Bright Horizons Southam Day Nursery and Preschool

Beehive Nursery (Southam) Inspection report for early years provision

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200508 Unique Reference Number 24 July 2007 Inspection date Elenora Griffin Inspector

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ST JAMES ROAD, SOUTHAM, WARKS, CV47 0LY Setting Address

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E-mail

Beehive Day 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 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?

The Beehive Day Nursery at Southam opened in 1996 and has now been taken over by Bright Horizons, Family Solutions. It operates from part of a former school building in the centre of Southam. The nursery is situated on ground floor level, with separate areas for babies, toddlers and pre-school children. There are two sleep rooms, two sets of children's toilets, separate staff facilities and a kitchen. A maximum of 56 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08.00 to 18.00, all year round. Children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area with access to an indoor hall in wet weather.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 67 children aged from three months to under five years on roll. Of these, nine children receive funding for early education. Children come from the town and villages in the surrounding rural area and attend for a variety of sessions. 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?

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 nursery employs 12 members of staff. Of these, 11 work directly with children. Eight of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications and one is currently working towards a qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are developing a good understanding of how to keep themselves healthy. They are encouraged to learn about personal hygiene through the daily routine. For example, as they wash their hands before meals. Through activities and discussion children learn about the position of their heart and how it beats faster when they exercise. Children wear protective creams when required for outside play and staff discuss with them how it protects their skin from the sun. Children benefit from a nutritional and well balanced diet that includes a home made lunch. Lunch times are social occasions when children come together to enjoy their meal and each others company. However, set meal times and nappy changing times are not always responsive to the individual routines of babies, and key workers do not always have the opportunity to use these times for bonding with and developing stronger relationships with

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are well cared for when they have an accident or are unwell. This is because staff respond quickly, contact parents without hesitation and carefully monitor children's condition. Comprehensive documentation is in place to promote the health and welfare of the children. Parents provide important medical information and give consent for the seeking of emergency medical treatment. Fully stocked first aid boxes are maintained and children receive continuity of care because accidents are recorded and shared with parents. The sick child policy and exclusion periods for illnesses are shared with parents, and they give consent for the administration of any medication that their child requires.

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Helping children to be healthy

Babies and young children enjoy space in which to move about as they practise their developing physical skills. They are able to investigate and explore their surroundings with appropriate support from staff who engage with them in their play. Young children are learning to express their needs and are beginning to meet those needs independently. For example, by learning to feed themselves. Weather permitting, children have daily opportunities to play outside on age-appropriate climbing frames and to enjoy the fresh air. Children move with increasing control and co-ordination as they ride about on bikes, play tag in the garden and negotiate their way around the nursery setting. Older children benefit from opportunities to further develop their physical skills and competencies as they participate in weekly football sessions, and are able to access ballet lessons through the nursery. Children have a good awareness of

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Helping children to be healthy

themselves and others, and work together successfully during group activities. For example, as they use bricks to build a bridge. Children have a good variety of opportunities to use a range of small and large equipment. They handle tools and objects with increasing control. For example, as they develop and refine their skills using hammers as they decorate tree trucks.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children enjoy being cared for in a friendly, welcoming and secure environment. They feel valued because they each have a peg for their own belongings labelled with their photograph and name. Children benefit from having well organised space in which they can move around,

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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 play and spread out with activities. Babies and young children can freely access a selection of age-appropriate toys. Older children independently choose from the wide range of toys and activities that are available. Sleep rooms provide children with separate areas in which to sleep peacefully and they are checked regularly by staff. Regular checks are also made by staff to ensure that gates are closed and that doors are kept locked.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Generally, documentation is used effectively by staff to promote the safety of children. For example, accident records are regularly reviewed in order to identify any recurring issues affecting children's welfare. Staff have a clear understanding of child protection issues and act appropriately in order to keep children safe. However, there is potential for a child's well-being to be compromised because some of the policies and procedures are not fully known by all staff. In particular not all staff are certain of the full procedures to be followed should a child be uncollected, lost or an allegation of abuse made. Nevertheless, children are beginning to learn how to keep themselves safe. This is because staff consistently reinforce safety rules and they practice the emergency escape plan at least once a month.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy being cared for in a bright and friendly environment. Babies and young children quickly settle with staff who actively listen, and give their full attention when they communicate with them. Children's comforters are recognised as important because they help children as they become settled in the new setting. Young children have fun with staff who sing songs with them and plan activities for them so that they experience a wide range of activities and resources. During the course of the morning and afternoon sessions babies and young children are encouraged to participate in a variety of planned activities that stimulate their senses. For example, babies paint and toddlers explore puffed rice.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are encouraged to explore the activities and resources available to them and to start making decisions about what they do. As children become more capable they are well supported by staff to become increasingly independent. Children feel valued and have a developing sense of belonging. This is because they receive lots of praise and encouragement from staff and they see their photographs and pieces of art work displayed for their parents to see. Colourful displays link children's activities to the 'Birth to three matters' framework, which staff are developing a good understanding of. As a result, staff are planning more varied activities to stimulate and support children's development.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Pre-school staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals and these are clearly identified in their long and short term planning. Staff continuously make observations of what they see children achieve and use these to complete individual tracking records. The records are a celebration of what children can do, but they are not used throughout the year to assess children’s next steps in learning. Consequently, opportunities to set appropriate challenges, in order to support individual progress, are not always maximised. However, the curriculum planning is responsive to children’s individual interests and as staff to get to know the children well they build in some individual targets for selected children each week. Planning is flexible and regularly extended so that children enjoy opportunities to build on and extend their learning. Staff effectively use a variety

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

of methods to support children’s learning. For example, through involving children in the development of their setting as they help to build the gazebo for their book corner. Use of

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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 time and resources is excellent. Children have time and space to build on their natural curiosity, freedom to bring a variety of resources together to extend their play themes, and well planned spaces for different activities. As a result, children have fun and make good progress in their learning.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are interested, excited and motivated to learn because they are active decision makers in their play. They quickly become actively engaged in activities and begin to develop their own play ideas. For example, the junk modelling resources become a jungle, animals are brought in and a path made to lead them to safety. Children are confident to try new activities and to learn new skills, such as how to use a hammer safely and effectively. Children are articulate as they speak in familiar groups, telling others about their experiences. They talk about the recent floods, going on holiday and visiting relatives. Children form good relationships with adults and one another. They enjoy talking to staff about their interests, activities and engage them in their play ideas. Children are able to use speech to explore real and imagined experiences, ideas and feelings. Through various activities children explore letters and sounds. For example,

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

they decorate their special letter, the first letter in their name, learn the corresponding sound and find out the meaning of their name. Therefore, children are learning letter sounds and many are able to link these to initial sound in familiar words. Children are developing a good understanding of the elements of stories and have fun retelling stories to new people. They attempt to write for a variety of purposes as they write cheques for the shop keeper and are beginning to write recognisable letters and numbers.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are able to say and use numbers in familiar contexts as they talk about how old they are, count everyday objects and begin to match numerals to quantities. They use mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems and use appropriate language to describe shape, position, size and quantity. For example, as they create with junk modelling, measure pictures of dinosaurs to accurately recreate them and as they participate in cooking activities. Mathematics is explored throughout different activities in the pre-school room. For example, they measure out the size of a dinosaur mouth and explore how many children can fit inside it. Children are able to find out about and identify many features of living things. They collect snails and consider their habitats as they recreate them on a small scale. Children play games and draw pictures on the computer, and practise using everyday technology through their play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

For example, as they use the checkout in their shoe shop. Children find out about past events as they learn about the extinction of the dinosaurs. They also talk about their own past, and present, as they talk about the role they played in the play performed for parents, what they have made and what they plan to do.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children investigate objects and materials using their senses appropriately. They create with the wide variety of materials and resources available for junk modelling, they make ice and watch it melt and they explore dry pasta and clay. Children are able to construct with a wide range of objects. They are able to select appropriate resources and tools which are readily available or supplied by staff on request. Children are imaginative and create things that they find, ‘really exciting’. They explore colour, texture, shape, form and space in two or three dimensions as they paint, develop collages, weave and make dinosaurs, bracelets and a love tree out of mod rock. During term-time children enjoy weekly sessions with a music teacher exploring music and musical instruments. They recognise and sing simple songs from memory. Children are developing their imaginations during art and design, role-play and stories. They

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

create jungles, dinosaurs, be shop keepers and use speech and action to develop stories and play ideas. Consequently, children are able to express their ideas, thoughts and feelings through materials and tools, imaginative play, movement and songs.

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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's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Children are beginning to learn about the wider world and diversity through planned activities and walks into their local community. Through topic work children find about festivals, such as St George's day, Diwali and Chinese New Year. They enjoy listening to stories and tasting food from different cultures. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities have their needs appropriately met. This is because staff work with parents, carers and specialist organisations in order to plan and provide for their needs. Staff are proactive and access training in order to support a wider range of children's needs. For example, through learning Makaton. Consequently, inclusion is actively promoted for all children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are generally well behaved and play harmoniously together, negotiating roles and cooperating with one another in order to achieve shared goals. They enjoy being cared for in an environment that encourages good behaviour. This is because children have the freedom to make their own decisions about what they want to do, and dedicated areas in which they can use resources and materials without disruption. Staff offer children lots of praise and encouragement and support children well to play and create together. However, when physical intervention is used in order to prevent injury to a child it is not recorded and this compromises children's care and well-being.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents receive good quality written information about the company, its ethos and some of its policies and procedures. Information about the setting itself and children's key worker's are shared verbally. Generally, children enjoy continuity of care because staff share information about care routines with parents on a daily basis. For example, daily diaries are completed each day for babies and young children, and staff read these back to parents as they collect their child. Parents know who they can go to in order to raise any concerns as this is outlined in the family guide. The manager also ensures that they receive a copy of the detailed complaints procedure when they first start. However, a record, which parents can see on request, has not been completed for the complaint that the setting has received. Therefore, parents may not be fully informed of factors that potentially impact on children's well-being.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents are well informed about the activities that help their children to learn through colourful displays of photographs and of their children’s work. They are encouraged to be involved in their children’s learning through attending events in the pre-school, such as a children’s play, and through encouraging their child to take in objects and books linked to the current topic. Parents and staff work together to promote good behaviour. Parents write out examples of their child’s good behaviour on heart shaped notes, which their child hangs on the pre-school love tree. Parents are mainly informed about their child’s achievements and progress through daily discussion with friendly and approachable staff. Occasional open evenings offer parents a formal opportunity to learn about the progress their child is making, and they can request to see their child’s tracking record and nursery

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The organisation of time, space and resources positively impacts on children's ability to participate, enjoy and achieve. However, the staffing arrangements for babies and young children does not minimise the number of carers for the individual child. As a result, children

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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 do not enjoy having a key worker who consistently takes responsibility for their well-being and personal care needs on a daily basis. In general there is comprehensive documentation in place which contributes to children's health, well-being and safety. However, staff are not fully aware of many of the policies and procedures and only part of the current registration certificate is displayed. Therefore, children's welfare is potentially compromised. Staff are uncertain of the full procedures to be followed should a child be uncollected, lost or an allegation of abuse made. Parents are not made aware of all of the conditions of the provider's registration.

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Organisation

The quality of the leadership and management of the nursery education is good. The pre-school staff are highly motivated and strive to promote outcomes for all children through play. They carefully plan the use of time and resources to support children to learn and to extend their own play ideas. Staff identify activities that have gone well so that they can be extended and repeated with children. They have also identified areas for improvement, such the development of the outside area, in order to expand and extend learning opportunities for children. The setting is committed to improving the care and education for children. Staff regularly participate in professional development training, work with an advisory teacher and generally respond positively to feedback.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the provider was asked to ensure that parents are made aware of recent changes to the complaints procedures and recording systems. Following the last inspection the updated complaints procedure was made available to parents. The provider continues to ensure that parents are aware of the complaints procedure through giving them a copy of it with their family guide when they first start. The guide also outlines who parents can raise concerns with.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The provider was also asked to improve the provision of nursery education by increasing opportunities for children to extend their interests during self-initiated play, and offering appropriate challenge to individual children. Although opportunities to set appropriate challenges for children are not always maximised, staff have begun to develop their planning. As a result, it is now more responsive to children’s individual interests and individual targets are set for selected children each week. Through making effective changes in the organisation of time, space and resources the children now enjoy good opportunities to extend their interests through self-initiated play.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection Ofsted has received one complaint relating to National Standard 6: Safety, and 14: Documentation. The complaint related to an injury to a child in the outdoor area. We asked the provider to assess the risks to children in relation to the outdoor area and to take action to minimise these, and to ensure that significant events are notified to Ofsted at the earliest opportunity. The provider carried out extensive risk assessments and took action to improve safety in the outdoor area, and improved procedures for notifying Ofsted of significant events. Ofsted was satisfied that by taking these steps the provider met the National Standards and remained qualified for registration at the time the investigation was closed.

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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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Complaints 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

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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 that any form of physical intervention necessary to prevent personal injury or serious damage is recorded, and the parent informed of the incident on the day • keep a record of complaints relating to the National Standards and any action taken • improve staffing arrangements for children under two in order to minimise the number of carers for the individual child, and to ensure that children's key worker's are mainly responsible for their well-being on a daily basis • improve staff knowledge and understanding of the policies and procedures • display the registration certificate in full.

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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 planning and assessment in order to offer individual children appropriate challenges that maximise outcomes across all areas of learning.

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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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