St Nicholas House

Busy Nought to Fives Ltd St Nicholas House, Walton Lane, Birchwood Park, Warrington, WA3 6YL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/08/2013 09/05/2011

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early years provision

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

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children take part in a satisfactory range of enjoyable, age-appropriate activities, which support their learning and development.  Children develop their independence as they are encouraged to make choices about what they play with and begin to complete simple self-care tasks by themselves.  Children's individual needs are known and catered for which promotes their health and well-being.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff performance across the nursery is not consistent, which means that on occasions children are not fully engaged and their learning is not promoted to its full potential.  Risk assessment is not rigorous enough to identify all potential risks to children's safety. As a result, although, children are well supervised in the outdoor area, potential hazards have not been identified or addressed.  Drinks of water are offered to children at regular intervals, however, they are not always freely accessible to all children, which limits their ability to make independent decisions about their own needs.

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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 undertook a tour of the premises.  The inspector observed children's play and learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed documentation and discussed children's learning and well- being with staff.

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Information about the setting

Busy Nought to Fives Ltd at St. Nicholas House opened in March 2003. It is part of a private chain of nurseries and operates from 10 rooms in a purpose built, single storey building in the Birchwood Park area of Warrington. The nursery serves children from the wider community.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 127 children on roll, who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery currently supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those, who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round, from 7.30am until 6pm, with the exception of Christmas and bank holidays. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery employs 25 members of childcare staff. Of these, 22 hold appropriate early years qualifications at a minimum of level 3, including the manager and deputy manager, who also hold early years degrees. The setting also employs a kitchen assistant. The nursery receives support from the local authority advisory teacher.

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must:

 ensure that the procedures for risk assessment are robust and implemented effectively to identify and address all potential risks to children's safety

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must:

 ensure that children have free access to drinks of water at all times throughout the nursery, so that they can independently help themselves if they feel thirsty.

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

 increase the effectiveness of the systems for performance management to ensure that all staff are supported to improve their knowledge, understanding and practice and that staff under-performance continues to be tackled effectively, so that practice across the nursery is consistently good.

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who attend

Children are provided with a suitable range of activities and experiences, which they enjoy and which support their development across the areas of learning. Staff at the nursery have a satisfactory understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and recognise the areas in which children are developing. Learning journey records, which include photographs and observational comments, identify children's next steps in their learning, to support their future development. Children's interests, preferences and developmental needs are used when planning activities. A system has recently been introduced, which enables staff to highlight the progress children are making against the expected levels of development for their age, although, this is not yet fully implemented throughout the nursery.

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who attend

The nursery is separated into several rooms, which cater for the various ages and levels of development of the children, who attend. All rooms use the same system for observations, assessments and planning and all children have a key person, who completes the majority of observations and develops a clear understanding of each child. Children throughout the nursery have access to a suitable range of resources, such as those for sand and water play, imaginative play, construction equipment and mark making. In addition, staff plan activities at different times based on the children's individual needs and interests.

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who attend

Young children and babies enjoy sensory experiences, which enable them to explore various textures and materials through a variety of methods. Babies happily sit in large floor trays filled with crispy rice cereal and explore as they pick up the pieces in their hands, crush and roll the rice cereal and then taste it. Staff sit alongside them and encourage children to further investigate as they make patterns in the cereal with their hands and make crunching noises as they roll the toy car through it. Toddlers delight in messy play activities, such as painting with their bodies on large paper on the floor. They giggle as they squeeze the paint between their fingers and toes and experiment with making hand prints, shapes and patterns in the paint. Staff talk to children about how the paint feels against their skin and children are encouraged to use language, such as, wet, sticky, dry and slippery.

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who attend

Pre-school children prepare for the move to school as they learn to write their names, count objects and recognise numbers, shapes and colours through everyday activities. Outdoors, children develop their large physical skills as they use the tyre swings, climb the steps to the slide and balance on a path made of plastic crates. Children's imagination is fostered as staff support them to re-enact familiar situations. For example, after watching the recycling lorry pass by, children use the outdoor equipment to pretend they are driving the trucks and collecting the recycling bins. These opportunities also promote children's language and communication skills.

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who attend

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported at the nursery as staff work with outside agencies to provide consistency. For example, strategies for behaviour management and activities designed to support individual children's learning and development are shared by specialist practitioners, who visit the nursery and are continued by nursery staff. Staff complete written records of children's progress, which are shared with outside agencies and passed onto school in preparation for their arrival there in September. Information is displayed around the nursery about the activities children take part in and the nursery is beginning to support parents to understand about the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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

Children are assigned a key person and their individual care and welfare needs are known and suitably provided for. Information is gathered from parents before children attend with regard to children's personal preferences and requirements, which supports the settling-in process. Children learn about the wider world through discussions and activities. They celebrate various cultural and religious festivals and access resources reflecting positive images of diversity.

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

Links with other early years settings are in place and the nursery supports children during the transition from one setting to another. Children, who are due to start school in September are appropriately supported by staff, as information is shared between settings and the nursery invites school teachers to meet the children at the setting before they leave. Nursery staff talk to children about the visits to their new school. This enables new staff to get to know children's background and preferences in advance, which eases the settling-in period when they move on. This also applies to children within the nursery, who move up to the next room as they get older. Key persons support them during visits and pass on information to the staff in the next room.

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

Babies enjoy cuddles with their key persons as they are bottle-fed in a cosy area and are provided with a safe, comfortable place to sleep as and when they need to. Children's individual needs, such as allergies and specific dietary requirements, are provided for. Children are developing a satisfactory understanding of the importance of staying healthy and safe. They enjoy a suitable range of physical exercise both indoors and outside throughout the year. This supports them to stay fit and healthy. Snacks and meals are delivered by an outside catering company and freshly prepared each day. Drinks are offered to children at snack and mealtimes and individual named beakers of water are available for children in each room. However, these are not always accessible to children, which means that they are not able to help themselves to a drink whenever they are feeling thirsty. Staff manage children's behaviour appropriately and help them to

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

understand that their actions can cause harm to other. For example, children are encouraged to share resources, to be gentle with equipment and not to run indoors. A fire evacuation procedure is in place and is carried out with the children on a regular basis. This supports children to develop an understanding of how to keep themselves safe in an emergency.

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provision

Staff demonstrate a satisfactory knowledge of the welfare, safeguarding and learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. A performance monitoring system has recently been introduced, in order to support staff development. However, this requires further implementation. This is because there are some inconsistencies amongst staff with regard to their performance, with some staff demonstrating a deeper knowledge of how young children learn and develop than others. This means that children's learning and development is not promoted to its full potential at all times throughout the nursery.

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provision

Safeguarding procedures are in place and staff demonstrate an understanding of the procedures to follow should they have concerns regarding a child's welfare. Appropriate recruitment and vetting systems are in place to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Written risk assessments are in place, which cover the premises and outdoor areas and staff check these on a daily basis. However, some aspects of the outdoor area pose a potential hazard to children's safety and well-being, for example, the security of the gates and the broken plastic window in the outdoor shed. The impact on children, however, is minimal as they are fully supervised when using the outdoor area. This is also a breach of a requirement for both parts of the Childcare Register.

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provision

Required paperwork and records are maintained. The manager has prioritised areas for development and discussions show that she is highly committed to continuous improvement. The new manager was appointed six months ago and has made significant changes to the nursery, which have had a positive impact on the children, who attend. For example, a new planning and assessment system has been introduced throughout the nursery, which means that children are provided with interesting and engaging activities, which are appropriate to their age and planned around their individual needs and interests.

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provision

Previous concerns received by Ofsted meant that a visit to the nursery took place earlier in the year. Following this, an action was raised, which required the nursery to ensure the safeguarding policy and procedures were understood and followed by all staff. The manager has updated the safeguarding policy since being appointed and ensures that staff's knowledge and understanding is kept up to date through team meetings and discussions.

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provision

Satisfactory partnerships with parents and carers are in place. Staff inform parents of what activities children have taken part in and share information regarding sleeps and feeds each day. New parents receive a welcome pack and are informed of the routines within the nursery.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary 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 the Childcare Register)  ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (voluntary part of the 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 EY259610 Local authority Warrington Inspection number 906491

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 119 Number of children on roll 127 Name of provider Busy Nought to Fives Ltd Date of previous inspection 09/05/2011 Telephone number 01925 850755

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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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