Prestfelde School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 03/02/2004 Inspector Name Julie Washer

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Busy Bees Day Nursery Setting Address 23 Leyton Road Harpenden Hertfordshire AL5 2HZ

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Busy Bees Childcare Ltd Address The Rom Building, Eastern Avenue Lichfield Staffordshire WS13 6RN

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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 Day Nursery opened in 1997. It operates from 2 floors in a large, converted, residential house, overlooking Harpenden common. The nursery serves the local area. There are currently 85 children from 3 months to 5 years on roll. This includes 9 funded 3 year olds and 5 funded 4 year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting supports children who have special needs and who speak English as an additional language. The group opens 5 days a week all year round. Sessions are from 07:30 until 18:30. There are 19 members of staff working with the children. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. Two staff are currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting is advertising for a qualified early years teacher.

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How good is the Day Care?

Busy Bees Day Nursery provides good care for children. The provision offers a warm, welcoming and friendly atmosphere in which children can play and learn. The children are cared for by qualified staff who work well together as a team. They possess a good variety of skills and experience. All the necessary documentation is in place. Children are safe and well cared for. Their individual needs are well understood by staff who are able to offer appropriate care and support. Staff are aware of children's emotional needs when settling them into the nursery and give appropriate support to parents at this time. The arrangements for meeting babies care needs are good. A daily information sheet is used. Children receive regular snacks and drinks. However, the organisation of snack and meal times is being reviewed to enable children to further develop their social skills.

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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 Systems are in place for supporting children with special needs. Child protection procedures are understood by staff. A working risk assessment is in place and the nurseries policies and procedures give regard to the children's safety. Most staff have a first aid qualification. Children benefit from a broad range of interesting activities which promote development in all areas, offering learning through play. However, the storage of toys and equipment is being reviewed so that children can make choices about their play and operate independently. Consideration is being given to developing the outside area to promote extra play and learning opportunities. Children's behaviour is good in response to the staff's consistent management and realistic expectations.

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How good is the Day Care?

The partnership with parents is effective. They are welcomed into the setting by a friendly and approachable staff team. Daily communication between staff and parents ensures that they regularly share information concerning the children. Parents are given ample information about the provision.

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What is being done well?

• Staff are committed and regularly update their knowledge through further qualifications and short courses. • Sound safety procedures are in place. • Staff are aware of individual children's needs and there are good settling in procedures. • The nursery has developed close links with parents and carers and they share information regularly. • Management has an excellent understanding of the National Standards and the requirements to meet them.

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What needs to be improved?

• organisation of snack time • accessibility of toys and equipment • the outside play area.

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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 3 Review organisation at snack time and meal times to enhance children’s social skills. 4 Develop the outside play area to promote the children’s play. 5 Review storage of toys and equipment to enable children to access them independently.

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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 Bees Day Nursery in Harpenden is good. Children are making generally good progress in all areas of learning. Teaching is generally good. Staff plan a variety of interesting activities and children are well supported by adults who frequently praise and encourage them. Behaviour is dealt with consistently and sensitively handled. Staff know the children well and speak calmly and respectfully to them. Some staff have an understanding of the early learning goals and stepping stones which they are continuing to develop through further training. Management and staff are currently reviewing the planning system and they are in the process of implementing a new system for tracking children's progress. Written plans need further development to ensure that short term plans contain learning intentions and include what staff need to do next to plan for the next stages of the

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How effective is the nursery education?

children's individual learning. There are currently no children attending the group with special needs but appropriate systems are in place. Children who have English as an additional language are supported effectively. Leadership and management is generally good. The manager has been in this post since last April and has worked hard on identifying strengths and weaknesses within the setting. A development plan is in place and a commitment to improvement is evident by the number of staff who have recently attended training and are undertaking training in the future. The nursery team work well together and are guided by the strong and positive leadership from the management who are effective role models. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are provided with good quality information about the setting. They are invited to attend parent evenings and they regularly share information about their child's play, progress and learning.

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What is being done well?

• Relationships within the nursery are effective. Children work co-operatively together and are encouraged to negotiate and take turns. • Children are confident when talking about their home lives and past experiences. They enjoy sharing their news. • Children participate in regular stimulating exercise sessions, moving all parts of their bodies in a variety of imaginative ways. • Children learn about a sense of the local community in a meaningful way. They have been visited by people who help us.

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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's training needs, to ensure all staff receive appropriate training for the Foundation Stage • the provision of activities and experiences that challenge older and more able children particularly within the programmes for communication, language and literacy and mathematical development • procedures to develop short term planning to include learning intentions linked to the stepping stones and early learning goals and to ensure children's assessments are used to inform future planning of the next steps of the children's educational programme.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The setting has made limited progress since the last inspection. There was one key issue for action: Give further consideration of planning documents for individual activities, to allow for expanded details on resources, what the children will learn, what their achievements are and what will be the next step to promote their development. The planning system has developed in certain areas. However, short term planning does not link to the stepping stones and does not include what the next steps are in the children's educational programme.

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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: Generally Good Children are confident, they talk to staff, each other and visitors. Through topic work they learn about different emotions and discuss each others feelings. Children are able to share and take turns and work as part of a group. They are praised on their achievements and behaviour is dealt with calmly and sensitively. Children are developing some independence skills. However, there are few opportunities for children to select resources for themselves and operate independently.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children respond to stories, songs and rhymes with enjoyment. They are confident to sing rhymes independently and are able to discuss and re-tell familiar stories. Children join dotted letters and some older children are able to write their name. There are few opportunities for the more able children to recognise their names and link sounds to letters. There are insufficient opportunities for the younger and older children to independently access mark making resources.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children can count to 10 and beyond and recognise some numerals. They use number and picture puzzles to match objects to numbers. Children learn about patterns as they use plastic shapes. They learn who is the biggest as they measure themselves and record their height on a wall chart. There are few opportunities for children to calculate through planned activities and to practise their counting and calculating skills during everyday routines.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children use construction kits to build models to represent their ideas. They talk about their families and past and present events in their lives. They learn about their local environment from visits from people who help us, such as the fire-fighter and the dentist. Through topic work they are developing an understanding about other cultures and beliefs. There are few opportunities for children to develop their computer skills and independently practise their designing and making skills.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move confidently and with control, they use space showing an awareness of others. They enjoy and respond to regular exercise sessions, moving all parts of their bodies in a variety of ways. Children are developing an awareness of health and bodily awareness as they learn about how the heart pumps faster when they exercise and learn about foods that are good for them. There are limited opportunities for children to explore malleable materials.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

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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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Creative opportunities allow exploration of colour and texture although many activities are adult directed with few examples seen of children using materials to create freely. Children initiate meaningful role play situations as they act out real life situations. They respond to Chinese music as they participate in the dragon dance. Children use their imagination as they respond to regular movement sessions acting out the story of the bird who cannot fly.

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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

• review staff's training needs to ensure all staff receive appropriate training for the Foundation Stage • review the provision of activities and experiences which challenge the older and more able children particularly within the programmes for communication, language and literacy and mathematical development. • develop short term planning to include learning intentions linked to the stepping stones and early learning goals and to ensure children's assessments are used to inform future planning of the next steps of the children's educational programme.

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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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