Bright Sparks Day Nursery

Bright Sparks Day Nursery 31 Hurst Road, HINCKLEY, Leicestershire, LE10 1AB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/10/2012 31/10/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 3 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

 Safeguarding procedures are not robust and policies are not followed by staff.  Staff do not understand the requirements of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage and, as a result, poor practice is evident in all of the rooms.  Staff do not understand the importance of delivering the prime areas of learning to young children. As a result, staff plan inappropriate activities that do not match children's stage of development, and children are unable to make as much progress as they should.  There is ineffective monitoring of staff and practice because self-evaluation and performance management systems are weak.  There is a lack of effective planning for organising activities, resources and the learning environment.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff work hard to form effective relationships with parents. They liaise with all parents on a daily basis and hold regular events that enable parents to feel part of the nursery.  Children are spoken to in a warm and caring manner and generally behave well.

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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 voluntary and compulsory parts 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 carried out two joint observations with the operations manager.  The inspector observed the sleep-time routine in the baby room.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the children's learning journals, planning documentation, the self-evaluation form, a selection of policies and children's records.  The inspector took account of two parents views on the day.  The inspector observed breakfast, snack time and lunchtime.  The inspector observed outdoor play before and after lunch.

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Information about the setting

Bright Sparks Day Nursery opened in 1995. It operates from a converted, detached house on a residential road near the centre of Hinckley in south-west Leicestershire. It is privately run by joint proprietors, who own two other nurseries in Leicestershire. Children are based in four playrooms on the ground and lower ground floor. Children have access to a secure outdoor play area. Children attend from the local and surrounding areas. The setting is open from 8am to 5.30pm from Monday to Friday throughout the year.

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Information about the setting

The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary part of the Childcare Register. Currently, there are 31 children on roll of whom 24 are in the early years age group. The setting provides free early years education funding for children aged three- and four-years-old.

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Information about the setting

There are five staff employed to work with the children, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. Of these, two hold a qualification at level 5, two are qualified to level 3 and one holds a level 2 qualification. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure children are cared for by adults suitable to do so by implementing effective systems of checks, including obtaining an enhanced criminal records disclosure for every person aged 16 and over who works directly with children or who works on the premises on which the childcare is provided; ensure no person whose suitability has not been checked has unsupervised contact with the children  improve the planning of challenging and enjoyable learning experiences across the seven areas of learning and development by taking into account the individual needs, interests and stage of development of each child  improve the provision for the youngest children by focusing strongly on the prime areas of learning, which form the basis for successful learning in the four specific areas  ensure high quality learning experiences for all children by identifying and addressing the training and development needs of all staff

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must:

 develop the educational programme by effectively planning the use of resources and the learning environment to reflect and support children's individual learning needs  improve the provision of planned, purposeful play by identifying and addressing the training and development needs of all staff.

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

 implement rigorous and effective systems for self-evaluation to inform priorities and set challenging targets for improvement.

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who attend

The nursery practitioners have a poor knowledge of the seven areas of learning and development. They do not fully understand the importance of the prime areas of learning for young children's development, and as a result, children are not making as much progress as they could. For example, staff often use abbreviated terms instead of the correct names of things, and this impacts on young children's ability to develop their vocabulary. There is an overall lack of careful planning and monitoring in the nursery, particularly in relation to resources and the layout of rooms, and this also has a direct impact on how children learn. For example, on the day of the inspection, there were few resources to support children's creative development and their understanding of the world in the pre-school room. Although, some equipment was available outside to allow children to play with water and paint, opportunities for children to use their senses and explore

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who attend

different materials when indoors were limited.

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who attend

Staff are not secure in their knowledge of how to carefully plan activities to provide challenging and enjoyable experiences that build on what children already know, while helping them to learn more. For example, children lost interest in a music activity because it was not well organised and they did not fully understand what they needed to do. Each child has their own 'learning journey', in which staff record the observations they make as children play. However, they are not consistently maintained or used effectively to help staff identify and plan for children's next steps.

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who attend

Some aspects of children's learning are sound. For example, a welcome song helps children to learn the names of the other children attending each day and to express how they are feeling. Circle time encourages children to sit and listen to what others have to say and helps to build knowledge about speaking in turn. Pre-school children are beginning to recognise the letters in their own name, and they enjoy dancing to music. Staff are caring, and babies and toddlers respond well to their key person. The children are spoken to in a warm manner and are often praised for what they do. The nursery is yet to implement the progress check for two-year-olds, although staff are aware of it and are currently trialling a suitable system.

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

Children generally feel secure at the nursery. Each child has their own key person who tries to establish close relationships. For example, babies are given reassuring cuddles to encourage them to sleep. Toddlers are spoken to in a warm and caring manner and children generally behave well. However, many staff lack a secure knowledge of legal requirements and some care practices vary in quality. As a result, the well-being and welfare of children is affected by inconsistent practice and poor monitoring. Staffing arrangements are not always carefully planned to allow children to choose if they want to play indoors or out. Children either all play inside or all go outside together, even when there are sufficient staff to allow children to do either. This restricts children's choice of resources and activities, prevents them from moving freely from the inside to the outside, and curtails opportunities for fresh air and exercise. The outside environment is full of

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

exciting play equipment, particularly for the older children; however, the lack of effective planning does not help children to make the most of this.

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

The nursery aims to give children healthy meals, although the menu does not always match the food that is served, and staff do not make the most of meal times to help children talk about what foods are good for them. An anti-bacterial gel is used by both staff and children to keep hands clean, and children wash hands before snack and lunchtime. Accidents and children's medication needs are suitably handled and recorded appropriately.

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

There are some effective links with parents, who are invited into the nursery once a year to talk about their children's progress during a parents' evening. They are kept informed through a home record book and daily care sheets, which record children's sleep, food and nappy changes. Occasionally, parents are also invited to special events such as coffee mornings and sports days. There is some positive work done to prepare children for moving on to school. For example, the teacher from the local school visits the nursery to talk to the children who will be moving on to school's reception class, and pre-school children make a trip to the school to have their photograph taken outside.

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provision

Leadership is not effective in ensuring that the requirements of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage are met. Arrangements for safeguarding children are not robust, and ineffective monitoring results in poor quality practice that impacts on children's safety and well-being, as well as their learning and development. Systems for safeguarding children through appropriate vetting systems are not effective. As a result, staff have been allowed unsupervised contact with the children before a criminal records disclosure has been obtained for them. This places children at risk and is a breach of a safeguarding and welfare requirement. Appropriate vetting procedures are in place but have not been followed through in practice. Other aspects of children's safety have been suitably addressed through the use of risk assessments and regular fire evacuation drills.

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provision

Children do not progress as well as they should. There is too little understanding of the learning and development requirements, particularly in relation to the younger children, resulting in poor monitoring of children's progress and ineffective planning and poor organisation of activities and resources. As a result, children do not always benefit from challenging learning experiences that are based on their developmental needs and interests.

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provision

Performance management systems are not sufficiently developed to ensure that all adults working with children fully understand current regulations and requirements and that practice is monitored for quality and consistency. Self-evaluation is ineffective and has too little impact on tackling weak areas of practice. Staff are not involved in the evaluation process and so are unaware of what needs to improve, and they do not benefit from regular opportunities for targeted support to help them improve their knowledge and practice.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 implement effective systems to ensure that any person caring for or having regular contact with children is suitable to work with them, including obtaining an enhanced criminal records disclosure (Both parts of the Childcare Register).  take action as specified in the Compulsory Part of the Childcare register.

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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 223198 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 818232

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 31 Name of provider Ashok Kumar Shinh and Kiran Gian Shinh Date of previous inspection 31/10/2011 Telephone number 01455 234266

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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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