Busy Bees Day Nursery at Maidstone Allington

Allington Day Nursery (Kinder Groups Ltd) Ash Grove, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 0AB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/04/2013 03/09/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 The staff team develops warm and supportive relationships with children and their families, which give children a strong sense of belonging.  Babies are cared for by a caring team, who cater for their needs and focus well on their early development.  Children are well behaved, self-assured and make steady progress in their learning and development.

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It is not yet good because

 Systems for the supervision of staff are not fully effective in identifying inconsistencies in staff practice.  Staff do not ensure that all parents are consistently involved in their children's learning and development.  Staff do not promote mathematical development in the outdoor area sufficiently.

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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 completed two joint observations with the manager of the provision.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of views of parents spoken to during the inspection and parents' responses in questionnaires.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in all playrooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager of the nursery and area managers.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a variety of documents including records of children's progress, policies and staffing records.

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Information about the setting

Allington Day Nursery is one of ten nurseries run by Kinder Group Ltd. It opened in 1997 and operates from four rooms in a purpose-built building on a school site. It is located in Allington on the outskirts of Maidstone. It is registered on the Early Years Register and on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm all year round, except public holidays. The provision also offers before and after school care, which uses a room and other space in the school building. Children from the nursery share access to a secure outdoor play area and the school grounds are also available for use. The nursery provision currently has 83 children on roll in the early years age range. The out of school provision currently has 70 children on roll, 16 of whom are in the early years age range. The nursery currently supports children who speak English as an additional language and children who have special

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Information about the setting

educational needs and/or disabilities. A total of 21 staff work in the nursery and the out of school provision, of whom, 17 hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children age two, three and four years.

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must:

 improve the arrangements for the supervision of staff in order to ensure staff practices are consistent, for example, to ensure that all practitioners consistently give children more time to talk and think through their response to open-ended questions and statements to express their ideas and understanding

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must:

 ensure all staff involve parents in their children's learning and development by involving them in the initial assessments of children's starting points on entry, actively encouraging them to share information about children's achievements at home and keeping them consistently informed about their children's progress.

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

 develop more opportunities for children to learn about numbers by providing a range of mathematical resources in the outdoor area and displaying numbers for children to use in their play.

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who attend

Children make satisfactory progress in the learning in this bright and welcoming nursery. Staff observe them at play, record their achievements and plan for their next steps for learning. However, staff do not effectively engage parents to find out their children's starting points so that they can build on what children already know and can do from the earliest opportunity. Also all parents are not actively encouraged to be involved in their children's learning. Systems are in place to add parents' contributions to their children's progress records but not all staff implement these. Therefore staff do not always have a clear picture of where children are in their learning and this impacts on their ability to plan fully effectively for children's individual learning and development.

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who attend

Staff working with babies have a good approach to supporting their language and communication skills. They are in tune to babies' gestures and respond enthusiastically when young babies babble and talk. This encourages babies to communicate their needs as they know that staff understand them well and will respond to them. For example, a baby points to the window and staff ask him if he would like to play outside. He smiles and nods and they ask him what he will need to play outside. He responds by saying "coat". Staff praise him and extend his communication further by saying "yes you need your coat, well done". Staff working with toddlers show an enthusiasm for what they have to say and hold interesting conversations, which help children to share their thoughts and ideas and recall what they have learnt during the day. For example, while eating apples at snack time they discuss how apples "grow on trees" and staff ask toddlers what they did

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who attend

in the garden earlier in the day. Toddlers respond by talking about the flowers they planted and how they need water to grow. Staff working with older children ask them open questions such as "how" and "why" to encourage them to share their ideas and thoughts. However, staff often interrupt children and discuss their own ideas, rather than giving children time to respond. Consequently, children sometimes lose interest in the discussions, which means that staff miss opportunities to extend children's learning.

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who attend

Children enjoy stimulating activities in the outdoor area such as investigating in the 'bug box' and exploring natural resources in the forest area. They learn about the natural world as they plant and grow flowers and vegetables and enjoy sitting in the designated 'chatter house' for quiet discussions. Children enjoy using the large writing boards to make marks and painting with water and brushes. They enjoy listening to stories outside and look through books in the cosy book areas with the nursery. Staff display many signs around the indoor and outdoor area to teach children that words carry meaning. Children show visitors plant identity labels and explain that the words written on them show what is growing under the ground. These positive learning experiences help children to develop skills to prepare them for starting school. However, staff do not provide resources to support mathematics in the outdoor area or display numbers for children to refer to in

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who attend

their play. This oversight means that staff do not provide opportunities across all areas of development for children who learn best outdoors.

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

Each child is allocated a key person who helps them to settle. Parents comment on how they appreciate the caring approach of the staff team in helping children to settle in and supporting parents through the settling in process.

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

Babies have clearly formed strong attachments to staff as they hold their arms up for cuddles, gurgle and babble as they explore and play in the well resourced baby room. Staff have a good approach to supporting their personal, social and emotional development. When babies are upset, staff calmly talk to them, acknowledge that they feel sad and offer a reassuring cuddle. Babies soon feel reassured and settled.

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

Staff provide resources at low levels so that babies can crawl and help themselves to what they want to play with. Staff support their physical development by praising them as they begin to walk and arrange the resources so that they can safely develop their skills, cruising around furniture and exploring the role play toys. Staff are very encouraging as babies attempt to feed themselves. Consequently babies make good progress in their self care skills and independence. Toddlers and older children make good progress in their physical development; they relish playing well organised physical games in the outdoor area using a rich variety of equipment to try their skills in climbing, jumping and balancing.

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

Children communicate with confidence, talking with a great deal of enthusiasm about their activities. Staff introduce children to visitors, which makes them feel secure and safe. They confidently offer to show visitors around the outdoor area and explain what they enjoy playing with. These experiences help children to develop valuable skills for their future lives.

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

Staff support children's well-being and good health throughout the nursery. They ensure that children wash their hands prior to eating and after toileting and explain to children why it is important to 'wash the germs away'. Children enjoy eating tasty snacks, which are prepared fresh each day.

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

Children have a good a sense of safety. They learn how to use the environment safely by taking supervised risks when climbing and exploring outdoors. Staff support them through discussions and clear explanations, such as the importance of holding the banisters as they walk up and down the steps.

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

Children are very well behaved; older ones share and collaborate with each other in their play exceptionally well. For example, they share ideas about what they could play in the forest area and take turns using resources. Staff are good role models to the children. They create an environment which is calm and stimulating. Staff offer a balance of support, while also enabling children to try things out for themselves. This practice is effective in developing children's growing sense of confidence and independence.

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provision

Management have suitable policies and procedures in place to maintain a safe and secure environment. The registered provider has a suitable understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is because they access regular training and keep up to date with changes in the welfare requirements. Staff check the premises regularly to check that they are clean and safe and know the procedures to follow should they have any concerns about the protection of a child in their care. This is because they attend training and regular meetings relating to child protection.

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provision

Overall, the management team has a sufficient understanding of the learning and development requirements. Management review staff planning and assessment records regularly to make sure that children progress towards the learning goals and identify any gaps in their learning. However, they have overlooked inconsistencies relating to how parents are involved in their children's learning journeys and planning for mathematics in the outdoor area.

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provision

Management have clear recruitment and induction procedures in place, which ensure that the policies and procedures are known by all who work with the children. The manager supervises the staff team and carries out regular staff observations, meetings and appraisals. However, these systems do not identify some inconsistencies in staff practices, such as giving children time and opportunity to reply to questions.

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provision

The management team is reflective and evaluates the provision to identify aspects they could improve. They have responded to all previous recommendations and made many improvements, such as improving the outdoor area and providing extra support for families and children who are learning English as an additional language. These improvements result in positive outcomes for children's learning and progress.

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provision

Parents comment on how fond their children are of their key person and how they find staff to be caring. Parents complete questionnaires to share their views on the provision.

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provision

The staff team works well in partnership with other providers and agencies. They seek additional support for children when needed and arrange visits to and from local primary schools to support children when they transfer to school. These positive partnerships support continuity in children's care and learning.

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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 126970 Local authority Kent Inspection number 842842 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 71 Number of children on roll 153 Name of provider Kinder Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 03/09/2009 Telephone number 01622 756667

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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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