Busy Bees@Norden Road

Positive Steps Norden Gate, Norden Road, Nr Maidenhead, Berks, SL6 4AY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/05/2013 28/05/2009

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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

 A rich and stimulating environment, together with excellent support from staff, ensures that children engage in their learning very positively.  A highly consistent approach to assessing children's progress ensures that all children make rapid improvement from their starting points.  Inspirational initiatives are very successful in engaging parents in their children's learning.  The nursery implements excellent strategies to help children form secure emotional attachments to their key persons.  There is an exceptional approach throughout the nursery to self-evaluation and further development. As a result, outcomes for children continue to improve effectively.

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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 activities in all rooms and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the management team and talked to staff at appropriate points during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability checks and the nursery's self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and from the nursery's own parent questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

Positive Steps Day Nursery in Maidenhead (Norden Road) is one of seven nurseries run by Positive Steps Children's Day Nurseries Ltd. It registered in 2008. It operates from a modern detached building consisting of four playrooms. The baby rooms are on the first floor accessed by stairs. All children share access to a secure, enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and is caring for 135 children in the early years age range. The nursery is also registered on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently no older children on roll. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.45am until 6.15pm for 51 weeks of the year. It is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children ages two, three and four years. The nursery employs

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Information about the setting

24 staff, of whom 19 hold relevant qualifications. Of these, one member of staff holds a level 6 qualification, 15 hold level 3 qualifications and three staff hold level 2 qualifications. In addition, nine staff are working towards further qualifications. The nursery is registered as a Forest School and one member of staff has relevant training at level 3.

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

 consider alternative initiatives to extend current partnerships with other services, such as the local children's centre, to further enhance the support available to children and their families.

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who attend

Children throughout the nursery have a very positive approach to learning. They enjoy rich and imaginative experiences both indoors and outside. A very enticing and safe water feature in the garden encourages even the youngest children to explore the world around them with great interest. Babies become highly engrossed watching the water flow from a pipe and filling plastic containers under close supervision and support from staff. Indoors, the learning environment is very welcoming and stimulating. An excellent range of resources is easily accessible within children's reach so that they can make choices about their play. Staff continuously evaluate how to improve play opportunities, such as introducing a 'let's investigate' corner in the pre-school room. As a result, children can experiment freely with interesting science equipment, such as liquid droppers, magnets, paper clips and bolts. Staff plan exciting whole group activities, which are very successful

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who attend

in engaging children's interest. They make excellent use of props, such as puppets, to bring stories alive. They fully engage children in this process so that they help to tell the story. As a result, children are very confident in expressing their views and opinions and in explaining their understanding of the context of the story. Staff also make excellent use of 'magical moment' bags that provide a new activity for children to explore on a weekly basis. Children thoroughly enjoy exploring the musical instruments that they find in this week's bag, experimenting with the different sounds they can make. Staff are very kind, caring and attentive using high-quality interactions consistently to support children's learning effectively.

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who attend

Excellent procedures are in place to support children who are learning English as an additional language. Staff make very good use of a 'language pen' to support pronunciation in different languages and to aid translation. They use a variety of words and phrases in different languages during everyday activities and routines, such as lunchtime. This approach results in animated discussions among children and helps all children to make very good progress in their English skills.

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who attend

A wide range of inspirational initiatives is highly effective in engaging all parents in their children's learning. The nursery provides 'activity bags' that parents can take home, which include guidance notes so that parents can feel confident in supporting their children. Staff encourage parents to complete observation forms of children's responses to such activities, which they add to their development records. In addition, notice boards are in place in each room for parents to record their children's interests and their special moments. Staff use all this information extremely well to assess children's progress and to identify their next steps in learning. The nursery invites parents to stay and have breakfast with their children every morning, providing an excellent opportunity for parents to talk to their children's key person in addition to regular parent evenings. Weekly e-mails and a monthly newsletter keep parents very well informed about any new initiatives or changes.

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who attend

Staff throughout the nursery demonstrate an excellent understanding of how children learn and develop. Their approach to observing and assessing children's progress is very consistent and highly detailed. They have a very clear understanding of how to use their observations of children, together with information they gather from parents, to identify next steps in learning. Staff plan an excellent range of activities and resources that fully reflect children's individual interests and developmental stages. As a result, children make very good progress from their starting points. There is a well-established system to ensure that staff carry out the requirement to provide a progress report for two-year-olds. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive high-quality support within the nursery and through partnerships with outside agencies. Monthly meetings and full consultations with parents ensure that everyone involved uses consistent and effective

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who attend

strategies. Children preparing to move up to school receive excellent support. There is a very strong focus on literacy and mathematical development in their final year before school, such as linking sounds to letters and saying the initial sounds in words. Staff are highly proactive in helping children to become familiar with the concept of school, such as providing school uniforms in the imaginative play corner.

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

Children who are new to the nursery receive excellent support to help them settle. The key person, together with a senior member of staff, visit new children in their own homes as the first point of contact. Key persons demonstrate that they are very attentive to children's individual home environments. They strive to replicate aspects of these within the nursery, such as ensuring that musical instruments are available for children who enjoy this activity at home. They also take a book of photographs of the nursery to the home visit, which helps children to become familiar with the nursery environment. As a result, children settle very quickly in the nursery and with their key person.

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

The nursery has excellent procedures in place to respond to staffing changes so that children remain settled. New staff receive high-quality support to help them become familiar with their roles and responsibilities. There is a very successful handover between key persons so that the new key person becomes very familiar with children's individual preferences and routines. Within a short time, new staff demonstrate a clear understanding of children's individual developmental levels and next steps. Staff keep parents very well informed of persons working with their children through the weekly e- mail system and through staff charts at the entrance to each room. Excellent procedures are in place to help children move up to their new rooms within the nursery. New key persons spend time with children in their current rooms and existing key persons spend time with children in their new rooms. As a result, children bond quickly with their new

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

key person and to new staff in their room.

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

Staff caring for the youngest children are very sensitive to their individual needs and levels of development. They talk to them about what they are doing, supporting their communication skills effectively and helping them to feel secure. They explain what will happen next so that children become familiar and secure with daily routines, such as snack time. As children progress through the nursery, they develop high levels of confidence and motivation. Older children respond very well to daily routines and instructions. When staff start to clap to gain their attention, children join in and then stop to listen when the clapping stops. They engage very readily when it is time to tidy up and show very good levels of behaviour. They play safely around each other and demonstrate that they understand safety rules, enthusiastically discussing fire evacuation procedures.

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

Staff encourage children to be very independent. Children enthusiastically help to set tables ready for lunchtime and confidently serve up their own food. They show excellent manners as they wait patiently until everyone has food on their plates before they start eating. There is a very strong emphasis on saying 'please and thank you' so that even the youngest children learn to do this quickly. Children enjoy nutritious meals and snacks, such as macaroni cheese and fruit, and staff provide extra helpings if they are still hungry. There is lots of discussion around the tables about the food children eat so that they develop a very positive approach to healthy eating. The nursery demonstrates a strong commitment to providing Forest School activities. This initiative provides excellent opportunities for children to learn about the world around them and develop their physical skills in a natural environment. Staff are highly attentive to children's welfare needs, such

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

as making sure they all wear sun cream and sun hats before playing outdoors on a hot day.

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provision

The nursery management team demonstrates an excellent understanding of its responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery premises are very clean, safe and secure. Managers use closed-circuit television to provide excellent supervision of all rooms. They maintain staff ratios in line with requirements and the staff team works well together to provide high levels of supervision. Rigorous procedures are in place to assess the suitability of all staff working with children. Staff demonstrate a very clear understanding of safeguarding procedures as they all have training on an annual basis and can request refresher training at any time.

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provision

There are excellent systems in place to monitor the delivery of the educational programmes and to ensure consistent assessments of children's progress. Staff within each room constantly review the activities and resources available to ensure that there is an excellent range of activities in all areas of learning. In addition, the manager monitors all planning in each room on a weekly basis and supports staff with any areas for development. The management team carries out monthly audits of children's development folders in order to ensure high levels of consistency for all children. Managers input data relating to individual children's progress into a computer programme so that they can clearly identify any gaps in learning or particular patterns for individual children and groups of children. This approach is highly effective in helping all children to achieve their potential.

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provision

There are very effective procedures in place to support ongoing professional development of the staff team. Managers carry out routine observations of individual staff and provide regular appraisals at three monthly intervals. This approach provides excellent opportunities to identify any areas where staff need additional training. The staff team has a very positive approach to developing their knowledge and understanding and they feel very well supported by the management.

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provision

An extremely comprehensive self-evaluation document demonstrates the uncompromising and very successful drive for improvement within the nursery. The management team are very proactive in involving staff, parents and children in this process. The company's head office analyses parent questionnaires, feeding back the results of these and how they are addressing any issues. Each room has its own operational plan with detailed ideas for further improvements and realistic timescales. This approach is highly successful in enhancing an already very stimulating learning environment, such as introducing a growing area in the garden for children to grow their own sunflowers and tomatoes. There are many exciting ideas for further improvement, such as obtaining a local allotment to enhance children's understanding of the world around them further.

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provision

The nursery has very effective partnerships in place overall with parents, other settings and external agencies. Parent feedback is very positive about many aspects of the nursery. Staff strive to continue to build close partnerships with parents through inspirational initiatives. There are some very good partnerships in place with local schools to support children and their families as they move into reception classes. Staff in the preschool room use communication forms to exchange information with other settings that children attend to promote high levels of continuity. The nursery has made proactive attempts to link with the local children's centre. However, staff have found this aspect of partnership working more difficult due to local authority cutbacks. The management team are very willing to try to address this issue in order to enhance access to local services for children and their families.

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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 EY372246 Local authority Windsor & Maidenhead Inspection number 917778 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 76 Number of children on roll 135 Name of provider Positive Steps Children's Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 28/05/2009 Telephone number 01628 630 323

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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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