The Brambles

The Brambles Singleborough, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK17 0RF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/02/2013 28/05/2009

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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 provide interesting and challenging experiences that meets the needs of all children. The vast majority of activities are based on staff's secure knowledge of how to promote learning and development of young children.  Staff assess children's skills and knowledge and they accurately plan and support children's learning and development. This enables children make good or better progress in consideration to their expected stage of development.  All children in the nursery benefit from the effective use of the outdoor play space, which allows every child to play outside each day.  Staff use the key person system to engage all parents. Parents contribute to children's assessments from the start and there staff keep them informed about their children's progress.  Staff give a high priority to the safety of children. Children's behaviour shows that they feel safe in the nursery.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Some care routines are inflexible; there are times when staff disrupt children's concentration unnecessarily to carry out routine tasks, such as to change nappies.  Staff have not yet fully developed opportunities for children to see and use resources that reflect diversity including people with disabilities

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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 observed children's activities in every area of the nursery including activities in and outdoor for all groups.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector tracked children in all groups in of the nursery and spoke to their key person and parents.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the nursery manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed suitability information, staff deployment and checked qualifications with the manager and staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, discussed self-evaluation and improvement and improvement plans with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Brambles Nursery was registered in 2002. It operates in a converted house near the village of Singleborough, outside Buckingham, Buckinghamshire. A private company manages the nursery. The provision is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The premises are compromised of nine rooms for children's use, including a sleep room and nappy changing, washing and toilet facilities. There are also a kitchen, office and staff room as well as a securely fenced outdoor play provision at the rear of the premises. The nursery is registered for 37 children, currently there are 57 children on roll. All of the children are in the early years age group. The nursery supports children with special educational needs/ and or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language. The nursery is opens 51 weeks of the year, Monday to Friday, 7.45am to 6pm. The nursery employs 13 staff.

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Information about the setting

The nursery owner who is the deputy manager holds Qualified Teacher Status. The manager with the responsibility for the day to day of the nursery is qualified to holds a level three qualification in childcare and education and in management. All staff who work directly with the children hold level 3 qualifications in childcare and education. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four.

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

 extend children's awareness of people and communities by providing more positive images of others with diverse physical characteristics, including disabilities. For example, provide books, dolls and other toys that all children can see and use independently.

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

 make sure that all staff are able to manage children's care routines in flexible ways, so that they do not disrupt children unnecessarily, when they are deeply involved in activities

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who attend

The nursery provides a vibrant atmosphere where children make good or better progress in their learning and development. Staff plan and deliver good quality play and learning experiences for children across all areas. Staff use the outdoor play area effectively to enable all children to benefit from using it across the seasons. Staff promote children's physical development using the good range of resources outdoors. In addition children learn from staff about health, self-care and how to manage tasks that are within their capabilities. For example, children are able to dress themselves in the right clothing and footwear, before they play outside on a very cold day. Children enjoy outdoor experiences that cover many areas of learning. For instance, they learn to share and take turns, they develop friendships with others, they make marks in the soil with sticks and show early writing skills. Children use large-scale construction toys and puzzles as they play outside to

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who attend

support their physical skills. Staff support children well outdoors. They pay them individual attention, ask questions and hold conversations to support them to use the good outdoor equipment in a range of ways.

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who attend

Staff use interesting topics, such as, 'People who help us' to provide children with many opportunities to gain in-depth knowledge. Staff use a range of play opportunities to support and extend children's learning. These clearly show that staff understand how young children learn. For example, children in the preschool group move between role- playing a hospital, police, and the emergency rescue service as they explore the theme.

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who attend

Children develop their communication and language skills according to their expected developmental stages. Staff take opportunities to talk one-to-one with children as they carry out tasks such as changing nappies. They sit with the youngest children and engage them in activities that enable them to respond to different sounds. Children are able to use technology throughout the nursery. For example, babies explore visually stimulating and resources in the baby room, as well as toys that make a sound or light up when when they press buttons and explore them. Staff use technology that is appropriate to the skills of each age group. For example, children in the preschool group show increasing control as they make use of the computer and some children play educational games with words of three letters with staff support.

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who attend

Across the nursery children show that, they are actively learning, eager and interested. However, staff do not always realise when it is best to allow children to carry out their activities uninterrupted. When they distract children for routine tasks, such as routine nappy changing, they break children's concentration and interrupt their exploration. Nevertheless, overall staff support children very well to develop and maintain skills that they need to promote their learning now, and in readiness for school.

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

The consistent staff team means that most children in the nursery are very familiar with all of the staff. Across the nursery children are developing secure emotional attachments with staff. Children benefit from warm interactions with staff. For example when very young children are unsettled staff can identify what children need to feel better. Staff share this information with each other so that they are all aware of children's needs. They use children's personal comforters and follow their individual routines, referring closely to guidance from parents to settle children. Staff use kind words and gentle actions to calm and comfort children. This helps children to settle and feel reassured and to be confident in the nursery.

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

Key persons gather clear information about the knowledge, skills and expected developmental stage for individual children. They record this information and use it to plan activities in the nursery. This enables them to adapt activities for individuals and groups of children. As a result children experience challenges that respond to their learning styles. This helps staff to identify and address any gaps in children's learning and development. Children are motivated to learn because they are engaged in interesting and fun activities that challenge them well, now and for the future.

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

The key person system is well established and staff work efficiently as team. For example, staff going on holiday know the arrangements that are in place to meet the needs of their key children. This joined up approach to staff management ensures that there is always a very familiar adult to work directly with each group of children in the nursery. Staff use good and consistent planning for individual children. This means that if staff have to move in the nursery, other staff are able to follow children's next steps through. The nursery works closely with parents and other professionals to meet the needs of children with special educational needs/and or disabilities. Staff use effective systems to make on going assessments, set targets and review these children continuously. Staff are able to make appropriate interventions so that these children keep moving forward at a good pace in their learning and development. The nursery welcomes children who speak English as an

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

additional language. Staff use very good strategies to make these children feel valued and welcomed. These include welcome signs in different scripts, communication systems using pictures and knowledge of children's key words in their home language.

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

Overall children have free access to a wide range of good quality resources that support their learning styles and meet their development needs. Children play with some resources that reflect cultural diversity. However, there are fewer resources that represent people with disabilities, for children to see and use in their daily play. This means that children do not have many opportunities to learn that people with disabilities have equal status as others in society.

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

Children develop a particularly good understanding of healthy lifestyles as staff use consistent routines that support their health. Staff teach children to make healthy choices about what they eat and why they wash their hands after using the toilet. Staff support children very well to move from nappies to using the toilet independently. This helps children to take control of an essential part of their personal care. As a result of these good hygiene practices children are learning to stay healthy and to limit the spread of germs between themselves and others. The safe physical environment enables children to understand how to keep themselves safe. In addition, children are confident and independent as they safely make effective use of the nursery's resources.

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provision

The leadership and management team are strong and effective and they run the nursery efficiently. They oversee activities that provide all the children with a broad range of learning experiences. The staff support children very well to make good or better progress from their starting points. Overall, staff have a good, secure understanding of the areas of learning and how children learn. Staff ensure that planning and monitoring of children's learning and development are based on accurate information about children's skills, knowledge and abilities. Staff have completed some progress reports of children aged two years. They have worked closely with these parents to complete these assessments. Effective partnerships with parents ensure that these reports accurately reflect children's progress to enable secure planning for future learning. Staff provide all parents with good quality information about their children's learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

Recruitment procedures effectively support full vetting of all staff. Staff follow effective procedures to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, staff have a good knowledge of different aspects of the safeguarding policies. They know the designated safeguarding officer in the nursery. They are able to report any concerns to enable her to deal with concerns about children's well- being in accordance with the policy. Staff follow procedures that are in place to promote children's good health. For example they know which foods must not be reheated and why. The nursery safeguards children and promotes their welfare very well. Staff follow clear policies and procedures that they all understand and implement consistently to protect children in their care.

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provision

The nursery uses thorough self-evaluation that takes account of the views of staff, children and their parents. For example, there are many opportunities for parents to influence practice in the nursery as they are fully consulted during the settling-in period. They are continually involved in arrangements that support children's specific needs. Children contribute to evaluations as staff note their interests and include these in activity plans. The nursery is continually striving for improvements. For example the nursery plans to further enhance relationships with parents. They have invited fathers to have breakfast with their children in the nursery one morning in the coming month.

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provision

There are well-established, effective systems in place to support the ongoing professional development of staff. Clear communication between leaders and staff, and ongoing self- assessments help staff improve and update their knowledge, understanding and practice. Staff who work directly with the children are well qualified and performance management systems are strong. These support staff very well to maintain good outcomes for children and comply with all requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage The nursery meets the requirements for the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register fully.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary 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 EY239478 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 847012

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 37 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider The Brambles Day Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 28/05/2009 Telephone number 01296 715955

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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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