Buttercups at Chalfont

Buttercups at Chalfont Buttercups, The Lodge, Chalfont Park, GERRARDS CROSS, Buckinghamshire, SL9 0GA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/10/2012 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: Not Applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children are exceptionally motivated, very eager to join in and consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning in this well resourced exciting yet homely and nurturing environment.  Staff have adapted and embraced the revised Early Years Foundation Stage, building on their knowledge and skills to continually enhance the quality of the provision they provide.  An extremely sharp focus on communication and language skills in addition to the other areas of learning is assisting the children to make excellent progress in their learning. They are becoming confident communicators who interact well with both children and adults.  The excellent professional summaries of the children's progress indicate clearly the adults understanding of each child's individuality and development. This information combined with parental knowledge helps to ensure that each child has appropriate opportunities to progress to the next step in their development.

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This provision is outstanding

 Children increasingly show high levels of self-control during activities and confidence in social situations, and are developing an excellent understanding of how to manage risks and challenges relative to their age. They ask questions, share experiences and knowledge and listen attentively. They are keen to participate.  All staff consistently give the highest priority to the safety of children and effectively support children's growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Opportunities to develop this awareness are seized.  Leadership is inspirational. The management team is totally committed to ensuring they provide an excellent fun environment where children have every opportunity to develop to their full potential.  The manager is proactive in developing the staff team and makes excellent use of the services available to support and develop the provision. The pursuit of excellence in all

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This provision is outstanding

of the setting's activities is demonstrated by an uncompromising, highly successful and well-documented drive to strongly improve achievement for all children over a sustained period of time.  The provider has an excellent understanding of their responsibility to ensure that the provision meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and has effective systems to monitor their implementation.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 Children were observed at play in the Lodge, the Orangery and in the outdoor play area of the Orangery.  Activities were observed and discussed with the manager and practitioners.  Premises were viewed both indoors and out.  A sample of development records were scrutinised.  Parents were invited to share their views.

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Information about the setting

Chalfont Park Nursery is part of Buttercups Nursery Limited which operates a small group of nurseries. The nursery has been in operation since 2008. The setting operates from the Orangery and the Lodge within Chalfont Park Business Park in Chalfont St. Peter, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. There is access to secure outdoor play areas at both the Lodge and Orangery. The nursery provides a service for children from the local community. It opens each weekday from 8am to 6pm all year round, except Christmas and bank holidays. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. Currently there are 35 children on roll. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education to children aged three and four years.

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Information about the setting

Systems are in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and who speak English as an additional language. Access to the Lodge is via steps. They follow a Highscope approach to activities. The setting employs 12 full-time staff, of these eleven hold appropriate early years qualifications and one is working towards a qualification.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 Improve the presentation of information in the entrance to the setting to enable parents to view what is most relevant and up to date easily.

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who attend

This excellent nursery provides a calm nurturing, caring environment where young children can thrive and develop to their full potential. The knowledgeable and enthusiastic management and staff team provide a rich learning environment where children's individuality is recognised and cherished. Consequently learning outcomes are excellent for children. Key workers get to know the individual children well through the development of positive partnerships with parents enabling them to form knowledgeable caring relationships with the child. This enhances the child's ability to settle in the setting and enjoy and benefit from the learning experiences available.

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who attend

Children's communication and language is encouraged particularly well in both 'The Lodge' and 'The Orangery'. Staff confidently engage the children in a variety of action songs and the children eagerly join in. Staff model language well, providing opportunities for children to listen and think. They understand that children know more than they can express and so provide opportunities for them to express themselves. For example, a sensory area provides a fascinating experience for the under two's who explore the resources. When a child recognises the torch should light up but doesn't the child brings it to an adult and says' no'. The child does not yet have the words to express fully what he means. The adult models simple language for the child.' It's not working'. The adult shows the child how to squeeze the torch to make it work. She says, 'it's on' and the child repeats her words laughing in delight at the bright beam of light. Older children participate in a favourite

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who attend

story using large images of fruit. A toy furry caterpillar eats its way through each piece of fruit. The children join in the story predicting which fruit he will go to next and share their knowledge of how the caterpillar changes to a butterfly. Staff use a wide range of props in their activities increasing the children's understanding of the words they use. For example, a fine mist of water helps children to understand the 'rain' falling in a song.

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who attend

Babies demonstrate their increasing physical skills in the safe environment. Staff patiently encourage first steps and show delight in achievements. Staff are sensitive to the babies emotions and respond warmly if they become distressed. All children have daily opportunities to develop their physical skills in the fresh air and natural light, making use of the various outdoor play environments available to them. Finer physical skills are encouraged knowledgably through the daily activities and routines. Children demonstrate increasing skills at using tools, such as pencils, scissors, crayons, turning pages carefully, using eating implements and carrying and clearing their own dinner plates after lunch.

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who attend

Children's personal, social and emotional development is encouraged as staff recognise the importance of changes the children may experience in their lives. For example, when a child has a new sibling join the family staff plan activities to explore this new experience. The children look at home made books with familiar people and their babies and they undertake an activity washing the dolls. In addition to opportunities to encourage communication, language and physical development this provides an opportunity for children to share their experiences and recognise similarities with others.

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who attend

Children develop their awareness of size, shape, position and quantity in all their activities as the staff seize opportunities to use mathematical language. This increases the children's awareness and their understanding and ability to use the words. For example, the children count in the songs they sing, the adult draws their attention to their empty or full cups and they begin to recognise numerals and count items. Sand play provides further opportunities to explore full and empty and to make patterns in the sand. Children demonstrate interest and increasing knowledge as they use technology with supervision. Laminating their own work provides an opportunity to talk about the red and green lights and what they mean, how the machine gets hot and share their knowledge of other things which get hot and could be dangerous. They learn about their bodies and how they can feel their hearts beat. Clear labels and notices provide many opportunities for children to see the written word.

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who attend

Children have many opportunities to begin to recognise their names and staff help them to develop phonic knowledge through the daily rhymes, poems and stories and in more depth when they are developmentally ready. An attractive library is well used by the children. They have access to fact and fiction books, catalogues and brochures, photograph albums and home made books. The books are displayed to show there attractive covers inviting the children to use them. The library position, which is near to the role play area, inspires the children to act out their stories. Children have easy access to a variety of creative materials and the displays clearly indicate the children's own creations are celebrated.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The key person system in this setting is very well established. Children's development is monitored closely by their key person and close links are developed with parents enabling then to have a strong understanding of the child. The small size of the setting enables all the children and staff to get to know each other well ensuring that continuity is maintained if a member of staff is off. Children are exceptionally confident and happy in this setting indicating they feel safe and secure. The setting provides opportunities for children to make choices in their activities but also, very importantly, provides a familiar routine which helps the children to feel safe and secure. It is a measure to their day. Staff are very receptive to the children's expressions and help the children identify how they are feeling through their comments and actions.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Behaviour is managed very well. Staff are calm and patient in their interactions acting as good role models. Simple clear notices on the walls in all rooms remind both staff and parents of positive ways to handle undesirable behaviour. Staff also recognise that sometimes children need time to resolve their disputes independently. The baby room staff sit on the floor with the children and provide lots of appropriate cuddles and affection. For example, an adult shares a picture book with a child cuddled on her lap and another snuggled against her leg.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

All children are developing a clear awareness of how to keep themselves healthy. Outdoor displays identify healthy foods, they talk about the importance of eating, drinking, exercise, sleep and hand washing. Staff understand the importance of children having busy and restful times and ensure they have opportunities to rest. This enables them to be refreshed and make the most of the experiences available to them. Children demonstrate increasing independence relevant to their age and stage of development as they attend to their own toileting needs and put on their own boots and coats. Staff welcome the support of parents to share skills which will benefit the children's knowledge base. For example, a doctor talks to the children about their bodies and what happens when they visit a doctor. The children examine the doctor's torch and stethoscope increasing their awareness of life experiences.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children's awareness of safety is developed throughout the range of activities they undertake. When a small group plan to use the laminator (with supervision), they talk with the adult about the dangers and they relate it to other dangers they are aware of. They regularly undertake a fire drill ensuring they all know what to do to evacuate the premises swiftly.

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provision

Clear safeguarding information is available to all staff and parents. Staff are confident and aware of the action they must take if they are concerned about a child in their care. Robust systems are in place to ensure the suitability of staff to work with children and if checks are still in process the individual will wear a badge which states they cannot take children to the bathroom or be left alone with children. The manager recognises the importance of qualified and first aid trained staff. A high proportion of the staff hold qualifications in childcare and are first aid trained. The daily risk assessments of the premises help to ensure the premises are safe and suitable for young children's care.

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provision

Strong working relationships with the local authority enable the setting to make good use of the knowledge and training opportunities it offers. The setting has appreciated the 'Quality Improvement programme' and the way it has helped them to focus on aspects and make improvements. Excellent provision is in place to monitor both the development of the children and the development of staff skills. The manager ensures staff have regular staff meetings, three monthly child review meetings, a six monthly supervision meeting and a yearly appraisal. This enables the manager to monitor, motivate and develop her staff team to provide an excellent service. The opinions of staff, parents and children are all used to continuously evaluate and develop the provision. The setting has a clear vision and action plan of further improvements they intend to make, which include providing a larger 'forest school' type outdoor environment and developing their skills at

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provision

helping the children with English as an additional language.

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provision

The manager has been proactive in embracing the revised Early Years Foundation Stage and has adapted the already well established system to encompass the changes. The setting has a well organised system for observing and monitoring the children's development from their starting points. They recognise and appreciate the knowledge of parents to help in this process and seek and use this knowledge to help in planning potential next steps in development. Three monthly reviews of every child in the setting are undertaken, shared with parents and reviewed by the manager. If there are concerns about a child's developmental progress these are discussed sensitively with parents and additional advice sought as appropriate. Identifying any potential difficulties early can help to ensure that children have every opportunity to fulfil their potential.

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provision

Space is used particularly well in both the 'Orangery' and the 'Lodge' to provide a fun, interesting and stimulating child centred environment. However, the entrance to the 'Orangery' has an overload of information for parents. Whilst the information is important, it is not displayed to make it easily readable or accessible. It also gives the impression of disorganisation, which is not an accurate impression to have of this setting. Parents speak exceptionally highly of the provision commenting on the warm and friendly staff and the wonderful learning experiences they offer the children. They have noticed how easily the children settle and develop new skills. They welcome the information provided and the ways the staff appreciate parents knowledge of their children.

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provision

The nursery strives to develop the important partnerships with schools children move to. Visits are arranged and child development information shared. Children learn about the transition to school through stories, activities, looking at or wearing their school uniform and visiting the new school enabling them to be well prepared for the change.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY428491 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 790960 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 35 Name of provider Buttercups Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01753482510

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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

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Type of provision

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.

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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