Busy Bees Day Nursery at Westminster

Busy Bees Day Nursery at Westminster 84a Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2AD

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/09/2013 19/10/2010

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

p.1

This provision is inadequate

 The provider fails to ensure the safety and well-being of children in the nursery's care. Security measures are inadequate and as a result children were able to leave the premises unsupervised.  There are few opportunities for children to practise early writing skills in play situations.  There is no visual display of key events in a nursery day to help children to understand nursery routine.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Staff provide a wide range of stimulating activities based on children's interests and skills. This results in children engaging well in a range of tasks.  Staff use comprehensive assessment information to inform planning well.  Parents have good opportunities to contribute to their child's learning and staff keep parents well-informed of their child's progress.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed interaction between staff and children.  The inspector observed the indoor and outdoor environments.  The inspector held a discussion with management.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents, staff and children and took their views into consideration during the inspection.

p.2

Information about the setting

Busy Bees nursery at Westminster is owned by the Busy Bees chain which has 214 nurseries throughout England, Scotland and Wales. The nursery is based on the first floor of an apartment block, in self contained and purpose built accommodation, and is situated within Westminster, central London, an area well served by public transport. The nursery operates from 7.30am to 6.15pm from Monday to Friday, throughout the year, only closed for public bank holidays. The nursery employs 14 staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. There is one staff member who has Early Years Professional status; one staff member holds a BA Hons degree with QTS; three staff members hold a BA Hons Degree Early Years; two staff members hold level four qualifications in Early Years; six staff hold level three qualifications in Early Years and one member of staff is currently awaiting NARIC - Teacher trained in her country. The nursery receives funding for the

p.3

Information about the setting

provision of free early education for children aged three and four years. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery supports children who learn English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

must:

 ensure that children cannot leave the premises unsupervised; make sure that the premises are secure and that all risks associated with security of the outdoor play area are identified and minimised.

p.3

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

 maximise early writing opportunities in play situations

p.3

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

 help children to become familiar with the nursery routine, for example by providing a visual display of key events in the nursery day.

p.3

who attend

Staff plan sufficiently well to meet the individual needs of children and this results in many children making good progress. Staff provide interesting and wide-ranging activities for children based on children's interests. This enables children to enjoy tasks and engage well in their learning. They choose freely from a range of resources to create their own play, which supports their independence. This is balanced by adult-led activities to structure their learning.

p.3

who attend

Staff teach children about letters and sounds in fun, interactive sessions, which supports children's literacy development. Children print letters of the alphabet with brightly coloured paint and this reinforces their learning of letter names. Children demonstrate good skills in recognising their names on card during group discussion times. Children play cooperatively, practise their language skills and extend their imagination while they engage in pretend play. However, staff do not maximise opportunities for children to practise their early writing skills in play situations because there are no writing tools or materials available in areas, such as pretend play. Children operate simple programs on computers, which supports their learning across different areas. Staff set up interactive displays based on themes inspired by children's interests, such as the seaside. This helps to reinforce children's learning about aspects of their environment.

p.4

who attend

Younger children use their imaginative skills to create their own seaside play by using water trays, sand and small world resources. This supports their understanding of the world. Staff teach children to count securely and recognise numbers through activities, for example children match the correct number of pegs to a number. Staff use opportunities in the environment to secure children's counting skills. For instance, staff display signs which indicate limits to the number of children using specific play areas. This develops children's mathematical skills as they work out whether there are too many children in an area. Generally, these experiences teach children valuable skills for later use in school.

p.4

who attend

Staff follow the interests of children by providing them with good opportunities to explore different textures. For instance, toddlers investigate the consistency of flour and water mixes through playing with the mixture. Babies enjoy feeling different textures and staff teach babies new words to describe the textures, such as 'soft' and 'rough'. Babies climb and crawl over soft cushions and develop good physical skills. Staff sing songs to babies who learn to copy actions and this support their communication and language skills. Babies learn about technology by pressing buttons on electronic toys to hear different sounds.

p.4

who attend

Staff support children who learn English as an additional language generally well overall. For example, they provide portable communication boxes which allow parents to record messages to their children in their home language. This helps children to feel secure and aids their communication skills. Staff learn key words in a child's home language to help children communicate. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well because staff work closely with community health professionals to devise individual education plans for children. This helps children to make some good progress.

p.4

who attend

Children develop their physical skills as they take part in daily 'wake and shake' physical exercise sessions. Children also learn where food comes from as they plant and grow seeds. However, the organisation of outdoor play opportunities is not as well thought out as provision indoors. As a result children do not receive the same levels of support and challenge as they do during indoor activities. Staff have good knowledge of children's skills and abilities because they carry out good quality observations of children. They plan children's next steps for learning based on their evaluations of observations and other evidence of children's skills. Staff plan well to meet the individual needs of children because they carry out progress checks for children aged between two and three years, written summaries of which are provided to parents.

p.4

who attend

Regular daily exchanges between staff and parents enable parents to share observations of their child and contribute to their child's learning. Parents also visit the nursery to talk with children about their jobs and this helps children to develop understanding of aspects of the world around them. Parents are kept up-to-date on their child's progress because staff meet up with parents at open evenings to discuss their child's progress and review their assessment records.

p.5

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

Children's well-being is compromised because of the poor security measures implemented. Children have recently been able to leave the premises unnoticed by staff and insufficient improvement has been made to ensure this is prevented in future. Children gain some awareness of how to keep themselves safe because staff help children to identify some potential risks in their environment. For example, staff give older children photographs of different areas of the nursery to check for safety, such as checking that chairs are tucked in by tables.

p.5

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

Overall, children settle sufficiently because they have warm bonds with staff who know them well. Staff find out about children's likes and dislikes and use this information to make plans around their interests. This helps children to feel happy and to engage with activities. Babies settle effectively because staff adapt routines to meet the needs of the youngest children. Staff display photographs of babies' families to support babies' well- being and this helps babies to settle. Some children who learn English as an additional language find it hard to understand the nursery routine. This is because there are no resources to support children's understanding of the nursery routine.

p.5

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

The nursery is bright and welcoming and resources are accessible to children, which enables their free independent choice. Children have sound personal hygiene routines, such as washing their hands at appropriate times. Staff change nappies in clean, private and comfortable areas.

p.5

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

Children develop healthy habits because they use a suitably equipped outdoor area for regular physical exercise and fresh air. They eat well-balanced meals freshly prepared by the nursery cook. Children select from a range of fresh fruit snacks and this supports healthy choices. Special dietary needs are catered for.

p.5

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

Staff use a sufficient range of strategies to manage children's behaviour effectively. For instance, they agree ground rules for behaviour with children and display these on the nursery walls to reinforce positive behaviour. Staff praise the children to motivate positive behaviour. Children get to know teachers from local schools because teachers visit prior to children's arrival. This helps children to settle well. Where children go to schools outside of the local area staff make photograph books of schools to familiarise children with the school buildings and this helps to build familiarity. Children spend time in new group rooms at the nursery in order for children to get to know staff and new routines. This helps children to settle effectively.

p.5

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

Children learn to accept and value difference because staff talk to children about special cultural or religious events. Staff develop children's understanding of these events by providing creative opportunities to celebrate cultural festivals, such as, Chinese New Year and other occasions.

p.6

provision

This inspection was brought forward following the provider's recent notification of an incident. The incident concerned two children leaving the premises unsupervised. The children were found in a neighbouring road and were returned to the nursery by one of the parents. This highlighted staff's failure to provide adequate supervision of the children and the provider's failure to make sure that risk assessment was sufficiently robust and security measures appropriate. Following the incident a member of staff was suspended and security measures have been reviewed. However, too little has been done to safeguard children's welfare. The need for locks on exit gates has been identified but to date no locks have been fitted. They continue to rely on staff standing by the gates to prevent children from leaving. As a result children's welfare remains at risk.

p.6

provision

Staff are vetted soundly to establish suitability for their roles and this helps to safeguard the children. Staff are trained in safeguarding and know procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child's well-being. Management supervise staff sufficiently to offer guidance and support for any areas of underperformance. Staff are offered a range of training courses to meet development needs identified through individual yearly appraisals. Staff then put newly acquired knowledge and skills into practice. For instance, staff attended a course on behaviour management and this led to improved strategies to manage children's behaviour in positive ways.

p.6

provision

Management observe staff in all group rooms and carry out random sampling of planning and assessment records to monitor the provision for children's learning and development. Any gaps in learning are identified through sampling of assessments of children and staff take appropriate steps to close gaps in learning. A mentoring system is in place to model good practice to staff and this helps to maintain consistency in the quality of staff practice.

p.6

provision

The nursery has effective partnerships with a range of organisations involved in early years work. For example, they direct parents to a variety of services offered by the local children's centre, and work closely with community health professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work well with parents by keeping them informed of their child's progress and by providing opportunities for parents to contribute to their child's learning. Parents spoken to at the time of the inspection expressed good levels of satisfaction with the provision and spoke particularly of the caring and approachable staff group.

p.6

provision

Management evaluate the provision soundly and have set some clear goals for the development of the nursery. For instance, they plan to maximise learning opportunities in the outdoor environment. However they have not given due consideration to the affect that using staff to stay by exit gates has on the quality of children's outdoor learning experiences. Staff have improved supervision of pre-school children after lunch as a result of a recommendation made at the last inspection. This shows capacity to maintain continuous improvement adequately.

p.7

The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

p.7

actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

p.7

To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that a child is unable to leave the premises without a person who is caring for children on those premises becoming aware of the child leaving (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  ensure that a child is unable to leave the premises unsupervised except where the childcare is open access childcare, or where the child is aged eight or over and the parent of the child has agreed that they may leave the provision unaccompanied (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

p.7

Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

p.8

Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

p.8

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.

p.9

Setting details

Unique reference number EY330036 Local authority Westminster Inspection number 934287 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 74 Number of children on roll 42 Name of provider Just Learning Ltd Date of previous inspection 19/10/2010 Telephone number 0207 222 4459

p.9

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.

p.9

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.10

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,

p.10

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’.

p.11

Type of provision

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

p.11