Honeybear House Day Nursery

Puddleducks Day Nursery (Witham) Conrad Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 2SD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/07/2013 28/03/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children learn and develop because practitioners demonstrate a secure understanding of how to capture and engage children's interests. They provide children with an exciting range of planned and free-play opportunities.  The effective key person system means that children settle well into their nursery environment and form close attachments to their carers.  Children develop good self-care skills, such as washing their hands after using the toilet and brushing their teeth after lunch.  Children engage in a good range of freely-chosen play, enabling them to make choices over their learning and to guide their play. They make good use of the outdoor learning environment, which is well equipped and provides resources to enable children to explore all seven areas of learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Some aspects of the premises are not regularly maintained in a sufficiently clean state.

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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 viewed all areas of the nursery and observed activities in the playrooms and garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager, registered provider, practitioners, Special Educational Needs Coordinator, children and parents at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a range of records, including children's personal details, information about children's learning and development, accident and medication records, information about practitioners' qualifications and suitability checks, written risk assessments and policies.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Puddleducks Day Nursery (Witham) was registered in 2004 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in purpose-built premises in the grounds of the Rickstone School in the Witham area of Essex, and is managed by a private company. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 22 members of childcare staff. Of these, 20 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2, 3 and 4.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 113 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 who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 monitor the frequency of cleaning routines to ensure the premises and equipment remain clean at all times.

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who attend

Children are actively engaged in a wide range of learning experiences, as practitioners demonstrate a good understanding of how children learn. Children's successful learning is enhanced as practitioners follow their individual ideas, learning styles and suggestions. For example, a child's kite from home, created a long term topic, entitled 'up in the air'. This led to learning opportunities, which enabled children to consider things that rise and float, air transport, flight and animals that fly. A new baby due to be born to a family, prompted a topic on new babies. This allowed children to consider growth, birth and the care of a new baby. The topic was enhanced by a parent bringing a new baby into the nursery to share bath time with the children and to talk about the baby's needs. This means children benefit from first-hand experiences and encourages parents to be involved in their child's learning.

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who attend

Younger children have good opportunities to explore natural and heuristic resources through a range of treasure baskets. They are encouraged to move around the environment, indoors and outdoors. Children who are preparing for walking are assisted by practitioners holding their hands and providing safe push-along toys to help them to cruise in safety. Children's language and communication is extended by practitioners using skilful questioning and intervening in discussions at appropriate times. They are encouraged to express themselves through set circle times and through general discussions. Children in the pre-school room are developing good hand-writing skills indoors and outdoors. Many are beginning to form recognisable letters and to write their own names. Children are provided with good role-play resources to enable them to express themselves. For example, indoors they access domestic play environments, such

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who attend

as home corners, shops and post offices. While in the outdoor area, they have a working construction site, whereby they can build houses from large foam bricks using wheelbarrows and appropriate hard hats.

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who attend

Practitioners plan the stimulating range of activities based on an evaluation of the previous week's planning. If activities have been successful they are extended and further developed the following week. Practitioners use careful observations of the children's play to identify their next steps in learning and input these into the planning. Children, including those who speak English as an additional language or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make secure progress in their learning. Visitors to the nursery enhance the children's experiences, for example, the library bus is used to extend the range of books available to children and to allow them to make choices about the books that are borrowed. During pets' week a range of family pets are brought into the nursery for children to pet, discuss and play with. Children are effectively prepared for their next stages of learning as practitioners talk to them about going to school. Teachers

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who attend

from the local school come in to the pre-school room to meet the children and to talk about starting school. A range of school uniforms are available for children to explore in preparation for their new environments.

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

Practitioners help children to feel secure and settled in their nursery life by following the nursery's clear settling-in procedures. Parents provide the key person with good information about children's home backgrounds, interests and daily routines. These are displayed on walls to ensure that all practitioners working in the rooms are aware of each child's individual requirements. The key persons create a caring atmosphere of trust, where children form secure relationships with the adults caring for them. Children develop a firm sense of belonging as they confidently move around the nursery. They independently access the toilets and hand-washing facilities and maintain good oral hygiene by brushing their teeth after lunch. Children learn to take turns and negotiate well through the nursery's effective systems for behaviour management. For example, during circle time in the pre-school room children share their experiences of the weekend with

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

their peers. They know that they need to be holding the 'speaking ball' to have their turn to speak. Practitioners skilfully reinforce the nursery's rules and boundaries through gentle reminders and consistent routines. The nursery's healthy food policy is followed by practitioners who talk to children to help them learn about healthy eating. Children are provided with cooked meals throughout the day, prepared and cooked on site by the nursery cook. They help to grow fruit and vegetables in their vegetable garden, which are harvested and used in snacks and meals. This promotes and extends children's understanding of the world and where natural foods come from. Outdoor play opportunities are available throughout the day in one of the nursery's two large gardens. Both gardens are well equipped and provide safe and secure outdoor play opportunities, which enable children to explore all seven areas of learning.

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

Children understand that exercise is good for them and eagerly prepare for their sports day, whereby they participate in a range of races and fun activities.

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

The nursery building is welcoming and stimulating. Children are cared for in one of four playrooms, according to their age and stage of ability. Transition from one room to the next is good as effective settling-in procedures enable children to acclimatise to the new surroundings and practitioners before officially moving up. Parents are encouraged to become involved in all aspects of the nursery's settling-in procedures to ensure that children settle quickly into their nursery life and remain happy and confident.

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provision

This inspection was generated from a concern shared with Ofsted regarding the cleanliness of the premises, the supervision of children and the care of children with additional needs. The required adult-to-child ratios were being met at the time of the inspection and children throughout the nursery were being supervised appropriately. Children requiring additional support are provided with a one-to-one key person, when funding becomes available. Systems for supervising and supporting children with additional needs are in place and are arranged with the assistance of the area Special Educational Needs Coordinator and the Specialist Teacher for the area. The premises are generally clean and well organised, however, some moveable units attract dust and provide a space for fallen toys, creating a disorganised look. Some hard floor surfacing is in need of a deep clean, which the manager and owner are in the process of organising.

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provision

Material safety straps used to keep children in the toddler room safe on their chairs are marked with dried food. The manager confirmed that these are washed on a weekly basis, however, this routine may not be sufficient to ensure their cleanliness at all times.

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provision

The nursery is one of a small chain of nurseries owned by the same registered providers. The management structure comprises of the registered providers, an established manager, who has worked at the nursery for many years, two deputies and a team of core staff, many of whom have worked together over a long period of time. Leadership of the nursery is secure, resulting in effective management. Children progress well in their learning as the manager has established systems for monitoring the educational programme, planning and assessment. The manager carries out frequent observations of the practitioners' working practices and uses her notes in supervision meetings to review the effectiveness of the quality of teaching. The management team, practitioners, parents and children contribute towards the nursery's self-evaluation process, enabling them to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Annual questionnaires sent to parents provide a

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provision

good opportunity for parents to feed into the self-evaluation process. Results from the most recent parent survey identified that some parents found the children's learning journeys difficult to understand and felt that they did not have time to look at these and make comments. Systems were reviewed and the learning journeys were placed in key worker group boxes in the foyer of the nursery. This enables parents to view them at any time. A factsheet explaining how the learning journeys are presented has also been devised to help parents to understand how their children are learning and progressing.

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provision

Children are well protected from harm at the nursery, as practitioners and management demonstrate secure knowledge of safeguarding issues and the processes to follow if they have any concerns for the children in their care. All adults working or having regular contact with children are vetted and proof of their suitability checks is available on site. Children play in a safe environment which is risk assessed daily. The premises and equipment is kept generally clean.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents spoken to at the time of the inspection, express their complete confidence in the nursery. Many parents choose to travel some distance to enable their children to attend this nursery, rather than choosing a provision closer to their home. Parents state that they feel very involved in their children's learning and feel that they can discuss their children's progress with their key person at any time. They feel the information provided for them is good and keeps them well informed of any changes or new working practices. The nursery is situated next to a local primary school and has good transition links, which help to provide a smooth transition between the nursery and school. Links with other early years settings, which children attend are good and provide effective opportunities for practitioners to share information about children's learning and development with other early years provisions.

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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 EY276157 Local authority Essex Inspection number 927764

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 56 Number of children on roll 113 Name of provider Puddleducks Day Nursery (Witham) Limited Date of previous inspection 28/03/2011 Telephone number 01376 521510

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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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