Busy Bees Day Nursery at Bicester

Busy Bees Day Nursery at Bicester 1 Barberry Place, Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 3HA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/02/2013 14/05/2012

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Staff interact consistently and effectively with children and this supports them in making good progress in their learning and development.  Children benefit from individualised learning and care which effectively meets their needs.  Children enjoy making choices and playing independently with many interesting resources and activities in the stimulating, accessible learning environment.  Staff robustly join assessment and planning for learning that is securely based on children's next steps and their future challenges.  Strong relationships exist with parents and there are effective ways of seeking their views about their children's care and the sharing of ideas and activities to promote children's learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The development of young children's communication and language is not fully supported by the noise levels in their base room and by using worn equipment such as puzzles whose pictures are worn out.

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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 observed activities in the play rooms and the outside learning environment. She completed a joint observation with the manager of the provision in the room for children aged two years.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision and the company's childcare and curriculum advisor.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and the provider's self-evaluation form. She sampled policies, children's assessment records and planning documentation.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Busy Bees Day Nursery at Bicester registered in 2000. It is one of many nurseries managed by Busy Bees Childcare Limited. The nursery operates from a purpose-designed building over two levels, close to the centre of Bicester in Oxfordshire. Children have access to a secure, outdoor play area. Children attend from the town and surrounding rural area. The nursery opens on weekdays from 7am to 7pm all year round with the exception of public holidays. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 166 children from six months to five years on roll. Staff provide support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Support is also offered to children who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. The nursery employs 25 staff to work directly

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Information about the setting

with children and 18 of these hold appropriate qualifications. There are three staff working toward a qualification and one working towards a further qualification. Operational links are in place with two local children's centres.

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

 enhance young children's listening and speaking skills by keeping background noise to a minimum and making sure resources are good quality to foster conversation, including jigsaws.

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who attend

The nursery staff have a strong impact on children's learning and development so that they each make good, and sometimes very good, progress in relation to their starting points. They strongly focus on the first five weeks' observations so they are well aware of children's initial capabilities. The educational programmes for all seven areas of learning effectively help children to progress towards expected levels of development. Babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers have good support to achieve in their personal, social and emotional development. They enjoy the challenges to develop physically using large and small muscles. In the different spaces achieved through continuous use of indoor and outdoor learning areas, they receive plenty of well focused stimulation. Staff are attentive and, overall, skilfully extend children's speech and language. Babies and children respond eagerly to staff's stimulating conversations about their chosen activities. Effective

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who attend

approaches to teaching children to communicate, use language and to develop early reading and writing skills are having a noticeably good impact on children's learning. As a result, some older children progress on to early reading books and to writing their own words. Two-year-olds are particularly well engaged in suggesting words beginning with the same letter sound. Babies enjoy choosing and looking at books before they take them to staff who give them many new words, such as 'leopard'. As a result, staff effectively help all children to progress well from their starting points.

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who attend

For children learning to speak English as an additional language, staff focus particularly well on their communication and language skills so that they work towards and often achieve expected levels of progress. Staff make consistent use of signing to communicate to support children to share their feelings, ideas and needs. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from good early intervention and multi disciplinary assessment to set individual learning targets. Key staff provide one-to-one focused teaching that is firmly based on these children's individual plans. Pre-schoolers benefit from being well prepared to move onto school. They become confident in organising their time and activities and are keen, confident learners who concentrate well. From an early age, children receive clear support in early literacy and snuggle up to adults to listen to stories. Children engage in a wide range of activities to gain mathematical

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who attend

skills. Those aged under three years old experiment with shapes and explore quantities, for example through sand and water play. Older children confidently use numbers in their conversation and recognise figures up to 10 and beyond. Children have ample opportunities to develop understanding of their environment. They talk about their family members and activities enjoyed at the weekends. They follow eggs hatching into chicks and use magnifying boxes to view insects. Many children are confident to operate computer software, using touch screen technology. Babies receive particularly good support to explore using their senses. They have a wide choice of different media and materials set out, for example in baskets of materials and safe, household objects. Those children over two years old express their varied ideas well through art, design and imaginative play. For example, they negotiate roles to develop absorbing play around a

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who attend

Staff use a consistent programme for planning and assessment throughout the nursery, which is being consolidated to reflect the terminology in the reformed Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Key persons in the toddler room have a good understanding of the required two-year-old progress check and share detailed, positive reports with parents and carers. Staff closely observe their key children, making detailed observations in each area of learning to devise their weekly next steps for learning. They have a good knowledge and understanding of their key children's interests and how to plan to promote the required learning through each child's chosen play. Staff demonstrate great enthusiasm and energy in responding to children's ideas as they engage in their chosen play. For example, they effectively support children painting outdoors and others engrossed in building dens from realistic 'stones'.

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

Babies and children achieve good physical and emotional development. They form strong bonds with their key persons, who are always attentive to their hygiene, food and sleep needs. Staff are skilled and sensitive in helping children form secure emotional attachments. They offer continuous individual encouragement to babies and children. As a result, they provide a strong base for their developing independence and exploration. Children effectively learn about self-control as they play alongside others. They learn how to take turns and cooperate, for example to complete puzzles. Children gain confidence in varied, social situations as different staff engage them in conversation and they visit their younger siblings. They learn to listen carefully to instructions, for example about making their own dough to play with. They respond to robust behaviour management because adults have consistent expectations of them and are good role models.

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

The staff consistently give strong priority to the safety of children and effectively support their growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Children develop a clear understanding of how to manage risks and challenges relative to their age. They move around the spaces calmly and know to wear safety helmets when riding wheeled toys, such as scooters. They use different tools with care and talk about pretend drinks being 'hot'. Overall, the nursery provides a stimulating environment with many, quality, child- accessible resources that staff clearly label. However, in the room for children aged two years, the acoustics make listening more difficult for children. In the same room, some resources are showing signs of wear so that, for example a jigsaw picture is difficult to distinguish and talk about. All staff use the play resources well to promote good learning through effectively challenging children, both in and out of doors. Children decide which

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

play area they wish to use and the activity in which they will engage. This positively enhances children's choices and the development of decision making skills.

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

From a young age, children demonstrate a good understanding about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Adults organise themselves well so children's key persons are always on hand to support their children's care needs, including learning about personal hygiene. Older children know that they wash 'because we get germs and we might be ill.' Children choose whether they play in or out of doors and have spaces in their individual gardens to be active in the fresh air. Babies spend considerable periods being active with staff helping them to develop their walking and rocking skills. Older children enjoy regular visits from a games coach and develop good ball skills. Babies and children eat healthily and progress to serving themselves with certain foods in the quantities they require. Children enjoy being involved in growing food, including potatoes used by kitchen staff or for printing activities.

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provision

The manager has a clear, informed overview of the nursery's work. She and her senior staff team have a strong understanding of their responsibilities in meeting children's learning and development requirements. Throughout the nursery, key persons consistently observe to assess children's progress. They use this particularly effectively to support children through focused individual and small group learning. Good systems are in place for checking children's progress through weekly monitoring by key persons and the manager's checks. The skilful support of the manager and special educational needs coordinator enables key staff to effectively identify and support children who need extra teaching to close gaps in their learning.

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provision

All staff play their part in fulfilling their responsibilities to effectively meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS at all times. Staff implement these requirements consistently across the nursery so that the premises are safe and secure. They create an environment that is safe, welcoming and stimulating. The management checks that staffing ratios meet requirements at all times, including those specifically supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe; most have attended child protection courses and staff awareness is regularly reviewed through in-house training. The manager and her deputy have completed extended training to have a particularly good knowledge and experience of how to respond where there are concerns about a child. The management regularly reviews arrangements for safeguarding, including any incident reports, and has a

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provision

robust knowledge of when to contact the regulator. All staff are suitable to work with children; they are thoroughly vetted before they are allowed to work alongside children and undergo rigorous recruitment and induction procedures. They frequently discuss safe practice in meetings and consistently use this throughout the nursery, for example with regard to keeping small items out of reach of young children.

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provision

The manager and her teams of staff work very well in partnership with parents and carers. Families receive clear information in welcome packs, news letters and through careful explanations, including about the educational programmes. They are particularly well included in liaison with a range of external services to secure effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Parents receive in-depth information about their children's achievements and progress in daily handover conversations, written notes and regular meetings with their children's key persons. They have extensive opportunities to contribute to children's records through sharing about children's achievements at home to enhance the provision at the nursery. Parents are strongly appreciative of the nursery, saying that staff are friendly, professional and engaging teachers of young children who all put themselves across well. Staff are well aware of the

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provision

importance of partnership working with other professionals and early years providers. They liaise very well with a wide variety of agencies supporting children and have good systems to link with other early years settings through discussion and documents to share information about the children.

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provision

Supported by the company, the nursery has strongly developed systems for performance management and staffs' continuous professional development. Staff are well supported through regular meetings that include input on policies, procedures and wider issues. The management employs rigorous and effective systems for self-evaluation that inform the nursery's priorities and are used to set challenging targets for improvement. The nursery places high value on the views of staff, children and of families to improve the provision, for example through the parent partnership group. Management and room staff have effectively implemented the previous recommendation concerning activities to encourage children's awareness of using writing for their own purposes. Well focused improvement plans include enhancing the frequency of supervision meetings for staff and embedding the revised assessment and planning systems.

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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 134308 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 905122 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 108 Number of children on roll 160 Name of provider Busy Bees Day Nurseries (Trading) Limited Date of previous inspection 14/05/2012 Telephone number 01869 321522

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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.

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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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