Building Blocks Nursery

Building Blocks Nursery Ltd. Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY280115 Inspection date 10/05/2010 Inspector Samantha Jayne Taylor

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Setting address Cherry Orchard Primary School Site, Cherry Orchard Road, Birmingham, West Midlands, B20 2LB Telephone number 0121 523 0999 Email 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 0300 123 1231, 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: 0300 123 1231 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

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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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

Building Blocks Nursery Ltd was registered in 2004 and is one of two nurseries run by Building Blocks Nursery Limited. It is situated on the first floor of the reception class building of Cherry Orchard Primary school. The nursery serves the local community. All children share access to an outdoor designated play area for the nursery. The provision is set on the first floor and is accessible via a set of stairs. A lift is also available. It operates from Monday to Friday all year round from 7:00am to 6:00pm. Wrap around care is offered to children who attend the nursery of Cherry Orchard school. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

The provision is registered on the Early Years Register, the compulsory part of the Childcare Register and the voluntary part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 89 children on roll within the early years age group, of these, 19 children receive funding for early years. The provision has systems in place to support children with learning disabilities/additional needs and those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 22 members of staff employed to work directly with the children. Of these, 18 hold relevant childcare qualifications and the remaining staff are working towards a qualification. There are additional staff who are responsible for undertaking domestic duties and maintenance. The provision is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and is working towards the healthy settings programme.

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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

Children are confident and enjoy themselves at this busy, stimulating setting where they make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Each child is valued and included, because priority is given to fostering all aspects of children's well- being, health and hygiene, and to supporting those with additional needs. Parental participation and relationships are positively established through a variety of ways with most welfare requirements met, supported by mainly effective policies and procedures. All recommendations made at the last inspection are addressed whilst regular self-evaluation by the provider, manager and staff team ensures that priorities for future development are promptly identified and acted on. Most documentation including policies and procedures are accurate.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 ensure that the provison has sole use of the premises during operational hours (Suitable premises environment and equipment) (This also applies to 12/06/2010 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register).

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the use of a system to verify the identity of any visitors, record their names, the purpose of the visit, and details of arrival and departure time  review documentation to ensure it fully complies with the Early Years Foundation Stage; with particular reference to the self-evaluation form.

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the early years provision

Safeguarding systems are updated to reflect new initiatives and staff are knowledgeable in the procedure to follow in the event of a concern. Recruitment and vetting procedures are in place including effective induction of new staff and students. Risk assessments are completed and maintained. However, full consideration is not afforded to the operational use of a room within the provision or visitors and their registration to this area. Staff are encouraged to develop their training through in-house opportunities, short courses and in their personal development through higher level qualifications. They are well informed of policy and procedure sharing responsibilities and their areas of expertise.

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the early years provision

The deployment and arrangement of resources and equipment ensures all areas of learning are well organised throughout the setting allowing children ready access to many different activities. Babies and younger children enjoy a wealth of activities indoors and outdoors. The pre-school area is particularly well laid out and resourced enabling children to freely access different areas of learning and assisting them in developing good independence skills.

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the early years provision

Policies and procedures are available to share with parents and visitors and the majority contain updated information in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage. Parental involvement is integral to children's progression. Within the entrance area of the provision there is a wealth of information for parents and visitors perusal including leaflets and magazines on a range of subjects such as health care, whilst a suggestion box seeks parental and visitors' views on the service offered. Parents and carers are valued as the child's primary carer and their views are sought in a variety of ways regarding their child from the onset of care. Settling-in procedures are individualised to accommodate children and parents' needs and at inspection parents complement the established, consistent and professional staff team. The dedicated staff work as a team to ensure children are settled and parents are confident in the care offered. Planning is displayed in all areas and information

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the early years provision

about activities is provided through regular discussions and updates.

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the early years provision

Within the nursery staff welcome a range of input from visiting professionals who assist them in different ways in meeting children's individual needs and developing staff to increase their knowledge and expertise. Links with the children's centre, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 school and nursery class all of which are on site ensure children's transition onto the next stage of their education with confidence.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy their time spent at this provision. A range of stimulating experiences and activities helps children to make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff are enthused in their work planning activities which are innovative and exciting but also meeting children's individual interests and developmental needs. Children's welfare is mostly promoted because detailed systems are in place, covering all aspects of children’s care including accident and medication recording. Staff ensure they keep their first aid training up to date. Record cards include information about allergies, contact numbers and consents for medical treatment and details regarding legal contact and parental responsibility are sought. However, some documentation, including the self evaluation schedule requires updating in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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and outcomes for children

The key person system, observation, assessment and evaluation procedures link directly into the planning for the children. Planning and assessment system is maintained across all age groups within the setting. The staff are knowledgeable in the Early Years Foundation Stage and well deployed. They provide support and guidance to children's learning and discuss with the children what they are doing. Challenges set for children are individual and link specifically to their own interests, needs and development areas with next steps in their 'learning journal' detailed. Staff ensure that a balanced and rounded curriculum is provided for all children and consideration is given to different patterns of attendance to ensure that all children are included in activities. Information about children’s progress is shared with parents and carers on a daily basis as regular observations are made or formally at review meetings.

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and outcomes for children

A range of behaviour management techniques assists children in their good behaviour well as they are valued and listened to by staff who engage purposefully in their play. They are confident, courteous and very sociable with each other and adults. On arrival to the setting older children self- register, finding their name and placing it on the display board in their key groups to show that they are present. They are involved in assisting with errands, such as, being helper for the day. Activities such as these help to develop children's confidence, positive self-esteem and provide children with valuable skills for the future as they learn to listen to and follow instructions as well as working together to complete a task.

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and outcomes for children

Children are helped to understand that washing their hands regularly and brushing their teeth after meal times helps to keep them healthy. They enjoy nutritious well presented meals which are prepared at the other nursery and appropriately transported to the provision. Meals are served by the domestic assistant and are very well organised; children are familiar with the routine. In a relaxed environment regular lunch time staff support and assist children by helping them in developing their social skills. Their good health is further promoted as each day children access the outdoor play area. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 In the role-play area where the current theme is 'the jungle' children are enthralled as they self-select from costumes to dress as different animals. Their imagination is captured as they move in rhythm dancing to the 'jungle music'. In an earlier

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and outcomes for children

activity children joined craft materials successfully and they use the binoculars created to 'look out' for other animals! Previous topics in the role play area have included hairdresser's and the post office enriching children's learning experiences and their knowledge and understanding of the role of others in society. Their love of dance and music is developed further through weekly visits from a dance teacher. With the assistance and direction of the teacher they interpret the music played imagining that they are princesses or princes.

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and outcomes for children

Numbers are introduced throughout the setting. Within the role-play area children find their photograph and place it on the registration board to indicate to others as to who is playing in the area and as to how many; they are knowledgeable of the boundaries within the setting. Rules are reinforced through discussion, pictorials, labels, displays and also by reminding each other. Resources labelled in both print and visual form enable children to recognise that print carries meaning whilst developing their self-help skills as they access many of the resources independently. Within the different areas of learning children's language skills are enriched through the use of teaching aids, such as words relating to an area of learning displayed to extend discussion between staff and children.

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and outcomes for children

Children handle tools and utensils with increasing skill during craft modelling, handling paint brushes, pencils and spatulas. Outdoors young children use paintbrushes as they use water to paint the fence and chalks to make marks on the ground. They develop and refine their physical skills through learning to jump with two feet together, for example splashing and jumping in the puddles as they are formed. Indoors older children freely access creative equipment to draw detailed pictures. They are descriptive in their language as they explain to the adult what they are going to draw before they commence their picture. They name and match colours of pens used whilst some children differentiate between colours of light and dark shades. On completing their art children write their names on their work, some older children do this successfully whilst others make their own representation of their name. Children are well supported as staff encourage

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and outcomes for children

children to listen to the sounds in their name as children write their name and this is also reinforced through different activities, such as sound of the week.

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and outcomes for children

Children demonstrate great skill and confidence with technology, such as the computer as they learn to use educational programmes providing them with valuable skills for the future. The interactive wipe board adds to their experiences as other children are able to observe games as they are played. Whilst in a different activity children's love of drawing and writing is encouraged through the use of the board. Positive imagery resources of ethnicity, culture and disability are integral throughout the setting which helps to extend children's knowledge and understanding of the world. Staff help children to settle as they obtain key words spoken by children who have English as an additional language and work with different professionals to support children in the provision. 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 3 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 2 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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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Suitability and safety of premises and equipment) 12/06/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Suitability and safety of premises and equipment) 12/06/2010

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