The Blue Strawberry Kids Daycare Ltd

The Blue Strawberry @ Kingsley 11 Beauchamp Avenue, LEAMINGTON SPA, Warwickshire, CV32 5RD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/11/2013 12/01/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Children are happy and eager to learn. Their behaviour is good and they make independent choices about their play. This supports children in developing a positive attitude to future learning.  Children receive good levels of care from a strong and established team of staff, who have a lovely rapport with children. This results in children who are secure, happy and confident to express themselves.  Children are well-protected by robust risk assessments and sensible procedures, which ensures that they are always well-supervised and cared for. They develop an understanding of how to take measured risks in this safe nursery environment.  There are valued and successful partnerships with parents. The purposeful daily discussions impact well on subsequent care offered and received by children.

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It is not yet good because

 The monitoring of teaching and learning is not thorough enough to identify inconsistencies and the accuracy of staff's assessments of the progress children make. This means that some of the experiences offered are not precisely matched to individual children's learning styles or may lack a good level of challenge.  Children are not as enthusiastic to play in the physical garden because the resources available are not as inviting or exciting as those in other areas.

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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 and spoke with the management team, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector and manager conducted a joint observation of outdoor activities with different groups of children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation, including children's assessments, planning and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took into account the views of parents spoken to during the inspection and in information included in the nursery's evaluations and action plans.

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Information about the setting

The Blue Strawberry @ Kingsley was registered in 2008 on the Early Years Register. It is situated across two converted houses in the Leamington Spa area of Warwickshire and is one of two nurseries managed by Blue Strawberry Kids Daycare Ltd. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from seven rooms across three floors and there are enclosed areas available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 49 members of childcare staff. Of these, 40 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above, including two with Early Years Professional Status, one with Qualified Teacher Status and three hold relevant degrees.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Optional hours are available on special request from 7am until 6.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 147 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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must:

 improve the monitoring of staff's observations and assessments of the progress children make. This is to ensure that staff demonstrate a greater understanding of the levels of children's achievement and learning styles, in order to provide more focused learning experiences.

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

 enhance the resources and activities in the physical garden, so that children are highly motivated and truly engaged in their play outdoors.

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who attend

Children's learning and development is adequately promoted through an appropriate range of activities and experiences. Children's starting points are assessed well on entry. For example, at initial visits, parents are invited to share information about their child's development. The valuable detail from parents, such as, likes, dislikes and favourite activities are used effectively to support staff's observations of children. As a result, staff begin to learn about children's preferences and skills and build on these, in order to help children to settle well into the nursery. However, ongoing observations do not take account of children's individual learning styles and the next steps in learning are not fully identified. Therefore, opportunities to enhance children's learning are missed resulting in children making satisfactory rather than good progress in their learning. Staff complete the required 'progress check at age two' and share these well with parents. This means

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who attend

that parents are made aware of their child's development and any areas that staff have identified where their child's progress is less than expected. This information is used appropriately, in order to gain useful support at an early stage so that no child gets left behind. Staff recognise the importance of sharing ongoing information with parents about their children's learning. For example, alongside staff's observations of children, parents are invited to share details about their children's learning at home. In addition to this, staff encourage parents to attend open evenings and special events in nursery.

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who attend

Children enjoy their experiences at the nursery and are eager to engage with staff and peers. Staff's interactions and teaching techniques are positive and show some understanding of how to encourage and capture children's interests. Furthermore, staff follow children's interests when planning activities and experiences. Children receive some good praise and encouragement for their efforts and achievements. Staff effectively respond to children and ask some appropriate questions to extend their learning. For example, staff encourage older children to talk about the play dough snowmen they are making. They identify different features, such as how many buttons they use and how they roll the dough into the shape they want. Children access a variety of resources to support their development across all areas of learning. Children enjoy choosing the different activities within the varied zones around each of the rooms. Babies extend their

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who attend

physical abilities as they 'walk' holding staff's hand or onto the well-positioned furniture. Staff praise and encourage children as they press buttons and twist dials on a suitable variety of activity toys and explore the sensory resources. Young children enjoy painting and drawing and like to select the different resources from the low-level storage draws. They choose from a suitable range of construction bricks to build towers and structures. In the role play areas they use their imaginations well as they look after their 'babies' dressing and feeding them or help one another to make 'dinner' in the kitchen. For older children, they are engrossed in activities in their 'photography studio' and happily take pictures of their friends and visitors.

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who attend

Children develop a suitable range of physical skills. However, there is room to develop them further by increasing the resources and activities in the physical garden, so that children are highly motivated and truly engaged in their play outdoors. Older children learn through a suitable range of opportunities to write for various purposes. There are several examples of print for children to copy and information around the room about different countries and cultures for them to draw inspiration. Games, such as sound lotto help children to develop satisfactory skills for listening, as well as teaching them to take turns and share resources. These activities support children to develop some of the skills needed to prepare them for the next stages in their learning and on to other settings or school.

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

Children play in clean and welcoming surroundings throughout the nursery. Each of the rooms are spacious and well-resourced and good use of the equipment supports children's learning and development effectively. The nursery is warm, homely and child-friendly. There is careful use of colours and soft furnishing, such as comfy cushions, which help children to feel at ease in their environment. There are some brightly coloured displays in each room and valuable information for parents, which depict positive images of diversity. Furthermore, examples of children's pictures and paintings displayed help them reflect on their successes and to support their self-confidence and self-awareness effectively. Staff are warm and caring, which promotes children's confidence and sense of belonging. The key person system is effective in supporting individual needs with positive relationships being established. Initial information about children's likes, dislikes and care needs is

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

gained from parents and useful information about the day's events is shared at the end of each session. Parents state how they feel involved in the nursery and how much they appreciate the information they gain from staff. They like the way in which staff gradually settle children into nursery. Furthermore, they value the support they and children get during movements to the next room.

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

Children appear comfortable and are becoming more aware of safety as they enjoy free access to the resources. They receive gentle reminders during play not to run around inside or to get too much out at a time. This encourages children to manage their own surroundings and develop an awareness of safety as they minimise possible hazards. Staff are positive role models and use consistent strategies and age and stage appropriate explanations to provide children with a clear understanding of acceptable behaviour. They encourage good manners and help children to take care of their environment and resources by tidying up together when they have finished playing. Children are developing effective independent self-care skills. Their care needs are managed well with regard to children's individual routines being followed. Some use the toilet with confidence and ask for help if needed whilst those in nappies are taken care of effectively. Children are

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

encouraged to wash their hands after toileting, playing outside and before meals. This means that children are made aware of the importance of good hygiene practices and helped to fulfil their personal routines independently. Furthermore, quiet sleep rooms and dedicated spaces provide children with a comforting and calm environment, so that they can have a good sleep when needed.

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

Nutritious and well-balanced meals are provided and careful organisation ensure all dietary requirements are met. Children are happy to choose and help serve their meals and pour drinks with staff supervision. They enjoy sitting together sharing stories and daily news as they eat. These opportunities help children to make good choices and promote their understanding of their health and dietary needs. Furthermore, the regular outdoor activities provide children with good opportunities to enjoy fresh air and become more aware of the benefits of exercise. There are three gardens which offer different experiences for children of different ages and stages. The youngest children access a space with artificial grass and staff create different opportunities as they bring resources from inside to explore on a greater scale. Children enjoy moving in new ways and exercising in the 'sensory garden', which offers many opportunities for children to explore

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

and investigate the open-ended resources. For example, here children climb over tyres, negotiate around the trees and bushes, make music with the pots and pans and enjoy stories and pretend fires in the log circle. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. This is because staff focus on ensuring that all children are valued in the nursery and adapt practice to meet the individual needs effectively. Staff maintain a good level of communication with parents and actively seek advice and guidance from other professionals, in order to gain knowledge and skills to ensure all children's needs are met. Staff recognise diversity as a strength and are happy to celebrate festivals and events to promote children's understanding of different cultures. They are developing ways of supporting children who speak English as an additional language. This is to include further information from parents, in order to provide

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

opportunities for children to use their home language in the nursery. Staff create an environment that is welcoming and safe with some good opportunities for children to enjoy their learning and grow in confidence. This helps to prepare children for their movements both within the nursery and on to other settings and support their future learning and readiness for school.

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provision

Staff have a sound understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are becoming more aware of the importance of assessing and monitoring the planning and delivery of the educational programmes. This is an area which needs improving to help staff develop more understanding of the levels of progress that children make across all areas of learning. Therefore, supporting staff to promote the characteristics of effective learning and ensuring that each child receives enjoyable and beneficial experiences. Sound recruitment and vetting systems are in place, ensuring all people working with children are suitable to do so. They have clear procedures which are followed with regard to visitors to the nursery and ensure children are effectively supervised at all times. Staff attend relevant training and identify further opportunities to

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provision

support their ongoing professional development. This ensures that designated roles within the nursery are appropriately deployed and staff skills are used to best effect. The new restructure of the management team is working well and staff are effectively supported through appropriate supervisions, appraisals and room meetings. Furthermore, staff welcome advice and guidance and there is an enthusiasm within the nursery because staff share a vision of striving for excellence. They have identified their strengths and some areas to improve and have interesting plans for the future. At the regular staff meetings they discuss and focus on current legislation to help them adapt practice accordingly.

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provision

Children's safety is secured because staff supervise children at all times, ratios are met and staff demonstrate an appropriate level of understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. They have clear understanding of their child protection procedures with detailed policies in place, which include whistle blowing and use of mobile telephones and cameras. Relevant contact details are in place and valuable information is displayed in each of the rooms for staff and parents to ensure they know about their responsibilities. Staff have recently attended in-house training to refresh and ensure the clear processes are understood and issues are dealt with in an appropriate and timely manner.

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provision

Staff understand the importance of getting to know each child well, so that they can ensure all children's needs are met effectively. They also know the value and purpose of good communication with other professionals who are involved in children's care. For example, in order to effectively support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, staff recognise the benefits of ensuring complementary and consistent practice. As a result, staff are establishing appropriate links with other local provisions and are continuing to develop their partnerships with parents and carers. This is in order to fully support children's care and education, so that individual needs are identified and catered for effectively.

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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 EY376833 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 941949

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 144 Number of children on roll 147 Name of provider The Blue Strawberry Kids Daycare Ltd Date of previous inspection 12/01/2009 Telephone number 01926 886 900

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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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