Busy Bees Day Nursery at Gillingham

Just Learning Nursery Beechings Way, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6AD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/03/2013 03/08/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children have use of a range of resources that are organised well to allow space for them to move around freely.  Children settle in well, with a familiar key person, promoting their feeling of security and being safe.  Partnerships between parents is promoted well, with parents being invited to contribute to their child's assessment records to promote their child's learning and development.  All children have regular access to outdoor play, which encourages their physical development and benefits their health.

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It is not yet good because

 The processes for observation and assessment are fairly new and are not embedded into daily practice to provide secure information on children's level of development.  Communication and language development is an area that is not fully promoted throughout the nursery, especially with the youngest children.  Labels, words, numbers and posters are minimal in each of the rooms, restricting opportunities for children to develop their literacy and numeracy skills.

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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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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 spent the majority of the inspection observing the practitioners and children.  Short joint observations took place with the deputy and the manager.

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Inspection activities

 Documentation was reviewed, including children's learning and development records.

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Inspection activities

 Parents' views were obtained through discussion with them on collection of their children.

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Information about the setting

Just Learning Nursery in Gillingham opened in 2002. It was acquired by the Busy Bees chain in 2012. The nursery operates from 10 rooms in purpose built premises in Gillingham, Kent. The nursery serves the local area and wider borough. The nursery is close to a local bus route and has parking for cars. It is located over one level on the ground floor. The nursery opens from 7 am to 6 pm for five days a week, all-year-round. Children are able to attend full days or for a morning session from 7am to 12.30pm or an afternoon session from 1pm to 6pm.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 81 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for three and four-year-olds. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

A total of 22 staff work with the children, of these, all but five hold an appropriate early years qualification.

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must:

 consider the individual needs and interests of each child and use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience in all of the areas of learning and development

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must:

 improve opportunities to develop young children's communication and language skills by talking to babies and toddlers about what you are doing and what is happening, so they will link words with actions.

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

 create an environment rich in print where children can learn about words, e.g. using names, signs and posters

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

 improve activities and the environment to promote mathematical development, for example, by providing collections of interesting things for children to sort, order, count and label in their play.

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who attend

Children experience a satisfactory range of experiences across the seven areas of learning, although some areas are not always given equal consideration. Practitioners carry out observations of the children, using various methods and use these to identify next steps in children's learning, relating to their interests. This then informs future planning of activities. However, systems are fairly new and as a result are not yet robust to provide secure evidence to promote children's learning in all seven areas. For example, communication and language is not well promoted into the setting, especially with the youngest children For example, practitioners do not always respond to children's babble or provide running commentary on the child's play to support their understanding. As a result, very young children are not fully encouraged to develop their listening, understanding and speech.

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who attend

Physical play is encouraged in all rooms. The outside area is welcoming and equipment provides appropriate challenge for all ages. The non-mobile children have a mat taken outside with a range of toys so that they can also benefit from the fresh air. Toddlers enjoy challenging themselves as they learn to climb on and off equipment or tentatively push trolleys around on the soft play surface. The older children can climb, ride tricycles or enjoy water play.

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who attend

Children are encouraged to use natural materials such as sand and water in all rooms, including messy play such as gloop. The older children enjoy learning about ice, and excitedly try to break the large slabs to retrieve the toys frozen inside. This enables them to develop their understanding of 'melting' as the heat from the room and the children's warm hands gradually melts the ice. Outside children explore their environment, observing the clouds in the sky, listening for the aeroplane or digging in the mud to find treasure.

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who attend

Cosy areas under wooden structures provide good places for children to sit quietly or play dens with their friends. Occasionally children select a favourite book and sit and read, with even the youngest children showing skills with turning the pages. However, print in the environment, labels and posters are few in number. As a result, children are not encouraged to identify or recognise familiar words or letters. Some children use letter names to sound out their name, but are not secure about what sounds letters make, making it difficult for them to sound out familiar words. Children begin to use mathematical language in their play as they ask for more water, or request lots of jam. Other children are able to count their age using their fingers, developing concepts of number. However, resources to fully support children's mathematical skills are limited and the weakness in the planning prevents children developing well in all aspects of numeracy.

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who attend

For example, children are not encouraged to count children at the table, count how many cups they need at snack time, nor do they see signs to inform them how many children can play in an area.

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who attend

Changes to staffing in certain rooms have impacted on how effective the provision is for children. This is due to new key people taking over different groups of children to add an additional staffing structure to the nursery. Adequate processes have been implemented, but these are still being developed and embedded into practice. All children are treated with respect and individual educational plans are put in place for those children with additional needs. Key people are aware of their key children's interests and work with other professionals from outside agencies to meet their needs.

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

The key person system is developing well within the setting, with some children having a strong bond with their key person. Children approach their familiar adult for support or if feeling anxious reflecting their feeling of security and safety. Key people use their knowledge of individual children to inform their practice and planning.

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

Children generally behave well. They have a clear understanding of the rules and boundaries within the setting because practitioners offer gentle reminders. For example, children are supported in taking turns on the rocker or playing in the water. Frequent praise from the practitioners further supports children's understanding of acceptable behaviour and promotes their self-esteem. Children are encouraged to be independent, from learning to feed themselves to pouring their own drinks. As children progress through the nursery, they develop good personal help skills and confidently take themselves to the toilet and wash their hands. This helps to prepare them for school.

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

Children have good opportunities to learn about living a healthy lifestyle as they experience daily fresh air and exercise. This is promoted well in each room, through access to individual enclosed garden areas, with equipment suitable for the age of the children. Children enjoy these daily opportunities to use the varied large play equipment, developing their physical skills. Healthy snacks and meals are offered giving children a good variety of menu options. However, choice at snack time is not always promoted. The menu is displayed for parents on the notice board, which enables them to be informed about what their child is eating throughout the day. Children can have drinks throughout the day, either in feeder cups, drink bottles or individual cups with a jug of water. This teaches them about the importance of drinking regularly for good health. Good hygiene routines for nappy changing promote children's dignity, and measures are put in place to

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

prevent cross infection. Practitioners provide good role models for the children regarding hand washing, supporting children's understanding of personal care routines.

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

Children demonstrate a feeling of security. They move around the nursery, accessing the different resources and have sufficient space to play either on the floor, outside or at the tables. Children approach practitioners for support or reassurance reflecting the good relationships in place. Good measures are in place to promote children's safety such as CCTV, visitor's book and fully enclosed garden area. Each room has a high door handle that prevents young children leaving the room without an adult. Each room has its own staff team, providing continuity of staff for the children and promoting children's well- being. Each room has its own resources that are suitable for the age of the children attending, enabling all children to freely use all available resources. The resources are in good condition, and arranged in the rooms into different areas, supporting children's familiarity with where to find the different equipment and toys. However, some resources

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

are not used effectively in the planning to support children's learning, for example in mathematical development.

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

There are good processes to support children in their moves from nursery to school. Links with local schools are developing well, with teachers coming into the nursery to visit and meet the children coming to their school. Children are encouraged to develop skills necessary for this move, such as toilet training, being able to put on their own coats and shoes and hold a pencil properly. The majority of older children leave the nursery recognising their name, with some children naming letters that make up their name.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward following concerns about safeguarding practice, child supervision, staff deployment, food and drink, accident and injuries, managing behaviour, equal opportunities and complaints. The inspection found that safeguarding procedures and policy are in place and meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Child supervision and staff deployment has undergone several changes and the improvements in place now fully support children's individual needs. Staff have all been re-issued with the 'serving food' policy and changes to how dinners are now served ensure children are protected against further incidents. All accidents and injuries are recorded, and these are monitored on a regular basis by a computer system used by the Busy Bees company. The policy has been re-issued to staff and staff meetings are used to remind staff about the policies and procedures for routine practices.

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provision

All staff have received behaviour management training and support has been put in place to support some staff members to manage children's behaviour effectively and appropriately. Children with additional needs or who are learning English as an additional language are provided with appropriate support, enabling them to feel fully included into the setting. All complaints are logged and a written reply sent to parents, following the correct procedures that meet requirements regarding the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

The manager of the setting works closely with her deputy, senior room leaders and the staff from head office at Busy Bees to implement new policies, procedures and secure systems. Consequently, all practitioners are developing their practice to meet the new requirements to support children's learning and development. Effective procedures are in place to observe children's learning and identify the next steps in their learning. However, these are not fully embedded into practice and as a result, children's progress in their learning and development is satisfactory.

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provision

Positive improvements have been made by Busy Bees to monitor the educational programmes, resources and how well children's needs are being met. These processes involve practitioners recording accurate information about their key children to input into the computer system. The information can then be retrieved to analyse children's individual learning, identify weaknesses in areas of learning and any differences in learning between different groups of children. This is a new system and has yet to produce a set of accurate data for the practitioners to work with to implement focussed improvement.

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provision

Sound procedures are in place to promote safeguarding within the nursery. The manager is the designated person, and attends training every two years to update her knowledge. Each practitioner has in-house training to ensure they understand the procedures to follow should they have any concerns regarding children in their care. Each staff member is given a leaflet with valuable information about safeguarding children, which is supported by the security systems in place. All practitioners have an in-depth induction, in addition to suitability checks, to check their suitability to work with children. The system of regular one-to-one meetings and appraisals continues to confirm staff's suitability, protecting children's well-being. Thorough risk assessments are in place and are supported by daily checklists to provide a safe, secure environment for children to play in.

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provision

Self-evaluation is still being developed, with comments from practitioners and parents informing the content. This process is developing and as a result has not effectively identified all the weaknesses in the provision. However, ongoing training, support from Busy Bees, and the thorough monitoring systems implemented, enable effective continuous improvement.

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provision

Systems to work with outside agencies are developing well. Reports from outside professionals are used to support individual children and information from local schools help staff to support children when they move to school. The sound partnership with parents enables them to be fully involved with their child's learning and to contribute to the assessment process. Daily diary sheets and daily discussion keeps parents informed on a regular basis, in addition to regular parent evening's, promoting children's well-being.

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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 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 EY221307 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 908548 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 112 Number of children on roll 81 Name of provider Just Learning Ltd Date of previous inspection 03/08/2009 Telephone number 01634 379352

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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