notice. These have been met by the provider. The provider remains qualified for registration.

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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 satisfactory. 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 the deployment of staff allows them to spend as much as time as

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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 possible working directly with the children to meet their needs effectively. • ensure that children have a healthy choice of food that meets their dietary needs. • increase the range and accessibility of resources to allow children to choose freely. • ensure that babies individual needs are fully met with regard to rest and play space.

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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): • monitor staff, particularly relief staff, to ensure all children are challenged according to their developmental needs. • ensure that children are given time to complete tasks at their own pace.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

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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