Blossoms Nursery Ltd

Blossoms Nursery Horseshoe Farm West, London Road, HARLOW, Essex, CM17 9LH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/06/2013 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

 Staff provide a good variety of interesting and stimulating activities, indoors and outside to promote children's progress in all areas of learning.  There are warm and caring relationships between children and all staff, particularly key persons. Children's behaviour is good and they are well settled and secure.  Staff establish positive and trusting relationships with parents. A two-way flow of communication supports children's welfare and learning and development.  Staff have a good awareness of their responsibility for safeguarding and check that the resources and premises are suitable and safe.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to extend the range of multicultural resources, particularly in the role play area, that reflect a range of cultures and backgrounds to promote children's understanding of the world further.  Opportunities to develop older children's independence skills are not fully explored.

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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 observed children's play and staff interaction, indoors and outside.  The inspector and manager undertook a joint observation of a teaching activity.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of practitioners working within the setting, the provider's self- evaluation form and a range of other documentation.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Blossoms Nursery Ltd was registered in 2012 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from a converted farmhouse in Harlow, Essex. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 13 members of childcare staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and two at level 2.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7am until 7pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 45 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who are learning English as an additional language.

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

 extend the range of resources in the role play area to include more toys and objects that reflect children's family lives and communities. Also include resources that reflect lives that are unfamiliar, to broaden children's knowledge and reflect an inclusive ethos

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

 develop older children's growing independence by providing opportunities for them to help prepare food for snack time.

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who attend

The nursery provides a good start to children's learning and play experiences. Children of all ages happily enjoy a stimulating programme of activities which support them in making good progress in relation to their starting points. Rich experiences and resources which cover all seven areas of learning and development are on offer both indoors and outside. Children are welcomed into the friendly and warm environment where they show that they feel safe and secure. Children clearly enjoy learning through play, eagerly choosing what they wish to do from the varied range of resources offered. They demonstrate a positive approach to learning, supported by the cheerful interactions of the staff caring for them. Attentive staff play alongside the children offering gentle support and encouragement. They extend children's learning with individual attention and through careful questioning, while giving them the space to explore and develop their own ideas.

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who attend

Information gathered by the key person provides a good base for establishing children's starting points in their learning. This enables staff to plan for individual children's progress from their earliest days in the nursery. As a result, children settle quickly because staff understand their needs well and meet them consistently. Learning journals that include photographs and observations and achievable next steps in learning are in place for all children. These highlight the good progress that all children are making. Staff plan activities and opportunities together as a team, taking into consideration the children's interests and ideas. Parents are actively involved in contributing to their children's development through daily discussions. Staff encourage parents to share their comments about their child's learning at home and to contribute home observations to their child's learning journal. This approach is successful in engaging parents in their children's

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who attend

Children play outside on a daily basis and the exciting outdoor area promotes children's skills and confidence. Children, who learn better outside, have the flexibility of choosing when they wish to access this area, maximising their physical development and preferred learning area. Children enjoy use of a wide variety of physical play equipment that includes wheeled toys, balls and trampoline. There are plenty of places for them to run around, hide and explore. Here, staff help children to safely take risks and explore through play with learning extended through playful teaching. For example, staff support them in searching for rabbits, so prompting discussion about where rabbits live. The indoor environment is effectively organised, allowing children to access a developmentally appropriate range of toys and resources covering all areas of learning. For example, children skilfully operate the computer as they manoeuvre the mouse and know how to

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who attend

click on different icons to cause things to happen. This promotes children's understanding of the world. However, there is scope to extend the range of resources in the role play area that fully reflect diversity, to help children learn about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among different families and communities.

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who attend

All children, including those learning English as an additional language, successfully develop their spoken language. Staff interact sensitively with the children at their level, asking meaningful open questions to skilfully challenge and extend their learning. They listen intently to what children say and do, ensuring children feel valued and boosting their self-esteem and confidence. Staff encourage children's development in early literacy as children are eager to share books with them. They enjoy snuggling up together to share a favourite book, establishing children's interest in reading for pleasure and purpose. Children use different tools for making marks to practise early writing skills. Children are motivated to learn, interested, and engaged in activities. All children receive strong support to develop good attitudes and skills to learn effectively. Staffs skilful teaching gives young children the space and time to explore what they are interested in so that,

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who attend

when older, they concentrate and persevere in their learning. Consequently, children are gaining skills which help prepare them for school.

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

Children are happy, settled and content as they form positive relationships with their key person, staff and other children within the nursery. Older children confidently acknowledge visitors, cheerfully welcoming them and introducing themselves when they arrive. The effective key person system supports children to feel valued and promotes a sense of belonging. Caring staff warmly welcome the children and their families. Staff provide support to new children and parents to ensure a successful settling-in period that is tailored to the needs of each child and family. This continues throughout the nursery as children move on to different rooms. As a result, all children form close bonds and secure emotional attachments to staff, confidently seeking them out for reassurance when needed. Children demonstrate they can negotiate and solve problems as they confidently inform staff if another child has upset them. They are learning to understand that their

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

actions can hurt other children's feelings. Their behaviour is good, as staff share consistent expectations and are good role models themselves. Children willingly take on responsibility, for example, tidying away toys and resources in preparation for lunch. The daily routines include regular safety reminders to raise children's understanding, such as, learning to take care with simple tools and follow rules when going outside. Regular fire evacuations enable staff and children to know what to do in an emergency. As a result, children enjoy their experiences in the nursery and learn skills that help them manage their move to school.

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

Children benefit from a warm, safe and stimulating environment. Well-resourced playrooms offer plenty of space for both table top games and floor activities. Children reach toys with ease, due to the arrangement of low-level cupboards and drawers. Children play freely in the outdoor play area that is well equipped with apparatus to allow for physical activity.

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

Staff support children's emerging understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle that involves physical exercise and a healthy diet. The nursery chef prepares nutritious snacks and meals, which include fruit and vegetables, and children's individual dietary requirements, are met. However, opportunities to encourage older children to learn independence skills by helping to prepare the food at snack time are not explored. Children are learning about the need for good hygiene practices as they routinely wash hands before touching food and after visiting the toilet. Children benefit from regular fresh air and exercise during outdoor play.

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provision

The provider has a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Procedures for safeguarding children are good as staff understand their responsibilities and are fully aware of the procedure to follow should they have a concern. Robust vetting procedures check staff suitability to work with children. In addition, induction procedures support their developing knowledge of the setting's policies and procedures. Staff understand their responsibilities to provide safe play environments for children. Children play in a secure, safe environment where staff complete daily safety checks and regularly review risk assessments to promote their welfare. The manager and her team demonstrate a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and their responsibility to promote the learning and development of all children. They monitor the levels of planning and assessment to make sure these are

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provision

consistent and display an accurate understanding of all children's skills, abilities and progress. Management have also recently introduced a tracking system to ensure that all children are making good progress and to identify any gaps in their learning. The manager monitors staff performance both informally through working alongside the staff and more formally through annual appraisals. Staff are supported to attend some relevant courses and gain additional qualifications. The manager uses regular staff meetings to discuss and share any ideas and practice issues to further promote effective outcomes for children. The manager and staff team demonstrate a commitment to the continual development of the whole provision and are beginning to identify priorities for improvement. This self- evaluation process fully incorporates the views of children, parents, staff and other professionals.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are a clear strength of the pre-school. Words such as 'brilliant' are used by parents and carers to describe the care and support the nursery provides to children and their families. Staff keep them informed about their child's learning through daily verbal feedback, photographic displays and written activity planning. Parent consultations also take place during the year to formally share information about their child's progress in nursery and at home. Staff promote good links with other early years providers, which further aids children's progress and development. Information sharing is effective and this eases the move to other settings or to school for the children.

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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 EY456691 Local authority Essex Inspection number 897015 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 55 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider Blossoms Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 0333 2400062

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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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