Brambly Hedge Forest School

Brambly Hedge Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY290726 Inspection date 21/09/2011 Inspector Julie Morrison

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Setting address Richards House, Crosby Road, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL6 1AE Telephone number 01609 771333 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

Brambly Hedge Day Nursery is a privately owned provision and has been registered since 2004. The nursery operates from two activity rooms in a converted bungalow in the town of Northallerton. The nursery is open Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm, for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery is registered by Ofsted on the on the Early Years Register, and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register for a maximum of 50 children at any one time. Of these, no more than 12 children may be aged less than two years. They currently have 77 children on roll, of which 67 are in the early years age range. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. Links have been made with the local schools and partnership arrangements have been established with other early years settings. The nursery employs 13 members of staff. Of these, 3 staff hold a level 2

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Description of the setting

qualification, 9 hold a level 3 qualification and the manager holds a level 6 qualification with Early Years Professional status.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

All children and their families are warmly welcomed into the nursery. The safe and well-resourced learning environment provides a wide range of activities for children. This is combined with suitable systems for observing children's learning, which results in children making satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals. Suitable procedures are in place to gather information from parents about children's individual needs. However, effective systems for parents to contribute towards observations of children's learning or to share these with other providers have not been established. Although the manager is working closely with the local authority to evaluate the setting, systems to include parents and staff in this have not been introduced.

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further?

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

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further?

 continue to develop systems for using observations of children's learning to inform future planning and ensure that such records are up to date and accessible at all times  develop further opportunities for parents to review and contribute to observations of their child's learning and consider ways in which to share these with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage  develop procedures to promote reflective practice and self-evaluation, and identify priorities for development which include feedback from staff and parents, in order to improve outcomes for children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Effective systems are in place to safeguard children. Staff have a good understanding and knowledge of the possible signs and symptoms of abuse and procedures to follow should they have a concern about a child. Robust vetting and recruitment procedures are in place and evidence of enhanced disclosure numbers are available for all staff. This ensures that all adults looking after children are suitable to do so. However, appraisals systems have not been introduced to support staff in their ongoing development. This has, however, been identified by the manager as an area to be addressed. Detailed risk assessments, along with daily checks of all areas, are in place. These are combined with effective procedures, such as keypad entry to the rooms, visitor's records and close supervision of children at all times to effectively reduce the risk of accidental injury and safeguard children. All staff hold a current paediatric first aid certificate and

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the early years provision

this is combined with consent from parents to obtain emergency medical treatment. This ensures that accidents can be addressed quickly and appropriately.

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the early years provision

The nursery is well resourced with child-sized furniture, colourful displays and a wide range of play equipment, both inside and out. Children have free access to the outdoor play area and move confidently from one activity to another. This supports them making independent choices about their play. The systems in place for sharing information with parents are sufficient. This includes providing parents with copies of all relevant policies and procedures at the start and the completion of the children's records, including consents, medical records and daily routines. Daily diaries are used to inform parents of significant events in their children's care and learning. However, although parents are informed that they can see their child's learning file at any time, effective procedures to fully involve parents in their child's ongoing learning have not been established. Daily diaries have been used to

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the early years provision

share information with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage when requested by parents. However, this has not been established for all children. This does not fully support continuity of care and learning for children who attend more than one setting.

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the early years provision

The manager demonstrates a suitable attitude towards developing the practice, and is working closely with the local authority to identify areas for improvement. However, although most of the recommendations from the previous inspection have been addressed, for example, improving the key worker system in the baby room, ongoing, effective systems, which include staff and parents, to monitor and evaluate the practice, have not been established. This does not support a culture of continuous improvement. Staff demonstrate a suitable attitude towards ensuring that all children are included at the nursery, for example, implementing individual educational programmes for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and gathering words in other languages to support some of the children with English as and additional language. A sufficient range of resources and planned activities, such as celebrating the Chinese New Years, helps to begin to

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the early years provision

raise children's awareness of diversity. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are confident and generally well settled at the nursery. They have regular opportunities to adopt healthy lifestyles by playing outside in the well-resourced outdoor play area. The children develop many physical skills as they balance on beams and boxes and climb on slides. They develop an awareness of space as they push toys around, play on scooters and manoeuvre around obstacles. Children are beginning to learn about the natural world as they help to grow vegetables and examine snails and spiders which they find outside. The menu has recently been changed and provides a wide range of healthy choices which are freshly prepared on the premises, for example, snacks of fresh fruit, crackers and cheese and chilli for lunch. Children independently use the bathroom, and staff talk to them about germs and cross-infection, this further supports their good health. Children feel safe in the care of the staff with whom they have developed close and trusting

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and outcomes for children

relationships. They learn about keeping themselves safe as staff give them gentle reminders, for example, not to run in nursery as they may fall and hurt themselves. Planned activities, such as practicing fire drills and visits from the local community safety officer, further supports their understanding of keeping safe. Children behave well in the nursery as staff implement clear boundaries and give children regular praise and encouragement. The children show care and concern for one another. For example, they cuddle their friends and remind each other 'to share'.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making steady progress towards the early learning goals. They are supported by friendly and caring staff who are developing a secure understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. New systems for observing children's progress and planning activities based on their individual interests and needs, have very recently been introduced. However, these are not sufficiently embedded to clearly see how next steps have been used to inform planning. Also, some of the children's files were not up-to- date or not available at the time of inspection. This makes it difficult to see the progress children are making towards the early learning goals. However, staff do know the children well and talk confidently about their next steps in learning. The stimulating and colourful environment also plays a key role in supporting and extending children's learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

The children enjoy regular opportunities to be creative, develop their imagination and express their own ideas. For example, babies stick, glue and explore sand, while older children play with 'gloop', paint, cut and draw. Naturally inquisitive and keen to learn, children's skills for the future are developed as they confidently use the computer and take part in a wide range of counting and problem-solving activities, for example, completing jigsaws and using stickle bricks to make shapes. Staff support the children's learning as they encourage them to name colours, count how many objects they have and introduce language such as 'bigger' and 'smaller' into their play. Their communication skills are further developed as they sit with staff to read stories or independently select their favourite books which they 'read' themselves. Children are beginning to recognise letters and words as they find their own name to register on arrival and name letters as they play on

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the computer. Overall, most children are settled and they enjoy the time they spend in 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 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 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 3

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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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