The Bush Nursery

The Bush Nursery The Bush Nursery, Pilton, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4HP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/06/2013 01/11/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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

 Strong leadership and management has a positive impact on children's progress because staff provide good quality care and education.  Children's interests are given a strong priority in the planning of activities, so they are engaged in purposeful play that promotes their learning well.  Staff successfully promote children's self-esteem through effective encouragement and praise. As a result, children are secure, happy and content.  Children behave very well due to their individual needs being sensitively met.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always fully encourage parents to continue their children's learning at home, for example, by providing suggestions of activities to do at home, which link to children's experiences at the nursery.  Children's awareness and recognition of written numbers is not always fully promoted in the learning environment.

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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 held a meeting with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's activities both indoors and in the outdoor play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents/carers from questionnaires and those spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of policies and statements, including safeguarding.

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Information about the setting

The Bush Nursery registered in 2000. It is privately owned and operates from a detached house in Pilton, Somerset. Children have use of a playroom, conservatory, bathroom facilities and an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm throughout the year. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four. There are currently 22 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery employs four members of staff, of which three hold a relevant childcare qualifications to level 3. The nursery has several pets including dogs, cats and horses.

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

 support all possible opportunities to encourage parents to continue their children's learning at home

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

 enhance the learning environment further to support children's mathematical learning, for example, by displaying numbers in purposeful contexts for children to observe and use in their play and learning experiences.

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who attend

Children arrive happily, as they share a wonderfully close relationship with the staff and their friends. This results in the children feeling happy and content. Staff have a strong partnership with parents. They gain information from parents about children's routines and starting points, which they use effectively to support children's individual needs. Parents receive regular information about their children's progress both verbally and via written reports. This keeps parents fully informed about their children's well-being and development. However, staff do not always provide further information to encourage parents to continue their children's learning at home, such as suggestions of activities to do at home to reinforce the children's experiences at the nursery.

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who attend

All children are making good progress in relation to their starting points and pattern of attendance, due to staff having a good understanding about how young children learn. They plan a wide range of activities that supports children's interests and individual needs and cover all areas of learning. Staff promote children's personal, social and emotional development by encouraging them to experience activities that are new to them, such as making cheese. This supports children's confidence in trying new experiences and promotes their self-esteem effectively. Staff consistently encourage communication throughout all activities, and make mealtimes an effective sociable occasion. They are good role models for the children, speaking kindly and politely to each other, which children copy during their play, making for a pleasant atmosphere. Staff are sensitive to children's different needs, as they care for toddlers as well as for children who are ready

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who attend

for school within the same space. Therefore, successful teaching methods have a very positive impact on children's learning. For example, staff are very aware to provide purposeful and developmentally appropriate activities, resulting in children making good continuous progress. There is plenty of space for children to play and explore their environment. Older children naturally care for younger ones, such as helping them access games on a laptop. Staff adapt activities to suit children's individual needs, which enables all to participate. There are plenty of opportunities for children to develop their physical skills, as they enjoy exploring the outdoor play area. They climb fixed apparatus and thoroughly enjoy splashing in puddles. Children go for walks and collect berries for snack, and make use of the open space to run around and have fun. Staff plan a broad range of mathematical play, such as weighing the ingredients when making banana fritters.

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who attend

However, staff do not always display numbers in purposeful contexts for children to observe and use in their everyday play. For example, by numbering bikes and 'parking spaces' for children to match corresponding numbers. Staff provide opportunities for children to practise their early writing skills, such as encouraging them to write their name on their artwork. They write for a purpose, such as a shopping list when taking part in pretend play and draw pictures in wet sand. Staff stimulate children's listening and early reading skills, as they read a wide range of books, using puppets and props, which skilfully engages children and helps maintain their concentration and interest. Children enjoy dancing and experimenting with various musical instruments, while listening to the changing sounds. They sing their favourite songs in front of their friends, with older children teaching the younger children the words. Children learn about major festivals,

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who attend

such as Christmas and Chinese New Year, which helps to promote mutual respect and encourages children to value each other.

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who attend

Staff spend the majority of their time interacting and playing with the children to help extend their learning. They ask effective questions and provide children with explanations in language that is easily understood. Staff aid children to solve problems, such as how to design and construct a tent using recyclable material. Staff value children's individual learning styles, such as recognising that some children learn better in the outdoor play area as opposed to indoors. As a result, children engage in play that suits their individual needs, which helps children to achieve their full potential. Staff are skilful at supporting children in acquiring the skills needed to develop and to learn effectively. This also aids children in being ready for their next stage of learning, which includes their readiness for school.

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

Staff manage transition from home to nursery very well. They organise a settling-in period according to children's individual needs. The successful key person approach enables children to form secure and positive attachments with staff. As a result, children confidently seek reassurance from staff. This results in children arriving happily and separating from their parents with ease. Relevant information is sought from parents about children's likes and dislikes, as well as about their interests. Staff use this knowledge effectively to enable them to provide for all children's individual needs well.

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

Children are developing a good understanding about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and have the benefit of accessing the outdoor play area at all times. Children are learning about the foods that are good for their growing bodies, as they grow a broad range of vegetables and fruit. Children take responsibility for finding their name card at meal times, and gain a sense of well-being as staff allow them to manage tasks, such as pouring their own drinks. This promotes children's recognition of their names and their independent skills as they confidently learn to manage tasks for themselves. Children are learning about the importance of self-care, which helps to raise their self-esteem and confidence. This is because they are becoming ever more independent, for example, by telling staff when they are tired and in need of a rest.

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

All children are interested, excited and motivated to learn. They play happily together and enjoy taking part in team games. They dig for beetles and delight in their findings. Older children show kindness and consideration to younger ones, due to staff having high expectations of their behaviour, with children responding well to praise. For instance, children recognise when another child needs comforting and seek the assistance of staff. Staff aid the older children's understanding of the feelings of others by labelling emotions, such as sadness or happiness.

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

Flexible indoor and outdoor space is organised effectively to enable children to explore, build, move and take part in role play. Toys and resources are age-appropriate and are stored within their easy reach, enabling children to access them independently. As a result, children make their own play choices. Staff teach children to remain safe while skilfully encouraging children's sense of exploration and risk-taking. in their care. Consequently, children confidently explore while remaining aware of and alert to possible dangers to keep themselves safe from harm.

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provision

Staff place an extremely high priority with regards to children's safety and well-being. They have a comprehensive understanding of the safeguarding, welfare, and learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff have a high level of awareness of their responsibilities to safeguard children as well as the procedure to follow should they have a concern about a child in their care. Policies are shared with parents, and therefore, they understand the procedures that support children's health, well-being and safety. Highly effective risk assessments help to ensure that children play and learn in a safe environment both indoors and outdoors. The management team follow a robust recruitment procedure, to ensure that staff working with children are suitable to do so. An effective system for performance management and high quality supervision results in successful monitoring of staff practice, and an effective, well established programme of

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provision

professional development. This positively impacts on the very good outcomes for children. Staff deployment is well organised and has a significant impact on how the staff enhance and broaden children's learning. Planning and assessment are monitored with sufficient depth and breadth to identify individual children's learning needs. This enables staff to support children's progress effectively and results in all children making good progress in their learning and development.

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provision

An effective system of self-evaluation helps to identify areas for development, due to staffs commitment to make ongoing continuous improvements. For example, staff have ambitions to invite parents into the nursery to chat to children about their jobs and hobbies. Staff work extremely well as a team, creating a warm family atmosphere. They meet regularly to review and evaluate their practice and share an ambition to continually improve outcomes for children. Children are able to voice their opinions about what changes they would like through discussion. Parents are requested their views via questionnaires.

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provision

A strong partnership with parents benefits children, as staff keep them up to date about the progress their children are making. Parents' report that staff provide 'a very homely environment'. One parent reported that 'when we found Bush Nursery, all our dreams came true'. Parents particularly like the variety of nursery pets as well as the opportunities for children to make use of the outdoor play area. An effective range of information is available about the nursery, as well as about events taking place locally. A 'special moments board' celebrates children's achievements and good news reported by parents. Staff build strong partnerships with outside agencies for the benefit of children. They aid transition to school by inviting local teachers into the nursery to meet the children and discuss their development.

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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 142802 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 814034 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 11 Number of children on roll 22 Name of provider Vivien Goode Date of previous inspection 01/11/2011 Telephone number 01749 890327

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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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