Holsworthy Church of England Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 29/09/2003 Inspector Name Felicity Gaff

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Bluebells Day Nursery Setting Address 21 Littleworth Lane Partridge Green Horsham West Sussex RH13 8JE

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Bluebells Day Nursery Ltd Address Joles Farm Jolesfield, Partridge Green Horsham West Sussex RH13 8JT

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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

Bluebells Day Nursery opened in 1999. It is a private nursery held in a modern converted farm building in Partridge Green. It has an enclosed, paved and grassed area for outdoor play. The nursery serves families from the village and from the surrounding rural area. It is open between 08:30 and 17:30, Monday to Friday all year round and is registered for 16 children aged over two and under five years. There are 28 children on roll including one funded four-year-old and 11 funded three-year-olds. No children speak English as an additional language and one child has Special Educational Needs. There are four qualified members of staff, and four bank staff, two of whom are qualified. The nursery receives regular support from a teacher advisor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. All Staff attend first aid, food hygiene and child protection training, they also attend further professional training to enhance their knowledge and awareness..

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How good is the Day Care?

Bluebells Day Nursery provides good care for children. There are effective procedures for appointing suitable staff and staff work well together as a team. They provide a bright, stimulating environment which is welcoming to both children and their parents. They ensure there are sufficient, suitable play resurces to meet the needs of all children. They identify weaknesses in the provision and work well with the owners to improve them. For example, the storage of play resources is being developed to enable children to reach their toys and equipment independently. However, the quiet room is underused and there are inadequate arrangements for restricting children's access to the kitchen. The manager has put good systems in place to monitor Health and Safety issues regularly. All staff undertake first aid and food hygiene training. All required documentation is in place and is mostly satisfactory. The manager acts promptly to

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How good is the Day Care?

rectify any omissions. Arrangements for storing and serving food are suitable and the snacks provided promote healthy eating. The nursery ensures all staff have an understanding of child protection issues and how to report concerns.

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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 provide gentle, individual care for the children. They treat children with respect and ensure each child's views and wishes are taken into consideration. They help children to feel good about themselves through their achievements and encourage good behaviour. The social aspects of meal and snack times are not yet fully developed. The nursery creates very good partnerships with parents. Staff inform parents about changes to nursery routines and priorities and the reasons behind them. There are very good systems in place to build excellent relations between home and nursery.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the nursery agreed to ensure that all company directors were vetted; to ensure rubbish was safely stored; and to provide and make available to parents a written statement about special educational needs, having regard to the Code of Practice for the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs. All company directors are now vetted and rubbish is stored appropriately. A written statement about special needs is shared with parents when a child starts and is permanently displayed. The deputy manager has experience of working with children with special needs and has undertaken SENCO training.

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What is being done well?

• There are effective systems for ensuring staff have the necessary experience, skills and abilities to do their jobs. The new manager has built a strong, united team within the last year after a period of staffing instability. She helps her staff identify their strengths and encourages them to undertake training to enhance their skills. • The rhythms and routines of the nursery promote a child-centred provision. Induction routines are flexible and cater for individual needs. Children make choices and develop their independence. They learn through active participation in a wide variety of interesting, well planned activities. • The outdoor area is very well used to provide a rich resource for the children. It provides many imaginative, exciting play and learning opportunities for the children. For example children use large equipment such as tyres for imaginative play, they build their own dens, and explore sand, soil and water.

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What is being done well?

They grow a variety of vegetables from seed which they then harvest, prepare and serve to each other. • Children behave very well and staff provide good role models. They help children develop confidence and high self-esteem. They encourage children to choose activities for themselves and to select the tools they need. Staff teach children the skills they need to develop their independence in personal care. They allow them time to complete dressing and handwashing tasks on their own and praise their efforts.

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

Partnership with parents is extremely good. The manager has put very good

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An aspect of outstanding practice:

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 in place to maintain excellent relations between home and nursery which are focused clearly on the benefits to the child. Parents receive regular written information about the nursery and are consulted about what they want from it. They are kept well informed about changes to nursery routines, procedures and priorities. There are imaginative systems to help children share their achievements at nursery with their parents and vice versa. The staff organise parents' meetings and their own curriculum guidance booklet to explain the foundation stage to the parents of funded children. Parents value the family atmosphere in the nursery.

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What needs to be improved?

• arrangements for ensuring children do not have unsupervised access to the kitchen; • the procedures for recording parental permission to administer medication and for recording any medication administered.

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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 4 ensure that children do not have access to the kitchen except with direct staff supervision 7 obtain written permission from parents before administering medication to children and keep a written record, signed by parents, of medicines given to children

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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 Bluebells Day Nursery is good. Children make very good progress towards the early learning goals in personal, social and emotional development, physical devlopment and in knowledge and understanding of the world. They make generally good progress in all other areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff understand how children learn through play, they have clear goals and a shared sense of purpose. They plan and provide a wide range of interesting play opportunities, both indoors and out, and have high expectations of what children will achieve. They work closely with the children and use incidental learning opportunities well. They are skilled at developing children's language. There are sufficient, suitable resources to meet the needs of all children. Provision is adapted when necessary to enable children with special educational needs to

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How effective is the nursery education?

participate fully. Nursery routines promote high self-esteem giving children the confidence to explore, take risks and learn from experience. However, the organisation of the quiet room does not always encourage children to use it. Some plans do not clearly identify what children will do and learn, and what they need to do next. The leadership and management of the nursery is very good. The manager has a clear vision for the nursery and has united a strong staff team in pursuing it. She ensures the staff are well trained and knowledgable. She consults effectively with the company directors, staff and parents to ensure the success of the changes and innovations put in place to improve the nursery. She is developing a system to to monitor and evaluate children's learning. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents receive detailed information about how children learn through play and the foundation stage of education. There are

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How effective is the nursery education?

excellent systems to maintain very good relations between home and nursery.

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What is being done well?

• Staff provide very good information for parents about the foundation stage of education. The nursery provides its own curriculum guidance booklet for parents and staff organise parents meetings to explain the foundation stage and how children progress along the stepping stones. There are good systems for frequent verbal and written liaison with parents as well as regular formal opportunities for parents to meet with a keyworker to discuss their child's progress. • The nursery routines promote children's independence and encourage them to make decisions. Children use the play resources confidently; they are curious and eager to learn.

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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 • The outdoor area is very well used to provide a rich learning environment across the foundation stage. Staff organise many stimulating play opportunities which are planned to extend children's understanding and skills. • The manager provides strong, effective leadership. She creates a team who work well together and who have a shared vision of a child-centred nursery where children learn through play. She ensures staff have the appropriate training opportunities to develop their skills.

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What needs to be improved?

• planning, assessment and record systems to show clearly what children are to do and learn, what they achieve, and what they need to do next, • the organisation of the indoor area to encourage the children to use all resources.

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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 Staff organise the nursery day to encourage children to make choices, to celebrate their acheivements and to develop their independence. There are imaginative systems to help children share their acheivements with their parents. There are a variety of well-planned opportunities for children to participate in imaginative role-play activities. Children develop high self-esteem, they approach staff confidently and play together considerately.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children engage enthusiastically in creative role play which is carefully planned to provide many meaningful opportunities to practice using reading and writing . Staff use planned and incidental opportunities well to help children develop their language and thinking skills. They provide a wide variety of activities to help children develop the fine motor skills they need for handwriting. Children enjoy listening to stories and engage in reading activities in their play.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Staff have a good understanding of how practical play opportunities can extend children's mathematical development. They use many opportunities arising from children's play to develop their understanding of numbers and mathematical concepts. Some number activities lack clear objectives and can be confusing to the children. Plans do not always show what children can do, what they understand, and what they need to do next.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good The outdoor area is used very well to provide a stimulating environment for children to explore and investigate to find out about the world. Staff have a good understanding of how to use children's own experiences to help them learn about time and place. They plan a wide range of interesting activities to engage children's interest.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Staff provide good resources to allow children to experience a range of challenging physical activities to develop both gross and fine motor skills. Children have many opportunites to run, climb, ride, throw and catch, as well as to choose and manipulate a range of tools. Children develop a good sense of space, for example they share the limited space in the role play area harmoniously.

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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 There is good provision for the exploration of materials, for imaginative play, and for responding to new experiences. There are many opportunities for children to work together collaboratively and to contribute their own ideas as well as to work on their own. Plans for music lack detail and do not show how children make progress.

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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

• improve plans, assessments and record systems to show clearly what children are to do and learn, what they achieve, and what they need to do next, • improve the organisation of the indoor areas to encourage children to use all the resources.

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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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