Bluebell Lodge Nursery

Bluebell Lodge Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY360784 Inspection date 19/05/2011 Inspector Frank William Kelly

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Setting address 361 St. Annes Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 2QR

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Telephone number 01253 407 172 Email bluebelllodge@learning curvenursery.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. 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

Bluebell Lodge Nursery was registered in 2007 and is one of three settings operated by a company. It is based in self-contained premises located in the south shore area of Blackpool on the Fylde Coast. Children are cared for within four playrooms across a single-story premises and seperate purpose-built annexe. Children have access to a variety of enclosed areas for outdoor play. The setting operates each week-day from 8am to 5.30pm, 51 weeks of the year. It is closed between Christmas and New Year.

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Description of the setting

The setting is on the Early Years Register and is registered to care for a maximum of 44 children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than 44 may be in the early years age range. There are currently 99 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The setting provides funded places for the provision of early education for some of the three and four-year-olds. The setting is also registered to offer care to children aged over five to 11 years. This provision is registered on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. At present the setting is not operating this service.

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Description of the setting

The setting currently employs 16 staff to work with the children. Of these, 15 hold early years qualifications and one member of staff is working towards a qualification. One member of staff holds Qualified Teacher Status and Early Years Practitioner Status. A second qualified teacher is employed for holiday cover over the summer break. 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 good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are cared for in attractively presented, well organised premises. Staff implement procedures with consistency to effectively promote the children's safety and welfare. The playrooms provide an interesting, enabling environment along with sound planning systems, which support all children to make good progress in their learning and development. Documentation is, in most aspects, well organised and used successfully to engage parents. Children's unique needs are known and are being met well through the comprehensive sharing of information and the effective partnership working with other services and providers. The management team have high aspirations for improvement through a quality improvement programme, with soundly identified areas being successfully implemented.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 ensure that records of all required information are held for each and every child; in this instance, that information about who has legal contact with the 19/05/2011 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 child, and who has parental responsibility is held for every child (Documentation).

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further?

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

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further?

 further extend staff's understanding about how they can support children to extend their critical thinking and make connections in their learning, considering how the use of information and communication technology could be incorparated into this, both indoors and outside.

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the early years provision

Children are being effectively safeguarded as the recruitment procedures follow the recommended guidance. They include the checking of identity, relevant qualifications, references and the completion a full Criminal Records Bureau check. Safeguarding procedures are regularly reviewed and staff are kept up-to-date through induction and training opportunities. Those staff approached demonstrated a sound and secure understanding of potential signs and indicators of possible abuse and who and how to report them. The effective management of the premises means children are cared for in an extremely clean and exceptionally well maintained environment. Security is rigorously implemented by staff and good quality equipment has been sourced to promote the children's comfort and safety. The owners have put in place comprehensive safety management procedures, including full risk assessments and the annual servicing of fire and electrical

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the early years provision

equipment. The frequent practising of emergency evacuation procedures is supporting the children to learn about what to do in an emergency.

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the early years provision

The owners are committed to improving the quality of the provision for children. In particular, the refurbishment and extension of the premises has benefited from the considerable investment and careful planning. The vision for improvement has not only centred on the quality of the physical environment but also the opportunity for children's independent learning and breadth of choice. For example, the baby room now has an accessible, fully enclosed decked veranda, which allows young children opportunities to crawl out into the fresh air and continue their investigation and play in safety. Resources are attractively presented and easily accessible for children to make their independent choices and explore their developing ideas. Plans for the future are accurate and well chosen and the management has a sound programme of regular staff review and consultation.

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the early years provision

Staff are warm and welcoming which is creating an emotional environment that is accepting of everyone. Resources that reflect the diversity of today,s society are displayed throughout setting. They include good quality posters, pictures and play figures. Welcome signs are displayed in a range of scripts and languages, helping all to feel valued and included. Staff are teaching children simple sign language so that all children have a common form of communication during their play.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents are very good. Daily discussions, questionnaires and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 open evenings are some of the ways information is shared. Noticeboards with regulatory and general information about how the setting operates are displayed. Photographic displays with explanations about the benefits of play and other learning strategies such as 'Every Child's A Talker' provide parents with an insight into how their child is and can learn. Good information is sought from parents when children start and for most children all regulatory information has been obtained and recorded. However, there are some omissions. Although the setting has begun to obtain formal confirmation about who holds parental responsibility, it has not, to date, ensured that this information has been gained for every child. The setting is clearly able to demonstrate its strong emphasis on partnership and

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the early years provision

how it is working with other services and agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. A programme of engaging with other providers such as schools is being given a high priority to assist the smooth transition for those children who are due to start full time education in the forthcoming autumn term.

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and outcomes for children

Children demonstrate a strong sense of security at this setting. They settle very well and eagerly engage adults in conversations and their play. Those children that have a rest after lunch seek a favourite book to take with them and older children ask for a pink cup during lunch. Staff plan very well to ensure that children's learning experiences are maximised and that the five outcomes for children are threaded through the daily routines and planned activities. Thus, children demonstrate a keen sense of keeping themselves safe and about healthy lifestyles as they go about their day. For instance, older children talk about carrots being good for them and staff talk about food being fuel for their bodies. Children discuss the dangers of cutting their tongue if they put their knife in their mouth. Regular opportunities to be physically active and to use a range of resources are accessible daily. Weekly sessions of football skills and aerobics complement this.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn to care for the nursery pets and regularly join one of the grandparents with the vegetable growing project.

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and outcomes for children

There is a strong sense of community and children demonstrate a keen understanding of helping others. For instance, toddler's squeal with delight and wave when some of their friends arrive back unexpectedly from the garden. Older children pour drinks for their friends at lunchtime and call to staff to alert them to potential dangers from water accidentally spilt on the floor. They follow the staff's good role modelling and learn not to talk over each other during discussions at story and lunch times. Staff's simple but effective demonstrations and explanations shared in practical situations, further help the children to place their learning into context. For instance, staff draw the children's attention to her knife and fork placed together on the plate. She explains that this means that she has finished and encourages the children to follow her example.

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and outcomes for children

The learning environment is well established with children's artwork and writing positively displayed, thus helping to boost the children's self-esteem. Well- This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 resourced areas of differing provision provide children with daily opportunities to build with construction materials and problem solve with puzzles. They have access to writing and mark-making materials, shaving foam, water and sand. Photographs show they use twigs to create patterns in the mud. Staff planning, led by observations of the children, has a strong emphasis on the children's favourite toys and current interests. Consequently, the children are happy and confident to investigate and explore what they encounter. For example, babies shake and taste the musical instruments. They press buttons on activity toys and lift flaps and turn pages on the books. Toddlers enjoy sand and water, climbing the mini stairs and

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and outcomes for children

slide. Outdoors, older children confidently make suggestions about their play. They take responsibility for choosing what they do, such as dressing up as the doctor, 'writing' prescriptions and bandaging patients. They respond to their environment, and as a helicopter crosses the sky they change the play to pretending they are going on holiday. They talk about numbers and their role, for example that their seat is number three. On some occasions staff ask good questions to extend children's thinking, for instance, what they think the weather will be like in Majorca. However, this is not consistent across the setting. There is a range of technology within the setting, such as torches and microphones, programmable robots and digital cameras. However, some of the equipment is not in full working order and, although much is visible, children are not spontaneously using this equipment in their play, nor have staff considered how they could use the

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and outcomes for children

technology in a wider variety of ways to extend the children's problem-solving.

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and outcomes for children

The staff engage children in many ways, encouraging spontaneous counting of the dinosaurs in the book and placing a strong emphasis on children's communication skills. For instance, babies beam at the animated responses they receive from adults, babbling and chattering continually. They rock and bounce with excitement as staff sing familiar songs such as 'wind my bobbin up' and older children enthusiastically join in singing rhymes. Children enjoy stories and staff invite them to share what they think, such as discussing dinosaurs eat or what colour they are. These types of activities and the skilful way staff support the children is helping them to develop positive attitudes and dispositions towards learning. This helps the children to be very well equipped with the skills they need in order to secure future learning. 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 2 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 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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