Fennies Kings Hall

Fennies @ Kingshall 62 Kings Hall Road, BECKENHAM, Kent, BR3 1LS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/04/2013 16/10/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children have daily use of the safe, welcoming outdoor area to promote their physical skills.  Sound partnerships with parents provide daily opportunities for the key person to share information about the child's day and development.  A balanced menu and healthy snacks enable children to learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

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It is not yet good because

 Some practitioners place more emphasis on the daily routine than the needs of the individual children, resulting in occasions of less effective supervision.  Practitioners do not always provide challenging opportunities for the more able children to extend their learning.  Book areas in the baby room and toddler room have a limited selection of books and fail to provide a cosy area for children to relax and share books in.  The majority of practitioners talk to the children but tend to use questions which require a limited reply, therefore not fully promoting children's understanding and communication 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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the baby room, toddler area, pre-school area and outside, including the interaction and behaviour management of the practitioners and children.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager to discuss leadership and management, including safeguarding procedures.  The inspector sought the views of parents through discussion.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's assessment records.

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Information about the setting

Fennies @ Kingshall is one of a chain of five nurseries run by Fennies Day Nurseries Limited, which registered with Ofsted as a limited company in 2008. It operates from a detached, three storey converted house located on a residential road in Beckenham, within the London Borough of Bromley. The nursery is undergoing refurbishment and is currently using one classroom on the ground floor for the pre-school children and toddlers with a separate classroom at the opposite end of the garden for the babies. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. It is close to local amenities and transport links.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 70 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery employs 17 members of staff, 14 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years.

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must:

 improve the deployment of practitioners to make sure children are well supervised at all times to meet children's individual needs

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must:

 use information from observations to plan more challenging and enjoyable experiences to extend children's learning.

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

 create an attractive and well-resourced book area where children and adults can enjoy books together to support the children's literacy development

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

 promote children's listening and speaking skills through the use of open-ended questions.

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who attend

Children make satisfactory progress in their learning. Practitioners make regular observations of children's learning and use this information to identify next steps to inform future planning. Each key person knows the children's particular interests in their group and their strengths. They use this information appropriately to plan activities to support children's level of development. However, activities for the more able children do not fully provide children with challenging opportunities to extend their learning and development. As a result, some activities do not hold children's interests. Practitioners working with the children aged two to three years show a suitable awareness of the need to complete the two-year progress check and provide a summary assessment for parents to share with the health visitor.

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who attend

Practitioners offer daily opportunities for outdoor play in the new, secure garden. It has a homely feel and is fitted with safety surfacing throughout, enabling children to play in a safe area. Resources such as sit and ride toys, scooters and rockers give children the opportunity to develop their physical skills, while having fun. Babies enjoy the opportunity to crawl on grass or the safety surfacing, promoting their physical skills and independence. Practitioners move around with the children, involving themselves in children's play. They talk to the youngest children encouraging them to feel the different resources such as the sand. Practitioners provide role models and talk to the children about what they are doing; often repeating phrases to support the younger children's vocabulary and communication skills. For example, practitioners fill small containers in the sand and then encourage the children to tip them out and say 'all gone'. Older children enjoy the opportunity of climbing

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who attend

into the sand pit, digging tunnels and filling containers using spades and scoops. Children talk about digging the 'Channel Tunnel' and confidently answer questions about where this tunnel ends in France. Older children follow instructions and show acceptable listening skills as they sit in large groups at story time. Some practitioners do not use effective communication with children to keep them informed about what is happening. For example a member of staff picked up one of the youngest children to sit with the others in preparation for lunch, removing a book from their hands. This caused the child to become a little emotionally insecure, until settled by another practitioner.

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who attend

Children have access to books in all rooms. The pre-school children have a cosy book area in which they have group work and enjoy listening to stories or sharing books. However, the books in the baby room and toddler area are not well kept and have a limited variety. As a result, children rarely choose to look at books independently to develop early literacy skills. Children begin to develop writing skills through mark-making opportunities such as the use of chalks, coloured pencils and paint. The youngest children explore the texture of the paint on different surfaces such as tables, hands and paper. The older children show an understanding that marks carry meaning as they write recipes or draw pictures of their family. They count the people in their family and relate this to their age to develop their mathematical skills. Other children use the small joining bricks to count with, putting them on their fingers to secure 10. They use scales to learn about weight, although many

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who attend

children have yet to develop the concept of heavy and light.

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who attend

The nursery pet gecko is a favourite with the children. They show fascination as they watch him crawling on the flat tray and show a caring approach as they stroke him gently. Children can feed the fish and help to water the plants, gaining an understanding of living things. Opportunities to build and construct are accessible, although practitioners do not extend these for the older children. Children have sufficient opportunities to use their imagination as they play in the role play areas. However, practitioners do not extend this area by providing additional, interesting resources, and consequently, children's attention is limited. Practitioners provide children with art and craft activities and they help to make occasional displays created around the room, enabling children to recognise their pictures.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are developing. Parents keep informed about their child's day through verbal feedback from the key person and a written daily sheet providing care information. The nursery implements a careful settling-in programme to enable children to settle in and begin to build a relationship with their key person. Parents are involved in this transition period, including through the completion of a form detailing their child's individual needs. Each key person regularly shares assessments with the parents at consultation evenings to maintain an on-going dialogue of information throughout the child's time at the nursery. Regular newsletters through an e-mail process provide an efficient method of communication with parents about the nursery.

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

A satisfactory key person approach enables children to build relationships with a familiar adult, to support the big change between home and the nursery. The majority of children are settled and developing sound relationships with their key person. Practitioners offer praise for good work or for attempting new experiences, helping to build children's self- esteem. They award stickers to the toddlers and pre-school children for good listening or good sitting, offering them a visual aid to support understanding. The majority of children behave well, although disputes over sharing and taking turns occur. Practitioners deal with most incidents, although not always offering children explanations about the importance of sharing and how they might solve their disputes. Consequently, some children continue to struggle with this concept.

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

Practitioners are familiar with children's individual needs, but occasionally forget to place children's needs before the daily routine. For example, children are prepared for meal times by being placed in a high chair, when they still need emotional support and comfort through a cuddle from the familiar adult.

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

Children enjoy daily opportunities to experience outdoor play to benefit from exercise and fresh air. They have access to drinks of water throughout the day, with the older children accessing their drinks independently. The practitioners offer the youngest children drinks regularly throughout the day to make sure they have sufficient fluid. Snacks consist of healthy options such as fresh fruit, breadsticks or vegetable batons alongside a healthy menu prepared by the cook. Practitioners implement appropriate hygiene procedures during nappy changing and preparation for meal times. Children are developing their understanding about why it is important to wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating. However, staff do not consistently follow appropriate hygiene routines for nose wiping to reduce risks of cross infection.

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

Children are beginning to learn about keeping themselves safe because the practitioners remind them to take care when using large play equipment outside. Children negotiate space when using the scooters and receive reminders about not throwing the sand in case it goes in someone's eyes. They have the opportunity to stroke the gecko, and are reminded about washing hands to keep themselves safe.

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

Children play with an appropriate range of resources and toys to support all areas of learning. The resources are in a satisfactory condition and suitable for the ages of the children attending. The practitioners in the pre-school room try to create a purposeful learning environment, although at present space is limited due to the room being shared with the toddlers. The babies are using a temporary room at present, which provides lots of natural daylight, conducive to learning and keeping babies active, but calm.

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

Practitioners working with the pre-school children have a sound understanding about preparing children for their move to school. Parents and the key person talk together about the skills and personal development the children need to acquire to support the move. Children are encouraged to put their own coats on, take themselves to the toilet and use pencils with control. Listening skills are encouraged, although practitioners do not always ask open-ended questions to encourage children to think and extend their understanding and language skills. The nursery invites teachers from the local schools to visit to meet the children before they start. As a result, children generally feel more confident and better prepared for their move to school.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward due to a risk assessment process by Ofsted. Concerns had been raised regarding several aspects of care. These included behaviour management, staffing ratios, deployment and interaction, training and skills of practitioners, hygiene practices and learning and development. On some occasions practitioners do not deploy themselves effectively to fully and consistently supervise the children, due to keeping to the routine of the session. For example, practitioners sweep the floor and wipe the tables or fetch items from the kitchen before making sure there are sufficient staff fully supervising the children. Interaction between practitioners and the children is generally acceptable. Behaviour management is adequate with practitioners stopping children during disputes over toys. However, not all practitioners offer an explanation about why some aspects of children's behaviour is not acceptable, to help

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provision

children learn about rules and expectations.

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provision

Safeguarding procedures are satisfactory. All practitioners have attended training and the depth of training depends on the experience of the individual. Acceptable procedures are in place to protect children's safety, including the implementation of the safeguarding policy. All relevant telephone numbers are available and practitioners are confident in the processes to follow if they have concerns about a child's welfare. Management carry out relevant suitability checks and a sufficient induction for all new practitioners. This enables them to make sure the staff are suitable to work with children and fulfil their role and responsibilities. Annual appraisals, together with one-to-one supervision to support performance management help to ensure practitioners remain suitable for their position and are improving their practice.

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provision

The manager is developing a self-evaluation process and is involving practitioners with it to help drive improvement in the quality of their provision. She carries out peer observations and encourages room leaders to oversee the observation and assessment folders to monitor the effectiveness of the provision. Practitioners monitor children's progress at regular intervals throughout the year. From these, they gather information to summarise children's development levels against their age and expected stage of development. This provides a visual picture of any gaps or areas where children are developing less effectively. Parents are given the opportunity to feed back their opinions through bi-annual questionnaires and verbally through daily interaction with the practitioners. A new website is being developed to enable every parent to have further opportunities to interact with the nursery, alongside the developing parents' forum. The

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provision

nursery is going through major changes regarding the premises, to create additional rooms, which will enable each age group to have their own room. The management are dedicated to making improvements to the premises and resources to promote opportunities for the practitioners and children. Support within the company to make continuous improvements and address concerns from previous inspections has enabled the provision to make steady progress.

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provision

The practitioners understand the importance of sharing information with outside agencies and other providers who share the care of the children. They receive reports from specialist services to enable the key person and the nursery special educational needs coordinator to meet the child's individual needs in partnership with the parents. Links with local schools further support changes in children's lives as they grow and develop.

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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 EY376223 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 913961 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 70 Name of provider Fennies Day Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 16/10/2012 Telephone number 020 8778 4396

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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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