Bright Horizons Wilmington Day Nursery and Preschool

Wilmington Day Nursery Common Lane, Wilmington, Dartford, Kent, DA2 7EU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/04/2013 06/10/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Skilled and competent adults use a wide range of highly effective teaching techniques to support children's learning. Therefore children make excellent progress from their starting points.  The stimulating and exciting outdoor area is a wonderful resource, which children use to great effect to extend their understanding of nature and growing, and where they hone physical skills and use their imaginations.  Every effort is used to include and involve parents, and as a result they are well informed, and extremely knowledgeable about their children's progress.  Throughout the nursery children are very settled and secure. This is largely due to a highly effective key person system which makes them feel safe, and ensures a great sense of belonging.  Children are active and very enthusiastic learners, with high levels of interest, concentration and motivation. This ensures that they are ready for the next stages in

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This provision is outstanding

their lives.  Leadership and management is very strong, managers consistently and successfully strive towards improvement, staff are well supported, and the nursery has very effective strategies in place to evaluate and develop practice.

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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 three play rooms and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager of the provision in the pre-school room.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision and the Training and Development Manager from Asquith.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children.  The inspector discussed the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day and from information included in the settings own parent survey.  The inspector scrutinized relevant supporting documentation.

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Information about the setting

Wilmington Day Nursery was registered in 2000. It is one of a large chain of nurseries owned by Asquith Nurseries Limited.

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Information about the setting

The nursery operates from purpose-built premises situated in the grounds of Wilmington Grammar School, Wilmington, Dartford, Kent. The nursery has three group rooms. There is a baby/toddler room for children under two years, which has its own milk kitchen and nappy changing area. There is a nursery class for two to three year olds and a pre-school room for three and four year olds which share a bathroom area. All children have daily access to enclosed outside play areas.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register, and there are currently 98 children in the early years age group on roll. It supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

There are 22 staff who work with children, including the manager and deputy manager. Most have relevant childcare qualifications and frequently attend training to further their professional development.

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

 enhance further the systems to assess the progress of groups of children, such as boys or children who speak English as an additional language.

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who attend

Staff plan imaginative activities in direct response to children's interests. Within these activities, adults incorporate stimulating learning opportunities to address each child's learning needs, for example, to take turns or write the first letter of their name. As a result, children respond with a huge amount of enthusiasm, and make excellent progress across the areas of learning from their starting points. Each room uses a 'thinking and talking book'. This is a huge, beautifully presented book where staff record children's interests and plan exciting and challenging experiences to build on these. This successfully includes parents when they contribute photographs of 'wow' moments from home, which staff also use in their planning. Children show that they have had great fun and learnt a lot when they chat enthusiastically about the activities in this book, and then run to find their personal progress folders to discuss other activities they have loved.

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who attend

Children's linking of letters and sounds is excellent. During group time they shout out words which start with the letter 'p', and then set out into the room to find 'pens' and 'pink' objects. Children walk away from the group demonstrating how to make the sound of the letter 'p', with a finger in front of their mouths to feel the puff of air.

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who attend

The garden is a superb resource. Children dig, hoe and sweep, and search for bugs. They get water from the barrel, and watch it pour down a hose pipe between bottles. They take the water to the 'mud kitchen', make 'cakes', and take these to the cosy enclosed area to chat with their friends. They are growing flowers, vegetables and herbs, learning about life cycles and where food comes from. They hunt for worms and bring these inside to examine under the magnifying glass, which projects a huge image onto the interactive electronic screen, and they watch the worm wriggle around with fascination. This enables them to learn first hand about nature and to use technology.

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who attend

The level of challenge which children experience is excellent throughout the setting. For example, in the baby room, young children watch and work up the confidence to attempt to go down the slide. Toddlers struggle to thread, and are thrilled when they succeed with adult support. As a result, all children are interested and motivated, and develop good self esteem from their successes, and are very keen to persevere and try again.

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who attend

The superbly rich environment enables children to take charge of their own learning. For example, children are fascinated by a cork in the water tray, and experiment for ages poking it under the water, rolling it over with their finger and learning about the properties of objects which float. Adults are very skilled at knowing when to intervene and support activities extremely well. They set up the environment with activities and resources which they have noticed inspire children. For example, children became engrossed in washing and caring for dolls, and so the role play area has been converted into a children's hospital. As a result, children are deeply interested in activities, learn at their own pace and are highly motivated to learn and explore. Throughout the nursery children are engrossed, motivated and show a fantastic attitude to learning and having fun. For example, in the toddler room a group of children spontaneously start singing roll, roll, roll

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who attend

to the tune of 'twinkle twinkle little star' as they roll their play dough.

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who attend

Parents demonstrate a high regard for the staff and practice within the nursery. They are particularly well informed of, and included in, children's learning, and know that it is important to be able to extend and continue learning at home. They feel that children are skilfully supported by a key person, and know that he/she is also a point of contact for them. They have great confidence in the way that transitions are managed. Their children move on to the next room happily and confidently, and are very well prepared for school, counting and writing if they are ready.

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

In the baby room exceptional care practice makes babies feel very secure and loved. Adults hold children close for bottles, and make continuous eye contact. When rocking children to sleep, they tap them gently and sing to them quietly. As a result, young children have an excellent sense of security, and clearly feel reassured and cared for.

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

In each of the rooms photos are used to excellent effect to help children feel safe and have a sense of belonging. In the baby room, children can see pictures of familiar adults displayed at a low level. In the toddler's room, children eagerly explain which key group they are in, saying 'I'm in alligators!' and fixing their photograph to the correct board.

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

Children show a highly developed understanding of sociable behaviour, and the 'golden rules'. As they are such confident speakers, a discussion at lunchtime about safety and good behaviour is wonderfully animated and lively. They state they must be kind to their friends and they will be kind to you. They elaborate on the subject of hand washing, saying that if they do not wash off the germs, they will get tummy bugs. Fire safety is a popular topic, with children expressing various views on where to go and demonstrating a knowledge that 'if there's a fire, the fireman has to come'.

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

Extra care is taken of children who speak English as an additional language as they settle in, so that they feel safe although they may not understand the language. Staff ask parents for some familiar words in their own language, and parents receive information which explains why this is important, rather than only speaking English: it helps children to feel comfortable and safe. The nursery has just acquired voice recorders onto which parents can record messages. These are designed to help all new children, and especially those who speak English as an additional language, to settle and feel reassured.

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

Children learn to adopt very healthy lifestyles. As part of an initiative to encourage parents to come in and help children learn about different professions, a parent did a gymnastics session with the children. This really interested them, they looked back at the photos with delight, and the activity reinforced the importance of keeping their bodies healthy.

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

Children settle very quickly as they move 'up' a room, due to adults' careful management of the transition. The strong key person system helps in this process. By the time children leave to go to school, they have all the attributes they need to move forward, such as a great enthusiasm for learning, inquisitiveness and excellent independence and self help skills.

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provision

Recruitment procedures are extremely robust, with careful checks undertaken to make sure staff are suitable to work with children. Furthermore, thorough induction and a system of supervision and appraisals ensures staff's continuing suitability. Staff's very secure knowledge of child protection issues and procedures helps to ensure children are safeguarded. Children are kept very safe at collection time. If an unknown adult arrives to collect a child, staff check they know the password, and staff have photos of people who might collect in children's files.

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provision

There are robust procedures in place to ensure that each child makes progress from his/her starting points. Each key person tracks children's progress extremely effectively, and is therefore able to note any gaps in learning. If children need extra support, parents are included, and outside agencies are consulted, in order to help all children reach their full potential. Furthermore, managers look at random samples of children's progress records to ensure staff work thoroughly and consistently. This ensures that each child's individual progress is carefully monitored. However, while there are effective systems to assess the progress of specific groups of children, such as boys or those who speak English as an additional language, these are not as well developed.

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provision

Staff and managers show an excellent ability to evaluate all aspects of the provision. This results in consistent and continuous improvement. For example, they have improved the inclusion of parents in children's learning at home by providing a lending library. Parents are included in the self-evaluation process in many effective ways. For example, they chat at handover times, they comment during parent's evenings and open days, they add comments to the 'happy tree' and complete regular questionnaires. Therefore their views are actively sought, and acted upon to meet their needs and those of their children. Children are also very much included in the self-evaluation process, and their views are valued. For example, adults discuss with them daily what they have enjoyed, and use this for future planning of activities and the environment. Plans for future development are centred around partnership with parents, and including them in children's learning, which

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provision

will hugely benefit both parents and children.

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provision

The competent and skilled staff group work highly effectively and consistently as a team. Management show them that they are fully valued by enabling them to attend varied and relevant training. Staff then cascade their new knowledge back to the rest of the staff during staff meetings. Therefore all training attended has a very positive effect on practice and children's experiences.

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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 EY307170 Local authority Kent Inspection number 909994

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 53 Number of children on roll 98 Name of provider Asquith Court Nurseries Limited Date of previous inspection 06/10/2010 Telephone number 01322 294 888

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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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