Boys & Girls Nursery (Croxley Green) LtdOfsted inspection, 30 Apr 2013

Boys & Girls Nursery (Croxley Green) Ltd Unit 5, Building 2, Marlins Meadow, WATFORD, WD18 8YA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/04/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 Children behave well because staff manage their behaviour effectively. They use praise to encourage positive behaviour and clear explanations for reasons why some negative behaviour is not acceptable.  Children settle readily because staff build up strong, warm relationships with them and plan around their interests and skills.  Staff see the safety of children as important. They know how to keep children protected from harm and implement this well in their practice.  Staff provide parents with good opportunities to contribute to their child's learning, and keep parents up to date with their child's progress.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Some aspects of partnership working are not fully robust as the nursery has yet to build effective communication links with the local schools that children attend.  Children do not have enough opportunities to recognise and practise writing their own names.

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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 carried out a joint observation with the manager of an adult-led activity.  The inspector observed interaction between staff and children.  The inspector tracked the progress of several children.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents, staff and children, and took their views into consideration during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Boys & Girls Nursery (Croxley Green) Ltd was registered in 2012 on the Early Years Register. It is situated in Croxley Green Business Park in Watford, Hertfordshire, and is privately owned. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a refurbished office unit and there are enclosed areas for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 17 members of childcare staff, eight of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. There are seven staff working towards early years qualifications. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round, except for Bank Holidays. Sessions are from 7am until 7pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 81 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds.

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

 strengthen partnership working by ensuring there are robust communication links with all the settings children attend, so that children fully benefit from a shared understanding and common approach to supporting their progress

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

 extend the opportunities for children to recognise and practise writing their own names and other words, such as captions and labels.

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who attend

Children's needs are met well by staff in this well-arranged, warm and inviting nursery. Children make good progress because staff provide a broad range of interesting activities that cover the areas of learning. Visits from specialist music and movement teachers enhance children's creative and physical development. There is a good balance between child-initiated and adult-led activities that enables children to create their own play. Staff use children's experiences to make group books that stimulate children's language development. Staff encourage new vocabulary by re-enacting popular stories with the children and asking them to describe different characters. They learn about size, shape and number by using a wide range of resources in a dedicated mathematics area, and through everyday activities. Children explore making marks using a variety of tools and materials, and this supports early writing skills. However, staff do not make the best of

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who attend

opportunities that enable children to recognise and practise writing their own names. Children demonstrate good skills at operating simple computer programmes, while younger ones use electronic toys independently. Staff help children to learn about and accept difference by providing activities and discussing special cultural and religious events throughout the year. For example, children make flags for Australia Day.

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who attend

Children concentrate well and persist with challenging activities. Babies enjoy a range of experiences. They use good hand and finger control to carefully balance foam bricks on top of each other. They initiate a game from this which they enjoy repeating with staff, who follow their lead. Staff help babies to explore by providing a range of different textures of materials, and babies are visually stimulated as they watch patterns form in coloured water bottles. Staff teach children about how things grow, allowing them to plant bulbs and watch them grow. Children practise throwing and catching skills as they play with balls and bean bags in the outdoor area. They ride on wheeled toys and learn to balance on scooters and stepping stones. Children make good use of the space available in the large outdoor area as they run, jump and move in different ways. Overall, these activities help children to develop their social, language and physical skills in preparation

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who attend

for the next stage of their learning and moving on to school.

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who attend

Staff know the children well because they observe them regularly. They plan children's next steps for learning based on evaluations of observations and what they can do. Staff keep parents up to date on their child's development and provide written summaries of progress checks carried out for children aged between two and three years. Staff also keep parents informed of children's development at review meetings and through daily interaction. Parents have good opportunities to contribute to their child's learning by, for example, suggesting activities that can be carried out in the home to support children's learning.

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

Children settle happily in this well-resourced and colourful nursery. This is because staff take time to find out children's likes, dislikes and routines, and incorporate these into their practice. Staff help babies to feel secure and content because staff make family photograph books, which help babies to feel welcome and valued. Staff have strong, warm relationships with the children, and this enables them to grow in confidence.

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

Staff teach children how to behave in safe ways, such as showing them how to mop up any water spills to avoid accidents. Staff encourage children's independence by allowing them to serve themselves food from communal bowls at meal times. They pour their own fresh drinking water and staff help younger children where needed. Children are offered nutritious, appetising meals which cater for any special dietary needs. Staff teach children healthy habits by taking them for fresh air and physical exercise in the spacious outdoor environment. They learn about how to care for their teeth and the importance of hand washing because staff discuss this with them, using a range of non-fiction books to support learning. Staff change babies' nappies in private, comfortable and clean areas.

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

Staff manage children's behaviour effectively and use praise and clear explanations to encourage positive behaviour. This is supported by daily group times where staff teach children to be kind to each other, and other positive ways to behave. Staff work closely with parents over any behaviour issues, and this helps to reinforce good behaviour. Staff use appropriate ways to manage the behaviour of younger children, such as distraction techniques. In general, staff prepare children sufficiently for school by talking with them about this, and by sharing children's development records with school staff. However, links with local schools are not developed fully to identify ways of working together to prepare children for the move to school. Within the nursery, children settle well because they spend time in new group rooms before starting so that they get used to new routines and environments.

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provision

Children's safety is important to staff. They know and implement a variety of policies and procedures that keep children protected from harm. For example, staff carry out regular fire drills so that children can leave the building safely and efficiently in case of emergency. Staff carry out risk assessments covering all aspects of the provision, and this provides further protection to children. Closed circuit television provides excellent monitoring systems to prevent intruders and observe practice in group rooms. Management vet staff thoroughly to assess suitability for their roles, which also helps to keep children safe.

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provision

Management offer staff good opportunities to hone their skills by carrying out appraisals twice a year to identify their training needs. Staff have attended a variety of courses, such 'caring for babies', which has led to a greater awareness of how to meet the needs of children under two years of age. Staff are offered regular supervision and this helps to identify any issues so that appropriate support is given, for instance, support or mentoring.

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provision

Management has good awareness of the quality of planning and assessment. This is because they carry out spot checks on planning and assessment records and spend time observing staff in group rooms. Generally, partnerships with others involved in children's care and learning are good. For instance, the local authority early years department provides the nursery with advice and information to support children's learning and development. Management have identified clear areas for improvement because it has sound awareness of its attributes and limitations. For example, it plans to develop the outdoor area so that it is interesting and challenging. The nursery meets the needs of children well and has good ability to do this in future.

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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 EY453209 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 890116

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 72 Number of children on roll 81 Name of provider Boys & Girls Nursery (Croxley Green) Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01923 604830

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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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