Bright Stars Children's Day Nursery Ltd

Bright Stars Children Day Nursery Parkers Road, CREWE, CW1 4PY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/10/2013 22/02/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 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

 There are, generally, strong relationships between practitioners and children, giving most children a secure base from which they can explore and play.  A variety of resources and play experiences are provided, encouraging children to participate and concentrate.  Children's welfare and safety are protected because practitioners demonstrate a good knowledge of child protection procedures. Practitioners are alert to the possible signs and symptoms of abuse and know what to do, should they have any concerns.

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It is not yet good because

 The procedures for helping children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not consistent or thorough enough, therefore, some children are not fully supported. For example, key workers do not pass on information to ensure consistency.  Some children are not always sufficiently challenged or supported, as accurate assessments are not made of their stage of development.  Self-evaluation is not updated regularly enough, limiting the nursery's ability to develop a clear improvement plan that supports children's achievements over time.

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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 within three playrooms and the outdoor play area.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager and questioned practitioners.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of practitioner's suitability to work within the setting, induction and performance monitoring and the policies for safeguarding, complaints, equal opportunities and special educational needs.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also viewed the risk assessments for the premises and outings and the evacuation procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents and children spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Bright Stars Children Day Nursery was registered in 2006 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a purpose built premises on the outskirts of Crewe and is managed by Bright Stars Children Day Nursery Ltd. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from four designated playrooms and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 85 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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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 11 members of child care staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, including one with Qualified Teacher Status.

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must:

 ensure the assessment of children's stage of development is accurate and use this information to plan future learning experiences which are more precisely matched to children's individual needs

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must:

 ensure the policy and procedure for supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities has regard for the most recent Code of Practice and outlines clear procedures for practitioners and parents to ensure each child's individual needs are met.

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

 further improve the key person system, so children can be better supported if their key person is not present

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

 regularly update self-evaluation, by effectively identifying strengths and weaknesses and developing a clear improvement plan that supports children's achievements over time.

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who attend

Children are making steady progress within the Early Years Foundation Stage and they participate in adult-guided and child-initiated activities to extend their learning. For example, they enjoy daily circle time where they are encouraged to update the weatherboard. This introduces; the days of the week, the months of the year, the date and the day's weather, promoting children's knowledge and communication skills. The practitioner with qualified teacher status models oral blending and the children copy her, for example, saying 'Th for Thursday' and developing their literacy skills. The children sing the days of the week song, which promotes their listening skills in a fun, relaxed manner. The qualified teacher counts the children present, encouraging them to join in, which promotes their use of number language. Children are encouraged to recognise their own name card and self-register, therefore, promoting their reading skills appropriately.

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who attend

Activities such as these help support children's readiness for school.

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who attend

Children are provided with plenty of stimulus for imagination. For example, children participate in the baby clinic role-play using real stethoscopes and calculators, pretend syringes and real old phones. Children have opportunities to develop their physical small muscle skills as they play with the play dough, use pencils for drawing and mix different coloured paints together with their hands. Children participate in measuring activities and lie on the blackboard on the pre-school floor and measure themselves against the tape measure fixed to the floor. The environment is rich in print, which allows children to learn about words. For example, most toy boxes are labelled, as well as the tables and chairs. The months of the year are displayed on the wall in English and the predominant additional language spoken by the children. The younger children have a variety of toys and resources to stimulate their senses, such as a mirror displayed on the wall at child

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who attend

height, treasure baskets and appropriate toys that can be sucked, squeezed, pulled, held and listened to. There is a book area with draped netting, with cushions providing a secure cosy area to relax in.

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who attend

Practitioners in the baby room reveal how they encourage sensory play, such as, experimenting with gloop and jelly play and some children are engrossed in activities for extended periods of time. Discussions with parents reveal that they value the learning opportunities offered to their children and comment there is a 'Well rounded spectrum of activities and topics, not just finger painting everyday'. Most practitioners have a good knowledge of how to promote children's learning, for example, they follow children's interests. Practitioners model being a good listener giving children time to put their thoughts into words and use open questions to encourage children to be independent.

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who attend

The educational programme satisfactorily covers all the areas of learning; however, it is not tailored to take account of each individual child's next steps. This is because the assessment of some children's stage of development is not always accurate and because practitioners are not always informed of the child's needs when the key person is absent. Therefore, learning experiences are not precisely matched to children's individual needs and some children are not displaying the characteristics of effective learning. As a consequence, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive inconsistent support. Practitioners gather evidence on children's prior skills, through discussions with parents when the parent and child visit nursery together. This helps to ensure learning experiences and support suitably meet the child's needs on induction.

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who attend

Children with English as an additional language receive relevant support. Practitioners use basic words in their home language when talking to children to help them make links with English and show respect for their home language and culture. Practitioners liaise with parents to establish the child's language skills in their home language. The pre-school and toddler rooms have a visual daily routine timeline, displayed at child height, for them to look at so they feel involved.

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who attend

Parents are kept informed of their child's progress by daily discussions between the key person and parents. Daily diaries are completed and given to parents recording children's daily care needs and the toys and activities they enjoyed playing with. The nursery has a 'wow tree' to exchange information on children's progress and practitioners and parents write children's significant achievements on them, these are displayed on the wall. The children's assessment files are kept in each of their playrooms for easy access for parents and staff to view. There are regular parent evenings; this is a valuable opportunity to meet their child's key person, discuss their child's progress and to support their learning at home.

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who attend

Parents are encouraged to support their child's learning at home by reading the library books, which are sent home from the setting for them to share with their child. Recently parents have been asked to help their child collect leaves, conkers, bark or twigs that interest them and bring them into the nursery. The 'teddy bear adventure book' keeps practitioners informed of the learning and experiences the children participate in at home. Each weekend the bear goes home with a child and the family write or add photographs in the adventure book.

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

The environment is bright, spacious, welcoming, well organised and clean with a wide range of resources accessible to children both in and outdoors. The older children move freely between activities both inside and outside, this encourages them to get involved in more physically active play. Children have the opportunity to risk assess themselves and experience challenge when they lift and manoeuvre car tyres and balance along planks placed on the tyres. Children make suitable use of portable equipment outside, such as, trikes, large construction bricks and hoops. These resources help them to develop their physical skills. Children have the opportunity to observe decay and growth as they grow spring onions, broad beans and strawberries in the tyre planters, which helps them learn about healthy choices. Trips to the local park provide opportunities for them to see, hear and touch things and experience physical challenge that they might not otherwise explore

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

beyond the home or nursery. Children learn about the effects of physical activity on their bodies when they listen to their heart beats before and after exercise with the real stethoscope. A private company deliver an activity session each week, which covers movement and coordination and healthy eating, which further promotes children's awareness of being healthy.

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

The kitchen is clean and adequately equipped to provide meals, snacks and drinks. The nursery chef prepares healthy snacks and lunches and drinking water is available and accessible to children at all times. Children are encouraged to be independent; they pour their own drinks and serve their own food from the serving dish onto their own plate. Practitioners encourage babies to develop their independence and experience sensory play as they hold a spoon and use their hands to feed themselves. Practitioners are at hand to offer support, if necessary and praise children's efforts. The qualified teacher uses 'likes and dislikes' flash cards with pictures of healthy and unhealthy foods, such as oranges, chips and burgers. This helps the children to learn about making suitable healthy choices.

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

All children are encouraged to wash their hands before lunch promoting children's health and self-care. Children learn about keeping themselves safe as they regularly practise the fire drill.

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

There is a relaxed and happy atmosphere within the nursery. Parents make comments, such as my child has become more confident because of attending the nursery. Children receive a nice warm welcome, helping them to settle more easily when they arrive. Children forge trusting and caring relationships with key persons, promoting a sense of emotional security. However, this is not always effective as children are not fully supported when their key person is not present, so their needs are not met appropriately.

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

The baby area consists of a playroom and nappy changing area. Babies sleep in cots and a lovely relaxing sleeping area has been created by using draped cloth so that they feel safe and secure. The nursery has developed a sensory calm room with draped curtains and colourful fibre optic lights based on the communication friendly spaces programme. The room is used by pre-school children in small groups to enjoy quieter times supporting speaking and listening skills, emotional well-being and general engagement.

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

Practitioners are suitable role models who put the children's needs and interests first and are approachable and friendly. Children's behaviour is good and their actions show they are aware of the setting's rules and behaviour boundaries. For example, the older children do not run around indoors and know that they are expected to take turns and share. Friendships are evident between some of the children and practitioners encourage children to show care and consideration for others.

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

There are resources in the nursery that reflect positive images of diversity and a colourful, inviting sign depicting 'welcome' in a number of different languages displayed in the foyer. This encourages children to respect and value different cultures and lifestyles.

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

The nursery has made a reasonable start preparing children for the move to school. For example, teachers from the local primary schools attend the nursery to talk to the children. New children are invited to attend induction sessions in the summer holidays when the nursery is quieter. This helps them familiarise themselves with the nursery and their key person without feeling overwhelmed.

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provision

The management team demonstrate a, generally, suitable understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, the procedures for supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not clear or consistent and do not meet the current Code of Practice. The management team monitor the educational programme appropriately, ensuring it offers depth and breadth across the seven areas of learning. There is some monitoring of the planning and assessment but it is not rigorous enough, leaving gaps in the process and the potential for some individual children's learning needs to not be met.

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provision

A self-evaluation system has been implemented with input from practitioners and parents' views and comments have been sought via a parent questionnaire, which contribute to the process. Strengths and some weaknesses have been identified; however, there is no clear improvement plan, which means children's progress is not supported over time.

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provision

There is a comprehensive up-to-date safeguarding policy in place and practitioners are aware of the procedure they must follow and who to contact if they have concerns that a child is suffering from abuse. Visitors to the setting are asked to sign the visitors' book. There are a range of written risk assessments in place and daily and weekly safety checks are completed. Security of the premises is well organised to prevent anyone entering the building uninvited or children leaving unsupervised. For example, the outdoor gate is fitted with a magnet lock and an alarm sounds when the front door or outdoor gate are opened. As a result, children's safety is promoted.

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provision

All adults in the nursery are appropriately vetted and suitable recruitment procedures are in place to ensure children's safety. The manager provides supervision for all practitioners and has a procedure for dealing with any underperformance. There is a well-qualified practitioner group as most hold an early years qualification. The setting takes advantage of the local authority training for continued professional development. As a result, practitioners are better prepared to improve outcomes for children. The nursery links with other professionals, such as, speech therapist, local schools, and local authority workers to ensure children's needs are met.

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provision

Children and families benefit from the friendly relationships that exist between practitioners and parents and the foyer has a wealth of information for parents. The nursery policies are available in the foyer for parents to view and they receive regular newsletters to keep them informed of how their children are cared for.

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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 EY340949 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 820726

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 39 Number of children on roll 85 Name of provider Bright Stars Children Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 22/02/2011 Telephone number 01270 849248

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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