Bright Horizons Cambridge Science Park Day Nursery and Preschool

Kidsunlimited Nurseries - Cambridge Science Park 319 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB4 0WG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/05/2013 01/02/2010

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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

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This provision is good

 Children are cared for in a nurturing and supportive environment. They are happy and form close bonds and secure attachments with all practitioners at the nursery. Practitioners praise children's achievements, which effectively promotes their self- esteem and confidence.  Leadership and management is strong and there is clear motivation to develop the nursery in order to improve opportunities for children's learning.  The well-planned playrooms create enabling environments for children of all ages to promote their independence and to engage in purposeful play. Children benefit from a varied range of play materials to support their learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Use of the outdoor area for older children is not always maximised to provide a wider variety of activities to better suit individual children's learning styles.  There is scope to cascade practitioner teaching expertise across the staff team to better support children's overall learning experience.

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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 was shown around the indoor rooms and the outdoor play areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector made observations throughout the nursery covering all aspects of the setting.

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Inspection activities

 Observations and discussions took place with the management team and other practitioners.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the latest self-evaluation, and other documentation including risk assessments and staff and children's records.

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Information about the setting

Kidsunlimited Nursery at Cambridge Science Park is a part of Kidsunlimited Nurseries, owned by the national nursery chain Bright Horizons. It was registered in 2000 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated in a purpose built, two-storey building in the Science Park in Cambridge. The nursery serves parents working at the Science Park and the local area. The premises are accessible to all children and parents. A stair lift is available to access the first floor. All children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 53 members of childcare staff. Of these, 33 hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round, with the exception of bank holidays. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 167 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for 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.

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

 enhance the good quality of teaching, by extending opportunities for practitioners to share their skills and expertise, so that all children benefit regardless of their attendance patterns, particularly in the pre-school

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

 extend the outdoor play provision, particularly in the pre-school area, so that children can engage in activities covering all areas of learning to better support their individual learning styles.

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who attend

Children are enthusiastic learners supported by practitioners who have a good understanding of how to engage children's interests and maintain their concentration levels. They recognise that children learn through play and that they have different learning styles. However, older children do not always have the opportunity to experiment fully and explore all areas of learning in their outdoor play area which is particularly important for those children whose preference is to learn through play in the outdoor environment. The planning for and monitoring of children's learning is secure and all aspects of learning are sufficiently included indoors.

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who attend

All children are secure in communicating their needs and preferences. Practitioners use a range of ways to support children's early language skills to enable children with limited verbal skills to communicate their wishes, whether it is in relation to speech delay or English as an additional language. For example, picture cards and poster displays are used throughout the nursery and key persons obtain special words in children's home language to enable them to offer comfort and to understand children when they use them. Children of all ages enjoy listening to stories and rhymes with older children participating with great enthusiasm, particularly when it relates to a topic, such as a lion hunt. Children's starting points on entry are secure and initial targets are established by key persons working closely with parents during settling-in visits to support the child's transition from home to nursery.

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who attend

Parents receive periodic reports on their children's progress and are invited to parents' evenings and open days so they can be fully included in their child's learning. They are also helped to understand how to best support their children's learning at home through newsletters, noticeboards and wall displays. The well-resourced learning environment and practitioners' secure knowledge of children's needs helps to ensure that there are many opportunities for children's learning to be supported and extended. Most practitioners are skilful at challenging children's thinking to get the most from adult-led and child-initiated activities. For example, a child who requires extra support with speech and is fascinated by vehicles, particularly emergency ones, receives help with his language through this interest. There are practitioners throughout the nursery who demonstrate excellent teaching skills which support children's learning very well. However, recent changes

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who attend

particularly within the pre-school mean that this expertise is sometimes not available to support children due to children's attendance and practitioners' working patterns. Support is being provided to staff, although there is scope to develop this further to enhance children's learning and experiences.

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who attend

Practitioners working in the pre-school work hard to establish links with the many schools their children will graduate to. To support this important transition, reception year teachers are invited to visit children and observe them as they play in an environment in which they feel secure. They may also speak with key persons to discuss any special support individual children may require at transition.

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

Consistent adult to child ratios and the successful implementation of the key person system ensure that children form strong emotional attachments which support their settling-in and transitions enabling them to become independent learners as they move through the nursery. Children show a good sense of belonging and display high levels of confidence and self-esteem. For example, a child who has moved to a new room is still very fond of, and keeps in touch with, her previous key person. Children learn to co- operate and negotiate with their peers and are extremely helpful when practitioners engage them in activities, such as using the staircase to the outdoor area independently. Children are taught how to assess risk for themselves. They learn to hold onto the bannister, to look where they are going and not to move too quickly so they are aware of what the child in front of them is doing.

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

Children are well supported as they develop self-care skills. Children become very independent as they move through the nursery and develop a secure understanding of healthy practices. They have discussions with practitioners about how to stop germs spreading when washing their hands and about healthy eating as they wait for their lunch to arrive. Children's health and dietary needs are very well supported. All childcare practitioners and catering staff are fully briefed on children's individual medical and dietary needs and these are taken into account when menus are planned. Parents are kept well informed of what their children are eating and discussions take place between the child's key person and parents as their needs change. Children enjoy outdoor play and younger children have a variety of interesting activities to engage them as well as to support their physical development. For example, a simple row of saucepans hanging from a fence give

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

children a lot of pleasure as they listen to the different sounds the pans make depending on which tool they use to knock them with. They look at the pots of seeds they have planted and decide if they need more water and then draw a picture of what their flowers will look like when they are grown by copying the images on the seed packets.

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provision

The senior management team has high aspirations for quality. The manager and deputy have been working together since the beginning of the year and are already re-evaluating the provision to ensure that the changes they have asked their workforce to implement are working as anticipated and to focus on the continued development they envisage for the nursery. Children's learning is monitored efficiently and effectively ensuring that any areas of concern are discussed with key persons and parents early on and a support plan is adopted, for example, when potential additional needs are highlighted by practitioners.

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provision

Robust recruitment practices ensure a strong, motivated workforce who work together well. Performance management is maintained through staff meetings, observations and appraisals to ensure that strengths and good practices are highlighted and celebrated. In addition, those areas for individual development are worked on and supported either by colleagues or further training. Partnerships with parents are effective. There are several strategies across the nursery implemented to enable parents to engage with their children's learning. For example, parents share their children's home achievements with the nursery.

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provision

Senior management and key persons appreciate the importance of sharing information with other providers who share the children's care and with other professionals who work with individual families and are able to demonstrate how this effectively supports children's progress. For example, exercises shared by speech therapists for particular children are used by practitioners to help other children who are waiting for this type of support. Children's safety is a priority for everyone at the nursery. External and internal risk assessments are conducted annually and reviewed frequently to ensure that all aspects of the nursery remain safe. Safeguarding is taken very seriously and senior management ensures that all adults working with children are suitable to do so through rigorous recruitment, induction and appraisal. All adults understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to potential child protection issues and are familiar with local reporting and

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provision

recording protocols. They attend regular training and briefings so they remain up to date with all of the nursery's policies and procedures which ensure that the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage are implemented well to support children's welfare and learning needs.

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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 221633 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 914754

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 176 Number of children on roll 167 Name of provider Kidsunlimited Limited Date of previous inspection 01/02/2010 Telephone number 0845 365 2930

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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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