Busy Bees Day Nursery at Morden, Martin Way

Leapfrog Day Nursery - Morden, Martin Way Leapfrog Day Nursery, 2-4 Martin Way, Morden, Surrey, SM4 5AH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/10/2012 26/07/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 2 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The needs of children under the age of two years are not being met. Most are unsettled and unable to engage in purposeful play as a result of changes taking place during the nursery's refurbishment.  The management team does not give staff sufficient supervision and support to carry out their work, and morale is low as a result.  The management team does not monitor the nursery provision effectively which means that there is a history of requirements not being met. Also, it results in identified aspects for improvement not being carried through or sustained.  Children's communication and language development has significant weaknesses. This is because staff do not seek to engage children consistently in adult-led activities such as story telling and 'sing and sign'. Also, staff are not sufficiently aware of the communication needs of children on individual education plans.  Children have few opportunities to gain independence and to explore and investigate

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This provision is inadequate

resources, to use them creatively, as they wish.  Staff do not engage parents in a partnership to support the learning and development of their children.

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It has the following strengths

 Managers and staff are very willing to address the issues raised and make improvements for the benefit of children  Staff are friendly and use their skills to help to support most children's learning and development soundly overall.

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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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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spent time observing children's play in each area of the nursery

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked with staff about nursery procedures and children's learning and development  The inspector met with key staff and managers  The inspector examined a sample of documents and records

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Information about the setting

Leapfrog Day Nursery opened in 2007. It is one of a number of nurseries run by Busy Bees. The nursery is two converted houses in Morden in the London borough of Merton. It occupies two floors with a baby room, toddler and preschool room, kitchens, toilets, office and staff room. There are two separate garden areas for outside play. It serves the local area and is close to transport links. The day nursery is open each week day from 8am until 6pm for 52 weeks of the year. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 67 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two, three-and four-year olds. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. There is a team of 16 staff including the manager; 12 staff hold early years

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Information about the setting

qualifications to level 2 or level 3. One member of staff has an early years degree and one person is working towards a degree.

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must:

 engage and support parents in guiding their children's development  develop the curriculum for communication and language by: a) helping children to focus attention in 'listening and doing' during adult-led activities; b) by making sure all staff are aware of children's communication needs as identified in individual education plans  foster a culture of mutual support, teamwork and continuous improvement by a) making appropriate arrangements for the supervision of staff b) carrying out regular appraisals and c) improving monitoring processes to ensure that changes identified for improvement are implemented effectively  organise the premises and equipment and deployment of staff to meet the needs of children under the age of two years

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

 support children's independence in routines such as snack and meal times, and allow time for children to eat according to their appetite and needs  support children's open-ended play so that they can explore materials and media according to their own attention spans

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who attend

Staff have a suitable knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have created some interesting learning environments and provide a broad and balanced curriculum. Staff follow the 'Every Child a Talker' programme with some positive results in engaging children in conversation and extending their vocabulary. However there are significant gaps in the curriculum for communication and language. Staff are not consistent in meeting the communication needs of children on individual educational programmes, and they do not sufficiently engage children in adult-led activities. For example, when a small group of children have chosen to take part in a 'sing and sign' activity, the member of staff directs most of her attention to a minority of children, leaving the others disengaged. The majority of children spend their time in free play and they can direct their activities and set their own challenges. Staff demonstrate suitable skills of

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who attend

supporting children's learning during free play. For example, children select a specific size of construction block to build a tall tower. The member of staff helps children to think critically and creatively about their task as the top becomes out of their reach. In this way, children learn to 'have a go' and experiment, which are characteristics of effective learning. Children enjoy exploring different media and materials. On occasion however, staff ask children to move on after making only one picture instead of allowing them to continue at the activity to explore the materials further using their own ideas and to decide for themselves when they have finished.

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who attend

Staff make notes of children's achievements and keep a running plan of how to meet children's next steps. The information is then placed into the child's learning journal so that their progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage is monitored. Staff use this information to check that children do not have any achievement gaps. However, staff do not update the learning journals in a timely fashion, so it may be as much as three months before any gaps are identified. Also, staff do not sufficiently engage parents in partnership with their children's learning. This means that parents are less able to complement children's learning with activities at home, and are not necessarily aware of the progress their child is making. As a result, the nursery's overall ability to meet the learning and development needs of children is inadequate.

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

The nursery has established an effective system for providing each child with a key person. Staff build good bonds with children and follow the children's home routines. For example, babies sleep according to their own needs and go to staff readily when they are in need of comfort. Pre-school children and toddlers settle quickly to play and separate from their parents confidently. They have continued to be settled and confident during the changes to accommodation required by the refurbishment taking place. However, the refurbishment has required a major change for the children under the age of two, who are currently accommodated in a much smaller room. On the day of inspection the majority of babies were unable to settle to purposeful play, and were upset and clingy for lengthy periods. Managers took action when this concern was raised and reduced the number of children in the room, so that babies would have more space. This helped them to settle

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

All children benefit from good hygiene routines and they have suitable opportunities to take care of their personal hygiene. Children enjoy a healthy diet, with food cooked fresh on the premises. Older children enjoy helping staff by laying the tables for meals but are not able to pour their own drinks or serve their own food. At snack time, toddlers are given a set amount of fruit and unable to self-serve or eat according to their own appetite. This limits their independence. All children enjoy the activities that promote their physical development. They ride on wheeled toys, dig in the garden and stretch to build tall towers. They enjoy drawing and painting, which supports their small muscle development.

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

Children generally behave very well. Staff are skilled at helping them to solve problems in cooperating or turn-taking. For example, when some children have more play-dough than others, staff ask open questions about who has the biggest piece to help children identify who has the most to share. As a result, children build social skills; they ask for what they need and also learn skills in respecting and cooperating with their friends.

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provision

Staff have a suitable understanding of their responsibilities in safeguarding children. The suitability of all staff is checked when they are recruited and they attend specific training in child protection. Detailed policies and procedures guide their actions should they have concerns about the welfare of a child. All staff know to report to the designated safeguarding manager. The leaders and managers know the safety requirements and take appropriate action to ensure they are met. The building is secure and staff carry out daily safety checks and take action to minimise any hazards they identify. Renovation work is currently taking place and the management team has failed to consider the impact of changes to space, premises and staff deployment on all children, which means that some children's emotional well-being is compromised.

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provision

The nursery is part of a large chain and as such has a senior management team, working in conjunction with the manager to supervise and monitor the work of the nursery. They set action plans and carry out audits. However, they have failed to identify that certain requirements were not being met over time, and have not followed through on action plans to ensure improvement. For example, requirements regarding the supervision of staff and the partnerships with parents are not met. Actions and recommendations raised at previous inspections, or as a result of concerns raised, have not been completed. This means that the provider fails to promote continuous improvement. Staff have opportunities to attend training and develop their qualifications but lack the consistent support of their managers to build their professional skills.

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provision

The nursery management team has a suitable understanding of how to support children's learning and development. They have put in place the resources to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, and created a system for using learning journals to record children's developmental progress. Parents appreciate the care that their children receive, and generally know who their child's key person is. However, the nursery does not hold regular parents' evenings or provide sufficient opportunities for parents to see learning journals. This is also the case where children are on individual education programmes for their special educational needs. Little attempt is made to foster partnership working with parents to support the particular needs of these children. The nursery staff work appropriately in partnership with other agencies to seek support for children with additional needs but this is not always with the full knowledge of parents. The nursery's

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provision

work with speech and language therapists and children's services helps to give children consistent, coherent care. They have also established relationships with the schools children will move onto and this helps to provide suitable support for children in their transition to school.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met

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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 EY349182 Local authority Merton Inspection number 888179

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 56 Number of children on roll 67 Name of provider Busy Bees Day Nurseries Limited Date of previous inspection 26/07/2011 Telephone number 020 8540 8090

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Type of provision

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.

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Type of provision

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 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,

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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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