Busy Bees Day Nursery at Gravesend

Oakfield Children's Day Nursery - Kinder Group Limited Windsor Road, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 5BW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/04/2013 15/01/2010

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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

 The manager and staff work closely together to monitor the effectiveness of the service that they are developing and identify areas for further to improve the outcomes for children.  Children thoroughly enjoy a wide range of experiences that are based on their interests and help them make good progress in relation to their starting points.  Children benefit from good support from staff because of the effective key person system.  Children are happy, settled and eager to play in the stimulating and well resourced setting.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 on occasions staff do not fully enhance opportunities to extend children's critical thinking and problem solving 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 made observations of the children while they were playing inside and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including the safeguarding policy and the behaviour management policy.  The inspector spoke with the manager, staff and children.  The inspector spoke with two parents.  The inspector carried out two joint observations with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Oakfield Children's Day Nursery opened in 2005. It is one of ten privately owned day nurseries run by Kinder Groups Ltd. The nursery operates in a purpose built building in Gravesend, Kent. Children are cared for in six rooms, grouped by age and ability. All of the rooms have access to their own garden area where children can play safely, as well as being able to use a larger garden area. There is a staff room, kitchen and office. In addition, there is a communal room where children enjoy a wide variety of activities. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.00am to 6.30pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery is registered for a maximum of 132 children at any one time and There are currently 283 children in the early years age group on roll. Children aged two, three and four receive funding for early education. The provision is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register.

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Information about the setting

Children mostly come from the local area and the nursery is situated close to motorway links into London. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 43 staff. Of these, 34 staff, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications. Four staff are working towards a foundation degree and five are working towards the next level of qualification.

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

 enhance ways to extend children's thinking skills, helping them to learn from staff members' own curiosity and supporting children to solve puzzles and problems.

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who attend

Children are happy and eager to play in the nursery. They benefit from a wide range of stimulating activities that clearly meet their individual needs and challenge their learning and development well. Staff talk to parents about children's individual needs, their dietary requirements, family background and their current abilities. They record all of the information on a comprehensive registration form. This means they have a good understanding of what children can do and are able to cater for them as individuals when they start. The nursery operates an effective key person system, which means children get to know one person well. In addition, a 'buddy' key person system ensures children form strong attachments with all staff. This means children benefit from good support at all times, such as during staff's annual leave. Key persons undertake observations of the children as they play to assess how they are developing. They use an effective system to

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who attend

track children's progress. Using this information, children's key person plan activities to help them make good progress in relation to their capabilities. Staff carry out a progress check for children between the ages of two and three. This helps them identify children's achievements, learning priorities and seek extra support if they need it. This means children move forward well in their learning and close any gaps in achievement effectively.

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who attend

Teaching methods are generally good. Staff plan and provide an exciting range of activities based on children's individual interests and focus clearly on their next stage of development. Children have very good opportunities to explore a stimulating and interesting environment. They can move freely between inside and out and access a wide range of toys and resources that cover all the areas of learning effectively. Staff use some open questions to help children learn, such as 'what colour...?' and 'how many...?' to challenge them as they play. However, on occasions they do not extend the learning experiences further. For example, staff do not always encourage children to solve problems or investigate a subject by pretending that they do not know the answer themselves. Parents have good opportunities to see their children's development records on a regular basis. There are frequent parent's evenings, when the key person shares

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who attend

details of children's progress with them. Parents contribute to the children's records sharing details of progress children make at home. This means they are effectively involved in their children's learning and development. Children make good progress as a result of these shared learning experiences.

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who attend

Children benefit from a good range of purposeful activities that continually promotes their learning and development. They play in homely rooms where there are plenty of interesting and exciting toys, resources and planned activities for them to enjoy. Children can use a wide range of materials, such as paint, wet and dry sand, pens and pencils to make marks with so they develop early writing skills. They thoroughly enjoy playing outside in all weathers; they wear appropriate clothing and enjoy using umbrellas outside. Children develop strong physical skills as they climb, pedal bikes, kick and chase balls about the garden. This helps children to develop good hand eye coordination and learn how to control their movements. They love to explore different textures, such as rice and pasta, lifting this high in the air and letting it trickle through their fingers, watching with interest how it falls. They shape and mold play dough with their hands and use a range of

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who attend

tools for instance scissors to cut the materials. This means they learn how to use tools for a purpose and gain an understanding of mathematic concepts. Babies benefit from cosy areas where they play with a range of musical toys and natural equipment that help them to make sense of the world around them. They gain a good understanding of how to operate interactive toys as they press buttons to make sounds. This means they begin to understand technology early. Children gain a good range of skills and abilities that ensure they are well prepared for next stage of learning and the move to school.

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

Children's physical and emotional well-being is catered for well. Children are happy, settled in their rooms, and have good relationships with staff. The staff cater for children's individual needs well. They recognise when a child becomes tired and sit and rock them to sleep. Young children are able to have their comforters close by which makes them feel safe and secure. All children demonstrate good relationships with staff as they seek them out to play with and return to them often for reassurance. New children who are settling in get extra support from staff who cuddle them and interest them in different activities. This means they begin to gain confidence to enjoy the experiences on offer.

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

Each room has a good range of toys and resources freely available for children to make choices. The outdoor area is highly stimulating with areas for children to run about, dig, explore the natural world and be active. Children enjoy their food and are able to serve themselves so they learn about portion size. They have access to water and help themselves to a drink when they are thirsty. This means they learn to recognise their own needs. Good risk assessments are carried out and ensure that all areas children play are safe and secure. Staff talk to children about safety rules when they are playing, such as how to use the equipment in the garden safely. They monitor them closely as they use a variety of resources. Children say to staff that scissors are sharp and they must be careful when they are cutting. This demonstrates children's' understanding of safety, showing they are learning to assess risk for themselves.

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

Staff promote children's understanding of healthy practices very well. Children understand that they need to wash their hands before they eat because of germs. Staff are vigilant in reducing the risk of cross-infection as they wipe children's noses and prompt children to dispose of the tissue in the bin. Children's behaviour is managed consistently and effectively. Staff get down to children's level and talk quietly to them about why the behaviour is not acceptable. Staff remind children to say please and thank you and to be kind and polite to each other promoting a culture of respect for everyone. Staff clearly manage behaviour in positive ways and are all clear not to use physical punishments towards children. Staff reinforce good behaviour with lots of praise and encouragement. This makes children feel valued and as a result, they gain strong sense of belonging.

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provision

The leadership and management of the setting are strong and the team demonstrates a commitment to offering a good standard of care. There is a clear focus on the development of the nursery, with the senior management team supporting the manager and staff well. The whole team are involved in the evaluation process through regular staff meetings and individual room evaluations. Staff effectively reflect on their practice to identify priorities for the development of their room and the nursery. Since the last inspection, the nursery has developed the garden significantly. This means children can play outside on a daily basis, develop good physical skills and play in safe and secure environment.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are well established and effective. A wide range of policies and procedures underpin the nursery's good practice. Staff have a secure understanding of these, in particular the safeguarding policy. This is comprehensive and includes examples of signs and symptoms that would indicate a child was at risk. Staff explain clearly what they would do if the were worried about a child. The staff have easy access to the local telephone numbers for children's services and forms for the local authority referral system. This means the designated member of staff for safeguarding may report any concerns promptly.

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provision

The manager and deputy monitor children's assessment records on a regular basis. This ensures they reflect an accurate understanding of children's skills, abilities and progress. Children not making progress as expected benefit from effective liaison between the parents, key person and the local early intervention team. The nursery liaise well with other external agencies to ensure children get good support. There is a robust induction, recruitment and vetting system in place that is successful in ensuring staff are well qualified and effectively checked upon employment. The staff have regular appraisal and supervision with the manager. They work together to set goals and indentify their training needs to enhance their performance. Staff are supervised well and there are effective systems in place to support their ongoing suitability.

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provision

The nursery drives positive relationships with parents by inviting them to discuss their children's development at parent's evenings. Staff establish effective two-way communication, which means parents get good feedback about their child's achievements and their next steps in learning. A regular newsletter includes information about activities and events. Parents report they are well informed of their children's well-being and feel fully included in their children's learning and development.

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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 EY307278 Local authority Kent Inspection number 909495

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 132 Number of children on roll 283 Name of provider Kinder Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 15/01/2010 Telephone number 01474 569700

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Type of provision

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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