Busy Bees Day Nursery at Newbury

Just Learning Nursery Monks Lane, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 7TD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/07/2013 24/01/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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

 Staff have implemented new ideas and designs to create a learning environment which stimulates children and helps them to learn. Children make suitable progress, which is steadily improving.  Children are safeguarded because all staff demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities for child protection. Ongoing risk- assessments ensure that any potential hazards are identified and minimised.  Partnership working with parents is strong. Parents are valued and their views are sought and respected. Comments for improvement are welcomed and acted on.  Leadership and management are effective. The staff team have worked exceptionally well together to make significant improvements since the last inspection. Accurate self- evaluation and the staff's drive for improvement is set by a clear plan that supports positive outcomes for children.

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It is not yet good because

 The range of activities offered for younger children in the early morning does not captivate their interest enough to help them settle quickly or engage them in play.  Recent staff changes have led to the re-organisation of staff in some rooms. As a result, the key person system is just beginning to establish itself fully, particularly in the room for children under two.

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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 observed activities in all of the rooms within the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the area management team and the nursery manager and undertook a joint observation of activities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to members of the staff team about the progress of their key children and their understanding of the nursery's policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's observation, tracking and assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working with children in the pre-school and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers by analysing information from the parent's forum and questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

Just Learning Nursery was registered in 2002 and was acquired by Busy Bees Nurseries in 2012. It is one of a chain of nurseries operated by Busy Bees Nurseries. The nursery occupies purpose-designed premises within the grounds of Newbury College, on the southern outskirts of Newbury in Berkshire. The accommodation comprises of nine playrooms for the children, who are grouped according to age. Further facilities include a multi-purpose area, office, kitchen, laundry, staff room and accessible toilets. There are large, fully enclosed outdoor play areas. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Childcare Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 99 children on roll. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery opens each weekday throughout the

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Information about the setting

year between 7.30am and 6pm, with the exception of bank holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery draws children from a wide geographical area including many whose parents attend Newbury College. There are 22 staff members working with the children; of these eight have relevant qualifications at level 3 and five are at level 2. The nursery supports a number of staff who are working towards recognised qualifications. The nursery supports a number of childcare students from Newbury College. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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

 review the activities and strengthen further the role of the key person in the room for children under two to further engage younger children in their play and to help them to settle, with particular regard to the early morning drop-off period.

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who attend

Children appear happy and suitably settled in this friendly environment. Appropriate levels of support are provided by staff to ensure children have opportunities to make steady progress in their learning and development. Newly introduced procedures to gather a range of initial information from parents mean that children's starting points are now assessed well. Staff gather good quality information from parents about their children's individual needs, preferences and achievements at home. There are effective settling-in procedures that enable staff to get to know the children, making the move between home and nursery go smoothly. This information is used to inform the planning and to help monitor children's progress. There is clear evidence in the planning of how staff provide activities to meet children's individual needs and interests; for example, through their one- to-one work and key person time. Weekly observations are now made and this enables

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who attend

staff to effectively track children's progress in learning and development and regularly complete a summary assessment of the children's progress. Where children are recognised as requiring additional support, staff work with parents and other professionals to make sure that each child's individual needs are met. Staff have carried out the progress check at age two to enable them to assess children's development and act on any areas if there are concerns. Consequently, children make sound progress in their learning given their starting points.

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who attend

Children are generally interested in the planned activities on offer. Children freely access books and clearly enjoy listening to stories read to them by staff. They sing rhymes and songs with obvious pleasure and enjoyment, joining in actions with enthusiasm. Children recognise shape and colour as they skilfully complete jigsaw puzzles. They play with resources, such as microphones and other newly purchased electronic equipment, which develop their awareness and understanding of technology. Children sing and dance with great pleasure and enthusiasm and engage in pretend play which fosters their imaginations and creativity. Children use resources to make marks, such as crayons, felt tip pens and chalks, and draw with obvious pleasure, responding well when staff praise their achievements.

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who attend

Planning develops from children's individual interests and preferences and staff encourage them to develop activities for themselves. For example, a group of older boys work together to build a series of buildings in which to store their toys cars. The children concentrate for an extended period of time, making use of the new resources and increased selection of equipment to extend and develop their play. Although staff are on hand to guide the group, they give the children the time and the space to problem solve and negotiate the issues they encounter as the design develops. This means that children take an active role in their own learning as they explore and discover new concepts for themselves.

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who attend

Good interactions between the staff and children are still developing but have improved since the last inspection. Staff generally interact well with the children during the day and take appropriate opportunities to ask children open-ended questions to extend their thinking and learning. The nursery is taking part in the 'Every Child a Talker' programme to stimulate children's communication and language skills. Staff sit with babies and toddlers talking to them about what they are doing. They role-model language and encourage the younger children to repeat words to build their vocabulary. Older children confidently use more complex sentences and confidently talk about their experiences, connect ideas and explain what is happening. Staff listen attentively and use carefully formed questions that promote interesting answers. During these discussions, staff encourage the children to wait for their turn and to actively listen to what others are

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who attend

saying. Children who use English as an additional language are suitably supported in developing their vocabulary and language skills. Staff are sensitive to each child's level of language development and make sure that they explain any new vocabulary and that the child fully understands this. Parents are kept well informed of their child's progress and are fully involved in their children's learning. They receive daily information about the activities children are involved in and formal arrangements are in place for sharing children's learning folder. Parents and carers are encouraged to continue their child's learning at home and contribute to the assessment and planning process through comments in children's learning records or through observations of activities at home which they share with staff.

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

Children are happy to come to nursery because staff build strong, caring and respectful relationships with families. Older children are excited to start their day as they run into their base rooms and are warmly welcomed by staff and their friends. Children are beginning to form stronger attachments with key staff as revisions to the key person system are becoming more established, after recent changes to staffing. This suitably promotes children's sense of security within the nursery. Some younger children are still becoming familiar with these recent changes which mean they settle less well than the older age groups, especially in the very early morning drop-off periods. In addition, some children are not settling as well as they might as the range of resources on offer when they first arrive are not enticing enough to distract them from their parents leaving or to excite them into play. This in turn means that staff are having to spend longer periods of

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

time settling children while also managing routine tasks such as serving breakfast. However, this practice only occurs for a short period at the beginning of the day. Overall routines, staff deployment and activities support the varying needs of the children in the nursery to a satisfactory level throughout the day, with some good practice evident across some rooms in the nursery. Good quality, easily accessible toys, equipment and resources are relevant to children's interests and arranged flexibly so that they can explore and make choices. Posters, pictures and displays that reflect and celebrate diversity while valuing children's home languages are now widespread throughout the nursery. Consequently, children gain a strong sense of belonging.

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

Children's health and physical well-being are effectively promoted. They enjoy music sessions, participating in action rhymes and moving and dancing in time to music. They take part in regular physical activity, both indoors and outdoors, and develop their agility and coordination through exercise, They take risks safely as staff encourage them to challenge themselves on the large equipment. The outdoors areas are accessed in all weathers and are suitably used to support learning. Children's knowledge of a healthy lifestyle is promoted as staff offer healthy snacks, and children have continuous access to drinking water. Meals are provided in accordance with parents' wishes and any allergies or dietary needs are given high priority. Children have hearty appetites and eat wholesome, freshly cooked midday meals. Older children enjoy this sociable occasion as staff eat with the children. This opportunity is used to model good table manners and the correct use of

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

cutlery or to enjoy relaxed conversations about topics that interest the children. For example, one child asks about the chickpeas in the vegetable curry and a conversation ensues about healthy options and favourite meals. These are skills which help prepare them in readiness for school. Children's safety is of high priority. Children talk about their own and others' safety as they play, knowing to be careful on the wet playground in case they slip. They are involved in routine activities which develop their understanding of safety, such as tidying the toys away so that others do not trip, or taking part in the fire drill which is practised regularly so they know how to swiftly exit the premises in an emergency. Appropriate action is taken to ensure accidents are kept to a minimum and staff are suitably qualified to administer treatment. Robust procedures are followed for the administration of medication. The treatment of on-going medical needs is suitably risk assessed and

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

Children are building on their understanding of good behaviour because the staff have introduced new behaviour strategies based on kindness, safety and respect. Staff are beginning to model these well and older age groups of children in particular respond well, with few incidents of poor behaviour. Staff are polite and speak positively to the children supporting them in recognising to respect and value others. Some staff are less confident in managing arguments between younger children and do not support children as well in looking after resources. Nevertheless, behaviour management within the nursery is satisfactory, and improving. There are suitable arrangements in place for supporting children's moves between rooms. For example, they visit the room which they are going to move into for short sessions, enabling them to become familiar with the new surroundings and to get to know the new staff.

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provision

The senior management team has a good understanding of their responsibility to ensure that the nursery meets the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. There have been many positive changes made since the last inspection, most notably the recent change in the management of the nursery and a restructuring of staff teams. Although many of these changes are becoming embedded, the new manager has quickly and very capably ensured the smooth day-to-day running of the nursery. Staff deployment and practice are monitored effectively and the manager gains first-hand knowledge about what is working well and what remains to be improved. The quality of teaching is rapidly becoming more consistent as supervision, consultation and appraisals with staff ensure that the impact of their practice is consistently monitored. Previous staff underperformance has been rigorously tackled. Training has improved staff confidence in

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provision

identifying and providing additional support that children may require.

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provision

There are effective systems to monitor and evaluate the provision. All actions from the previous inspection have been promptly addressed and new procedures are being implemented with success. Children now benefit from an increased range of resources and play spaces that create opportunities to excite their curiosity and motivate them in their play. There is now a well-documented drive to strongly improve achievement for all children, which demonstrates the team's commitment for continuous development. There are secure systems to monitor the learning and development requirements to make sure that staff are monitoring each child's progress. The manager maintains a good overview of the curriculum and monitors the educational programmes of all children to ensure they make progress in all areas of learning. As a result any differences in the levels of progress children are making, particularly those children with special educational needs and/or

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provision

disabilities, or those who for whom English is an additional language, are quickly narrowing. Detailed and comprehensive written policies and procedures support the safe and efficient management of the nursery and ensure children's needs are suitably met. The management team work well with the local authority early years advisors, which further enhances the self-evaluation process.

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provision

All staff have completed training in safeguarding to develop their knowledge so it is up to date and have a sound understanding of their roles and responsibilities for protecting children from possible harm or neglect and for reporting concerns. Clear policies and procedures, are shared and understood by all staff and parents. Staff undertake daily risk assessments of all areas, resources and equipment. These are regularly reviewed as changes occur, for example, during recent building work, and any potential hazards are minimised through prompt action of the management team. Staff are vigilant about children's security. There are clear arrival and collection procedures and controlled entry systems at the main entrance. Effective recruitment procedures ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. A clear induction process to helps new staff understand their roles and responsibilities. Robust procedures to ensure staff remain suitable for their

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provision

role are in place, effectively reviewed and maintained.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are good. The management team recognise the importance of working closely with parents, who are now provided with good quality information about the provision through regular newsletters, notice boards displaying relevant and interesting information and ideas to support learning at home. Regular questionnaires and surveys, which require parents to evaluate the effectiveness of the recent changes in the nursery, have formed a strong basis for many of the improvements and provided management with an effective way to hear parents' views and quickly act on any concerns. A parent's forum has been particularly successful in addressing a number of key issues, with parents commenting positively on the team's commitment and hard work. There are good systems to share information with other early years providers and professionals that are involved with the children. Staff work closely with professionals to

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provision

support children with special educational needs and the new special educational needs co- ordinator has implemented a number of effective strategies on the advice of these partners. This supports staff in meeting children's individual needs and having a shared approach to the children's learning.

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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 EY233534 Local authority West Berkshire (Newbury) Inspection number 928972 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 104 Number of children on roll 99 Name of provider Just Learning Ltd Date of previous inspection 24/01/2013 Telephone number 01635 524832

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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

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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