Busy Bees Nursery School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 16/11/2004 Inspector Name Susan Patricia Foulger

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Busy Bees Montessori Nursery Schools Ltd Setting Address Beck House, St. Johns Street Beck Row Bury St. Edmunds Suffolk IP28 8AA

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Busy Bees Montessori Nursery Schools Ltd 4391282

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Busy Bees Montessori Nursery Schools Ltd Address Beck House, St. Johns Street Beck Row Bury St. Edmunds Suffolk IP28 8AA

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education also identifies strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the early learning goals (elgs) by the end of the Foundation Stage. This inspection report must be made available to all parents. If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.

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Information about the setting

Busy Bees Montessori Nursery School and Beehive Club initially opened in 1982. It operates from five classrooms in a purpose built building. It is situated in Beck Row, Suffolk, a small village close to the larger village of Mildenhall. A maximum of 111 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 06:45 to 18:00 for 51 weeks of the year. All children share access to two large secure outdoor play areas. There are currently 261 children from 2 to under 8 on roll. Of these 152 receive funding for nursery education. School age children are taken to and collected from local school and are also cared for in the school holidays. Some children come from a wide area, and some are from the local American air bases. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special needs and also supports two children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employ 19 staff most of whom hold appropriate early years

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Information about the setting

qualifications or who are working towards them. There are also four support staff.

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How good is the Day Care?

The Busy Bees Montessori Nursery School and Beehive Club provides a good standard of care overall for children aged 2 - 8 years. The nursery is warm and welcoming and the premises, both inside and out, are brightly decorated, clean and very well maintained. The outside area is especially effective in the development of the children's learning. The overall organisation of the large nursery is very good. Records and policies are all in place. Some minor adjustments are needed. Standards of safety are effective and children are well supervised at all times. However, risk assessments in relation to the church hall and boating pool have not been instigated.

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How good is the Day 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 Adults involved in the nursery work as a happy team who support and encourage each other. Children are well supervised and staff are effectively deployed both inside and out thus ensuring that the children are kept safe. Health and hygiene practices are clear. Snacks are healthy and nutritious and special dietary needs taken into account. Children are encouraged to try different foods, especially those grown in the garden which they have planted and watched grow. The quality of care and learning for children is very good. Children are confident, happy and well cared for. Those with special needs are welcomed into the nursery. Child protection procedures are in place. The nursery is very well equipped and children are able to select toys for

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How good is the Day Care?

themselves. The standard is high and include a wide range of resources to reflect positive images of other cultures and ethnicities. Behaviour is generally good. Relationships with parents and carers is generally very good and many parents are highly complimentary about the nursery. They are kept informed and involved in the pre-school in a variety of ways.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The nursery have tackled all the actions imposed on them at their last inspection in 2002. They were asked to improve security and prevent strangers from entering; fences and gates have been made more secure and a number coded system now covers all entrance doors.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Parental permissions and the recording of the giving of medicines was also asked for; these are now in place. A statement on bullying has been added in the behaviour management policy as requested. As requested also, the nursery has produced a child protection statement stating staff responsibilities. All staff now sign to say they have read the procedures. It also now includes a section on what procedures would be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. The nursery ensures that the fire drill recordings now comply with the local fire officer's recommendation. The fire drill is held termly and recorded in a fire log.

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What is being done well?

• The overall organisation of the day to day running of the nursery is excellent and reflects favourably on the nursery's philosophy to seek constant improvements to the nursery and what they are offering the children. • The premises, both indoor, and especially outdoor, offers children an exciting

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 child oriented environment which stimulates all their senses. • The quality of care and learning for children is very good. The children are offered many activities and experiences that enable them to make choices and develop their knowledge, skills and understanding. The range of resources reflecting other cultures and ethnicities is very good and caters for the rich mixture of children that attend. • Extra curricular activities including swimming (in the nursery's own pool), Spanish , French and ballet lessons are also offered. • The staff's relationship with the children and each other is excellent. Children are happy and confident in their care and the staff act as good role models. •• Safety is a priority and policies and procedures support this standard. Staff

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What is being done well?

ratios are consistent and staff are evenly deployed both inside and out. Security is excellent and children are monitored at all times.

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

Outside there are many further learning opportunities to extend the children's play which would normally be beyond most children's experience in a day care setting. This includes a garden where they are encouraged to grow their own vegetables and herbs, a small animal farm which is introducing the children to the care and understanding of animals and a wild life pond all of which are encouraging the children to respect and care for their environment. The outdoor music centre, the garage area and the three role play chalets all enhance the children's play opportunities. There is even a boating pond where the children can sail their model boats.

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What needs to be improved?

• the appraisal system • accident recording • risk assessments

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Outcome of the 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 2 Consider how the appraisal system will include an appraisal for the manager 6 Extend the risk assessments to include the church hall and the boating pool. 7 Ensure that the parent is given a copy of the record of any accident their child may suffer

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by the time of the next 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

The provision for nursery education at Busy Bee's Montessori Nursery School is of high quality. It enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is very good. The general ethos of the nursery is reflected in the level of the children's confidence and their relaxed and happy manner. The staff are keen and enthusiastic and communicate well with each other. There is a good understanding of the Early Learning Goals. Themes and activities are well planned, however planning does not always show how activities can be adapted to met the needs of the youngest and most able children. Staff make regular assessments that identify children's progress. Adults carefully question children to extend thoughts and learning. Leadership and management of the setting is very good. Both the staff and management show a outstanding commitment to the care and education of the

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How effective is the nursery education?

children. There is a clear management structure and the staff know their roles and responsibilities. All staff work well as part of a dynamic team. Productive meetings are held regularly, where effective self-evaluation and planning takes places. Staff have annual appraisals. Documentation and policies are well presented and updated. Partnership with parents is very good. They are provided with good quality information and are encouraged to participate with the nursery. Parents are complimentary about the setting and express confidence in the staff. They are kept well informed of the nurseries current theme and are encouraged to continue play and learning activities at home. Good use is made of display space to give information about the management of the setting, foundation stage and the six area's of learning.

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What is being done well?

• Children are developing their self-esteem and confidence. They form good relationships with adults and peers and play co-operatively together sharing, taking turns and behaviour is excellent. • The staff are keen and enthusiastic and work together effectively in their rooms and inthe nursery as a whole. • The management is pro-active in assessing the setting for on-going improvements and is very committed to maintaining an outstanding provision for the children. • The six area's of learning are very well covered through a programme of purposeful play opportunities.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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What needs to be improved?

• planning of activities to take into account the needs of both the youngest and the more able children. • adult time in the book corner to encourage and increase children's enjoyment of books.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the judgement was that the setting had no significant weakness. The point for consideration was to enhance the good partnership with parents, carer's by considering ways of recording parent observations on their children learning. The nursery has thoroughly reviewed it record keeping system in line with the 6 area's of learning and has included space for parents to write their observations. Each child's records are kept in a folder which parents can access independently. Parents can also make an appointment to speak with their child's key worker to discuss progress. Parents are given a comprehensive termly topic sheet which provides information on the topics being covered and gives suggestions on how parents can use these topics to expand upon their child/s learning outside the nursery.

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What has improved 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are happy, secure and confident. They are all motivated learners who concentrate, persevere and work well in groups or individually. They form good relationships with staff and peers and are encouraged to negiogate,take turns and support each other. Adults value them by giving frequent praise and encouragement. Children's independence is being fostered by self-care and in opportunities to select resources. Children's have an awareness of their own community and other cultures

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children use language consistently well to describe real and imagined events and staff take opportunities to extend vocabulary. Stories, books and rhyming words are enjoyed and explored but not all children access the book corner. Children are learning that print caries meaning though labelling and have many opportunities to write indoors and outdoors. Most children recognise their names and other simple and more complicated words. Activities which introduce letter sounds and shapes take place.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children use number and counting during practical activities. They recognise numerals, say and use number names and count reliably. Children can match and name colours and shapes confidently. They count forwards in rhymes and songs with many children counting beyond 10. Staff set problems for children in everyday situations for example "how many plates do we need ?" Planned activities give children the opportunity to weigh, measure and compare. Appropriate mathematical language is introduced.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children are offered a stimulating and extremely well resourced environment to investigate nature and living things. They are given excellent opportunities to grow organic vegetables and care for a variety of living creatures. They have access to computers with a range of appropriate software on a daily basis. They are given opportunities to build and construct using a range of materials indoors and outdoors. Through topic work and visitors the children learn about different cultures.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Equipment is provided which enables children to climb, crawl, balance,pedal, steer and develop ball skills. Indoor children enjoy moving to music and movement tapes. Children use a variety of tools with increased confidence and enjoy activities which encourage manipulation skills such as playdough and construction. Health and body awareness is explored in topic work and planned activities.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children show great enthusiasm for role-play and very good resources are provided to support this indoors and outdoors. Adults get involved in the children's imaginary situations. Staff provide a variety of media for the children to explore e.g. jelly, shaving foam. There are daily opportunities for the children to paint. Staff value and display children's work. Children enjoy moving to music and are introduced to sound and rhyme through the use of music instruments both indoors and outdoors.

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Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable and is of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • Where applicable structure the planning of activities to take into account the needs of both the youngest and the more able children. • Build into the session adult time in the book corner to encourage and increase children's enjoyment of books.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents and to the Local Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection of funded nursery education.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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