Busy Bunnies Nursery

Busy Bunnies Nursery New Inn, 627 Lincoln Road, PETERBOROUGH, PE1 3HA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/08/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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's communication and language skills develop quickly as teaching is informed by recent training and new initiatives designed to promote children's early speech and language skills. Practitioners encourage children to recognise new words as they experiment and blend sounds.  Children relate well to one another, learn how to behave and form positive relationships as they receive sensitive encouragement from practitioners to accept one another as individuals in an inclusive and welcoming environment.  The acting manager and deputy have worked extremely hard to become familiar with their roles and responsibilities to ensure children receive a consistent experience.  Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those speaking English as an additional language receive excellent support and flourish in their time at the nursery.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Occasionally, practitioners do not allow children the time they need to consider their responses or think about what they are doing or saying. This sometimes means children feel rushed or hurried.  The management team's oversight of children's learning journals does not always consistently ensure they are all always up-to-date, in order to progress planning and their learning even further.

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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 main playroom and the outdoor area, including a joint observation with the manager of an activity designed to promote children's communication and language skills in the pre-school room.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager of the provision and spoke to children's key persons as appropriate during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of practitioners working within the nursery, the provider's self- evaluation evidence and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views parents on the day as well as information included in the nursery's parent survey.

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Information about the setting

Busy Bunnies Day Nursery was registered in 2012 and is on the Early Years Register and compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is situated within a converted public house in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Children attend from Peterborough and the surrounding villages. The nursery is accessible to all children and there is an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs eight members of childcare staff, four of whom hold an appropriate qualification at level 3. One member of staff is unqualified and is working towards a level 3 qualification and one has a degree in Early Childhood Studies.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday of each week from 8am until 6pm, every day for 52 weeks of the year. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 50 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education places 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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Information about the setting

The nursery is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association and receives support from the local authority.

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

 allow children time to initiate conversations and respect their thinking time and silences to promote their communication and language skills

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

 strengthen the monitoring and oversight of children's learning journals so they are up-to-date and next steps in learning for all children always consistently inform planning.

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who attend

Children make good progress as practitioners know them well and provide a broad range of activities that meet their learning needs. Children are motivated and pursue their interests as practitioners engage with them readily in their play, offering them differentiated activities and an enthusiastic approach. For example, children are excited as they decorate balloons and use glitter and choose the colour paint they need. Practitioners allow children the freedom to create their own unique design on each balloon. Older children express confidently the colours of paint and glitter they would like to use. Younger children are supported to learn colour names as they explore the different pots and glitter phials. Practitioners talk to children about their colourful creations, praising their efforts and younger children learn new words, such as 'gold' and 'sparkly'. As a result, children show how effectively they are learning as they become engrossed in

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who attend

activities which reflect their interests. Skilled practitioners support children well to extend their learning, such as helping a child develop their vocabulary during a one-to-one activity.

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who attend

Parents have good opportunities to share in their children's learning. They receive regular updates on children's progress, either through parent meetings or in hand-written records. They talk to their child's key person on a daily basis so information can be effectively shared. Newsletters keep parents up-to-date with events, themes and activities to share. Information is translated into the languages spoken by children attending, which ensures all parents are aware of nursery news and their children's progress. Clear initial information is gathered from parents, enabling practitioners to plan for children's learning and development from the start. They make thorough assessments of children's achievements, which ensure most children make good progress in their learning and development. However, a few learning journals are not up-to-date, which means that, occasionally, children's next steps are not carried forward into planning. Despite this, as

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who attend

practitioners know children well, they continue to make good progress towards the early learning goals. Consequently, children are well-prepared to move on to the next stage in their learning, including school.

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who attend

Children develop a good understanding of numbers, shapes and colours through a daily activity in which they participate enthusiastically. When sat comfortably in the book area, children read their 'book of the week' as they listen to a story about an elephant. They enjoy their 'song of the week' as they sing 'if you're happy and you know it'. They also draw round coloured shapes that each have a number on them, and practitioners model words, such as triangles and circles, which helps their effective learning. Children use the white board to freely express their ideas in relation to these activities as they draw faces, houses and make creative marks. Practitioners help children understand comparative language as they discuss 'bigger' and 'smaller' shapes. A broad selection of books is available and children access them independently. They relax in the book area as they look at books about trains. They sit with practitioners who read to them, using the words

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who attend

and pictures to explore children's understanding through the use of open questions. They explore different textures as they feel the 'glossy' train and the 'fluffy' train and learn new words as they do so. The 'Every Child a Talker' initiative is used within the nursery, which ensures that any early issues relate to children's emerging speech can be identified and the necessary support given. 'Bookstart' is part of the educational programme for literacy to ensure that children attach importance to books and reading. Each child receives a book pack and a treasure pack is sent home for parents. Additionally, as children start at the nursery, they are each given a book bag and can take home a book from the nursery each week to read with their parents. Such initiatives stimulate children's interest in reading further. Practitioners offer children good opportunities to recall past events, as they discuss the squirrel that collected all the walnuts from the tree in their garden.

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who attend

Consequently, children develop effective communication and language skills, which help them gain essential skills for when they move to school. Children learn in a word and number rich environment and those speaking additional languages see their home language positively represented and included. Many languages are spoken by children attending the nursery and practitioners work hard to learn key words and enable children to use both languages to complement their learning. Children greatly enjoy imaginative play as they engage with practitioners in role play scenarios, giggling and engaging actively in the game.

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who attend

Children explore a wide range of sensory activities as they use play dough, shaving foam, rice, sand and play in the mud outside. They enjoy the planting activities they can do in their raised planting beds inside the nursery, which encourages them to take care of plants and herbs. The nursery rabbits, Shadow and Smudge encourage children to develop an awareness of the care needed when taking responsibility for living things. Children enjoy trips out in their local community as they visit the local church and mosque and visit the park nearby. The outdoor play area offers children a number of opportunities to be active and take their learning outside as they use the water and sand tray and dig in the mud. They love growing the many different vegetables they plant and enjoy eating the resultant produce. Children enjoy using the climbing frame in the outdoor area, large construction toys, trikes and other wheeled toys. Practitioners are particularly keen to help

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who attend

children explore their creative interests and offer them a wide variety of messy play activities. For example, children enjoy plunging their hands into jelly, making marks in the shaving foam and love to make their own play dough.

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

The effective key person arrangements promote children's emotional security, helping them to feel confident to explore their environment and engage in their learning. Each child has their own key person and key buddy, who is a second key person in case their substantive one is away. This offers children additional security and consistency in their learning experience. Settling-in routines enable families to become familiar with the nursery and get to know practitioners, which ensure children feel able to separate from their parents or carers readily. Children behave well, clearly enjoy one another's company and show kind, caring behaviour. For example, a child puts their arm around another and gently guides them to where they need to hang their bag. They are helpful as they assist with tidying away and preparing the table for their snack and lunchtimes. They enjoy helping to feed their pet rabbits each day and watch as the practitioner cleans them out.

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

Children learn to share and take turns as they read a book with a practitioner who encourages this skill by letting them alternate as they turn the pages and answer questions.

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

Children display confidence as they move around the nursery and know where to find activities and resources of their choosing. They are offered flexible routines and furnishings, which promote their growing independence. The environment is stimulating, homely and welcoming and is comfortably furnished. Children can rest in quieter spaces or engage in more physically active play. Free flow play enables children to take their learning outdoors and they enjoy using the sand and water tray and using the climbing frame and large tyres. Practitioners encourage children to become independent in self- care routines as they support children and families with potty training and encourage older children to help with snack and meal preparation. As a result, children develop an increasing awareness of routines that help to promote their good health. Children become involved in risk assessing toys as they are routinely and regularly checked for safety and

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

let practitioners know if they need to remove something. On trips out children learn to manage risk effectively as they wear high visibility vests and observe safe road crossing practices. The fire drill is routinely practised to ensure all children attending know the procedure to follow.

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

Children enjoy a broad range of healthy snacks and the nursery work with parents to ensure that packed lunches provided for children's midday meals are healthy balanced and nutritious. Children help with some food preparation as they help cut up fruit and engage in cookery activities. For example, they make fruit kebabs and cakes and enjoy weighing and measuring the ingredients. This helps them develop useful life skills for the future. Practitioners collect information about special dietary needs and are well-informed about children's preferences, which ensure children enjoy their meals safely.

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

Children's physical development is supported well because practitioners plan a broad range of stimulating activities. Children enjoy active music and movement and learn many new songs and rhymes. Readily available scissors, pencils, markers, glue sticks and dough cutters offer children plentiful opportunities to use their small muscles and develop the skills needed for their future learning. As a result, children develop positive attitudes towards healthy physical activity.

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

Excellent relationships exist with local schools and the owners are on the governing body for the main school children move onto. This ensures that plentiful, useful information is shared with the schools at times of transition for children. Useful contributory arrangements ensure that children feel confident to make the move when the time comes. For example, they visit the schools and join in with events funded through joint initiatives.

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provision

At the time of this inspection, the nursery was in the midst of a difficult period regarding management at the setting. The substantive manager is on long term sick and the deputy had left. The nursery owners have appointed a manager and deputy from the existing staff team to act in these roles as a temporary measure. The acting managers do a very good job of continuing the good work being done in the nursery and are supported in their work by the two nursery owners. Both owners are a visible presence within the nursery and children know them well, enjoying their company and benefitting from their child- focussed input. The prompt and appropriate action taken by the nursery owners in this regard has ensured that children continue to receive a good quality learning experience and sensitive care.

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provision

This inspection took place as a result of concerns received concerning staffing ratios and qualifications. The inspection found that arrangements for ensuring that sufficient practitioners are present to care for the number of children attending are thorough. Register recording demonstrates clearly that practitioners are diligent about ensuring that the correct ratios are observed and often more practitioners are present than are necessary. A spreadsheet is used which automatically calculates the number of staff needed for the numbers of children present. The nursery has their own bank staff they can call on and all staff are first aid qualified, as well as having a number who hold a food hygiene certificate. All practitioners are suitably qualified and the nursery takes a proactive stance with regard to continuous professional development. These measures ensure that children are cared for by professional practitioners in a safe and secure environment

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provision

where their individual needs are effectively met.

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provision

The nursery provides a safe, secure and welcoming environment for children who attend. Regular risk assessments cover all areas of the premises, indoors and outside and outings are assessed prior to the event taking place. These measures help ensure children's safety at all times. Practitioners show a clear understanding of the safeguarding procedures and can respond appropriately to any child protection concerns. Policies and procedures to support the running of the nursery are clear and have been written taking advice from the local authority and a national advisory body. Recruitment and induction procedures are clear and secure, which protects children's welfare and ensures only those suitable to work with young children do so.

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provision

Performance management measures are firmly in place, with the management team placing a high focus on staff's well-being and professional development. A skills and training audit has been carried out and future training prioritised and booked. Practitioners, therefore, feel valued and their strengthened skills and professional qualifications offer added value to the service the nursery provides. Regular supervision and team meetings mean practitioners develop a cohesive strategy with regard to helping children make good progress. They also feel supported and can discuss issues arising, disseminate training received and share good practice. Practitioners demonstrate an in- depth understanding of individual children's needs and learning styles. This ensures they offer children targeted and specific learning experiences aimed at helping them make the best progress possible in their time at the nursery. Generally, good quality, continuous

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provision

observation and assessment of children's learning are in place and practitioners are receiving additional training to make it even more effective. The management team show the clear understanding they have of the nursery's strengths and areas for improvement. The improvement plan is regularly amended and updated to reflect changing priorities as actions are implemented. For example, when the local authority advisor suggests recommendations for improved practice, these form part of the improvement plan and when actioned are signed off. In this way, the nursery tracks and monitors the progress being made to ensure children receive a valuable early years experience.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are good and practitioners work hard to help them feel an inclusive part of the nursery life. For example, the parent folder is translated into the different languages children speak and parents are encouraged to bring things in for children to use. This ensures that children feel secure in the nursery. Parents comment that they appreciate the 'welcoming, happy, safe and caring environment', saying their children turn into 'very happy, confident and independent' learners. Parents spoken to comment on the friendliness of the practitioners and how effectively they provide support and learning for their children. The acting manager and deputy know parents well and speak with them daily, as do children's key persons. This enables the staff to incorporate parent's views effectively into the action planning for the nursery. Effective arrangements exist with other early years provider's children spend time with. The nursery has

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provision

developed strong links with other external agencies and their local children's centres to ensure that they provide very good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This ensures they make good progress from their starting points.

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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 EY449441 Local authority Peterborough Inspection number 930439

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 50 Name of provider Busy Bunnies Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01733 897799

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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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