Fig Tree Day Nursery

Fig Tree Day Nursery 12 - 14 Mowbray Close, Frankley, Birmingham, B45 0ES

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/06/2013 28/05/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Practitioners plan a wide range of interesting learning experiences that reflect children's interests to enable them to make good progress in their learning.  Children are well safeguarded due to robust recruitment and vetting procedures and staffs understanding of their roles and responsibilities in protecting the children in their care.  Staff make parents feel welcome at all times. Parents and staff exchange highly useful information on a daily basis. This keeps parents well informed about their child's progress and enables them to share ideas for supporting children's learning further.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not always take the appropriate action to ensure the outdoor play area is fully risk assessed and hazards are addressed.  Staff do not always act quickly enough to develop targeted learning plans for those children who need additional support.  Daily routines and planned processes are not always monitored efficiently to ensure the action taken is timely and effective.

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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 compulsory part 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 discussed children's progress with their key person and interacted with children throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the baby, toddler and pre-school rooms and outdoor play area and also children having their lunch time meal.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including children's records, learning and development information, staff records and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager and discussed the action plans for improvements in the nursery.

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Information about the setting

Fig Tree Day Nursery was registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is situated in converted premises in the Frankley area of Birmingham and is managed by a private company. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates on two floors and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery has Giant African land snails as pets.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 14 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 2, 3 and 6.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Sunday all year round. Sessions are from 6am until 9pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting also provides out of school care. There are currently 42 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 with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure risk assessments are effectively carried out to minimise hazards in the outdoor play area

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must:

 make sure staff are pro-active in developing a targeted plan to better support children's future learning and development when other professionals are involved.

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

 monitor more closely the nursery's daily routines and planned processes, so that action taken by staff is consistently effective.

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who attend

Staff have a generally good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how children learn. The educational programme staff plan is interesting to most children and provides them with realistic and effective challenge across all areas of learning. Staff are well deployed to support children's learning and welfare and ensure routines meet their needs. Regular and spontaneous photo observations that staff complete capture significant moments, as well as more detailed observations. However, in some rooms these are not always used effectively or routinely to build on children's assessments and progress and to clearly further highlight their next steps. This means that, occasionally, some children's individual learning is not fully promoted. Staff liaise well with parents at the start to gain as much knowledge as they can to plan for children's individual interests. Transition between rooms is well managed, with children's up-to-date

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who attend

assessments following through with them. All children have an individual learning journal and parents are encouraged to contribute to this.

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who attend

Children benefit from a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities and the routine is very flexible to enable them to follow their own interests. They have continuous access to a broad range of toys and equipment, which are stored at low level enabling them to make choices that develops their independence skills. Staff provide an inclusive environment and have a positive impact on most children in their care. However, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not adequately supported, as staff are not proactive and wait too long for information from other professionals. This results in children not receiving the additional support they need, swiftly enough.

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who attend

The key person system is established and staff know their key children's personalities and learning styles. Children interact well with each other and the staff as they play. Staff use effective questioning techniques to extend and challenge and plan individual activities for children based on their identified next steps. These are combined into the daily routine of the room to enable all children to make reasonable progress. Children listen attentively to stories and join in enthusiastically when singing songs as they wait for their lunch. Babies' interest is sustained during painting activities as they experiment by tasting and touching paint and glitter to produce some very effective art work, which staff display for parents. Staff support and extend their growing vocabulary by looking at books, encouraging the babies to imitate the sounds of animals. Toddlers enjoy playing outdoors with water,

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who attend

tipping and pouring it into different sized containers. Staff encourages the use of mathematical language and use effective questioning and engaging in conversations to extend children's learning. Toddlers enjoy art and craft activities. They have made hedgehogs from salt dough, snakes using tissue paper and glitter and painted black and white penguins to be displayed in the 'jungle theme'. Children play with 'gloop' encouraged by staff to collect it into a ball in their hand and then watch as it turns to liquid when they open their hand. Children 'bug hunt' in the garden and also enjoy digging and planting.

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who attend

Older children make steady progress in developing their communication and language skills. They speak confidently with the staff, their peers and visitors explaining what they are doing and why. Older children take pleasure in writing and drawing through making models of a character from a story. They experiment with paints, mixing blue and yellow to make green, then using bubble wrap to print. They use their imagination outdoor, making the climbing frame into a castle or indoors using the work bench as a theatre with the tools as puppets. They show developing levels of independence as they make choices during meal and snack times and enjoy serving their own drinks and meals at lunch time. This gives children a firm foundation to support their future learning and readiness for school. Overall, the majority of children are happy, settled and confident learners and they enjoy their time in an interesting and well-equipped environment.

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who attend

Parents are involved in their children's learning both at home and in the setting. Educational programmes are displayed on a board and they are informed of the revised changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage in the monthly newsletter, which the manager emails out to parents. Staff in the pre-school room are introducing 'homework books', which contain simple matching, colouring or number exercises for children to complete with their parents at home.

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

Children settle well into the nursery which is bright, spacious and invitingly decorated so that they and their parents feel welcomed. Positive engagement by the key person and lots of spontaneous praise and encouragement from staff throughout the day help to develop children's confidence so they feel secure and try out new things. Children are very sociable and independent and confidently engage with staff and their peers, with staff patiently but firmly reminding some when they become a little over excited or challenging. Throughout the nursery children are supported in their social skills so they learn how to play together, share toys and take turns. Older children competently pour drinks and serve themselves food and snacks with staff on hand to offer support.

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

All children learn about the importance of healthy eating and lifestyles through discussion, activities and daily routines. Children display a positive attitude towards healthy eating. Menus are healthy, balanced and varied and children are involved in cooking activities to build upon their knowledge, such as making their own pizzas to share with their friends. In addition, children help to plant and care for a variety of flowers, vegetables and fruits. Children demonstrate good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They follow good personal hygiene routines and enjoy very frequent access to the outside play area in all weathers. Children also enjoy regular walks within the local community to the park and library.

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

Staff spend time getting to know the children and their families. They form secure attachments with kind and caring staff, resulting in their emotional well-being being supported well, as children talk with ease to staff about any concerns they may have. For example, children are given time when they initially join the setting to develop relationships with the staff team and their key person during the gradual settling-in process undertaken. Transitions through the nursery room are at the child's own pace and not age related. They often wait for their friends and peers before making a move to another room. All children join together during the day, which helps them to become familiar with other areas in the nursery and staff.

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

Children's safety is compromised at times as staff do not always ensure risk assessments are followed fully and all hazards are minimised on a daily basis, this is with particular regard to the outdoor area. Staff do support children's growing understanding of how to stay safe. For example, children participate in regular fire evacuation drills and learn about road safety when walking in the local community. All children benefit from the strong transition procedures and links the nursery has developed with local schools to support their move to school. This includes detailed information sharing between the two settings and visits from teachers of their new school. This ensures children's individual needs are being met and helps to ease the transition process.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are robust, regularly reviewed and fully understood by all staff. An effective safeguarding children policy is implemented and practitioner's knowledge of safeguarding children is fully up to date. Risk assessments are conducted, however, these are not always used efficiently. The manager employs a hands-on, active role within the setting. All necessary information is displayed in each room, as well as an informative display on the parent's notice board. Other procedures to further protect children, such as, the maintenance of daily records, safe collection systems and seeking all necessary information at registration, are thoroughly carried out. Changes have been implemented, which staff say have had a positive impact, such as, new planning documentation, staff supervision sessions and updating training in first aid and safeguarding. Staff display a positive approach to improving their professional

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provision

development to continue to enhance the learning, development and care on offer.

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provision

The owner has a positive vision for providing a high quality service and she is fully committed to reflective practice and engaging the views of staff and parents to achieve this. The manager carries out regular monitoring of the educational programme to offer support and guidance. Some performance management systems are in place, such as, one to one meetings, team meetings, induction procedures and annual appraisals. However, there is scope to develop these further to include the nursery's daily routines and planned processes so that action taken by staff is consistently effective.

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provision

Self-evaluation is in place and supports continuous improvement for the benefit of the children who attend. There are identified members of staff, who take responsibility for key roles within the setting, such as, safeguarding, special educational needs and/or disabilities and behaviour management. This ensures the staff team are provided with detailed information and support when required. The staff team's motivation and self- confidence are developing and they all actively strive towards improving the setting for all the children who attend. This clearly demonstrates the provisions capacity to continually improve.

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provision

Partnership with parents is strong and parents comment on the positive support and approachability of all staff. The settling-in period is well organised so that key persons get to know children and their parents and share important information about their individual needs. Parents receive good quality information about the provision through the use of notice boards and newsletters. They are kept informed of children's daily progress through regular feedback from staff and by sharing the daily diary. Staff understand and work in partnership with other professionals and settings children attend to support their transitions and to promote continuity in their care and learning. They communicate effectively with local schools to complement children's learning and to ensure progression.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (compulsory part of Childcare Register).

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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 EY423162 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 899288

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 42 Name of provider Synconium UK Ltd Date of previous inspection 28/05/2012 Telephone number 01214480164

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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

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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