Bright Horizons Shortlands Day Nursery and Preschool

Little Stars Little Stars Children's Nursery, 84 Martins Road, Shortlands, BR2 0EF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/03/2013 05/10/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Children enjoy strong relationships with staff at the nursery. Therefore, they are happy and keen to learn and rapidly grow in self-assurance.  Leadership and management of the setting is strong. There are consistent practices in place to monitor practice and help children to progress well.  An extensive range of interesting, stimulating activities, indoors and outside enables children to choose where they wish to play and encourages their decision-making skills.  All children are very confident in communicating with the staff and each other. As a result children's vocabulary is developing in line with, or exceeding, the developmental milestones for their ages and stages of development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 staff currently are not consistent in teaching the younger children to wipe their noses and making sure all children wash their hands before food is served. This means that at times, children do not have opportunities to develop their self-care skills.  staff do not yet know key words in all of the children's home languages, which means not all children are fully support in learning English as an additional language.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled 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

 The inspector observed children's play and staff interaction inside and outside the setting.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked with staff, the manager, deputy manager and the area manager during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the room leader from the baby room.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined documentation including a sample of children's records, developmental plans and self-evaluation.

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Information about the setting

Little Stars Nursery, was first registered in 1996. It was previously known as Saplings Nursery, and then Casterbridge Nurseries Limited took over the running of the nursery. Little Stars Nursery is now one of 162 nurseries run by Bright Horizons. The nursery is housed in a converted chapel situated in a residential area of the London Borough of Bromley. It is made up of five main play rooms, a kitchen, office and staff room. There are two enclosed outdoor play areas. The group serves a wide area of the community and is within walking distance from the main line station, local transport links, shops, schools and parks.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens each weekday throughout the year from 7.30am until 6.30pm, closing for one week at Christmas. There are currently 102 children aged from three months to five years on roll. The nursery receives funding to provide free nursery education. Children attend a variety of sessions throughout the week. The nursery currently supports children who are learning English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 23 staff members who directly care for the children. The majority hold a relevant childcare qualification equivalent to a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at level 2 or 3. All room leaders hold level 3 qualifications in childcare. The group employs a qualified cook.

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

 strengthen routines to help children learn to look after themselves, for example, by teaching them to wipe their own noses and wash their hands before eating

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

 work with parents to support children's home languages by learning key words to support their vocabulary and displaying these around the children's rooms.

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who attend

Children are happy and settled in the care of the staff. They have secure bonds with the staff, which builds their self esteem and their confidence. Children enjoy snuggling up to staff for cuddles, reassurance and support. Staff effectively uses nursery rhymes, explanations and praise to help develop children's communication and language skills. The support of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities enables them to progress with their learning and development. Staff work closely with both parents and other agencies to set children realistic targets to achieve, which helps them to make as much progress as they can.

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who attend

Staff use systems for planning effectively and help children to progress well with their learning and development. They use the children's next steps in learning, their interests and views from the parents to plan meaningful activities. Staff encourage parents to share what the children have been doing at home to support and enhance their learning further. This makes sure parents are an integral part of their children's learning from the start. Planning is carried out on a monthly basis and staff add the children's interests to make activities fun and enjoyable for the children.

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who attend

Staff track the children's progress using appropriate guidance, which helps them to identify any children who may require additional support in their learning. Staff share detailed progress reports and the required progress checks for children aged two years with parents so they can see the progress they have made. Given the children's starting points they are making good progress and gaining the skills they will need for their future learning.

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who attend

Children enjoy learning about different festivals and celebrations from around the world. This is teaching children about equality and diversity. Although staff are aware of some languages that children speak at home, they do not fully support children through using key words in their home languages. This means they do not consistently enhance some children's learning of English.

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who attend

Staff take children's interests in books and suggest activities to help them retell the story. For example, children enjoy building a bridge and pretending to be goats crossing over it. Children work well together to use the large wooden blocks to make a large bridge. Staff talk to the children about it and discuss where else they would find bridges. Child respond as they describe familiar bridges, which leads to a detailed conversation. This allows children to recall past events and enhances their vocabulary well.

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who attend

Babies enjoy exploring treasure basket activities with staff very close by to support their learning and development. Staff support children well with new emerging skills such as crawling. Staff make sure floors are kept clear to allow children to practise this new skill.

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

Children learn about keeping safe through the staff's effective support. For example, they teach them about tripping hazards, make sure small items are kept out of reach of younger children and enable them to participate in regular fire drills. This helps children to understand what to do in an event of an emergency. The effective use of the safety mascot in the nursery shows children where hazards are and how to prevent them. This further enhances their safety and well being effectively. Staff work with the parents and children to settle them into the nursery. They familiarise themselves with children's interests and use these to settle children in. Staff work with the children to prepare them for school. They teach children how to dress and undress and the routines they will have when they start school, which helps to prepare them well for this transition. Parents also have an application they can use from the nursery on their

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

phone to work alongside staff to support the transition to school. This enhances the strong partnerships with parents and further promotes children's well-being.

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

Older children enjoy the independence of being helpers at mealtimes. They set the tables and support the staff with the meal time routines. Children enjoy taking responsibilities in serving their own meals and pouring their drinks. All mealtimes are social occasions were children sit and talk about play and what they have been doing at home with the staff. For the younger children staff sit with them and support their emerging independence skills.

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

Staff are beginning to teach children about healthy lifestyles, for example, through growing their own fruit and vegetables. This enhances children's knowledge of healthy lifestyles. Children have daily opportunities for exercise in their garden areas, which promotes their physical development well. However, staff do not consistently help younger children to identify when they need to wipe their noses and how to do it themselves or wash their hands before meals. This reduces opportunities for children to learn about the importance of good hygiene and self-care.

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

Staff use resources well to promote all areas of learning. The resources are all stored so any age children can freely choose the resources in their room to further enhance their learning and development. This also promotes the children's independence skills. All staff are consistent in their approach to behaviour management. They take time to talk to children about the importance of sharing and working together. Staff use terms such as 'kind hands' to explain the importance of children being kind to each other. Given the children's ages and stages of development they behave well.

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provision

The senior staff are fully aware of meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements. Staff have a secure knowledge of safeguarding children and child protection procedures. They know how to report any concerns about a child in their care to promote children's welfare. Detailed risk assessments are in place to enable children to play in a safe learning environment. Robust recruitment procedures are in place to check the suitability of staff working with the children. Staff attend regular training to enhance practice and promote children's learning and welfare. Staff are fully aware of their responsibilities for dealing with accidents and incidents. They take all the necessary steps to ensure they give appropriate treatment, inform parents and the relevant authorities to promote children's welfare. Senior staff carry out full reviews of accidents and make any necessary changes to maximise good

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provision

practice and promote children's safety during play. Staff plan and provide a good range of experiences for children in all areas of learning and they monitor their progress well. As a result, children make good progress in their learning. The provider's self-evaluation process is strong. Staff involve the parents by gathering their views on the service they provide. They also assess the activities to make sure they are meeting the children's individual needs. The provider also uses a development plan to set achievable targets to promote the development of the nursery and staff. Staff attend various training events to enhance their practice and effective outcomes for children. They evaluate the planning to make sure it meets the learning and development needs of the children that attend.

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provision

Staff work closely with the parents and they regular share information with them about the progress their children are making. Staff provide daily feedback and work with them if they have any concerns about their children's development. Staff also work closely with other agencies that are involved in the children's care. This provides continuity of care and learning for the children.

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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 action. 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 EY332042 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 908572 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 74 Number of children on roll 102 Name of provider Casterbridge Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 05/10/2009 Telephone number 0208 4640965

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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, which are usually the childminder’s 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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