Burcot Grange High School

Busy Bees Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 127070 Inspection date 23/09/2009 Inspector Stephanie Graves

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Setting address Village Hall, Main Road, Sutton at Hone, Dartford, Kent, DA4 9HQ Telephone number 07891 282353 Email lisatilney@btinternet.com Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Busy Bees Pre-School opened in 1999. The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register. It operates from a village hall in Sutton at Hone, Kent. The setting is accessible and all children share equal access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 9.00am to 12.30pm during school term times only.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 30 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 36 children aged from two years to under five years on roll. Children come from the local and wider community. The nursery currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs six staff. The majority, including the provider hold appropriate early years qualifications. Five members of staff are currently working towards further qualifications. The nursery provides funded nursery education for three and four-year-olds and receives support and advice from local authority early years professionals.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The setting meets the needs of the children effectively. Practitioners understand the unique needs of every child and ensure their welfare and development are well promoted. Children explore the learning environment within safe boundaries and receive good adult support. The partnerships with parents, other settings and outside agencies help to provide clear consistency of care and learning for all the children. The group's capacity for maintaining ongoing improvement is good, with effective improvements made since the last inspection. The provider’s ongoing involvement in the day-to-day running of the provision helps to secure effective outcomes for the children attending.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 ensure the record of the risk assessment includes anything with which a child may come into contact.

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded through effective procedures that promote their welfare at all times. For example, practitioners attend regular child protection training updates. They are clear about safeguarding procedures and know what to do in the event of a concern. The record of the risk assessment does not always include This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 everything that a child may come into contact with, although clear visual checks are completed, acted upon and recorded on a daily basis. Security is very well considered and practitioners are vetted appropriately to ensure they are suitable to work with the children. The details of all visitors to the pre-school are recorded. These measures help to ensure that children are safe and secure at all times.

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the early years provision

The provider and the staff team are dedicated towards improving the provision wherever possible. The recommendations from the previous inspection have been met effectively and the group evaluate their practice on an ongoing basis. Practitioners attend a good range of training events and the provision of toys, resources and experiences are effective in helping children make good progress.

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the early years provision

Equality and diversity is embedded well into everyday practice. Policies and procedures are inclusive and based on current legislation. The needs of all children and their parents and carers are consistently addressed. The group are committed to promoting positive representations of diversity through the learning experiences available and environmental images. Children's independence is encouraged with equal access to all experiences. For example, jugs used at snack times are small and manageable to help even the youngest child learn to pour their own drinks successfully. A full activity itinerary comprises words and pictures, helping all children to make choices in their play.

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the early years provision

Processes for self-evaluation are effective in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. Practitioners, parents and the children all contribute to the process along with any recommendations made by other professionals. The provider keeps a log of any issues that link to securing future improvement and is currently transferring this into the Ofsted self-evaluation document. The group has recently made excellent improvements to the partnership with parents. They have started to address noise levels as children wait to enter the setting and have made very effective changes to recording children's developmental starting points.

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the early years provision

The partnerships forged with other settings and outside agencies are good. The setting works with local authority early years professionals to develop good practice and health professionals to support children's additional needs. Practitioners work with other providers, for example, childminders and school teachers to promote smooth transitions for children and consistency of care and learning.

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the early years provision

The partnership with parents is outstanding. An excellent, ongoing two-way flow of information supports the needs of every child attending. Parents and carers are invited to be actively involved in pre-school life. This includes fathers attending the pre-school to share experiences with the children and parents teaching children about different faiths and festivals. Parents feel their children receive excellent care and feel fully informed about their progress. They contribute to their children’s developmental records from when their children first join the setting. This excellent partnership helps to promote consistency of care and learning for the children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Practitioners provide a good range of toys, resources and experiences that include all areas of learning. Children new to the setting receive very good support from their key person, helping them to feel secure. Good use of free-flow play opportunities between the indoor and outdoor areas maximises children's learning potential. Very effective environmental images and print reinforces children's understanding of many different learning concepts. Children are inquisitive and watch, for instance, as adults draw shapes, including a circle, triangle and a square. They listen as they are then asked whether they can draw a circle using a ruler. Children know this is not possible because there are no straight lines in a circle. This effective input helps young children to problem-solve and work things out for themselves.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy engaging in small world activities and role play. For example, they are heard to ask practitioners what their favourite food is and then provide 'cheese on toast' from the role play kitchen. This means they are competent at recreating real life scenarios through their play. Children are encouraged to attempt to write their names at each activity and question cards encourage them to solve problems. For instance, during some table top activities they are encouraged to find out how many dinosaurs there are or use printed number cards to dial numbers on different types of telephone. This helps even the youngest child begin to recognise and use number concepts, through purposeful activity.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy discussing their home lives and experiences, which help to promote good communication and social skills. They access programmable resources that help them discover how things work. The use of observational assessment is good, and demonstrates how children progress from when they join the setting through to school transitions. The group plan for the learning needs of individual children, including those with learning difficulties, and build on their current interests and abilities. Overall, children develop the essential skills necessary to move them forward and develop the necessary skills and abilities for their future learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

Children feel safe and demonstrate this through their warm relationships with the key people who care for them. They have a good understanding of dangers and listen carefully, for example, as practitioners explain the rules about running safely during physical exercise. This input helps children to develop a good understanding of personal safety. Children develop an exceptionally good awareness of maintaining healthy lifestyles. For example, they learn the importance of hand washing at the appropriate times and know that if they get germs on their hands and do not wash them off with soap and water they could get a tummy ache. Meticulous attention to hygiene and preventing the spread of infection includes practitioners each carrying antibacterial hand gel to use in between hand washes.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy growing their own produce in the outdoor area and accessing a snack bar that enables them to choose when to finish an activity and get something to eat and drink independently. Very healthy options are endorsed, such This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 as a range of dried fruits, crumpets, or fresh fruit and chopped vegetables. Frequent physical activity is encouraged and music and movement opportunities help all children learn the benefit of regular exercise.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very well behaved and play cooperatively together. They learn to share and take turns effectively and practitioners are good role models who treat the children warmly. The behaviour management strategies in place clearly promote children's confidence and self-esteem and help them become respectful and kind towards others. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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