Mulberry Bush Day Nursery

Mulberry Bush Day Nursery Unit E & F, Troon Way Business Centre, Humberstone Lane, Leicester, LE4 9HA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/02/2014 28/08/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff are clear on how to safeguard children within the setting, including the procedure to follow in the event of any concerns.  Staff provide fun activities that include the prime and specific areas of learning. Therefore, children engage in play that supports their overall development.  Sound partnerships with parents are in place. The children are happy and they share warm relationships with staff and their peers. Therefore, they are confident and settled in their surroundings.

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It is not yet good because

 The deployment of staff does not always fully support the needs of children or reflect the required ratios, with particular regard to the baby room.  Children and staff's information and records are not stored securely. This is a requirement of registration. As a result, children and staff's well-being is compromised.  Children's self-help and independence skills are not always fully supported, in particular at mealtimes.  Some staff are not always confident about how to fully extend children's learning during activities, particularly when they talk with and question children.

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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 practice and interaction between the staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the staff, manager, registered person and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector undertook an inspection of the areas of the premises used for childcare.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined a range of documentation, including suitability records and qualifications, policies and procedures and children's developmental records.  The inspector spoke with two parents during the visit.

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Information about the setting

Mulberry Bush Day Nursery was registered in 2006 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is one of seven nurseries run by Bush Babies Children's Nurseries Ltd, and is situated in converted premises in the Thurmaston area of Leicester. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from three main rooms and an annex. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or 3, including the manager, who has a foundation degree, and a further member of staff who holds an early years degree. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round, from 7.45am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 80 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-

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Information about the setting

year-olds. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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must:

 ensure that confidential information and records are stored securely and only accessible to those who have a right or professional need to see them

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must:

 ensure that staffing arrangements meet the needs of children and are maintained within the required staff-to-child ratios, with particular regard to the deployment of staff in the baby room.

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

 review the organisation of mealtimes to provide further opportunities for children's independence and challenging experiences, for example, through allowing children to pour their own drinks and use appropriately utensils to develop their skills

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

 develop consistently high quality learning experiences by increasing some staff's understanding of how to extend and promote children's critical thinking by using effective questioning.

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who attend

Children have fun as they are cared for in different rooms according to age. This means all children have free access to a good range of age- and stage-appropriate toys and equipment to meet their needs. Staff plan well for children's individual needs, taking account of their starting points and individual interests. They plan opportunities for children to engage in a range of play opportunities to promote and develop their skills in all areas of learning, using a balance of adult-led and child-initiated experiences. Staff can confidently share information about children they are supporting without having to refer to developmental records, confidently discussing children's interests, likes and dislikes, where they are in their development pathway and where they need support. Observations are linked to relevant areas of learning and development bands to ensure that any identified gaps can be targeted and next steps planned appropriately to meet the needs of all

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who attend

children. Staff are observant when children are playing and generally recognise the learning that is taking place and how this can be extended for each child through things they like doing. However, occasionally some staff are not confident in their understanding of how to extend younger children's learning experiences through using effective questioning techniques. Nonetheless, children still receive worthwhile learning experiences which enable them to make good progress. Systems to track children's progress are in place and these show how children make good progress towards the early learning goals. This information is shared with parents, which provides them with opportunities to be involved with their child's learning. In addition, meetings are offered at regular intervals during the year to enable formal feedback to be shared about their child's learning and development. Parents are kept well informed about the life of the nursery via the

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who attend

noticeboards, parents' meetings and daily chats with staff. In addition, staff in the toddler room effectively complete the progress check at age two, which provides parents and other professionals, if required, with information about children's areas of strength and where progress is less than expected.

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who attend

Around the setting, all children are engaged in their play. Overall, they show good levels of independence as they make choices and self-select resources from low-level shelving. Children are provided with some interesting hands-on learning experiences, which promotes the use of their exploration and investigation skills. For example, babies enjoy how the shaving foam feels, showing wonder and awe as they do so. Those more wary of this medium are enticed to 'have a go' as staff place small amounts on their hands and comment on how this feels. Older children experiment in the home corner with real foods, such as cauliflower and carrots, to 'make dinner'. Children love to sing and all engage in action songs and rhymes at some point in the day. Song boxes are used to help children make choices in the songs they would like to hear or sing. These contain various objects of reference which refer to the song or rhyme, for example, spiders, ducks, fish and farm

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who attend

animals. Children of all ages readily participate in some way whether through movement, sound or singing, supporting their early communication skills. Further to this, effective support is in place for children who speak English as an additional language. Staff establish a bank of words to use with the children and give clear examples of how they use these to provide effective support, along with pictorial prompts to depict the routine of the day, to ensure that all children can begin to know and understand what will happen next. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is also effective. Staff take a proactive approach in discussing any concerns with parents or carers and agreeing how they will support the child within the nursery. Children and babies are supported well to develop their future learning skills, in readiness for starting school or moving on to the next room in the nursery. The indoor play

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who attend

environment is stimulating and well resourced. The outdoor area is planned to inspire children to investigate, use their imagination and discover new things. For example, children dig in the mud kitchen, build sandcastles in the sand, plant in the tyres and climb up and down the wooden fort. Bicycles and scooters are used to help develop children's coordination and water and sand play and are continually accessible in all areas, supporting their small muscle skills as well as their understanding of mathematical concepts, such as quantity and space. Babies have an enclosed and covered area in which to play and explore the outdoors, ensuring that they are able to play freely, in safety and in all weathers. A range of wellington boots and coats ensure that all age groups also access the outdoors in any weather. As a result, children are active and have good physical skills. Children like to look at books and all ages have access to a suitable

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who attend

assortment throughout the setting. Children begin to use number in everyday play opportunities, for example, counting how many children are present, how many are in a 'team' and in rhymes and songs. Children have suitable opportunities to develop their early writing skills by accessing materials, such as pens, pencils and scissors, on the low- level storage shelves.

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

Children have formed close relationships with the kind and caring staff team. All base rooms are well organised to enable children to feel happy, relaxed and at ease. Babies settle quickly and easily due to the warm and welcoming feel to their base room, allowing them to develop confidence and secure emotional attachments with their key person. This was demonstrated during the inspection through the giggling and yells of delight from a baby new to the setting, who was laughing and bouncing with their familiar adult to the rhymes and songs being sung during circle time. The key person works closely with the parents of children to gather appropriate information on their specific needs, routines and interests. A staggered settling-in system is offered to all, allowing staff to build a secure bond and for children and their parents to feel confident and secure. There are good transition arrangements in place, not only to support children's move from room to room,

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

but also on to school. For example, the key person slowly introduces children to their next room to enable them to become familiar with their new surroundings, and systems are in place to encourage teachers from local schools to visit, along with opportunities for children to visit their new school. This helps children to feel emotionally ready for the next stage in their learning.

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

Children's behaviour is appropriately managed. Staff use realistic and age-appropriate strategies to promote and enhance children's positive behaviour. For example, when going from the pre-school room to the main building, children are reminded to keep themselves safe as staff ask them to 'walk, not run' and to hang their coats on their pegs when they arrive. Children show they have listened by following these instructions. A full-time cook is employed at the setting, who ensures that children are offered a range of healthy snacks and meals. Systems are in place establish children's individual preferences, along with any allergies or dietary requirements, to ensure that children are only given food appropriate to their needs. Should parents request certain foods not to be given to children, steps are taken to ensure that practice is adapted with immediate effect, supporting children's well- being. The lunchtime routine has recently changed so that all children now come together

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

in one main room to eat their meals. While this is positive in supporting children's social skills, their self-care and independence skills are not enhanced. For example, they are not offered opportunities to pour their own drinks or shown how to use their cutlery appropriately. Children have daily access to the outdoors using a range of equipment to support and enhance their physical skills. Staff ensure children are appropriately supported and supervised in this area, counting children in and out to ensure that they are safe. In addition, pre-school children use a name card system to enable staff to continually monitor who is indoors and who is outside. As a result, children's well-being is supported appropriately.

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provision

Overall, arrangements for safeguarding children are good. All staff have a secure understanding of the safeguarding procedures and how to implement them should they have concern for a child's welfare. In discussion, staff demonstrate an awareness of signs and symptoms of potential abuse and of the whistleblowing procedure. Safeguarding procedures are shared with parents as part of the registration process, ensuring they are fully aware of the setting's responsibilities. There are thorough recruitment, vetting and induction procedures in place for all staff. Staff are fully aware that until all suitability checks are completed, they do not have unsupervised contact with children. Robust induction and a six-month probation at the setting ensure that staff have a good knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities within the setting to support children's safety and well-being. However, the deployment of staff is not always

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provision

maintained appropriately; this is with regard to the baby room. As a result, although staff ratios are maintained overall within the setting, staff-to-child ratios are not consistently maintained as required, to reflect the needs of the babies. This is a breach of the statutory requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage and impacts on children's well-being. Risk assessments are in place to ensure that all areas children access, both indoors and outside, are safe and suitable. These also include the procedures in place for pre-school children using the free-flow outdoor play area. Access to the setting is closely monitored and a biometric entry system is used, ensuring that those persons who enter the building are known to the setting. All visitors to the setting are asked for identification, must have a valid reason for entry and sign a visitor book, contributing to children's safety. Policies

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provision

and procedures are in place to ensure the safe and efficient management of the setting. However, information and records about children and staff are not held securely, which is a breach of the statutory requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage and means that anyone is able to access these confidential records freely and easily, potentially impacting on staff and children's well-being.

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provision

The educational programmes are suitably monitored by the manager to ensure all children are achieving within the seven areas of learning. There is an effective system to track the progress of individual children, and the manager discussed a new system that has recently been implemented to review how the nursery is supporting the progress of groups of children, such as those with English as an additional language or boys and girls. The setting have a procedure in place to self-evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, as well as developing an action plan to enable them to monitor practice. This procedure seeks the views of parents, children and staff to enable all users of the setting to have a voice and contribute to change. The manager and staff are well qualified and the management team is committed to staff's continuous professional development. Staff are offered regular opportunities to attend training courses and are encouraged to share their new found

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provision

knowledge with staff during meetings. This is generally of benefit to the children. Staff receive regular supervision, and appraisal procedures are thorough.

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provision

Parents are offered the opportunity to comment on the quality of the provision through questionnaires, a suggestion box and in discussion with staff. The entrance to the nursery provides parents with a range of informative information about the nursery and other relevant services. Parents spoken with comment that staff are welcoming and always available to speak to should they have any concerns or queries. They share that good information is given to them regarding their child's learning and development, as well as their general care needs, and feel that staff are kind and caring. Partnerships with external agencies are established to enable staff to further support meeting the needs of all children and helping prepare them for their transition to school.

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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 EY346422 Local authority Leicester City Inspection number 950979

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 86 Number of children on roll 80 Name of provider Bush Babies Children's Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 28/08/2013 Telephone number 01162 223 377

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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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