Busy Bees Day Nursery at Daventry

Busy Bees Day Nursery at Daventry Wimborne Place, Ashby Fields, DAVENTRY, Northamptonshire, NN11 0XY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/08/2013 07/05/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 All children show they feel happy and secure in this friendly nursery where the staff work hard to ensure that each child's unique needs are met. Children demonstrate clear bonds with the staff who show a genuine interest in their comfort and well-being.  The partnership with parents is strong and through this working together, the children feel secure and receive consistency in their care and learning.  Children thoroughly enjoy using the garden areas, which are used to great effect to promote children's exploration skills and curiosity.  The management and staff team work very well together. They evaluate their practice regularly and respond to the children's and their family's needs effectively.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The nursery has recently had a number of new staff commence working and their confidence is not yet fully developed, through following the good example of their more established colleagues, in order to enhance the quality of their teaching.  The very good opportunities for pre-school children to enhance their awareness of numbers are not always fully maximised during role play activities.

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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 observed activities in the three playrooms and in each of the garden areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision and with three members of staff.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager of the provision.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of a number of parents spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with the children, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Information about the setting

Busy Bees Day Nursery was registered in 2008 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in single storey, purpose built premises in the Ashby Fields area of Daventry, Northamptonshire, and is managed by Busy Bees Day Nurseries.

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Information about the setting

The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There are fully enclosed areas available for outdoor play adjacent to each of the nursery rooms.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 24 members of child care staff. Of these, 14 hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 2 and 3, including one with Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round except for bank holidays. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 76 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:

 use the examples of very good practice from most members of staff to develop further the confidence and quality of teaching of the newer members of staff in order to enhance children's learning further

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

 extend the pre-school children's experiences of working with numbers. For example, by providing a till and pretend money for use in imaginative and role play activities.

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who attend

Children are provided with a good range of activities that promote their interests and development. These activities are clearly linked to the seven areas of learning and are planned by the key person for each child according to their interests. Each child's interests are used as a key part of the planning and this actively contributes to the children being keen and excited to take part in the activities. For example, a group of pre-school children make the food for their tea. They are very enthusiastic in working with the pastry and spooning the filling before proudly putting it on the tray ready for cooking. The staff talk to them about what they are doing and encourage them to think about how they will fill their pasty and secure the edges so it stays in one piece during cooking. The children listen to the staff throughout this lively activity. Babies enjoy exploring a wide range of play materials and textures. They play with wooden items, such as brushes and egg cups.

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who attend

They are encouraged by the staff who sit with them to reassure them to be curious. They turn the items over in their hands and put them in their mouths. This widening of their experience promotes their awareness of the different textures and feelings. Toddlers have fun in the garden, running around with the pom-poms in their hands and feeling the wind on their faces. They are learning about the world because the staff talk to them about how the wind blows through the pom-poms. Children chase after the ones that roll across the garden when the wind blows.

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who attend

The key persons work very well with their children. They know them well and they are sensitive to their individual needs. For example, the babies are provided with the opportunity to explore paint with their bodies. The staff encourage them to feel the paint with their hands and feet but are aware of those who are unsure and promptly clean them up and provide them with alternative activities. Each child has a file that records their progress through observations, photographs and samples of their work. Parents are valued for their contributions to information about their child's interests and progress at home. The key person discusses the child's interests before they start attending to help with identifying their starting points. Parents are asked to provide details about observations they have made at home throughout their child's time at the nursery which the key person takes account of when planning activities.

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who attend

Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are ably supported in the nursery. The special educational needs co-ordinator, alongside their key person work closely with their parents and other agencies, such as the local authority partnership and portage. This helps children have a consistent approach in their individual care plan. The nursery staff use signing as part of their daily activity to support the children who need this. The nursery supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. Again, the key person works alongside parents to help with any translations that are required. They use tools, such as picture cards, to help the children indicate their needs while their spoken English skills are developing.

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who attend

Children in this nursery are well-prepared for the move on to school. All the children attending are actively supported in their personal, social and emotional development and with their growing independence. The staff encourage them to work together and to make their own decisions through choosing their activities. The children are keen to get involved with the experiences available to them and the staff demonstrate by getting involved themselves. Older children work very well together in small groups. For example, they use the building and construction area in the garden to create walls together. They incorporate compost from the garden centre role play into this construction area which enhances their construction game. They enjoy looking at books in small gazebos in the garden. They re- tell familiar stories using different voices for the characters and laughing out loud in anticipation of amusing parts of the story. Children get involved in a range of counting

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who attend

opportunities throughout the daily routine. However, there is scope to further enhance their knowledge about numbers by involving money through imaginative play, such as the garden centre. The nursery has close links with local schools that involves contact with the reception teachers and sharing of information about the children's progress.

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

The care practices in this nursery are excellent. Children benefit from the very efficient management of housekeeping tasks. For example, the lunch areas and changing areas are kept spotlessly clean, which means that children are protected from the risk of cross infection. Staff are free to deal with the children after lunchtime because the housekeeper freshens up the floors ready for the area to be used for activities again. The superb range and innovative use of the resources and equipment promotes each child's learning and provides entirely appropriate challenges for them. For example, babies can explore a wide range of sealed bottles that contain different items, including glitter, colours and small items. They use an interesting range of natural items of differing textures and enjoy resources that are themed on colours, such as purple, black and white. Toddlers make the most of a beach area that includes a half tent, buckets, spades and beach towels all set up

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

against a large vista picture of a seaside scene. From the children's level the effect of being at the seaside is quite realistic. Pre-school children thoroughly enjoy collecting buckets of water, squeegees and sponges to enthusiastically clean the low-level windows of the nursery rooms. They work together during this task discussing who will take on which tool and splash away with the water with great gusto. They learn about being safe as they take care with the water so they do not slip in it.

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

Children's continued good health is actively promoted in this nursery. They are provided with meals and snacks that are freshly prepared by the nursery chef. Children are interested to try new ideas at mealtimes, such as having a starter and a main course rather than a dessert. They sit together to eat, tucking into their food. The nursery chef and all the staff are extremely vigilant in ensuring that children who have specific dietary needs are managed carefully. The children know the chef very well because she spends time in the nursery rooms and gets fully involved in cooking activities with them. Children have access to drinks throughout the nursery sessions and they thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to play inside and outside as they wish for most of the session. Children's individual routines are followed through thorough careful and sensitive discussions with their parents. For example, babies feeding and rest times are discussed and any changes

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

are agreed equally between the key person and the parent. Children who sleep are settled by staff who ensure they are comfortable on their mats. To ensure the safety of sleeping children a member of staff stays with them at all times. Babies are supervised and checked regularly. Children behave very well. They respond to the staff's gentle reminders of the importance of thinking of others. They take time to talk to them about what they are doing and children are aware of the expectations for behaviour because they have been involved in setting the values for each room. These values have a very positive message and use entirely appropriate methods for the different ages of the children.

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

The nursery has highly effective procedures for helping children to settle in and separate from their parents. Each family is managed on an individual basis so their child can have a successful start to the nursery. The key person works with parents to complete five settling-in sessions, which gradually builds up the time the child spends away from their parents. This can be extended if necessary and the very close partnership working continues through detailed sharing of information each day about the children's routines and about their activities. Children are equally well-prepared to move between the rooms in the nursery. This move takes place when each child is felt ready for it by their parents and the key person. Parents receive a letter to inform them of which room their child will move to and who the new key person will be. The child goes for visits to the new room to help them prepare and the key worker provides information about their interests and

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

progress. This highly effective support for children to move within the nursery helps them to feel safe. They get to know the staff, the management, the chef and the housekeeper because they spend time in the rooms. This homely feel to the nursery enables them to develop feelings of belonging and security. Children in each of the nursery rooms can see and talk to each other when they are in the garden. The fences that separate each area are at low-level and the children spend time watching their friends. This highly effective and sensitive preparation ensures that children's needs continue to be met and that they feel secure during this time of change.

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provision

The management and staff team work very well together which ensures that each child's needs are met effectively. Their strong partnership working with parents, local schools, other providers and agencies, including the local authority and special educational needs coordinators, actively contributes to children receiving a consistent approach to their care and learning. The Busy Bees Company is committed to the professional development of its staff and encourages them to attend training courses. The nursery manager includes in- house training in the regular team meetings. There have recently been some changes to the staff team with the addition of new members of staff. The management and staff have mostly continued to maintain the good practice throughout the nursery during these changes. However, there are occasions when there are minor inconsistencies in the staff's management of the children, particularly in relation to their developing confidence in

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provision

always supporting children's learning and development. The new staff continue to be supported through monitoring by the manager and through observing the strong practice of their colleagues to continue to develop their confidence, which in turn will enhance their quality of teaching.

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provision

The manager and staff team fully understand the requirements for the safeguarding and welfare of the children. The Busy Bees Company has robust procedures in place for the recruitment and retention of suitable staff. All members of staff have knowledge of the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures and of the requirement to record and report any safeguarding concerns. The Busy Bees Company supports all staff in core training relating to safeguarding. Ratios are maintained and staff are vigilant in ensuring the correct ratios are in place during the children's opportunities to move between the inside and outside play areas. Children are kept safe because the staff provide close supervision during their play. Accidents are recorded and are monitored for patterns through a computer system. The organisation promotes risk assessment of the premises which is ongoing and responds to any trends noted through the monitoring of accidents

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provision

Children make good progress in their individual learning and development because the staff demonstrate a strong understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how to implement this for their key children. They are aware of their different learning styles and base their planning around the children's interests. The manager observes within the nursery rooms to monitor the quality of teaching and the progress the children are making. The nursery has a strong culture of evaluating and reviewing its practice and has devised well-targeted plans for its future development. They have taken appropriate action on the issues raised at the previous inspection. Busy Bees has its own Early Years and Curriculum Advisors that work closely with the local authority to support the nursery to identify its main priorities for the future. This has recently involved some successful improvements and additions to the garden areas. The partnership working with parents is

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provision

very strong. Parents are fully valued for their input into their child's continued learning and development. They are also encouraged to play an active part in the nursery through their involvement in the Parent Partnership Group. Their ideas and suggestions are included in the improvement plan, which ensures that the changes made are decided upon together. The management and staff team work very hard to provide children with a safe environment where they can enjoy learning through their play.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 219938 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 927442

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 97 Number of children on roll 76 Name of provider Busy Bees Day Nurseries (Trading) Limited Date of previous inspection 07/05/2009 Telephone number 01327 872835

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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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