Busy Bees Day Nursery at Harpenden Leyton Road

Busy Bees at Leyton Road 23 Leyton Road, HARPENDEN, Hertfordshire, AL5 2HZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/11/2013 03/04/2013

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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 effectively safeguarded. All staff are well informed about child protection issues and the premises are safe. The management team ensure that all staff fully understand how to keep children safe and follow all necessary guidelines.  Staff show a strong interest in what children are doing and expertly adapt planned activities to follow and extend children's curiosity. Consequently, children are motivated, keen to learn and make good progress in their development.  Staff are kind and gentle with the children. They provide alternative foods if the children do not like the meal offered. This helps children to feel respected and well nourished.  Staff form secure partnerships with parents that contribute to children's continuing achievement and well-being.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 On occasions, staff with the younger children do not always organise the routine sufficiently well to ensure that all children are as actively involved in their learning.  There is scope to enhance the support for children's move between the rooms in the nursery by preparing all personal items, such as, name labels and photographs so that the items are ready to move with them.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the four playrooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the nursery and the company's representative.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at samples of documentation including children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and the provider's improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day, from e-mails sent from the parents and from information included in the nursery's own parent survey.

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Information about the setting

Busy Bees at Leyton Road was registered in 1997 and is part of Busy Bees Nurseries Limited nursery chain. It is on the Early Years Register and operates from a two storey converted building in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. There is an enclosed outside area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff and of these, the majority hold early years qualifications at level 3 or above including one member of staff with Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round from 7.15am to 6.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 70 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports children who are learning English as an additional language.

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

 enhance the opportunities for children to be fully involved in purposeful play by monitoring and minimising time waiting during some group activities

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

 review the transitions within the nursery to ensure all personal items are ready and available for the children to use when they move into the next room.

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who attend

Staff have a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and have a secure understanding of how young children learn. Staff ensure that all the areas of learning are effectively introduced to provide challenging experiences that meet the needs of all the children. Staff make accurate observations and assessments of each child's development.

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who attend

They record their observations of each child's development in every area of learning, noting some next steps to help children move on in their learning. They produce attractive learning journals which show children's overall progress very clearly. Staff use the next steps effectively in their planning, so that they can make the most of opportunities to focus on individual children and challenge them in their learning. Staff successfully use children's interests in the planning of their next steps. For example, they use an observed interest in animal models to extend children's experience of playing with sand and develop physical skills in standing. Staff are enthusiastic and engage well with children, this influences children's strong motivation to play and learn purposefully. They effectively adapt their planning to meet the needs of a group of older children. They quickly realise that a turn taking game is not

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who attend

interesting the children and change to a practical game of 'making a bear cave'. Children are asked how to fit the blankets together and they are given plenty of time to try out their ideas and various strategies. Teaching is good. Staff are excellent role models asking them 'what else can we can do?' They ask what resources can be used and respect children's efforts and ideas, Children suggest using the tables and tablecloths. Consequently, children feel safe to share and take a risk with a new idea. Children show obvious enjoyment and concentration. They are working together with their friends and see the cause and effect of their own ideas. This helps them to be ready for the next step in their learning and eventually for school. However, on occasions, the younger children have to wait until everyone is dressed and ready to go outside. They also have to sit together at the table, waiting for everyone to be ready for lunch. Consequently, this does

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who attend

not fully value the younger children's exploration or stimulate their interest.

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who attend

Staff place a sharp focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills. Pre-school children enjoy making a 'chatterbox'. They bring articles from home to show and tell their friends. This helps them learn to speak confidently in small groups and consequently children are helped to make good progress in this area. Children in 'Chesnuts' enjoy singing favourite songs and rhymes. After lunch, staff give children clear directions and help them to deal with instructions involving more than one action, such as. placing the spoon in the blue box and the tub in the bin. This begins to build children's skills to listen, understand and respond in conversations. Staff support children who are learning English as an additional language well. For instance, there are signs and labels displaying home languages and staff find out key words from home. Staff in the baby room are developing family boxes for personal items and photographs from home. This

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who attend

helps to value children's home languages and supports their learning of English.

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who attend

Staff communicate effectively with the parents about their children's development and progress. There are daily verbal discussions and parents can request to see their child's records at any time. Staff discuss children's development at the consultation evenings. Parents are encouraged to share their children's development at home and these are recorded in the children's learning records helping to promote children's learning at nursery and at home.

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

There is an effective key person system in place and the children and families have formed good relationships within the nursery. Staff provide good support to children as they prepare to move rooms within the nursery. Children are able to spend time settling-in their new rooms and get to know the staff well. However, on occasions some personal resources do not move with the children, such as, young children's photographs of their families both in book form and previously prepared treasure boxes. As a result, staff do not fully help consolidate children's strong sense of belonging at these times. Children and parents are able to spend time with their key person as part of their settling-in time before they start. Staff work closely with parents to discuss the individual needs of the children. This enables any gaps in learning to be swiftly addressed and a combined plan is put in place.

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

Staff ensure the learning environment is well organised and allow children to explore and make decisions for themselves, therefore, enabling them to make good progress. Staff in the baby room are committed to providing activities which develop babies' natural instincts to explore their environment. They have developed a 'black and white' area with materials of various textures or children to see, hear and touch. Children use the floor level sleeping areas as dens and staff encourage children to feel comfortable and secure in these dens with fun games of 'be-bo'. Children have valuable opportunities to exercise vigorously and develop coordination over their bodies. Older children have a range of challenging sit and ride toys and some can expertly use the pedals to drive the tricycle. Staff sensitively guide younger children to develop a sense of balance using a small, but challenging climbing frame. Staff hold young children's hands as they walk along the balancing beam giving

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

reassurance and show pleasure at children's achievements. This helps children to develop a positive attitude to learning new skills. Staff support children to learn to behave well. They have recently attended behaviour management training to reinforce their good practice. Staff in the baby room are kind and gentle to the young children in their care and find seating for individual children to maintain their comfort. Staff encourage young children to share and take turns during the young children's outdoor playtime. They distract children's attention and gently intervene to offer more equipment, so children do not become frustrated and learn to manage their feelings.

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

Children are becoming independent in their self care skills, older children can freely access the water taps for drinking water when they notice the jugs of water are empty. Children are encouraged to put on their own coats and walk safely downstairs holding the handrail. Staff allow the children to try sitting under the table to use as a bear cave and sensitively explains the consequences of them getting up too quickly. This allows them to understand and take responsibility for their own personal safety. Children learn about healthy living through the well coked and nutritious meals. Staff are sensitive to children's likes and dislikes and discuss these with the parents. They offer alternatives if children are not eating. This ensures children are well fed and that their opinions are valued.

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provision

The nursery management gives a high priority to safeguarding children and to provide a safe and secure environment for them to play and learn. Nursery staff are an experienced team and know the importance of safeguarding children. Staff are confident to report their concerns, including about any colleagues. They know how to recognise signs that children may be at risk so that their welfare is safeguarded. Staff can relate the changes made in the recently updated nursery policy. The management continually monitors the numbers of children on the premises to ensure the correct ratios of staff to children at all times. Staff ensure that the premises are safe and are well maintained.

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provision

There are robust recruitment and vetting procedures to assess that everyone working with the children is suitable to do so. Effective systems for induction mean that staff are familiar with the nursery's policies and procedures and they work well in practice. The management team monitor staff performance effectively through regular supervision meetings and appraisals. This helps maintain that staff continue to be suitable to work with children. There are efficient systems for staff to be suitably monitored in the form of peer reviews. Staff are well qualified and eager to improve their knowledge and practice and attend the company's comprehensive in-house training sessions. Staff discuss the training they have received with the whole staff team and this helps to maintain an interest in improving their practice. Management and staff are committed to the self- evaluation and reflective practice. The manager regularly updates the self-evaluation form,

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provision

based on the views of staff and parents and information from the staff meetings. This clearly targets priorities to drive improvement.

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provision

The nursery has effective systems for monitoring the children's learning and development. Tracking documents and the completion of the progress check at age two years ensures children's development is monitored. This helps ensure that children continue to make good progress in their learning and early intervention can be sought if necessary. Parents have been consulted through regular meetings and questionnaires and many parents stated how happy they are with the provision. Staff work closely with the local school that children attend to support and achieve continuity in their care and learning. Management demonstrate that appropriate interventions are secured so that children receive the support they need.

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 123607 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 942195

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 55 Number of children on roll 70 Name of provider Busy Bees Nurseries Limited Date of previous inspection 03/04/2013 Telephone number 01582 762220

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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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