Bright Horizons Abbeymore Day Nursery and Preschool

Abbeymore Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY305866 Inspection date 09/12/2010 Inspector Louise Bonney

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Setting address 161 Wokingham Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 1LP

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Telephone number 0118 9260000 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises 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

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

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Description of the setting

Abbeymore Day Nursery first opened in 1996 and was reregistered when it merged with Bright Horizons Family Solutions in 2005. The nursery is located in Reading and operates from a converted Victorian house over two floors with seven play rooms and outdoor play areas. There is a lift to support access to the upper floor. The nursery is registered to provide care for up to 124 children at any one time, of these, no more than 54 children may be under two years old. Children attend from a wide geographical area. The nursery opens from 7.30am until 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, all year round with the exception of Christmas week and bank holidays.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered under the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 208 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range, some in part-time places. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four. The nursery supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and children with English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 39 permanent members of staff who work with the children. Of these, 26 hold relevant childcare qualifications at Level 2 and above, and 5 are currently training for Level 3 qualifications. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Staff have a clear understanding of children's care and learning needs, which ensures good outcomes in children's care and learning overall with aspects of outstanding. Leaders show high levels of commitment to the continual improvement of the provision and implement clearly targeted action plans that lead to aims being achieved. Children are very safe at the provision through rigorous risk assessment and recruitment procedures, and show excellent awareness of health and safety issues. Staff develop exceptional links with others when supporting children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and provide good support for most children who have English as an additional language. Partnerships with parents are good and systems for sharing information and keeping them informed are normally effective, which helps ensure children's needs are met.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 improve further the support for children learning EAL, for example by using This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the effective practice examples in the Department for Children, Schools and Families guidance 'Supporting children learning English as an additional language'  develop systems further to support the two-way flow of information with all parents.

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the early years provision

The leadership team and staff thoroughly risk assess the premises and children's activities. The risk assessment is immediately reviewed following any incidents and emergency situations such as a heating and electricity failure are very effectively dealt with to ensure children's welfare is fully supported. Leaders implement excellent recruitment procedures whereby staff do not begin work until all checks are complete and they promptly complete their induction. The premises are very secure with notices reminding parents not to allow admittance to others. This helps to ensure all adults with access to the children are suitable. Staff attend in-house and any external training available for safeguarding, and through discussion reflect a very clear understanding of the procedures to follow. They show exceptional awareness of children's health needs and have care plans in place where necessary. They organise the provision so that children develop strong

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the early years provision

understanding of how to maintain their own health and safety. This leads to outstanding outcomes for safeguarding.

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the early years provision

Leaders share their high aspirations with staff through their company's achieving excellence awards. They demonstrate exceptional levels of ambition as they drive forward improvements and implement their clearly targeted and achievable development plan. Key staff show great enthusiasm in developing the provision and support the management's aims. They work closely with the local authority and their own quality assurance team as they evaluate their provision and decide on priorities for development. They are currently introducing a new system to more broadly evaluate how effective their provision is. Leaders establish a strong culture of reflective practice and staff benefit from in-house assessment systems and training that help them develop best practice, such as for equal opportunities and diversity. Managers seek and act upon feedback from staff and parents, while room displays reflect that staff ask children for their thoughts about their nursery

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the early years provision

experiences. Staff implement procedures and training effectively, although rare lapses lead to a lack of communication with a parent or a child's home language not being supported at the usual high standard.

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the early years provision

Staff organise resources to provide a warm and welcoming environment for children and parents. There is a room allocated to parents where they make hot drinks, feed their babies or attend training sessions run by staff for baby sign. Bright displays around the nursery show children's work and photographs of staff help parents become familiar with their names. Each child has a key person who has a partner to cover in her absence, which helps children develop close relationships as they settle in. The garden has been recently improved with new storage facilities and resources, including some recycled items such as tyres. Resources and support for children who have English as an additional language This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 vary across the nursery. Some rooms are excellent, with staff that speak children's languages supporting activities and albums being trialled that allow staff to record

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the early years provision

descriptions of photographs in English and other languages. In other rooms staff seek key words from parents, but these are not always used in the baby room to further develop children's early language skills.

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the early years provision

Settling in procedures help parents and children develop confident and trusting relationships with staff when they first join the nursery. They have daily opportunities to share information as they are welcome into their children's rooms at handover and speak with staff. Parents receive quarterly written reports about their children's progress and are invited to biannual meetings with their child's key person. Parents usually receive the weekly memo that informs them about the nursery and their child's room, such as coffee mornings and stay and play sessions. This helps develop good partnerships between staff and parents and helps parents build on their children's learning and development at home. Staff seek information from parents about children's home backgrounds and usually use this information effectively as they include their different cultures within their provision.

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the early years provision

Staff have extremely beneficial relationships with other professionals that support nursery children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They attend meetings with all those involved with the children. They attend physiotherapy classes with the children and therapists visit the nursery to see the children and liaise with staff. This ensures staff have excellent understanding of children's needs and how to best support these in the nursery.

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and outcomes for children

Staff demonstrate good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this knowledge to promote good outcomes for children's care and learning, with outstanding outcomes for their health and safety. Each child has a key person who maintains clear records of their progress and identifies their next possible steps. They plan activities that build upon children's previous experiences and interests. Staff working with the older children are particularly good at extending children's individual levels of knowledge as they support their activities. More able children match two and three dimensional shapes, while younger children concentrate hard as they find and carefully fit various objects into the space available in a puzzle. Children show they are curious and interested during their activities by asking questions and pointing out things to staff. Toddlers are excited by the bird feeders in the tree outside. They draw staff into conversations about

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and outcomes for children

what they are for, look at the pictures of birds displayed on the fence and staff encourage them to develop communication skills and notice similarities and differences as they describe what the birds look like. Babies show confidence as they explore their environment and look closely at their reflection in the bottom of a tin, or learn about cause and effect as they bang a saucepan with a wooden spatula. Children enthusiastically participate in adult-led activities, showing keen attitudes towards learning. Staff show them pictures of structures from around the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 world, such as the Egyptian sphinx; this raises children's awareness of different cultures and encourages them to plan, be creative and explore shapes as they use large blocks to build different structures. Staff ensure children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have activities that promote their individual

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and outcomes for children

needs and help them make links with others, such as by taking a small group of children to a quieter area of the nursery for an activity.

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and outcomes for children

Children demonstrate high levels of independence and awareness of safety and hygiene. Children not able to communicate clearly show staff photographs of activities they wish to do or use sign to indicate their needs. Children help set up lunch tables, count and match cutlery and calculate how many cups they need. They clean the floor using child-sized dustpans and brushes, clear away their plates after eating and know to put any scraps left into the bin provided. Older children help to choose a healthy menu with staff support. All children play outside every day and rain suits ensure they experience and explore different weather conditions. Children develop excellent understanding of how to play safely. Toddlers show skill as they snip at paper with scissors, having learnt how to hold the paper safely to prevent accidents. They push along heavy but sturdy furniture to 'build my house', taking care not to bump into others. Older children explore the

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and outcomes for children

ice formed in buckets left outside and with supervision take care as they explore its properties and try to break it. Staff remind children of the need to keep the floor space tidy so that others do not trip and children remind each other of the rules that keep them safe. Babies show they have close relationships with their key person and are happiest when they are close by; older children approach staff confidently and talk about home events which reflect the confident and trusting relationships they have with staff. This helps children develop outstanding awareness of how to be safe and maintain a hygienic environment. 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 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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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