Brook Farm Children's Nursery

Brook Farm Children's Nursery Brook Farm, Harden Road, BARNOLDSWICK, BB18 6TS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/02/2014 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

 Effective arrangements are in place for meeting all children's individual needs through strong partnership working with parents and others. Consequently, all children are effectively integrated into the life of the nursery and feel a strong sense of belonging.  As a result of good quality teaching including staff's enthusiastic and motivating approach, children are eager to explore and investigate, learn new things and develop good levels of confidence and self-esteem.  Children learn to make good choices about what they eat from an early age because of varied healthy meals and snacks and ample opportunities to be outdoors, which fosters their all-round-good health further.  Children's welfare is promoted effectively because staff have a very secure knowledge of child protection issues through a strong focus on safeguarding training.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The organisation of space and resources is not always highly successful in ensuring that the needs of the differing age groups are consistently met in the baby room.  Full consideration is not always given to the organisation of routines after lunch and to monitoring children's engagement with some age groups, to fully foster their personal, social and emotional development and ensure space is visually calm and orderly to help children concentrate.

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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 observed activities in the three main play rooms, additional first floor play room and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager and held meetings with the provider and manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children and the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Brook Farm Children's Nursery was re-registered in 2013 under new ownership with a private individual. It operates from a two-storey building converted from an agricultural barn in the Kelbrook area of Barnoldswick, Lancashire. It serves the children of the local and wider areas and is accessible to all children. The nursery opens five days a week from 8am to 5.45pm, excluding bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children are cared for in three main play rooms, with additional access to a first floor play room, accessed by stairs, and an enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 145 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who use English as an additional language. The nursery employs 22 members of childcare staff including the

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Information about the setting

manager, 19 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 to 5. The nursery receives support from the local authority and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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

 enhance the organisation of space and resources in the baby room, for example, by enabling babies to explore a wider range of natural media and materials and by consistently providing activities and resources which provide good levels of challenge and interest to older, more able toddlers

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

 review post-lunchtime routines for children aged 18 months to three years, in order to support their personal, emotional and social development further and precisely monitor how children play, in order to consistently create a visually calm and orderly environment to fully support their learning.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of the seven areas of learning and how to promote children's learning. Consequently, they provide a variety of play opportunities which engage children's interest and cater for their preferred learning styles across the seven areas of learning. This includes having a strong emphasis on the outdoors through interesting outings, free-flow access to the playground for certain age groups and visitors being invited into the nursery. For example, children develop a good understanding of the world as they visit the farm animals and feed the chickens, go on an outing to the pantomime and have basic French lessons, reflected in a wall display to help consolidate their learning. Other attractive and bright displays and photographs enhance the learning environment and help children to recall, celebrate and reflect on what they have been doing in nursery. Staff know their key children well and undertake ongoing observation

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who attend

and assessment, which informs planning for children's next steps based on what they already know and can do. Parents are well informed about their children's progress and next steps for learning through daily face-to-face exchanges, development summaries, parent's evenings and displayed planning. Parents are actively encouraged to share their own observations of children's interests and new achievements, in order to enhance staff's own observations and assessments of children. Children are working comfortably in the development band expected for their age and are making good progress in their learning.

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who attend

Areas of continuous provision, such as small world and messy play, are enhanced with labelling, dangling pictures, canopies and draped material to create interesting spaces for children to explore and play. Child-accessible toys and activities mean that children can make choices about what they would like to do and explore and develop their own ideas, especially in the centre room and pre-school room. This effectively fosters their independent learning and helps them develop skills for future learning as they move onto school, through self-initiated play. Staff set out particularly exciting adult-led floor activities at certain times for babies and toddlers, such as cornflakes and sand play with dinosaurs, which greatly ignites their interest and curiosity. They explore the textures with intrigue, showing good levels of concentration, and staff support and extend their learning well during the activities. However, the best use is not always made of space and

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who attend

resources in the baby room to consistently motivate and engage babies and toddlers. This is because the variety of general resources set out lacks variety. As a result, the environment does not always foster babies' and toddlers' interest in different media and materials or consistently provide enough challenge, motivation or interest to toddlers, in order to keep them highly engaged.

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who attend

As a result of adult's good quality interaction, children's enjoyment is enhanced and their learning is supported well. For example, as babies and toddlers explore the cornflakes and sand, staff example having fun, which enhances their enjoyment. They link words to actions and objects, effectively supporting younger children's developing communication and language. For example, they talk about how the different textures feel. Babies delight in looking at themselves in the mirror and developing their mobility with the support of staff. They giggle as they bob up and down on their legs and pull themselves to standing to explore the activity toy. They delight in the engagement of staff who play a game of throwing them up and down. As babies investigate a small wooden drum, staff notice their interest and say 'You like playing with that, don't you?', showing how this works. Babies practise their hand and eye coordination, attempting to repeat the action, and create

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who attend

sounds as the beads inside move around when this is rolled or banged. As younger children who move into the middle room use the first floor play room, they enjoy expressing their creativity as they make a variety of marks in the paint. Older, more able children show great imagination as they play in the shaving foam in the outdoor play area, squeezing this from the can into different pots and pans, pretending to mix, pour and cook. Staff extend their imagination as they introduce other ideas into their play. Children in the pre-school room show great precision with tools, such as scissors, as they cut pictures out of catalogues to create collages. Children play very cooperatively and link up during a variety of activities. For example, a group of boys share ideas and introduce a narrative into their home corner role play. Children are encouraged to persevere with tasks and staff encourage them to achieve new

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who attend

skills, without doing things for them. For example, they encourage children to carefully observe the picture instructions as they connect more difficult pieces of the construction toy to create interesting models. Staff use good open-ended questioning with children to help develop their skills in creating and thinking critically. They talk about what they are doing during care routines and as children play, in order to create a language rich environment, which effectively supports children's communication skills. Staff value and listen to the voices of all children. Where children use English as an additional language phrase books are used, for example, to help them use their home language alongside developing their English language. As a result, children develop confidence and self- esteem as they are integrated well into the nursery environment.

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

As a result of the well-organised and gradual settling-in period, individual to each child's individual needs, children, especially babies and toddlers, develop strong bonds and secure attachments with their key person and other staff in their nursery room. During this period there is close consultation with parents. For example, through a detailed 'All about me' booklet staff gain very personal information about each child's individual needs, care routines at home and family background. This enables them to find out about and celebrate each child's uniqueness and provide carefully tailored care. For example, parents are asked if there are any special ways to get their children to sleep and any comforters they have, what children like or do not like, things they are good at and things they may need help with. Staff keep information in a 'helpful hints' file, so that in the absence of children's key person, covering staff can continue to meet children's individual needs. Staff

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

in the baby room, in particular, demonstrate a caring, loving and nurturing nature as they warmly interact with babies and toddlers during care routines and as they play. Transitions within the nursery or into other early years settings, such as reception class, are effectively supported to foster children's continued sense of security. For example, close links are established with children's new key person, transition documents are completed and settling-in visits take place.

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

Most care practices are effective in ensuring children are happy, can explore their surroundings, enjoy what they are doing, develop social skills and manage their own hygiene and personal needs. For example, children from 18 months onwards readily wash their hands before eating and the pre-school children serve themselves lunch and pour their own drinks. Children are also encouraged to do things for themselves, where age appropriate, such as feeding themselves and putting on their coats to play outside. Toddlers show good fine motor skills as they scoop their food onto their spoon and older, more able children skilfully coordinate cutlery. However, routines after lunch for children aged 18 months to three years are a little disorganised and don't fully support children's learning and keep them occupied. In addition, children of this age are not always encouraged to pick up dropped toys. This impacts on areas being welcoming, visually calm

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

and orderly, in order to help children concentrate, develop a sense of responsibility and learn how to respect and care for things. Children behave well as a result of frequent praise and encouragement from staff to promote positive behaviour and foster their self- esteem and confidence.

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

Staff effectively support children in understanding the importance of physical exercise and a healthy diet. For example, meals and snacks are effectively planned on a four week menu and include lots of fruit and vegetables and home cooked daily meals, made using locally sourced, fresh produce. Children clearly enjoy the nursery lunch, readily tucking into this. Information about children's dietary needs is close to hand, in order to promote their welfare. Individual dietary requirements are effectively met, including through training to implement specific feeding plans. Staff develop children's awareness further, for example, by discussing hygiene routines, such as the importance of brushing teeth. Other than babies and toddlers in the baby room, who access fresh air and exercise at least once a day, other age groups, especially the pre-school children, have free-flow access to the outdoor area. They learn to manage risks as they negotiate space and use

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

wheeled toys, for instance, and learn about the effects of exercise as they run around and talk about how they feel. Children's understanding of dangers and keeping themselves safe is enhanced by visitors, such as the police, who talk to children about different aspects of safety.

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provision

The provider and manager have a good understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare and the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, they work closely together to ensure that staff are effective as a team in promoting children's well-being and providing overall good quality learning experiences that help children make good progress. Staff monitor children's progress regularly and ensure early intervention where individuals or groups of children require additional support. Consequently, there is a strong commitment to narrowing any achievements gaps. There is a key focus on safeguarding children. Effective recruitment, vetting and induction arrangements include working trials as part of the interview process, the close supervision of those awaiting Disclosure and Barring Service checks and probation periods. This results in safe, suitable and well-qualified staff, who have a clear

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provision

understanding of their roles and responsibilities and policies and procedures, which work well in practice. Staff have regular child protection training and their knowledge is tested regularly, for example, during team meetings or through the 'question of the day'. Consequently, they can identify potential indicators of abuse or neglect and have a secure understanding of both internal and external reporting procedures, which promotes children's welfare. Good security of the premises, risk assessments and supervision of the children, further ensures children stay safe. For example, staff are vigilant as toddlers in the baby room practise their developing physical skills, such as negotiating steps on the wooden apparatus and climbing in and out of a low-level swivel chair. The manager has recently introduced a system for monitoring accidents more closely, in order to review and address any potential causes, such as the environment, furniture or staff supervision.

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provision

There is a strong commitment to the continuous improvement of children's achievements over time through good self-evaluation. The provider and manager, relatively new to the nursery, cascade their positive ethos, motivation and aspirations to the whole staff team. All are closely involved in reviewing practice and sharing ideas about key areas of development and new initiatives continue to be embedded. Weaknesses are accurately identified and there are well-documented development plans in place to address these. The nursery has recently begun working towards their local authority quality award, further demonstrating their commitment to the continuous improvement of children's care and education. There is a robust management structure in place to support staff and promote the efficient and safe management of the nursery. Staff are closely monitored through regular supervision and yearly appraisals, in order to continually develop the

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provision

quality of teaching, especially for those less experienced or qualified. The professional development of staff at all levels is effectively encouraged and supported through in-house and external individual and group training. This is carefully targeted to ensure it has the most impact on practice. Parents are encouraged to share their views continually and through parent's evenings. New questionnaires are due to be distributed, in order to obtain more precise feedback from parents, in order to help inform and shape the service.

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provision

Staff clearly recognise and value the importance of developing positive relationships with parents, in order for children to reach their full potential. This is reflected in close partnership working. Parents are well-informed about their children's care and education on enrolment and during their time at the nursery. For example, they are given an initial parent pack and there are many notices and displays around the nursery, including key person groups photograph displays. Daily diaries are provided for the youngest children, although if parents wish these can continue, regardless of the age of their children. Regular newsletters are issued and a parents can express their views through the parent representative committee which is open to anyone and meets with management every six weeks. There is extremely effective partnership working with other professionals where advice is precisely implemented, in order to secure support for children with identified

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provision

needs. The nursery link closely with the area Special Educational Needs Coordinator and precisely follow individual care or educational plans. Staff carefully adapt the environment and their practice to ensure that this is inclusive for all children, supports their individual needs and helps them progress well. There are effective arrangements in place for ensuring a consistent and shared approach to children's care and learning, should they attend other settings.

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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 EY465918 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 934798 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 72 Number of children on roll 145 Name of provider Richard John Wilson Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01282 841221

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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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