Busy Bees at Biggleswade Saxon Centre

Toybox Day Nurseries The Saxon Centre, Kingsfield Road, BIGGLESWADE, Bedfordshire, SG18 8AT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/01/2014 30/08/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2

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This provision is good

 Teaching is good because staff use detailed planning fully linked to their observations and children's interests. As a result children make good progress.  Staff use all opportunities to link activities to spontaneous learning, such as the building works underway in the garden and, as a result, children are engaged and motivated by new and exciting materials.  Children are very secure because routines, such as lunchtime, are carried out in small social groups. They develop independence and are prepared for school because they are given increasing responsibility for self-care.  The manager employs thorough recruitment and induction, supervision and performance management. Consequently, staff are motivated and seek continued development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Some staff do not always take maximum opportunity to follow younger children's play as they experiment with materials.  Children under two-year-olds do not always receive consistent positive guidance from some staff to enhance their understanding of appropriate behaviour.

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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 all rooms and the outside area, and spoke with the manager, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of policies, procedures and information provided by the provision.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector reviewed the self-evaluation documents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed a selection of children's observation and assessment development files with key persons.

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Information about the setting

Treetops Day Nursery has been operating since 2002, and was previously one of three nurseries operating under the name of Toybox Day Nurseries Ltd. In 2013 the company was purchased by Treetops Nurseries, a national nursery provider. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from the Saxon Centre business park in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. All children have access to enclosed outdoor areas. The nursery is accessible to all children while the out of school club is situated on the first floor.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 17 staff to work directly with the children. There are 13 members of staff with a childcare qualification at level 2 and 3. One member of staff holds a childcare qualification at level 4. The nursery also employs support staff including a cook and cleaners.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open each weekday from 7am until 7pm all year round, except for bank holidays. Children attend for a variety of session. There are currently 86 children on roll; of these, 63 are in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children with English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery also provides an out of school club, known as the Treehouse, for school-aged children, which operates from the first floor of the building. The club is open each weekday through all school holidays from 7am until 7pm. During school terms opening times are from 7am to 8.45am and from 3.30pm to 7pm each weekday.

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

 encourage open-ended play where children make decisions, for example with large building blocks, to support them to test their ideas

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

 enhance children's understanding of behaviour and safe boundaries by encouraging all staff to give consistently clear guidance.

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who attend

Children are happy and motivated in the nursery and, consequently, make good progress in their learning and development given their starting points. Staff offer resources and experiences that support children to learn, and provide opportunities for them to practise their emergent skills and knowledge. This ensures that they are well prepared for a move to school. For example, children in all areas explore provision for building. Older children, indoors, sit together and design houses talking about what shape and number of windows they would like before calculating how many more they will need to draw before they reach their first number. Outdoors groups of children develop imaginative games and decide to construct a house from large tyres while others, again, design buildings using pens and paper. Staff incorporate good teaching by joining the play but allowing children to lead their own learning. Children decide to place tyres onto their sides as windows and

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who attend

a door, stack tyres in piles to make walls, and add a mat as a carpet. The staff team value this exploratory play, as shown by the redeployment of other staff to facilitate the continuation of this activity. In rooms with younger children the same materials engage children and develop by adding cars. The staff member skilfully incorporates children interest in cars and traffic lights with children deciding to go 'shopping', discussing speed limits, and directing each other to 'stop' and 'go'. In such simple activities children solve simple problems and show a good deal of concentration and purpose as they develop their game. However, some staff, in the rooms for younger children, are not always mindful of the benefits to children of testing their own ideas and do not fully support children as they build towers, and push them down. This means that children are not always supported to make decisions and experiment fully with materials.

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who attend

Observation and assessment, and the tracking of children's progress, are focused and build from an initial assessment that parents also contribute to by completing an 'all about me' form and through face-to-face discussion. Each child has a learning record in which observations are evaluated and matched to show progression. Every child has individual planning completed for each day. The planning identifies if the activity is as a result of a parental contribution, direct observation, as a new experience or from another source. Face-to-face daily contact with parents plays a key part in the communication about children's learning and development. Parents' evenings enable parents to view and discuss children's files, although these are freely available to them at any time. In addition to the activities in the nursery, parent workshops are arranged to help parents to fully understand the activities and to enable them to continue with activities to support learning

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who attend

at home. This initiative further enhances the shared learning between the parents and the nursery. A progress check at age two is completed and shared with parents. This is monitored closely by the manager, and, as a result, progression for all children, given their starting points, is good. Children with English as an additional language receive well- planned support to ensure that they make good progress. Signing, daily timelines, key words and resources, in addition to using the 'circle times' to introduce activities and information about religious celebrations and cultures, all help to include and support children. Hence, all children make good progress given their starting points and individual needs.

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who attend

All children work with materials that help them to make choices and use their senses. In the 'lion cubs' room for the youngest children there is a vast selection of heuristic and tactile play materials which babies explore. They manipulate foam with tools and their hands, crawl into the sand tray, feel and smell real vegetables, and investigate the sounds made by an array of metal objects and tools. Staff in this room support children to explore schemas, such as emptying and filling containers, and sit alongside them talking with them about what they are doing. They encourage early communication by consistently speaking with, and listening to, children. All children are creative using art materials freely to cut, draw, stick and manipulate. They use foam with glitter, cooked pasta, rice and jelly, and create prints using vegetables and fruits. Younger children are fascinated by a heavy swede and smaller onion and roll them along the floor to find out what will happen.

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who attend

Older children, however, spend time chopping the vegetables and 'creating' foods in the role play area. Older children begin to understand the time periods of the day because they view several clocks which show, alongside pictures, what happens at different times of the day. They are especially competent in the use of early technology and frequently use torches, a video camera and the computer. Children show that they are well motivated and eager to join in; they consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning. Staff are supportive and as a result the children confidently display their knowledge and initiate activities. This means that they are practising in preparation for new learning within any new setting, such as school.

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

The key persons are attentive and form very good relationships with children. Initial settling-in sessions are offered to parents and during that time all aspects of children's well-being are discussed and recorded. A parents' room is available for parents to stay on- site during those sessions, and when they initially leave children in the care of the staff, to help ease the separation and provide a sense of security to parents. These steps to develop partnerships with parents help children to form secure bonds and attachments which supports their feelings of being safe and secure. The nursery is arranged so that the very youngest children are in the same 'wing' and have regular contact with other children and staff, and movement between rooms. These methods help children to settle into the nursery, reinforce their stability, and prepare them for future moves.

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

The manager monitors the deployment of staff to ensure that it is managed in the best possible manner to meet the needs of all children. Staff are enthusiastic, model good social behaviour for children and offer them frequent praise throughout the day. Children understand that they are all respected as individuals. They are asked their views and are given time to make choices. A clear positive behaviour policy, shared with parents, demonstrates the views of the nursery. However, on occasions some staff, in the one to two-year-old room do not always provide clear messages to children to guide positive behaviour. For example, children are not always commended for 'good waiting' or 'good sharing' with the focus placed, instead, on actions which are not acceptable. This means that some children are not always helped to learn to manage their own behaviour. Children show excellent self-care skills and develop a very secure understanding of healthy

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

eating. They are very well nourished and their health is fostered. The cook delivers an exciting menu, devised by the specialists within the main company, that is freshly cooked and which accommodates every child's specific need. Children enjoy social mealtimes in small social groups where, as they move through the nursery, they take increasing control of self-selecting and serving their own meals, and are seated at tables set with flowers and a tablecloth. Older children also clear their plates and wash their plates and cutlery. As a result of these steps, children are independent and emotionally prepared for a move to school or new setting. Children learn to take risks within a safe environment. For example, they use tyres to build a house in the garden and climb in and out of them developing balance and coordination as they discuss how careful they need to be. Staff use events around them to maximise

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

children's awareness of safety in the environment. For example, with extensive renovations and building work carried out in the garden and surrounding grounds, the staff plan and equip all areas with resources linked to building sites and spend time talking with children about related safety issues during their exploratory play. Children demonstrate their knowledge when they explain how a hard hat, 'stops things falling onto your head and hurting you'. Children's moves between rooms are very well planned to ensure that they are settled and ready for the move. The staff use detailed summary packs to monitor children's trial sessions in new rooms. Any move is agreed between parents, key persons and the manager at a time most suitable to meet the children's individual needs. This ensures that children's security is promoted to the optimum level. Children are prepared very well for any move to school. Their independence is emphasised

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

and activities focus on the exciting forthcoming move. As a result of these steps, all children are well prepared for school or a move to another room in the nursery.

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provision

The manager, and supportive members of the main company, have high expectations for the quality of care that is offered to children and families. Regular reviews of all paperwork and procedures take place to ensure that all requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage are met. Arrangements to safeguard children within the nursery are robust. All staff have safeguarding training as part of their induction, followed through with training in-house and externally, and included as part of the staff meetings. Staff review their knowledge because the manager sets them spontaneous scenarios to check their knowledge and understanding of safeguarding. There are clearly mapped procedures for monitoring any safeguarding concern within the nursery. All staff demonstrate an understanding of the role and responsibility, with regard to referral to the appropriate authorities, when necessary. As part of the safeguarding

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provision

procedures there are thorough recruitment and suitability checks, fully supported by the Human Resources department for the company. These are then followed by a detailed induction and probationary period, of twelve weeks, for new staff. During that time a detailed checklist of training must be completed and they are closely monitored by a mentor. As a result, the nursery ensures that children are completely protected.

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provision

Professional supervision is provided each three months and all staff have an annual appraisal. As part of every meeting clear objectives are identified for staff's continued professional development. In addition, staff carry out peer observations for each other and this helps all parties continued professional development. The manager is present during daily sessions and provides constant feedback to staff. This provides very clear guidance to staff to embed their understanding of good practice. The company provide a Quality Manager who is also instrumental within the training of staff. Thorough reflective practice includes input from all members of the staff, parents and carers, and children. For example, a written self-evaluation form is produced using information gathered through questionnaires completed by parents, and audits for welfare and quality. The manager completes daily audits in each room consistently reviewing practice in all areas. In

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provision

addition, a '10 out of 10' audit is completed monthly by the area manager. From these audits comprehensive action plans are set in place and continuously reviewed. The reviews, by the manager, of all children's learning and development files also informs the self-evaluation and identifies further areas for development. Furthermore, the manager reviews all individual planning each week and offers planning 'surgeries' and meetings to further aid the continuous improvement and practice to support children's progress. As a result of these clearly embedded procedures, the information helps to drive the continuous methods that maintain, and build on, the good levels of achievement.

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provision

The nursery has steps to work closely with other settings to promote continuity in learning by sharing assessment files and agreeing next steps. These are being implemented for children who have recently started attending other settings. The staff are instrumental in settling children at new schools because they facilitate visits from new teachers, and work with those schools to prepare children through a regular exchange of information. Although there are currently no children attending with special educational needs and/or disabilities, the nursery does frequently work with children and families with additional needs. The nursery works closely with other professionals involved with children to identify and fully support individual needs. Children are secure and confident, and clearly enjoy their play and learning. Consequently, they embark on their learning career ready to seek out new experiences and learn.

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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 EY239643 Local authority Central Bedfordshire Inspection number 948494

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 126 Number of children on roll 86 Name of provider Toybox Day Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 30/08/2013 Telephone number 01767 313139

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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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