The Bishop of Winchester Academy

Woodpeckers Day Nursery - Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 136120 Inspection date 03/12/2010 Inspector Angela Cole and Charlotte Jenkin

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Setting address The Gatehouse, Ministry of Defence (PE), Abbey Wood, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, BS34 8JH Telephone number 0117 9694300 Email woodpeckers@brighthorizons.com Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises Inspection Report: Woodpeckers Day Nursery - Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited, 03/12/2010

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to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk Inspection Report: Woodpeckers Day Nursery - Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited, 03/12/2010

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This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

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

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. Inspection Report: Woodpeckers Day Nursery - Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited, 03/12/2010

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Woodpeckers Day Nursery is a workplace nursery based at the Ministry of Defence site at Abbey Wood, South Gloucestershire. It opened in 1996 and is run by Bright Horizons Family Solutions, a national company that manages a number of workplace nurseries. The nursery operates from a purpose-built building which includes self-contained units for different age groups. Children have access to an outdoor courtyard and small gardens that are enclosed within the grounds. The nursery opens each weekday for 52 weeks a year from 7.30am to 6pm.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 117 children in the early years age group may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 200 children aged from birth to under five years on roll, some in part-time places. The nursery currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and a number of children learning English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 35 full-time members of staff, 31 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least Level two. Of these, there are two staff working towards a basic qualification and nine working towards a further qualification. There are eight staff with, and one working towards, a Foundation Degree; four staff have, and one is gaining, Early Years Professional Status; three staff have qualified teaching status and two are working towards Masters Degrees in Child Psychology or Pre- school Education. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four- year-olds.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The nursery welcomes all families and children enjoy the time spent here. A growing knowledge of their stages of development helps staff support babies and children to make suitable progress in their learning. However, planning, resourcing, organisation of staffing and the adults understanding of how children learn are not robust. Staff promote many aspects of children's welfare with success so that they are safe and their health care is good. Partnerships with parents and carers are strong and the nursery is aware of the need to build links with other providers offering the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery is committed to ongoing improvement and the new management is planning changes to improve the outcomes for children.

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further?

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 plan to make indoor and outdoor activities purposeful, linking directly to children's interests and targets and covering the six areas of learning to provide a balanced curriculum  review the indoor and outdoor environments to ensure these are interesting, attractive and accessible to every child so they can learn independently  broaden the staffs understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage so that children are supported by sensitive, knowledgeable adults who know when and how to engage their interests and how to offer support at different times give support and offer an individual approach to younger or vulnerable children and those with particular learning or communication difficulties to help them achieve successful Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

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the early years provision

Sound policies and procedures ensure that children's welfare is suitably promoted. Arrangements mean that staff are all trained in safeguarding issues to ensure that children are appropriately protected. Employment procedures are suitably robust so all staff are vetted and on-going suitability is checked. New staff benefit from an induction programme and ongoing training opportunities to support their growing knowledge and skills. Established arrangements for risk assessment include daily checks of the premises, both in and out of doors. Adults are aware of how to ensure hazards are kept to a minimum so children are kept safe. The environment in which children are cared for is secure. The areas available allow children the use of different environments during the day which provides variety and enables younger children's activities to be separated safely from those of older children. Space is organised satisfactorily within each unit for children to have access to

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the early years provision

table top and floor activities. The nursery has access to good quality furniture and equipment. However, the resources are not presented attractively to encourage babies and children to be well challenged and involved. In some areas, there is a lack of stimulating toys available for children to freely access, for example, to encourage babies sensory play and pre-schooler's art, craft and mark making. As a result, children are not fully encouraged to learn independently and to be creative. The management keeps a close watch to ensure that adult-child ratios are met. However, the deployment of staff sometimes restricts children's choice; for example, when pre-schoolers may not stay indoors after the first sitting for lunch.

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the early years provision

All records and documentation are well maintained so relevant information is readily available and accurately recorded. Parents are well informed about the provision as they have access to a good range of material such as information about policies, procedures and daily practice. Strong links with parents and carers mean that they have good opportunities to be consulted in the running of the setting through the parent support group and are particularly well informed about how their child is progressing. Parents are invited to contribute to children's learning journeys and comments are received regularly regarding children's well- being and development outside of the group so that they are well involved. Staff Inspection Report: Woodpeckers Day Nursery - Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited, 03/12/2010

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 are aware of the need to liaise with other providers offering the Early Years Foundation Stage to the children and, currently, such links are predominantly made through the parents and telephone conversations. Adults work in close partnership with other professionals linking the children though the agreed targets are not clearly brought through to the nursery's planning for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children's equality of opportunity is satisfactorily fostered in the nursery. Adults promote children's sense of identity and are aware of children's backgrounds to discuss any differences freely with them. They sometimes encourage children to learn about other cultures, for example, through festivals and French, German and sign languages.

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the early years provision

The action and recommendations raised at previous visits have been addressed to improve the outcomes for the children with regard to the naming of key persons and the recognition of children's next steps. There is a growing commitment to ongoing improvement under the new senior management. Processes for evaluating the nursery's strengths and areas for development are being developed involving all staff. From this reflection, plans are being put in place to identify areas the nursery would like to improve. For example, the refurbishment of the garden has been identified as a priority. Some actions recently taken have had a positive benefit on children. For example, the babies self-esteem is being supported though the 'wow' vouchers and the merging of groups of two-year-olds is positively promoting children's language and imaginative play.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making satisfactory progress in their learning. They are building on what they already know and can do as staff often sit with them, sometimes showing interest in what they do and directing some of their play. This satisfactorily introduces them to new experiences and play ideas to encourage learning. They watch one another keenly and respond positively to staff's encouragement, for example, as they explore a mixture of water, sand and glitter. Children show an interest in early technology, learning to press the buttons on technology toys and, later, operating computer programs. They benefit from a satisfactory selection of activities that enable them to begin to explore and investigate their senses, such as preparation of play dough and some treasure baskets. The younger children develop early problem solving skills using wooden bricks. They experiment with different textures, such as flour and cooked pasta.

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and outcomes for children

Older children learn how to care for living things, helping to care for the guinea pig and plant some seeds. The staffs calm narration of their play, singing of familiar songs and reciting of rhymes encourages children's early language skills. From a young age, children enjoy choosing and sharing books and, with encouragement, learn to retell the stories. As a result, the children express their feelings and wishes through gestures and words.

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and outcomes for children

Observations are on-going to monitor children's play and learning so that each child's key person is aware of their next step for the week. The related activities Inspection Report: Woodpeckers Day Nursery - Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited, 03/12/2010

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 are collated to inform the week's planning but these do not necessary cover all six areas of learning or foster children's interests. As a result, children benefit from a range of suitable but, sometimes, random experiences within the unit's routine. Some adult-initiated activities are offered, such as painting for babies and Christmas crafts for older children. The children are encouraged to choose what they would like to do, though younger ones are not fully aware of the resources available and materials are often jumbled or not presented attractively to attract and hold children's interest. There is currently no planning for younger children's outdoor play though they seem happy to use the equipment that staff make available.

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and outcomes for children

Staff are gaining a suitable understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Overall, they provide sound support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and for those learning English as an additional language. However, they are not always available to offer individual attention to younger children and those with particular learning or communication difficulties during large group activities for stories and for long singing sessions. Children appear settled and content and build amicable relationships with their room staff. Staff are caring and children are confident to go to them for reassurance; they offer comfort and most are responsive. The children respond well to cuddles when they are tired or wake up from a sleep, nurturing their emotional well-being. Younger children watch one another as they play, beginning to copy actions. Frequent praise to recognise achievement and consistent reminders about sharing or turn taking

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and outcomes for children

during play and daily routines, suitably promote children's self-esteem and understanding of desirable behaviour.

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and outcomes for children

Children begin to learn how to keep themselves safe. They know to walk in the rooms and to line up to go outside and are sometimes asked to think about safety, such as where they can cycle without running into others. They regularly practise the escape plan so they know how to respond in an emergency. Children gain a good understanding about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They learn to adopt healthy habits such as good hygiene practices, for example, cleaning their hands prior to each meal to minimise the spread of germs. The youngest children learn to stand with support and practise their crawling and early walking. They are taken outdoors regularly while older children often have access to free-flowing indoor and outdoor play as they wish. This enables children to benefit from fresh air and to gain strength, agility and control as they ride, bounce, balance and climb. Staff work closely with parents to ensure that meals are appropriate to

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and outcomes for children

individual children's needs. Children have free access to drinking water and enjoy a balanced diet that includes daily portions of fruit and vegetables. They learn to make choices as they serve themselves with the quantities that they prefer. Inspection Report: Woodpeckers Day Nursery - Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited, 03/12/2010

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk Inspection Report: Woodpeckers Day Nursery - Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited, 03/12/2010

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Stage

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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