Busy Bees Day Nursery at Maidstone Allington

Allington Day Nursery (Kinder Groups Ltd) Ash Grove, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 0AB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/01/2014 17/04/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The strong leadership and management team are committed to driving improvement to promote and improve opportunities for children.  Well developed partnerships with the parents are established through open, effective communication both verbally, in writing and electronically.  Children are confident, settled individuals due to the well-established key person approach.  A free flow system is embedded into the nursery routine, enabling children to play and learn in the environment that best suits their individual needs.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children play with different resources outside, but do not extend their imagination and problem solving skills by using a range of large, unusual moveable objects.  Snack time is used as a social occasion as part of the children's routine, but is not extended to become a useful, learning opportunity.

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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 spent the majority of the inspection observing staff interacting with the children in all rooms.  The inspector carried out informal observations with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including the complaints record, safeguarding documents and children's learning journals.  The inspector spoke with four parents to obtain their views on the setting.

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Information about the setting

Allington Day Nursery is one of eleven nurseries run by Kinder Group Ltd. It opened in 1997 and operates from four rooms in a purpose-built building on a school site. It is located in Allington on the outskirts of Maidstone. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.00am to 7.00pm all year round, except public holidays. The provision also offers before and after school care, which uses a room and other space in the school building. Children from the nursery share access to a secure outdoor play area and the school grounds are also available for use.

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Information about the setting

It is registered on the Early Years Register and on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery provision currently has 87 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery currently supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

A total of 21 staff work in the nursery of whom 16 hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children age two, three and four years.

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

 extend outside play to promote children's imagination and problem-solving skills using a range of different, unusual, moveable objects

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

 develop snack time to promote children's independence and choice of snacks.

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who attend

Children make good progress in their learning and development because staff have a good understanding how to promote children's learning through effective teaching. Children enjoy a good range of activities both indoors and outdoors to promote their age and stage of development. Each key person plans according to each child's individual needs and interests. Consequently, children engage well in activities that hold their attention.

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who attend

Staff provide children with a choice to play indoors or outside because of the effective free-flow system. This enables those children who learn best outside to maximise their opportunities. Children enjoy using the mud kitchen, using various resources whilst developing their imagination. They can choose to sit and read books quietly on the mat outside or to complete a collage picture. Challenging climbing opportunities are possible in the forest school area or on the large play equipment. This provides children with opportunities to climb the ladder and balance along the moving bridge to get to the top of the slide. However, children do not have access to large unusual objects such as crates or nets to further develop their problem solving skills and imagination.

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who attend

Staff provide good support for children and as a result children are confident individuals who settle well and want to learn. Children move around freely in their rooms accessing all the equipment from the low level storage trays or shelves. This enables children to make choices and to develop their independence skills. Each room provides for the seven areas of learning enabling children to make full use of the various areas around the room.

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who attend

Staff promote children's communication and language from babies through each room in the nursery. The youngest children start by babbling and staff provide words for their babble and imitation and repetition. This encourages the youngest children to copy and develop their understanding. The older children are encouraged to label pictures and talk about what they are doing. The majority of staff use open-ended questions encouraging children to reply with more than one word and helping to develop their vocabulary. All key people know their children's home language and obtain a list of key words. This enables children to hear words in their home language and support their understanding of instructions whilst gaining a sense of belonging. Consequently, children are good communicators.

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who attend

Staff use children's interests to plan activities that interest them and extend their learning. For example, the older children showed an interest in weight and measure so a water activity was planned. Children were able to fill and empty containers and estimate how many cups it would take to fill the bucket. Babies play with gloop with additional resources to extend their nature walk in the local community. Staff understand how children learn and plan exciting activities such as treasure hunts and pirate themed activities to get children to use their imagination. As a result, children join in stimulating activities that cover several areas of learning.

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who attend

Children see lots of print in their environment both indoors and outdoors on labelling, posters and signs. Mark making materials are available constantly and therefore children are able to develop their literacy skills. Books are well presented on shelving enabling children to see the front covers. Staff read with small groups of children or children choose to access books independently, promoting a love of books. Numbers are also used in the environment along with shapes. Various resources are easily accessible to support children's mathematical skills, such as the scales. Children outdoors like to find various natural materials and see which one is the heaviest. Modelling dough and cooking activities further help children with quantity and weight.

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who attend

Each key person obtains key information on children's starting points on entry to the nursery from the parents. They carry out regular observations and assessments for their key children, identifying the learning taking place and recording the child's next step or extension possibilities for the activity. This is transferred to children's learning journals and then summarised on a regular basis, providing an accurate assessment. Parent's are encouraged to contribute to their children's assessment records at any time and are invited to attend parent's evening to discuss the folders with their child's key person.

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

There is a good key person system in place. Parents and children know who the key person is when children arrive for the settling in visit. This enables parents and children to have a set person to build attachments with and to share information from the start of their time in nursery. To further promote children's settling-in process and to ensure their needs are met, a 'buddy' system is in place in the event the main key person is on holiday. This provides security, especially for the youngest children in the nursery. Key persons share information on a daily basis with the parents, both verbally and through contact books in the baby room. This system enables a good two-way flow of information to support children's individual needs.

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

Children behave well throughout the nursery. Staff are calm and provide consistent boundaries supporting children's understanding. In the pre-school room children have their 'golden rules' displayed in words and pictures to offer simple reminders. Staff offer regular praise and encouragement for children to share the toys and take turns. Consequently, children generally play well, often co-operatively with others.

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

Staff encourage children to live a healthy lifestyle through daily use of the garden to benefit from fresh air and exercise. Staff ensure children dress for the weather, for example, by putting boots on if wet and their coats. Young babies have blankets and coats in buggies when they are taken for a walk, providing good opportunities to learn about the world in which they live. Snack time is used as a social occasion, and to promote children's independence. For example, children pour their own milk and water with good hand and eye coordination. They use knives to cut their fruit and cucumber, showing how they keep themselves safe. The adult reminds the children about keeping safe as they use the apple corer and cutter to slice the apple. However, there is a limited selection of snacks available. Children fetch a plate but just walk away from the table when they have finished without learning about the clearing up process. Consequently, snack time is a routine and

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

not fully utilised as a learning experience. Children follow good hygiene routines by washing hands before they eat and after using the toilet. Staff continue these good procedures for nappy changing and food preparation providing good role models for the children.

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

Children show a good understanding about keeping themselves safe. Older children learn the importance of taking care when climbing on the large play equipment and hold onto the rails as they climb the ladder. Staff deploy themselves effectively to support children's safety, for example standing at either end of the large play equipment. Staff supervise the very young children well. They ensure the resources are suitable for the youngest children but provide exciting opportunities to experience unusual resources and natural materials such as gloop and sand. Children use tools with increasing control and develop their accuracy as they move through the nursery. Careful room risk assessments and staff's vigilance enable children to play in a safe, inviting environment. Staff plan their rooms well providing a welcoming environment where they have easy access to a wide range of resources and equipment. Display boards are backed in hessian

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

to provide a calming feeling and enables children's work to be displayed and seen more easily. Staff use labels and signs well in the environment providing children with opportunities to gain an understanding that print carries meaning. Staff ensure that resources for all areas of learning are easily accessible and are divided up into sections around the room enabling children to make informed choices. Resources are in good condition and adapted in each room for the age of the children attending.

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

Staff at the nursery have a clear understanding of the necessary skills children need to have to move onto the next stage in their education. They encourage children to become independent when washing hands and visiting the toilet. Children are encouraged to put on their own coats and to change their shoes and boots before going outside. Many of the pre-school children and some toddlers can recognise their name and are encouraged to find their peg to hang their coat up. Mark making is always accessible, enabling children to develop a good tripod grip and gain control with the pencils. Children develop listening skills as they listen to stories and follow instructions promoting necessary skills for school. Staff work in partnership with the local schools to make the move to school or the following room a smooth and easy one in conjunction with partnership with the parents.

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provision

Safeguarding is given high importance within the setting with all staff receiving training that is updated on a regular basis. A well written policy and procedure is in place with all staff having copies in staff handbooks. Relevant supporting documentation is in place including appropriate contact details for outside agencies. Robust procedures are in place for the safe recruitment of new staff, including regular supervisions and appraisals to ensure the ongoing suitability of the staff. The majority of staff hold a recognised early year's qualification and those that are unqualified are encouraged to work towards a recognised qualification. All staff are encouraged to attend training both in-house and external to update their skills and knowledge Consequently children are well protected within the setting.

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provision

The management team have taken rigorous measures to self-evaluate the provision and identify the strengths and areas to improve. Views from parents, children and staff have all been taken into account to inform the self-evaluation process. The management show a committed approach to making improvements and have implemented focused action plans that involve the staff to promote outcome for children. For example the nursery management team have implemented several changes to how routines are recorded and implemented. Effective monitoring procedures are in place to ensure that the action plans are being implemented and reviewed on a regular basis. Consequently, the nursery and staff team are able to provide continuous improvement.

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provision

The staff team recognise the importance of working in partnership with parents and implement good systems to share information. For example, parents receive information verbally, through newsletters, electronically through parent mail and documentation. Parents work closely with the key person to address children's individual needs. Starting points are shared with the key person and then the contact book is used to ensure the key person and the parent is kept informed on a daily basis. Parents are encouraged to contribute to children's assessment files to support the planning process and to enable children to meet their full potential. Thorough monitoring processes are in place to ensure all systems fully support children's individual needs and keep parents fully informed about their child's care needs. This partnership is extended to outside agencies that provide specialist services to the children to help prepare individual educational plans to meet

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provision

specific children's needs. In addition, processes to share information with other providers that share the care of the children are also in place to provide continuity of care, including good links with local primary schools.

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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 126970 Local authority Kent Inspection number 946283 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 47 Number of children on roll 87 Name of provider Kinder Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 17/04/2013 Telephone number 01622 756667

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Setting details

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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