Fordfield House Nursery & After School Club

Fordfield House Nursery & After School Club Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 219075 Inspection date 07/02/2011 Inspector Kelly Eyre

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Setting address Fordfield Road, Millbrook, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK45 2HZ Telephone number 01525 405 524 Email fordfield@btconnect.com 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.

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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 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

Fordfield House Nursery and After School Club was registered in 1988 and is one of two nurseries run by Fordfield House Nursery Ltd. It operates from a converted residential building and additional outbuildings in Millbrook, Bedfordshire. The setting is accessible to all children and there is a fully enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The setting provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds. It is open each weekday for 48 weeks of the year and sessions are from 8am until 1.15pm and 1.15pm until 6pm. Children may attend for a variety of sessions. There is an after school club and this runs from 3.45pm until 6pm. There is also a holiday club, which runs during each school holiday, except for the first two weeks of the Bedfordshire summer break and Christmas, between 8am and 6pm. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register to provide 90 places and there are currently 97 children on roll who are within this age group. The setting serves a wide catchment. A small number of children attend other settings such as local pre-schools. The setting currently supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The setting is also registered to offer care to children aged over five years. This provision is registered by Ofsted on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. Children occupying these places have a dedicated play room. There are currently 160 children on roll in this age range, all of whom attend on a part-time basis.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs 20 members of child care staff. Of these, one holds an appropriate early years qualification at Level 2 and 19 at Level 3 or above. One staff member has qualified teacher status. The setting 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 outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The recognition of each child as a unique individual helps to ensure that all children are respected and develop a positive sense of self. They make excellent progress in their learning and development and are consistently supported so that their needs are met and they are able to participate meaningfully in all activities and opportunities. Dedicated, caring staff competently utilise excellent assessment and planning procedures, ensuring that children are offered a rich variety of activities that accurately reflect their current needs and interests. Staff meticulously evaluate their daily practice, developing practical action plans to further improve the outcomes for children, and thus maintain a service which is highly responsive to children's needs. Excellent partnerships with parents and other professionals ensure that individual children's needs are met and their welfare is consistently promoted.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

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

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 extending further the options for children to find out about the environment by providing opportunities for first hand experiences of people in their community.

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the early years provision

Children's well-being is significantly enhanced and their welfare consistently promoted because there are highly effective safeguarding procedures. All staff demonstrate a comprehensive awareness of this area and there are stringent procedures to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Thorough policies and procedures are implemented consistently and robustly to ensure that any concerns about children are prioritised and managed effectively. Comprehensive risk assessments are regularly reviewed to ensure that children's safety is promoted. Excellent daily practice and ongoing explanations from staff enable children to gain a mature understanding of safety issues. For example, children competently explain the safe use of tools and implements such as scissors and cutlery.

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the early years provision

The owner, manager and senior staff demonstrate a very genuine enthusiasm for their work and a strong desire to offer high quality child care. They are successful in passing on their positive attitude and in inspiring all staff to set and maintain high standards. For example, staff in each base room regularly update their own self-evaluations, based on their observations and feedback from parents, children and other professionals. This honest, practical monitoring supports the whole setting in developing well-targeted action plans. For example, recent changes include improvements to security regarding access to the setting, thereby further promoting children's safety. Understanding each child and promoting equality of opportunity are central to all areas of work. Staff work closely with parents and pay meticulous attention to understanding each child's background and needs, actively using this information when planning activities and play opportunities. This

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the early years provision

ensures that children are always offered appropriate support and they thrive in this positive environment. All resources are used exceptionally well in order to promote children's development. For example, staff continuously reassess the layout of each room, adapting this to meet children's ever-changing needs and interests.

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the early years provision

Staff develop and maintain highly effective partnerships with parents and carers. The well-considered communication procedures ensure that there are productive partnerships and parents are exceptionally well informed of their children's progress and activities. For example, staff rotas are organised so that parents see the same staff at each end of the day and are able to fully discuss their child's day at nursery. Regular newsletters and parents' consultation and social events further This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 support this area. The creative use of 'Parents in Partnership Trees' means that parents complete information slips about their child's development and any significant events. This information is then displayed as 'leaves on a tree' and is actively used by staff in the planning of activities and the updating of children's assessment records. The setting also has very good procedures for liaising with

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the early years provision

other professionals. For example, they have forged links with local schools so that they are able to prepare children for this transition.

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and outcomes for children

Children make excellent progress because staff have a comprehensive understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The provision of a dedicated staff member to offer training and guidance about assessment and planning further supports this area. Staff actively make use of all information gathered about individual children. This ensures that their activity planning truly reflects children's needs and interests. Staff also make use of statutory and informal guidance when carrying out their planning. This means that children are offered a rich and creative variety of play experiences and resources. Staff confidently encourage children to initiate their play, whilst offering them sensitive support and further ideas whenever appropriate. This promotes children's confidence and they are inquisitive, keen to explore and play an active part in their own learning. Their behaviour demonstrates that they feel safe, as they independently select

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and outcomes for children

resources, confidently state their views and readily approach staff for help or to include them in their play.

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and outcomes for children

The thoughtful daily procedures help promote children's learning and understanding in all areas and support them in developing skills for use in future life. For example, all children look at the extensive list of available fruit and vegetables for snacks; they then go to the kitchen to select their chosen snacks, taking these back to their base rooms to prepare and serve themselves. Staff's good planning means that children of all ages are offered a wealth of activities and these are always appropriately adapted. For example, babies and young children participate in frequent cooking activities, making dishes such as curry, chow mien and noodles, and often preparing their own tea. The attention to detail in the planning means that children's learning opportunities are fully extended. For example, before starting to grow vegetables in the garden, children visit the garden centre and choose their seeds; they then help plant and tend the

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and outcomes for children

vegetables and herbs, later harvesting these and cooking with them.

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and outcomes for children

Children's emotional development is promoted as they develop secure, trusting relationships with staff and with their peers. Their behaviour is exemplary and they show an excellent understanding of the expected standards of behaviour as they organise their play and happily share the resources. For example, older children use the clock to time equal turns with favourite dressing-up clothes. All children are highly valued as individuals and engage in a wide range of meaningful discussions and activities that help them to value diversity and understand the cultures and lifestyles of others. For example, they look at maps and concentrate on individual countries, researching the flags and lifestyles and cooking traditional This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 dishes. They also celebrate international events such as World Meteorological Day and World Book Day, and look at historical events such as the making of the first

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and outcomes for children

telephone call, considering the effects of this, for example, on people who are unable to hear. They gain a good awareness of the different family compositions through participating in discussions and specific activities. However, their awareness of people in their community is not yet extended to the optimum. The excellent procedures for working with parents and others mean that children who speak English as an additional language or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are consistently offered highly appropriate support.

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and outcomes for children

The excellent provision of resources means that children are offered numerous exciting opportunities. For example, their understanding of living things and the uses of technology are promoted as they watch live pictures of a bird box set up in the garden; children are captivated and make their own illustrations as they watch the nest being lined and the chicks hatching and developing. The creative use of resources enhances children's learning and enjoyment. For example, after collecting conkers, children count and weigh them, use them in their role play as they add figures and make their own 'autumn world', and roll the conkers through the paint to create colourful patterns. The thoughtful provision of additional resources offers children opportunities to explore and develop their play. For example, children playing with cooked noodles, dried rice and strings of shiny material become engrossed as they dig their hands in and scoop large amounts,

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and outcomes for children

listen to the rice falling on the plate and compare this to rain, and then spend time arranging the items in individual bowls.

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and outcomes for children

Children gain a very good awareness of the relevance of a wide range of healthy practices. For example, they clean their teeth after meals and discuss the reasons for this, referring to a multitude of child-friendly informative displays to reinforce their understanding of this area. Children are encouraged to work together and help each other, thus gaining further skills for the future. For example, when a small group of children decide to go outside to play football, they work together to get the equipment ready, whilst another group of children decides to make goalposts, helping each other gather large wooden blocks for this. 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 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 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 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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