Bluebell Nursery School

Bluebell Nursery School Stoughton Village Hall, Gaulby Lane, Stoughton, LEICESTER, LE2 2FL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 02/12/2013 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

 Excellent relationships with parents and strong links with other settings support a shared approach to children's learning and ensure they receive consistent support.  Children benefit from regular outings, using outdoor local resources, which extend and enhance their learning experiences.  Children make good progress, their development is monitored well and their next steps in learning accurately identified and well planned for.  Children are protected well. Staff have a secure understanding of their role and responsibility to safeguard children. Staff implement effective practices to minimise hazards to children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 At times, staff do not give enough time for children to respond when asking a question, particularly during adult-led activities. As a result, opportunities to extend their thoughts and ideas are not always enhanced.  Opportunities to promote children's self-care skills are not maximised because some staff do not consistently make use of everyday tasks, such as getting and putting on children's coats or unwrapping their packed lunch, to develop their independence.

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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 had a tour of the church hall.  The inspector observed children in the hall and using the outdoor environment.  The inspector spoke to staff, parents and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had a meeting with the manager and looked at documents, policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Bluebell Nursery School was registered in 2012 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a purpose built premises in the village of Stoughton in Leicestershire, and is owned by a company. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a village hall and there is a local park available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs three members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, including one with a degree. The nursery opens Monday, Tuesday and Thursday during school term time only. Sessions are from 8.45am until 2.45pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently a total of 12 children attending, all of whom are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports 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:

 give children more time to respond when asking them questions to allow children's thoughts and ideas to develop

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

 review routines so that children learn to take more responsibility for their own self- care, for example, putting on their own coats and selecting and unwrapping food from their packed lunch bags.

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who attend

Children are welcomed into the setting. This starts with short settling-in sessions with their parents, during which time staff find out about each child. Staff are interested to know what they like, their interests and any learning they do at home. This information is used to help children settle and to determine their starting points. Staff carry out their own observations and link these to ages and stages of learning to make sure that they provide a truly focused curriculum for all the children. The planning cycle ensures that children continue to make good progress and it is linked to their interests and their next steps in their learning and development. For example, a child becomes unsettles and needs to bring a soft toy from home. Staff quickly identify this and adapt a role-play activity to include the child's soft toys. The child is interested and engaged, his learning continues and he forgets about being unsettled. Staff regularly assess children's learning and record

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who attend

this in individual learning journals, which are shared with parents and carers. Staff allow parents to take the learning journals home, to share children's learning and next steps with the extended family and to encourage parents to record any learning that occurs at home. This means that children have a consistent approach in their learning and all adults that care for them can help them to make good progress.

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who attend

There is a good variety of resources and the room is thoughtfully set up each day. Staff think about creating areas that are inviting to children's imagination and space for them to play on the floor or tables. Resources are clearly labelled and children are encouraged to take responsibility for their environment, respecting their toys or selecting different one as they require. The setting understands the importance of fostering the different ways in which children learn and ensure they offer activities or routines to support his. For example, children have a large box of 'loose parts' which are items of junk of different shapes, sizes and texture for them to nurture their creativity and imagination. A child is engaged, alongside a member of staff, constructing a model house for his friend. He carefully thinks about where to position resources and what to do with sheets of material. Once finished he takes great delight in showing this off to his friend and the two children

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who attend

enjoy playing in his den. They communicate well and play nicely, taking turns to go under the bridge. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, by providing some one-to-one support and working in partnership with other professionals. Staff are trained in enhanced special educational needs and adapt routines or the environment to make the setting truly inclusive. Staff support children with language or communication delay by leading small social communication groups that focus their speech and the use of Makaton sign language to ensure children can communicate their needs. Visual timetables help children to understand the routines of the setting and to feel included. Staff attend training at the local children's centre to learn strategies to support children's communication and language. However, at times some staff use short questions, in quick succession and do not allow children time to compose their thoughts

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who attend

and answer. As a result, opportunities to foster children's communication and language are not always maximised. Children who speak English as an additional language, are well supported to make good progress. For example, parents are asked for key words in the children's home language and extended family members are invited into the nursery to sing songs in other languages. This helps all children to celebrate inclusion and diversity.

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who attend

Children are well-prepared for school. There are lots of games and activities to support their personal, social and emotional development in readiness for school. For example, children play a matching game with a member of staff. They turn cards over and match the quantities and object to those on their boards. However, children need to take turns and to help their friends as the patterns on the cards vary and their mathematical development is fostered as they solve different problems. Children work very well together and enjoy the adult-led teaching, and as a result, they make good progress across all areas of learning and development.

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

Children enjoy their time at the nursery, they are happy and engaged in their play. The staff team have worked together for 10 years and are committed to providing a secure and supportive environment for all children. They set up the nursery, after their previous place of employment closed and they did not want to let the children down. They put careful thought into making the church hall a nice place for the children and reflect on what children previously enjoy playing with. Staff and key persons develop strong bonds with the children and parents and have a good knowledge of all the children. Children's behaviour is good, staff do not need to remind children how to be nice and they are all well mannered and polite to each other and the adults looking after them.

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

Staff make good use of the local park and allotments that are close by. Children have daily experiences outside to develop their physical skills. For example, they play running and mathematical games, such as 'What time is it Mr Wolf' and use the play equipment in the park. Children know how to stay safe with all of the equipment and are allowed to take risks, under close supervision. They leave the setting, holding hands on the short walk to the park. However, once in the park children are able to walk slightly in front of staff and run away, short distances. Children look back for staff support and follow instructions to keep them safe very well. The local community prepares a separate allotment for the children, who plant vegetables and flowers, carefully tending to them daily. Children make laminated signs for their onions to mark where they were planted. Once grown, children will harvest them and use the ingredients to make soup and coleslaw. Children learn an

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

understanding of the world, with the help of resources from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Posters about birds, teach the children to identify the different species and the difference between male and female birds. Children use these resources outdoors to spot birds, while re-filling their bird feeders.

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

Staff teach children about staying healthy, with regular hand washing and keeping the environment clean. Children ask to help when staff wipe the tables after lunch and sweep loose sand from the floor. The children take a great pride in keeping their room clean and change their muddy boots after playing outside. Staff are starting to encourage children's independence, although this is not consistent during the day. Children's coats are hung, out of reach, so a member of staff has to hand them out. Some children are encouraged to put on their own coats and try to zip them up, while other children have their coats put on for them to speed up the preparations for going outside. Most children unwrap their pack lunch, clearing away their rubbish, while on occasions, staff quickly do this for children, without taking the time to support their growing independence. As a result, there are missed opportunities, to further develop a culture of independence, in preparation for

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

school. Parents contribute to information about children's care routines, sharing information about comforters, nappies and sleep. Staff record this information and work in partnership to maintain similar routines at the setting. Flexible routines at the setting help with children's transition. For example, group circle time depends on what activities children are engaged in or which children are present. Staff use a soft sounding bell to signal times when children join together and they respond positively. However, if children want to continue to play, they are supported to do so by a member of staff until they are ready to join the group activity. Group activities are short and focused. They are similar to activities that the primary schools within the local cluster offer throughout the year, for children and staff to attend. As a result, children are prepared for their transition to primary school.

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provision

The three staff form a company that owns the setting. They have worked together for 10 years at a previous setting and complement each other well. They are effective as a staff team and are clearly committed and passionate about the children they care for. Policies and procedures are well written, regularly reviewed and implemented well by all the staff. The setting is clean, tidy and attractively presented with clear risk assessments to support the smooth operation, while keeping children safe. The nominated manager has a clear understanding of her roles and responsibilities and has spent time reflecting and monitoring the planning to ensure it is an effective cycle with children's next steps in learning as a clear goal. Effective monitoring of the curriculum and resources makes sure that children have access to toys and resources that they enjoy and meet their individual needs. Staff make a large picture book of additional resources kept in the store room, for

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provision

children to use when asking for different resources. The manager understands the safeguarding and welfare requirements and when to notify Ofsted of any changes. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding and understand the signs and symptoms of abuse and their roles in reporting concerns.

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provision

There is a clear procedure for the safe recruitment of staff and an induction process to ensure any new staff feel included and are knowledgeable about keeping children safe, while promoting children's learning and development. Annual appraisals and regular supervision help to target staff's professional development and to inform relevant training to attend. All the staff have had first-aid, safeguarding and food hygiene training, which means they all understand how to keep children safe and how to respond in an emergency. The manager has written a clear self-evaluation, reflecting on the setting and identifying strengths and weaknesses. Parents comments and staff have contributed to this and it informs a concise development plan that all staff are aware of and working towards. The main focus of the setting is to develop its sensory toys to further enable children with different learning styles, or younger children, to learn in a different way. The

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provision

curriculum is monitored and children's learning is recorded on trackers. This means staff are able to identify any early signs of developmental delay or gaps in the child's learning and make appropriate adjustments in their teaching.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and with other settings and professionals is a strength for the setting. All staff communicate well with parents, they pass on any daily learning and share what the children have enjoyed doing. They take the time to listen and support parents and have a lot of parents recommend them to new parents. Information about the setting, teaching and the curriculum is shared via a noticeboard by the main door, and by newsletters and displays about the teaching and learning. The setting communicates with other professionals and attends support groups and training at the local children's centre. They receive support from the local authority and other professionals to support children with additional needs. Childminders are involved in partnerships where care is shared between home, the setting and a childminder. The setting discusses the children's learning and any observations they make. As a result of these strong partnerships, children have a

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provision

consistent approach to teaching that supports their development and contributes to the good progress they make.

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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 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 EY448856 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 903492

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 12 Name of provider Bluebell Nursery School Stoughton Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 0

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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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