Bright Horizons Crofton Day Nursery and Preschool

Crofton Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY267210 Inspection date 14/04/2011 Inspector Linda Coccia

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Setting address Asquith Nursery, Rear Of, 86 Crofton Lane, Orpington, Kent, BR5 1HD Telephone number 01689 873 311 Email crofton@asquithnurseries.co.uk 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

Crofton Day Nursery has been registered under the ownership of Asquith Nurseries Group since 2003. The nursery is located above a parade of shops situated on the Petts Wood/Orpington borders and serves families from the local community.

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Description of the setting

The nursery comprises of four base rooms and children are grouped by age. The baby room has an integral milk kitchen and an adjoining sleep room. There is a fully enclosed roof garden, an office, a kitchen and laundry facilities. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 07:30am until 6:00pm for 51 weeks of the year and may care for up to 68 children, of these, not more than 24 may be under two years at any one time. Children attend on a full time and part time basis and there are currently 110 children on roll. Children aged three and four years are in receipt of nursery education funding. The nursery supports a number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. They have procedures in place to support children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 26 staff employed at the setting, including the cook, of whom 22 hold a recognised childcare qualification to National Vocation Qualification level three and above.

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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 nursery is effective in meeting children's needs because staff are outstanding in their knowledge of how young children learn and develop. They know their key children extremely well. The manager has addressed recommendations from their last inspection. She and the staff have formulated further plans for improvement which take account of the needs of the children. Partnerships with other organisations are good. Overall, staff are outstanding in maintaining 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?

 strengthen the processes in order to share information about children's learning and development and any other relevant information with other setting practitioners when children attend several settings. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The nursery employs a professional, highly qualified staff group who know the children exceptionally well. All staff are subject to rigorous and robust recruitment and vetting procedures, and an excellent induction programme. They undergo regular monitoring from their room supervisor and the manager. The list of staff with cleared Criminal Record Bureau checks is readily available for inspection. All staff receives regular training in child protection issues and how best to safeguard children. The provider also regards the staff as a valuable resource and fosters each member's individual development by offering an excellent range of training opportunities. Other safeguarding procedures include meticulous risk assessment of anything the children come into contact with, exceptional recording of children's details as in the medication and accident records, and the security of all children on the premises. This shows that every child's well being is carefully monitored

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the early years provision

and very well supported. The excellent range of policies and procedures are regularly updated at head office. The manager ensures all staff are apprised of any changes and implements them accordingly. The deputy manager ensures that the provision's self evaluation form (SEF) is meticulously updated each time procedures are changed. The SEF clearly shows future plans for improvement and the impact of any changes on the children along. For example, it details the effective improvements to the excellent outside area which children can now use all year round. This area is still designated as an area for improvement as staff are now improving the range of resources for outside activities.

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the early years provision

The nursery incorporates and takes into account individual family circumstances, issues and differences when planning for the children. Excellent procedures are in place to obtain information about festivals or languages from parents which are of importance to their children so that these can be included in the planning. The nursery Special Educational Needs Coordinator ensures that Individual Educational Plans are in place for those children who require additional help from staff. She has excellent links with a wide variety of health and social welfare agencies. However, the links with other care settings could be strengthened. Overall, children's individual needs are exceptionally well met. The nursery's ability to engage with parents is outstanding. Parents report that their key persons have an excellent knowledge of each child and relay their children's achievements to them on a daily basis. Parent's views are canvassed regularly and are included in the

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the early years provision

SEF. These show that the majority of parents who complete them are extremely happy with the service provided. They can direct their suggestions for improvement directly to the head office and have access to a confidential parent forum. Generally, parents feel they are very well supported and their children receive excellent continuity of care. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children and parents are welcomed warmly into the nursery. Children are extremely happy and settled. Children show they feel secure and show confidence around visitors. Even the babies are unperturbed by visitors and carry on with their play routines. This shows that all children feel very safe in the setting. All children move freely around their rooms selecting their own toys and initiating their own activities. In all rooms toys are readily accessible to the children enabling them to investigate and explore. In the baby room some activities, such as the steps, encourage the children to pull themselves up to use them. Each baby has its own personal routine such as sleep and bottle feeding times. These are discussed with parents and supported by staff. Paintings and other creations are displayed in the variety of 'galleries' around the walls of the rooms and in the corridors. Children are also prolific in taking home their creative items for their parents, especially for

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and outcomes for children

mother's day and other events. The range of activities which encourage children's problem solving reasoning and numeracy skills are numerous. They range from large beads and construction blocks which give the younger children a sense of space and shape to the more systematic matching and number games for the older children.

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and outcomes for children

Children have timetabled outdoor play twice a day. They take with them any items they want from inside to continue playing with them outdoors. This encourages children's decision making skills. The outdoor area itself is conducive to learning. The soft flooring allows children to take risks on the swing ropes which the majority of children are confident in using. The den and the raised area in particular, allow children different perspectives of what they can see. They thoroughly enjoy the large chalk boards which they use with relish as they make large colourful pictures. Water and sand play are readily available outside and the babies have a small sensory area that staff are continually adding to. Books, painting and puzzles are regularly taken outside by the children. The nursery has recently received a number of wet suits which are utilised by the children in drizzly weather. Children chatter to each other and with staff as they play. Their thought

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and outcomes for children

processes are regularly challenged by staff. They ask children questions such as 'what if?' or 'what do you think will happen'? Staff also challenge children's shape recognition and numeracy skills as they play. For example, helping children to find circles in written words or counting the number of stairs up to the garden. Children are purposefully engaged in their play as indicated by the low levels of noise coming from busy children. Staff carry out and maintain excellent observation records on the children. The records start with a detailed initial assessment following a number of settling in sessions. Individual activities are flexibly planned to encourage progression of each child's next steps. Systematic observations show the excellent progress that each child makes. Formative and summative assessments are included in the records along with photographic evidence of children enjoying activities and examples of their work. The records are eye-

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and outcomes for children

catching and informative. Parents are able to comment in them. The records show that children are making outstanding progress towards the Early Learning Goals.

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and outcomes for children

Children flourish because they adopt healthy lifestyles whilst at the nursery. They This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 are provided with an excellent range of seasonal fruit and finger vegetables at snack time. An excellent variety of meals are cooked on the premises. Parents and children know what food is on offer in advance. This enables parents to advise staff of any known allergies or religious or cultural preferences. An excellent system of different coloured plates is in place to ensure children get the correct meals. Children know what foods are good for them because staff take time to promote healthy eating. Staff report that they have no problems with behaviour management due to the high levels of engagement from the children. Procedures are in place to discuss behaviour with parents should the need arise. The children initiate their own activities and direct their own play. This means that children have

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and outcomes for children

excellent opportunities to make a positive contribution to the setting as they include other children in their play. Overall, the children enjoy an excellent time at the nursery. 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 2 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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