Bright Futures @ the gateway

Bright Futures @ the gateway The Gateway, Green Lane, BOLTON, BL3 2PH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/09/2013 11/01/2010

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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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are happy and enjoy taking part in activities that are stimulating and well planned around their interests. Consequently, they are enthusiastic and confident learners. Children are making good progress in all areas of their development, and are well prepared for school.  Relationships between staff and children are strong and caring, enabling individual needs to be met effectively. As a result, children feel safe and secure. Staff work well with parents and other professionals to support children as individuals.  Enthusiastic leadership drives a strong desire of ongoing improvement for the nursery. There is a strong commitment to the professional development of the staff through further training. Development plans are informed by regularly seeking the views of staff members, parents and other professionals to ensure changes are relevant.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not consistently employ effective strategies to support young babies in their emergent sitting skills to promote their physical development.  There is room to enhance staff practice in the baby sleeping area, to further improve on the high levels of hygiene implemented throughout the nursery.

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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 children's activities and staff interaction in the playrooms and the outdoor play area.  The inspector observed breakfast and lunchtime with the children.

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Inspection activities

 Discussions were held with children, individual staff members, the manager, the registered provider of the nursery and some parents. A joint observation was carried out with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation, including observations, assessments, planning, systems for tracking children's progress and a sample of other records, including policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Bright Futures at the Gateway was registered in 2009 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in the Burnden area of Bolton, and is managed by a limited company. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a large Victorian building there are two enclosed areas for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of these, 11 hold an appropriate early years qualification at level 3, two hold appropriate early years qualification at level 2, one holds appropriate early years qualification at level 5 and one holds Early Years Professional status. The nursery provides day care, before and after school provision and a school holiday club. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round, except for bank holidays. Sessions are from 7am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 90 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:

 enhance opportunities to consistently support young babies physical development, with particular regard to their emergent sitting skills

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

 support further staff training to ensure hygiene levels in the baby sleeping area are consistently maintained to the high levels implemented throughout the nursery.

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who attend

Children are happy and take part in a range of interesting, stimulating activities that staff plan around their interests. Consequently, children are active, confident learners and are enthusiastic as they make independent choices about their play. For example, pre-school children thoroughly enjoy playing outside in the rain, observing water pouring down from the branches of a large tree in the garden. They catch the dripping water in their hands and comment excitedly that ' it looks like your bathroom shower'. Children then challenge themselves to try and catch the dripping water on their tongue and laugh as the water splashes onto their faces. Staff support children's critical thinking and understanding of the natural world as they ask open-ended questions about where the water is coming from. Mathematical concepts of size and number are taught well and incorporated into children's chosen play. For example, as staff observe children splashing in puddles wearing their

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who attend

wellington boots, they ponder how many children's feet will fit into the puddle.

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who attend

In the nature garden older children role play the story of 'The three little pigs' repeating phrases from the story they have just listened to, as they build a house made out of 'bricks' around a pallet. This enhances children's creative development and social skills as they negotiate the narrative from their understanding and memory of the story. Pre-school children are happy to start conversations, as they ask the inspector 'What's your name?' and 'Are you coming outside to play with us?' They are secure and are confident in communicating their individual needs. Children are able to match letters to their sound, and name words that start with start with the same sound. Children listen carefully and concentrate as they each hold a number and line up in sequence. This is skilfully enhanced by staff who make the game fun, and encourage children to find which number is missing as they rearrange the pattern. Through the varied learning opportunities children are

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who attend

acquiring skills that will support them when they move onto school.

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who attend

Young babies move their arms and legs to reach tactile sensory objects to strengthen their muscles. Staff respond well to babies emergent communication and body language. They plan individual activities to help babies reach the next step in their development. However, strategies to support young babies in their emergent sitting skills to promote their physical development are not consistently effective. For example, young babies sit in a rigid plastic tray containing coloured plastic balls. As they reach to pick up the balls young babies lose their fragile balance and topple onto the edge of the plastic tray rim as there is no support structure. This means they are unnecessarily uncomfortable and lose their confidence in the activity. Young babies investigate sensory rattles, exploring the texture and shape as they put it to their mouth and pass it hand to hand. Babies and young children explore a

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who attend

range of messy play activity to enhance their creativity and sensory development. They use their fingers, paint brushes and wheel toy cars through paint to make tread patterns to give meaning to the marks they make.

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who attend

Staff support learning well and use a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities to extend children's learning. Staff watch children's play and enhance it by adding resources at appropriate times. For example, a child turns a trike upside down and starts to bang and turn the wheels. Staff respond by bringing out the tool kit, and children initiate their own play building on their interest, as they 'fix' the bike and other toys.

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who attend

Staff assess children's development, tracking their progress effectively so they can offer any additional support to individual learning. Development records contain observations, assessments and clearly identify children's individual next stages in learning. Staff support children with English as an additional language by asking parents for lists of familiar words to help with their communication skills. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well, as key persons work with outside professional to plan and implement individual learning plans. All children make good progress in their learning. Parents are engaged in initial baseline assessments to establish effective starting points in learning. Staff complete and share with parents the assessment of children's progress check at age two. Staff share ongoing information with parents about their children's learning to aid continuity and build on home experiences. A large display informs parents

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who attend

of the areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage and shows photographs of children engaged in a variety of activities. This helps parents with ideas of how to support children's learning in the home environment.

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

Staff work well with parents sharing information to ensure that when children join the nursery their individual needs are well known. A gradual admissions policy enables children and parents to get to know their key person and the staff team, and for staff to appreciate each child as a unique person. Parents share with staff what their children can do and what they enjoy. This enables staff to build around children's interests to help them settle. Staff respect children's home routines and meet their individual needs well. For example, some children bring in food cooked at home for their lunch. Staff understand about the importance of attachment and the comfort and security children develop from bonding with their key person. Children sometimes develop a natural preference for a particular member of staff which is respected well, as they then become the child's key person. Children are supported well as they move from room to room through the nursery.

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

Key persons spend time in the new playroom supporting children as they make new attachments and explore the learning environment. Staff share information about children's routines and learning and development to aid continuity. Consequently, children are happy, secure and feel safe as they form strong attachments to the staff.

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

Staff are sensitive to children's needs and respond accordingly. For example, when babies are tired, staff are affectionate and cuddle them close in their arms, talking to them gently. Children are relaxed and secure with the staff, knowing they listen to their views. Children independently cuddle up close to members of staff and ask to sit on their knee. This demonstrates that they have formed warm relationships. Staff act as positive role models treating children with respect and equal concern. They encourage children to be kind to each other and to share and take turns. Staff are consistent in supporting children in managing their feelings and understanding expectations of appropriate behaviour and, consequently, they play well together. Children are building good relationships with their peers, and often say 'please' and 'thank you' without being reminded. Staff provide opportunities for children to appreciate and respect each other's differences which

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

supports their understanding of diversity. Flash cards and visual timetables are used to good effect to help children with additional needs understand what is happening next to support their well-being and emotional security.

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

The indoor environment is warm, nurturing and well equipped with developmentally appropriate resources. There is a wealth of stimulating resources which are stored at low- level, enabling children to make independent choices about their learning and explore their own interests. High standards of cleanliness are maintained throughout and the nursery and staff implement good hygiene practices to help minimise the risks of infection. However, as a member of staff rocks a baby to sleep in her arms, she absentmindedly rests her feet on the side of an empty cot. This means there is an opportunity to enhance staff practice in the baby sleeping area, to ensure the high levels of hygiene implemented throughout the nursery are maintained at all times.

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

The nursery staff respect parents' wishes, and offer nutritious meals to support individual children's needs and aid continuity of home routines. For example, vegetarian meals are available, and halal meat is used to respect families' cultural dietary requirements. Children are offered many opportunities to eat fresh fruit, helping them to make positive, healthy choices about what they eat from an early age. The local authority has assessed the nursery kitchen facilities for food preparation and awarded it the highest grading of 5 stars, meaning it meets all statutory requirement extremely well.

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

Children enjoy playing outside daily in the fresh air. Appropriate outdoor clothing enables them to engage with a variety of different weather conditions, enhancing their knowledge of the natural world. Children are learning to manage risks, as they swing on tyres hung from a large tree in the garden. They balance carefully as they try and walk along a chain 'tightrope' holding higher chains to steady themselves. Staff support children's safety well, as they hold the hands of younger children who build upturned crates as a walkway and jump from both feet back down to the ground.

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

Children's self-help skills are developing well, as staff encourage them to be independent where possible. For example, young babies and toddlers are encouraged to feed themselves at mealtimes. Children excitedly put on their own waterproof trousers, raincoats and wellington boots as they get ready to go and play out in the rain. Children are becoming increasingly independent and, as they get older, manage their personal needs successfully. For example, in the pre-school room, children access the bathroom, which is integral to their playroom, independently. Children wash their hands at appropriate times and are supported to clean their teeth, which supports well their understanding of keeping their bodies healthy. Older children concentrate as they carry their own lunch to the table, which supports their confidence and independence. As children give out cups at mealtimes, they learn to respect and support their peers.

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

Children are learning good social skills and personal confidence in readiness for their move onto school. Staff talk to children about starting school to help prepare them for the experience. Children are encouraged to talk to their friends following their induction visits to school to enhance their self-esteem. Teachers are invited into the nursery to get to know the children, and to talk to key persons about children's individual needs to support the transition to school.

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provision

The leadership and management of the nursery are strong. The nursery provider is also a registered childcare training provider, which means that expert knowledge is cascaded well to all staff. Consequently, staff have a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and many enhance their knowledge of early years through gaining further professional qualifications. As a result, high standards are set and maintained, benefiting both parents and children. The manager is enthusiastic and displays a strong desire to drive forward continuous improvements. She models effective practice to the staff team and is supported well by members of staff with specific areas to 'champion'. Effective self- evaluation takes into account the views of staff, parents and local authority advisors to ensure any changes are relevant. Development plans are effective and targets are realistic and achievable. Current action plans include developing the rear outdoor area and

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provision

improving outdoor sensory experiences for babies and toddlers.

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provision

Nursery policies and procedures are shared well with parents. For example, key procedures, such as that for safeguarding children, are displayed on notice boards. All staff receive safeguarding training as part of their induction programme and this is regularly updated to strengthen their knowledge. Staff are fully aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. They are able to explain clearly the procedures to follow, and managers know who to contact, and when to make referrals, in the event of a cause for concern. The safeguarding policy includes the procedure for the use of mobile phones and cameras in the nursery. Signs clearly display that mobile phones are not allowed to be used in the nursery. All mobile phones, including those of visitors to the premises, are locked away to support the safeguarding of children. Staff recruitment is robust, with effective vetting procedures and good staff induction training in place to support the

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provision

protection of children. Every six months, staff sign to confirm there have been no changes to their personal health, or contact with others with convictions against children or any personal criminal convictions. This means staff ongoing suitability is very well monitored. The manager and staff have a good understanding of the Common Assessment Framework and offer support to children and their families.

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provision

Children are safe in the nursery because staff supervise them well and monitor the resources and environment. Staff use robust risk assessments that are reviewed regularly to ensure the environment is safe and secure. Daily checks of the playrooms and equipment are used to remove potential hazards to ensure children play in a safe and secure environment. On the day of the inspection, screws were found to be protruding from a fence panel in the rear garden. Staff immediately blocked this area from children once the problem was noticed, removing the hazard, enabling children to play safely. Managers reflect on accidents records and record reported causes for concern, to look at ways to further improve their practice. This demonstrates a desire to overcome potential weaknesses through proactive evaluation.

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provision

Managers audit children's learning and development and have an effective overview of the curriculum. Staff receive support in delivering all aspects of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff undergo a trial period when first employed to ensure they meet the high standards set for the provision. Ongoing peer reviews, monthly staff meetings and annual appraisals support staff in maintaining high levels of performance. Consequently, children are supported well and enjoy good teaching and learning experiences that help them progress towards the early learning goals.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are strong and effective. Parents are invited into the nursery to attend special events, such as a mother's day celebration. Very positive feedback from the event is displayed in the hall and includes comments, such as 'Thank you, you do an amazing job'. To support children joining the nursery, staff arrange for new babies and their parents to attend a teddy bears picnic in the baby room. Parents and staff share information about their children and offer advice to each other which supports partnership working. Parents comment that they are very happy with the service the nursery provides. The nursery sets high expectations for all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work effectively with parents and professionals from outside to secure appropriate interventions to ensure all children receive support they need. The nursery has developed effective links with local primary schools to ensure

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provision

consistency of care and learning for children attending other settings.

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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 EY395353 Local authority Bolton Inspection number 935398

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 78 Number of children on roll 90 Name of provider Angela Bibby and Deborah Douglas Partnership Date of previous inspection 11/01/2010 Telephone number 01204 386530

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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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