Busy Bees Nursery School

Busy Bees Montessori Nursery School Ltd Beck House, St. Johns Street, Beck Row, BURY ST EDMUNDS, Suffolk, IP28 8AA

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/05/2013 14/09/2009

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 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

p.1

This provision is good

 Staff have a secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use observations and assessment to plan for children's next steps in their learning. This means that children make good progress in relation to their starting points.  Children enjoy exploring the forest school, which provides children with opportunities to build campfires, whittle sticks and develop their physical skills in a well-managed environment.  Children are settled, secure and show a good sense of belonging in the nursery, as they have formed trusting relationships with the adults that care for them.  All children enjoy daily access to the well-resourced play areas, nursery farm and the forest school. This supports their good health and well-being.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to review the techniques used to help the youngest children learn to say sorry to others, so that they all develop a secure understanding of what it means.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager, deputy, staff and children.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation relating to the suitability of staff and their qualifications.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the deputy manager.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the indoor environment and toured the premises, including the farm and the outdoor facilities.

p.2

Information about the setting

Busy Bees Montessori Nursery School Ltd registered in 1982. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is privately owned and managed and operates from five rooms in a purpose built building, situated in the village of Beck Row in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. There are a number of fully enclosed areas available for outdoor play. Children have access to a farm, and a forest school, which they visit regularly. Children also have daily access to an indoor heated swimming pool for swimming sessions, which are led by a fully qualified instructor.

p.3

Information about the setting

The nursery employs 20 members of childcare staff. Of whom, 18 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, including two staff who hold Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 6.45am until 6pm. There are currently 219 children attending who are in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

Information about the setting

Care is also offered to children aged over five years to eleven years, both before and after school and during holidays. Minibus transport is offered to and from local primary schools.

p.3

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

 enhance the youngest children's understanding of when it is appropriate to apologise to others through a wider range of age appropriate techniques, such as books and stories.

p.3

who attend

Children make consistently good progress in their learning and development as staff demonstrate a secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Regular observations on what children can do, enables staff to maintain clear records of the progress each child is making. Staff use this information, as well as children's interests, to guide individualised planning and ensure that activities are relevant to children's interests. Regular assessment of children's current stages of learning and development enables staff to effectively plan for children's next steps. This ensures that all children make consistent progress in their learning and development, in relation to their starting points. Children have many opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills, through discussions and talking about what they are doing. Staff support children by using good questioning techniques, which allows children to think their ideas through and make connections

p.3

who attend

between different parts of their life experiences. For example, children enjoy spending time in the farm, planting vegetables and recycling their food waste. This helps children to develop an understanding of where their food comes from, and the importance of recycling. Older children enjoy making felt from the wool that is sheared from the Alpaca's kept on the farm. They learn how to make natural colours through fermenting plants and seeds, which are grown on the farm.

p.4

who attend

Children enjoy regular trips to the offsite forest school. They learn how to whittle sticks, build campfires and take risks safely. Children use natural resources, such as mud, to make faces on trees and look for insects and bugs under logs and stones. Staff support children to learn how to use a range of tools safely, which enables children to learn how to manage and take responsibility for their own personal safety. Children freely access the outdoor play areas from most of the rooms; each area is fenced off to ensure that the equipment is age appropriate and safe for children. This enables children to develop their physical skills as they climb on the climbing frames and ride bicycles on the paved areas. Children have opportunities to further develop their physical skills as the nursery provides regular swimming lessons, which are ran by a qualified swimming instructor.

p.4

who attend

Children are well supported in the prime and specific areas of learning, as there is an exciting range of resources to choose from. Resources are easily accessible around the room, which enables children to make choices as to what they would like to play with. Children have opportunities to develop early writing skills in a variety of areas of the rooms, for example, a range of mark making resources are available in role-play areas for children to 'write' shopping lists and take 'phone messages'.

p.4

who attend

Staff support children's language and communication development well. Children enjoy listening to stories and singing in groups. Staff repeat young children's words back to them correctly, which enables them to hear the correct pronunciation. This also supports those children who speak English as an additional language. Staff provide lots of posters in dual languages, which further supports children's awareness of English.

p.4

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

Children arrive at the nursery, happy and keen to start playing. Time spent talking to parents at the beginning of any new care arrangement means that staff support new children well. This helps children develop warm and caring bonds with their key person and settle into the nursery easily. Overall, children play well together because staff support their understanding of turn taking and sharing resources effectively. Staff also use a 'sorry bear' to support young children to learn important social skills, such as when it appropriate to apologise to others. However, some of the youngest children show they feel a little confused by the use of the bear and so do not always gain full benefit from this technique. As a result, there is room to consider widening the range of methods used, so that even the youngest children are helped to develop a secure understanding of when and why they should say sorry. Staff make good use of other techniques, including sand

p.4

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

timers, to support children to develop an understanding of waiting their turn. Staff consistently model good social manners, ensuring that they use 'please' and 'thank you' when interacting with the children and each other. This helps children to develop an understanding of politeness and the importance of good social manners. Children learn how to protect themselves in the event of an emergency, as regular fire drills are practised.

p.5

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

The staff ensure that good hygiene routines are in place, which ensures that the staff take all necessary steps to minimise the risk of cross infection. There are portable hand washing facilities on the farm, which ensures that children are able to wash their hands after touching the animals or tending their vegetable patches. This supports children's understanding of the importance of good personal hygiene. Parents provide children's packed lunches and snacks. Children are encouraged to access their own snacks when they feel hungry and pour their own drinks of milk or water.

p.5

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

Key person's support their key children as they move between age groups, they spend time settling in their key children into the new room and routine. This means that children are able to explore their new surroundings from the security of their key person. Staff support children in their move to school, as they have links with many of the local primary schools. This enables children to meet their new teachers in familiar surroundings, and, therefore, develop confidence in moving into the next stage of their learning. The nursery offers an after-school and holiday club, which means that effective arrangements for the sharing of information are in place. This enables parents to find out how their children have been at school when they collect them from the nursery.

p.5

provision

The manager demonstrates a robust understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the welfare and safeguarding requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager monitors the implementation of policies and procedures and acts quickly in the event of any incidents. The manager regularly checks to see whether policies and procedures need updating or changing through concise action plans. There are security locks and close circuit television monitors on the entrance ways, which means that only adults known to the nursery are able to gain access to the nursery to collect their children. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of when and who to contact should they have a concern about a child. Recruitment procedures are robust, as all staff complete through background checks and inductions, to ensure that they are suitable to be working with children. Staff carry out comprehensive risk assessments of the nursery, farm and forest

p.5

provision

school, which means that all learning environments are safe for the children who attend. The manager and deputy demonstrate that they understand their responsibilities in monitoring the educational programmes. They carry out spot checks to ensure that staff are monitoring children's progress and are supporting each child appropriately. Staff keep records of children's progress in their 'learning journals' and encourage parents to add their comments about what their children can do at home. This enables key persons to plan activities and experiences which are relevant to their interests. Staff develop this relationship further as they invite parents into the nursery to share cultural celebrations and special events. Parents comment that they like the 'learning journals', and the activities that children engage in at the nursery. Staff have made links with specialists and professionals. This means that staff are able to seek support when they identify a child

p.5

provision

with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Therefore, all children are able to make consistent progress towards the early learning goals.

p.6

provision

The manager and staff use self-evaluation to evaluate the effectiveness of the setting. They use parental questionnaires and verbal feedback to seek the views of the parents and the children. Staff express their views through frequent staff meetings and individual appraisals. This enables the nursery to formulate clear actions plans to enhance their practice. This ensures that the nursery is able to respond to the needs of its parents, children and staff and maintain continuous development.

p.6

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

p.6

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.

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number 251744 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 915817

p.8

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 111 Number of children on roll 219 Name of provider Busy Bee Montessori Nursery School Limited Date of previous inspection 14/09/2009 Telephone number 01638 718249

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10