Busy Bees Day Nursery at Newbury

Just Learning Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Just Learning Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY233534 Inspection date 27 September 2005 Inspector Caroline Hearn / Sheila Collins

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Just Learning Nursery

Setting Address Monks Lane, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 7TD

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Just Learning Nursery

Telephone number 01635 524832 E-mail newbury@justlearning.co.uk Registered person Just Learning Ltd Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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Just Learning Nursery

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 inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Just Learning Nursery in Newbury opened in 2002. The nursery is one of many nurseries within the Just Learning chain of day nurseries. The nursery has its own purpose built building and outside play area within the grounds of Newbury College, which is on the outskirts of Newbury town centre. The children are accommodated in ten rooms according to their age and stage and the nursery has a multi purpose

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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 area, office, kitchen, laundry, staff room and toilets for staff, visitors and children. A maximum of 104 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 07:30 to 18:00 with the exception of bank holidays. All children share access to a fully enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 107 children aged from 5 months to under 5 years on roll. Of these 27 children, receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide catchment area. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs, and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 22 staff. Of these 11 staff including the manager, hold an appropriate early years qualification. A further 10 staff are working towards a

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a clean and generally well-maintained environment. They are developing an understanding of the need to follow good hygiene practices, such as washing their hands after using the toilet or playing in the garden area, to get rid of germs. The older more able children are becoming independent in self-care skills, for example, taking themselves to the toilet. However, their independence is not being consistently encouraged, as during snack time they play no part in setting out the tables or serving the snack to their peers. The children’s individual dietary needs are met as both the cook and the nursery staff are aware of these needs. Drinking water is freely available for the children in every room. Children sometimes have to wait for long periods sitting at the table for lunch to be delivered, which results in some of the younger children being too tired to eat ,

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Helping children to be healthy

when it finally arrives. The meals are nutritious and well balanced. Children do have some opportunities to discuss the types of food they are eating and the origins of these, for example raisins come from grapes. Staff know the children’s health needs and all the relevant documentation is in place, which ensures that they meet each child’s individual needs. Over half the staff hold current first aid certificates and are therefore aware of the appropriate ways to deal with minor accidents. Children have opportunities for outdoor play, using a variety of equipment in the in the well set out play areas. They develop and extend their physical skills as they experience the range of activities. However, the babies only go outside once or twice a week, which means that they have limited opportunities for fresh air.

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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 The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a safe and secure environment. They have the freedom to explore their environment both inside and out. This is due to the careful consideration, given to safety throughout the nursery. Adults coming into the baby rooms must remove their outdoor shoes, or put on overshoes, to ensure that the environment is safe. Children feel welcome in the nursery, as in each of the rooms there are colourful displays at child height. Many of the rooms have been recently re-organised to make them more appealing to the children. They now have clearly defined space for their home corners and messy play. Children in all areas are provided a wide range of resources. The staff check these regularly to ensure that they are safe. Equipment in

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

the rooms where the older children meet is stored at child height, but children have limited opportunities for self-selection. All staff have a basic knowledge of child protection issues and procedures and are aware of how to implement these, which also contributes to the children’s safety.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children enjoy the social aspect of attending the nursery and have formed firm friendships with their peers. Staff say that children in the under two rooms ,are becoming more familiar with the new routines. Children are involved in a variety of activities during the day, although due to the lack of forward planning by the staff do not always gain as much as possible from these. Staff have limited knowledge and understanding of guidance, such as Birth to three matters, which means that many activities are adult led. There are missed opportunities to extend activities, for example showing and pointing to the animals when using the book to accompany the singing of ‘Old MacDonald had a Farm’. Nursery education, The quality of teaching and learning is inadequate. Children’s independence is not consistently supported. They are encouraged to take themselves to the toilet and to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

put on their coats. However, opportunities for them to select their own resources and take part in activities, such as setting up for snack and meal times are limited. During activities, children have access to an appropriate range of resources. However, staff leave the children to find their own way and do not sufficiently support them during activities. As a result, play becomes rather aimless. Children are interested in the world around them and are keen to engage in discussions about this, although there are missed opportunities to extend these child led discussion. Children are generally confident and engage easily in conversations with their peers, staff and visitors. Children’s individual development is difficult to track, as staff do not maintain developmental records for the children. Staff also lack an understanding of the

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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 foundation stage and how to implement this to ensure children achieve their full potential. It is not clear as to the range of activities, which the children are involved in as no written planning is undertaken. Due to this, staff are unable to evaluate activities to ensure they were appropriate for the children involved. As the staff do not use the stepping-stones the children are not making progress towards the six areas of learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children’s individual needs are known to staff and staff have good relationships with the children. The play is generally well organised to ensure the children have equal access to the full range of activities on offer. Children arrive happy and most settle quickly. They have individual pegs and labelled trays to provide them with a sense of belonging. However, children are receiving mixed messages about acceptable behaviour, as not all staff have a consistent approach to this. This leads to a few children disrupting activities for the other children present. Children with special educational needs do not receive consistent support, as there is a lack of record keeping about activities, which would benefit their development and enable staff to plot their individual progress. Children have insufficient opportunities to learn about their own beliefs and those of others. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and emotional development is not fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents is inadequate. Parents coming in to drop off or to collect their children are greeted and staff exchange information with them about their child. Babies’ parents are provided with daily record sheets informing them of food intake, sleep times and nappies. However, as records are not being maintained in other areas of the nursery , parents do not have clear written information about their child’s development and achievements.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The provision is not meeting the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. The nursery is continuing to develop their action plan to ensure they meet the required level of qualified staff. The lack of qualified staff has had a negative effect on the standard of nursery education, which the children receive. All staff have received recent appraisals and evaluations of their working practices the manager has used these to review in which rooms the staff are based. This has resulted in them being more effectively deployed to offer greater continuity of care for the children. The rooms within the nursery are generally well laid out to maximise play opportunities for children, with space set aside for both quiet and messy activities. Leadership and management is inadequate. The manager is new in post and is aware of the issues within the nursery education rooms. There are policies and

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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 procedures in place, however not all staff are sufficiently aware of these, which could have a potential impact on children’s safety and well-being. Children receive a limited amount of guidance and support during activities, due to lack of staff training and understanding of the foundation stage curriculum. Further staff training and support is being arranged. However, the manager has not been in post long enough for this to have had positive effect on the outcomes for children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Care, Following their last care inspection, the nursery was set several recommendations. These were to ensure the garden area included a shaded area. To increase hygiene practices at mealtimes. Extend the range of resources, which reflect positive images of our diverse society. Review documentation to ensure this included the required information relating to medication administration and child protection procedures relating to staff. The garden now has a shaded area and hygiene practices have been improved at meal times. The nursery manager is increasing the selection of resources which reflect positive images of our diverse society. This is an on going process and has not been fully addressed since the last inspection. All the required documentation is now in place and being appropriately used. Education, Following their last educational inspection, the nursery was set several recommendations. These were to increase opportunities for more able children to

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Improvements since the last inspection

practise their independence skills. Increase opportunities for children to practise their writing skills and use information technology. Increase staffs understanding of the foundation stage curriculum and the use of observations and evaluations. In addition, to increase the opportunities for parents to be involved in their children’s learning. The nursery completed a clear action plan detailing how they would address all of these points. However, this has not been implemented and none of the above points have been addressed. Due to this, the children are receiving an inadequate nursery education. This lack of action regarding points raised during their previous inspection has resulted in the nursery receiving an inadequate grading for this inspection. They have now been set actions to improve the current standard of nursery education, which they offer the children.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since April 2004, the nursery has received three separate complaints. A concern was raised that on 12/10/2004 the nursery was without water due to a fault with the water supply. This related to National Standard 6 (Safety) and National Standard 7 (Health). Ofsted asked the provider to carry out an internal investigation and to report their findings back to us within 10 working days. Following this incident

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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 the provision wrote a procedure to follow in the event of a water leak and/or disconnection from the water mains. Ofsted was satisfied that the registered person has taken appropriate steps to address the concerns. As a result of the investigation that took place the provider remains qualified for registration. During May 2005 several concerns were raised with regard to National Standards, 1 (Suitable Person), 2 (Organisation), 6 (Safety), 7 (Health), 8 (Food and Drink) and 13 (Child Protection). An unannounced visit was made to the nursery by four Ofsted inspectors on 18/05/2005. As a result of their investigation the following actions were set, standard 2: develop an action plan that sets out how staff training and qualification requirements will be met and that staff are deployed effectively within the

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Complaints since the last inspection

premises to ensure the safety, welfare and development of children. Standard 7 ensure that the premises and equipment are clean and that there are clear procedures for staff. Standard 13 develop staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and the appropriate routes for referral. Ofsted was satisfied that the registered person has taken appropriate steps to address the concerns. As a result of the investigations that took place the provider remains qualified for registration. During August 2005 concerns were raised relating to National Standard 2 (Organisation), in that unqualified staff were working unsupervised with children. Ofsted investigated this concern by carrying out an unannounced inspection on 10 August 2005. Following the visit the provider was required to produce a written action plan showing how they would meet the requirements as set out in the national standards relating to ratios of qualified staff. They were also asked to ensure that

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Complaints since the last inspection

staff were deployed to meet the needs of the children. Ofsted was satisfied that the registered person has taken appropriate steps to address the concerns. As a result of the investigations that took place 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 inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • ensure babies have daily opportunities to go outside for fresh air • consider ways to consistently support older children's developing independence skills during snack and mealtimes • increase staff knowledge of behaviour management and ability to deal consistently with challenging behaviour • ensure progress records are maintained for all children with a special educational needs to show how progress is being made with their individual educational plan • increase opportunities for children to develop their independence skills for example further opportunities for them to self select resources.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education, the registered person must take the following actions: • Increase staff knowledge and implementation of the foundation stage. • Ensure planning is undertaken and that this is fully evaluated to gain a clear picture of what the children have gained from the activities on offer. • Implement methods for recording children's individual development and ensure their developmental needs are reflected in the planning. These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice. The Department for Education and Skills and the local authority have been informed.

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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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