St James's Church of England High School

Seabrook Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 105266 Inspection date 21/03/2011 Inspector Susan Marriott

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Setting address 32 Lewsey Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU4 0EP

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Telephone number 01582 490555 Email seabrook.nursery@childbase.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. 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

Seabrook Day Nursery was registered in 2000. It is one of 40 nurseries in the Childbase Nursery group, which operates in London, the Home Counties and the Midlands. The nursery operates from a two-storey purpose-built building adjacent to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. The nursery is divided into four separate areas according to the age of the children. All children share access to several secure enclosed outdoor play areas.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open each weekday from 7am to 6.30pm throughout the year with the exception of Bank Holidays. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register to provide a maximum of 94 places for children, aged from birth to eight years. There are currently 155 children aged from three months to under five years on roll. Of these, 47 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from the local area. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 40 members of staff, of whom 28 hold appropriate early years qualifications. A qualified cook and two assistants are also employed to provide freshly prepared and cooked meals and snacks for the children and staff. The manager and the deputy are supernumery and there is also an administrative assistant. The setting receives support from the local authority and advisors from the company management team.

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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

Childbase Nurseries Limited has assembled a highly enthusiastic management team of high calibre and they work very hard to implement the essence of the Early Years Foundation Stage in this very friendly and welcoming nursery with a busy and purposeful atmosphere. The nursery is an exceptionally safe, secure and stimulating place to be for the young children who attend. Their individual needs are fully met within this highly inclusive setting. Children make rapid progress in their learning and development and have tremendous fun in the process. Passionate, committed leadership and honest, realistic self-evaluation, secures the setting's excellent capacity for continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 enhancing the systems for the tracking of children's progress in all areas of learning so that it is consistent throughout the nursery. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children's care, learning and welfare is significantly enhanced by exceptional organisation and a commitment to continued reflective learning and improvement in this award-winning nursery. There is an exceptionally strong management team in place who have high aspirations and a very clear vision of the future for the setting. Current safeguarding requirements are robustly met and the recruitment practice in the nursery is rigorous. Specific checks are completed before employment can begin to ensure that all staff are suitably cleared to work with children. Security measures are superb and ensure the safety of children and staff. Thoroughly detailed risk assessments are carried out visually on a daily basis and written assessments are devised for every area of the nursery. Older children are actively involved in risk assessing their own environment and consequently learn to keep themselves safe. All required documentation is readily accessible and

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the early years provision

effectively underpins the exceptionally safe and efficient management of the setting.

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the early years provision

Extremely effective links with the parents and carers, together with other professionals involved in the care and education of the children, enables the nursery to tailor activities to the individual needs of children in their care. The nursery extends partnership working to other professionals outside the setting to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities when appropriate. The nursery is fully inclusive and meets the needs of all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who have English as an additional language. Effective policies and procedures are consistently implemented and the monitoring of these policies is thorough and methodical, to promote equality and eliminate discrimination. The nursery is continuously extending resources and artefacts to incorporate a wide range of cultures, religions, disabilities and ethnic backgrounds and challenges any

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the early years provision

prejudicial attitudes by staff, parents or children.

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the early years provision

The whole staff team is passionately committed to their vocation and receive enthusiastic support from the dedicated and loyal team leaders and the nursery management team. They deploy themselves in a highly effective manner to ensure that children are constantly well-supervised as they move around the indoor and outdoor environment. Continuing staff development is given high priority in this vibrant nursery and the resultant enhancement of staff skills and knowledge contribute substantially towards the rapid progress the children make. Staff confidently demonstrate an exceptionally high level of knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage, thereby securing excellent learning and development outcomes for children. The nursery has exceptionally low staff turnover, keeping acquired skills and knowledge in-house for the benefit of the children.

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the early years provision

The partnership with parents and carers is outstanding. The organisation of the daily routine ensures that staff are always available to give daily feedback to parents and carers about children's activities and progress. A vast array of useful This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 information is available outside each room and in the reception foyer for parents.

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the early years provision

Activities are evaluated daily and observational notes are recorded in an extremely manageable format to enable staff to track children's progress and identify the next steps in their learning. However, managers accept that the new tracking system is not fully established and consistent across the nursery. Exceptionally effective planning systems ensure that the next steps are collated and fed back into the subsequent plans. The company promote highly effective consultation at all levels in their efforts to secure best possible practice and high quality outcomes for children. The manager leads a collaborative learning culture, providing time and space for knowledge-sharing and support for continuous professional development for all staff, including kitchen staff. All staff actively self-evaluate on an ongoing basis and contribute towards the reflective practice of the whole nursery. Consequently, the setting has developed exceptionally reflective practice

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the early years provision

to monitor the quality of provision for children, demonstrating the nursery's outstanding capacity for continuous improvement.

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and outcomes for children

Children's happy smiles and laughter pervade the jolly atmosphere and show that they thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. Children are extremely well- supported in their learning and enjoy a superior enabling environment within this delightful nursery. The highly attractive and inviting learning environment significantly promotes children's progression towards the early learning goals and children can choose to play inside or outdoors. The nursery is exceptionally well- presented, light, bright and child-friendly with an extremely high standard of display and presentation, which demonstrates staff pride in the nursery and in children's achievements. The reception foyer is used in a highly effective way to showcase the quality of the nursery. For example, the nursery vision statement is displayed, 'to build children's foundations for life and learning; self-belief, self confidence, language and social skills'. The staff team in each room have described

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and outcomes for children

how they implement this vision in their room.

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and outcomes for children

The Caterpillar team work tirelessly to create an exceptionally caring and stimulating environment for babies. Staff work in partnership with parents to create a 'home from home' feel that encourages independent play in a safe and caring environment. Staff are focussing on the children's individual needs to develop their knowledge and skills and increasing the amount of outdoor experiences to develop children's senses further. All babies get out into the fresh air regularly. For example, children explore rice cereal in trays on the decked area and photographs show babies sat in plastic trays enjoying the sensory experience of snow, whilst staying dry and warmly wrapped up. Older babies from the Ladybirds room can also share the same outdoor space as the Caterpillars, enabling children to interact with different age groups.

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and outcomes for children

The Ladybirds team provide quality care for the toddlers in their room. They achieve this by promoting a good learning environment, by offering different learning opportunities that extend children's learning and by promoting good This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 hygiene and safety practices, ensuring the children are well-cared for and nurtured during their time at nursery. The Bumblebees 1 team make their room a stimulating environment that values the individual needs of the children, promoting independence and developing children's skills to express their own opinions and values.

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and outcomes for children

Bumblebees 2 provides stimulating and fun activities for the children that promote their individual and developmental needs, both indoors and outside. The team enjoy working alongside parents and strive to make the room a warm, welcoming and friendly environment where parents feel that their views and opinions are listened to and acted upon. Pre-school children are based in the Butterflies room, where the team offer a happy, safe and secure, stimulating environment. Children have a sense of belonging and feel valued. Staff offer a variety of activities, both indoors and outdoors that meet the individual needs of the children, promoting independence, diversity and taking safe risks.

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and outcomes for children

Children's self esteem is fostered through pleasant reminders of home, these include individual family books, celebration boxes and images displayed around the rooms in cosy areas. Having photos of the children's families displayed in the rooms gives the children a sense of belonging and helps them to feel secure in the setting. Older children enjoy sharing the photos of celebrations with their key person and peers. The practitioners are skilled in talking to children, responding to them and listening and sharing stories. Staff understand how children learn and are extremely perceptive to children's interests during self-initiated play. They use questions very successfully to challenge children's thinking and language skills. This is a language rich environment in which the children are developing good skills for speaking, listening, reading, writing and numeracy. Frequent open-ended questions are asked to encourage the children to think about what they are doing

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and outcomes for children

and why they are doing it. Staff place value upon the learning process rather than upon the end product, so art work is the children's own unique expression. Role play is exciting and purposeful. For example, children are currently enjoying playing 'n the deep, dark woods'.

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and outcomes for children

The thoughtful planning of activities ensures that each child receives an enjoyable and challenging experience across the areas of learning. The nursery recognises the uniqueness of the child and helps to develop this through the use of individual planning for children. Each child's interests are planned for and considered before carrying out the different activities, so that no group or individual is disadvantaged. Children walk down the road with staff to watch ambulances entering and leaving the hospital, they post letters and walk to the nearby park to play, run or collect leaves.

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and outcomes for children

Children are encouraged to care for their environment and grow fruit and vegetables in the allotment plot. They learn to care for living things, such as, their guinea pigs and fish. Children consider issues of sustainability with regard to placing rubbish in the recycling bins. Clear boundaries are implemented in all rooms and practitioners discuss the 'golden values' with the children. These represent acceptable behaviour and these are adhered to by all in the setting.

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and outcomes for children

Exemplary practical hygiene practice is consistently implemented by staff to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 actively support extremely high levels of cleanliness within the nursery environment. Children learn the importance of good personal hygiene through staff being good role models and they encourage self-help skills, such as, washing their own hands after using the bathroom. The Butterflies children have introduced reference to 'Suzy soap' and 'Geoffrey germ' to promote the understanding of why they need to wash their hands. Opportunities for fresh air and exercise are also integrated into the daily routine. Children also look forward to regular visits from external visiting specialist staff who promote physical exercise and music and dance. Staff have undertaken varied training on how to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage in an interesting and stimulating way so that all the children can

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and outcomes for children

make as much progress as possible. Children develop valuable skills for the future. They have plentiful opportunities to develop skills in technology. They become active, independent learners who choose their own resources and are encouraged to solve problems. They share and work together and develop useful skills and strategies in preparation for transition to school. 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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