Bradley CofE Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 28/10/2004 Inspector Name Christine Mary Burridge

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Buffer Bear Nursery Setting Address British Empire and Commonwealth Museum Clock Tower Yard, Temple Meads Bristol Avon BS1 6QH

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Buffer Bear Limited Address The Hospitium Valpy Street Reading RG1 1AR

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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

Buffer Bear operates a network of childcare nurseries around the United Kingdom. This Buffer Bear Nursery opened in January 2001. It operates from the ground floor of the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum adjacent to Temple Meads train station in Bristol. There are currently 75 children from three months to five years on roll. This includes 10 funded three and four year olds. Children attend for full day care or a variety of sessions. Children who have special needs and English as an additional language are supported. The nursery opens five days a week from 8.00 to 18.00, excluding bank holidays and two staff training days. Seventeen full-time and two part-time staff work with the children. Over half of the staff are qualified to Level 2 or 3. Several staff are completing professional training. The nursery supports student and trainees. The organisation employs its own teachers who regularly visit to support staff.

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How good is the Day Care?

Buffer Bear Nursery provides a satisfactory standard of care for children. The nursery is generally well organised. Staff create a warm welcoming environment for children and their parents. Good use is made of wall space to display information and examples of children's works. There are a variety of toys, freely accessible play materials and equipment available in each room, some items are shared. There is limited equipment for physical play and role play and there is no adult furniture in the baby room. Staff are developing well as a team under new leadership. There is commitment to staff development through training. Most staff working with the babies have experience, few have had specific baby training. The procedures for ensuring that staff are appropriately vetted are not totally effective.

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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 Staff are very safety conscious, they have a clear understanding of evacuation procedures and risk assessments are conducted. Staff encourage good hygiene through established routines and appropriate procedures are in place to minimise the spread of infection. There are clear procedures for administering medication, however, some records do not contain the times when medication is to be given. Healthy eating is encouraged, individual dietary needs are met and fruit is provided. Staff provide children with a wide range of experiences and play opportunities. The key worker system is particularly effective and staff develop close relationships with children. Transition between rooms is well managed and provision is made for

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How good is the Day Care?

siblings to meet during the day. Staff are skilful in helping children develop their social skills. They have clear expectations for children's behaviour and as a result children are independent and well behaved. The partnership with parents is strong. They are provided with plenty of information about the setting. New parents are made to feel welcome through planned settling in procedures and parent evenings have recently been introduced.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Overall satisfactory progress has been made in addressing the issues raised following the last inspection. Parents now sign the medication records; the complaints procedure includes information about Ofsted and this is accessible to parents. An effective key worker system operates throughout the nursery, parents are greeted and information is exchanged; a recent parent evening provided parents with the opportunity to discuss their children's progress. Staff encourage children to behave appropriately. The behaviour management policy is being developed to include strategies for managing bullying. Currently there are few staff working with the babies who have undertaken specific baby care training.

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What is being done well?

• Staff create a warm welcoming environment for children and their parents by ensuring they are greeted on arrival and rooms are set out so that toys and play materials are accessible • The key worker system is particularly effective and it helps staff develop close relationships with children and their parents. Baby's own routines are followed, they have a lot of individual attention and activities are planned to promote their development. • Staff are skilful in helping children develop their social skills. Children are polite, confident and they show a good level of independence. They are encouraged and enjoy being helpful, for example, tidying up between activities. Older children help set the table for lunch, they pour their own drinks and competently serve their own food. • Staff pay good attention to ensuring children's safety. They have a clear understanding of their role when practising fire safety procedures and entry to

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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?

• the arrangements for staff qualified to work with babies • the arrangements for appointing and vetting staff • the arrangements for medication • the provision of toys and equipment.

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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 1 Ensure that there are effective procedures in place for checking that staff members are appropriately vetted. 2 Ensure that at least half of all childcare staff working with children under the age of two will receive specific training in the care of babies. 5 Ensure that there are sufficient toys, play materials and equipment to support each play room. 7 Ensure that the times for administering medication is always included on the consent forms.

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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?

Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Personal social and emotional development is very good and progress in all other areas of learning is generally good. The teaching is generally good. The effective key worker system ensures that staff know the children well and enables them to support their key children's learning. Staff are skilful at helping children develop their social skills, they encourage independence, build confidence and nurture self esteem. They act as good role models, ensuring that children understand the boundaries for behaviour, as a result, children are helpful and well behaved. The planning and assessment procedures are currently being revised. Some staff do not fully understand the stepping stones. Learning intentions are not always clear and evaluation is limited, therefore, children are not always sufficiently challenged, for example, through the spontaneous use of open ended questions. Everyday

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How effective is the nursery education?

routines are not used sufficiently to develop children's conversational skills and mathematical thinking. Leadership and management is generally good. The recently appointed manager, has clear areas of responsibility and staff have well defined roles within the team. There is a strong commitment to staff development through training, regular staff meetings and general support. All the procedures for self assessment and quality assurance, including staff development, are being reviewed and developed. Partnership with parents is generally good. Parents can access their children's records and they have recently been invited to a formal parents evening to discuss progress. However, parents receive limited information about the educational provision and they have limited opportunity to contribute to the assessment process.

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What is being done well?

• Staff are skilful in encouraging children to develop their independence. Children are eager to participate in their chosen activities. They confidently volunteer to help, for example, set table for lunch, pour drinks and assist staff to fetch equipment from another room. • Staff provide clear guidance so that children understand the routines and boundaries for behaviour. Children show kindness and concern for others and remind each other of 'the golden rules'. They are helpful, polite and well behaved. • Children are keen to learn, they are interested and inquisitive. They concentrate well, listen attentively to stories and most enjoy talking to each other, and to adults in small groups.

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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?

• staff knowledge of the stepping stones so that children are sufficiently challenged across all areas of learning • the planning and evaluation to show more clearly the learning intentions and how activities link to the different areas of learning • the opportunities for children to have more challenging physical play on a regular basis • the information for parents about the early learning goals and ways for parents to become involved with their children's learning and assessment process.

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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 confident, polite and eager to take part in chosen activities. They happily leave their parents and settle quickly to play. They concentrate well, persevere until they are satisfied, for example, a child was thrilled when he managed to thread a string of beads, after dropping it several times. They show developing independence, they enjoy pouring drinks, tidying up and serving themselves lunch. They make close relationships with staff, show kindness, and play well together.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children enjoy conversation, they listen attentively to stories and handle books carefully, some pretend to read following the pictures. They are beginning to recognise their own names and some children are linking sounds to letters and words. They have free access to writing materials, they are beginning to express themselves through drawings and some attempt to write their names. Less confident children are not always given sufficient opportunity to express their ideas in group discussion.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children count with support and use their fingers when referring to numbers, for example, number of children and place mats for lunch. They are beginning to recognise written numbers through planned circle time activities, and they enjoy number songs and rhymes. Spontaneous opportunities to encourage counting, use positional language and introduce patterns did not happen across many of the activities and routines.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are able to investigate and explore a variety of materials and objects. They appropriately use small tools and are developing technology skills through use of the computer. They can freely access a range of materials to build and construct but the quantity available, sometimes, limits creativity. They are beginning to develop a sense of time and place and they are introduced to different cultures and customs. Opportunities to build on their knowledge of the world is limited.

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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: Generally Good Children show an appropriate awareness of space as they move confidently around the room. They enjoy actions songs and music. They use tools and small equipment effectively, showing good control and co-ordination when using pencils, scissors, cutters, cutlery, and pouring drinks. They are becoming aware of their own needs and are developing good hygiene routines. A lack of suitable large play equipment limits children's opportunity to climb and balance.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children use a wide variety of art and craft materials that are freely accessible. They use their knowledge to discuss different textures. They enjoy singing and using musical instruments and Kinderama music and movement sessions are being planned. Some children use their imagination well, for example, a child pretending a string of beads was a train. However the resources for imaginative play are not extensive, limiting children's ability to develop their creativity.

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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 good quality overall. Children are making generally 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: THE KEY ISSUES

• Ensure that staff develop their knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals so that children are sufficiently challenged across all areas of learning. • Develop the planning and evaluation so that there are clear learning intentions and activities are linked to the different areas of learning. • Provide children with regular opportunities to use more challenging large equipment for physical play. • Provide parents with more information about the early learning goals and introduce ways for parents to contribute to their children's learning and assessment.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

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: THE KEY ISSUES

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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