Blooming Babies Day Nursery Limited

Blooming Babies Day Nursery Limited St. Cleres School, Butts Lane, STANFORD-LE-HOPE, Essex, SS17 0NW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/05/2014 10/12/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff know about safeguarding practices and what to do in the event of a concern. Therefore children are suitably protected.  Children enjoy outdoor play, learning about the world around them, experimenting with natural materials and how plants grow.  Children have a good understanding of keeping healthy and safe through effective hygiene procedures, the affect exercise has on them and how to prevent accidents when using equipment, such as, bikes.

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It is not yet good because

 The quality of teaching is variable. Staff's questioning does not always promote children's thinking or allow them to complete tasks in their own time.  Monitoring of staff practices and the planning of children's next steps is not rigorous enough to maintain consistent good quality of teaching.  Parents and other settings are not always actively involved in children's learning to ensure that their skills are extended effectively.  Resources to promote making marks for a purpose and independent creativity does not fully support children's early reading and writing skills or their imagination.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector spent time observing children's play and the quality of teaching in both the indoor and outdoor environments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation of younger children's support with the deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation that promotes safeguarding, welfare, learning and development.

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Information about the setting

Blooming Babies Day Nursery Limited was registered in 2011 and is on the Early Years Register only. It is situated in the Stanford Le Hope area of Essex and is managed by a limited company. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a demountable classroom with two integral rooms and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs seven members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds early years qualifications at level 2 with the remaining six holding early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, throughout the year, from 7.30am to 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 16 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for three and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children with English as an additional language.

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must:

 improve the quality of teaching by supporting staff to consistently; promote communication and language, to help children to think critically, be more creative; allow children to complete a task to their own satisfaction

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must:

 improve the ongoing monitoring of staff's practices to promote the use of consistently good teaching practice, for example, by identifying areas for staff development, including planning for children's next steps and making use of staff's skills to share good practice.

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

 develop resources and support from staff to promote children's understanding of using print and making marks for a purpose

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

 extend the partnerships with parents and other settings to enable parent's to further support their children's learning at home, well as providing a consistent approach to children's learning with other settings they attend.

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who attend

Children's development is in line with their age-related expectations, the educational programme provides a sound framework for their learning. Both the indoor and outdoor provision is resourced appropriately to support children's learning in the majority of the areas of learning. Staff are deployed well and use the routine of the day to demonstrate their roles and responsibilities in supporting children in their learning. However, some staff lack the skills to extend children's thinking through effective questioning. For example, during story time, children listen intently to staff reading the book but staff do not then extend discussion and questions to link the story to children's experiences. Therefore, not supporting children to express their ideas or supporting their communication and language skills fully. Staff are quick to engage children in activities and demonstrate suitable skills at developing children's interest in an appropriate balance of adult-led and child-initiated

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who attend

play. Sometimes, staff do not recognise when a child is engrossed in an activity of their own and disrupt their play before they have completed it to their satisfaction. For example, children are expected to leave their activities to start circle time at a specific time.

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who attend

There is a good balance between indoor and outdoor play for children,they can make free choices as to where to play for the majority of the day. Children thoroughly enjoy exploring and experimenting in the outside environment, especially in relation to the natural world. They take great care and joy in watering the seeds that they have planted. They talk confidently about what they are growing and the end product, such as, tomatoes and strawberries. They demonstrate a clear understanding of what is needed to make the plants grow, explaining that both the sun and water is required. Outdoor play is a strong feature of the nursery as the staff have worked hard in developing the garden area. Children experiment with the natural materials available to them. They mix water and mud together, developing their measuring skills and they watch what happens as they add more water. They enjoy the feel of the wet mud in their fingers. Children take part in

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who attend

creative activities and staff provide some resources, such as, scissors, glue, paper and string. However, the majority of children's work displayed on the walls is pre-printed pictures coloured in by children. This does not fully support children's independent creativity. They enjoy stories and books and show acceptable levels of concentration when listening to staff read books to them. However, children are not fully supported in their understanding of how marks and print carries a meaning. For example, children pick out their names to be responsible for a task for the day, but staff do not show them their written names or use it constructively to support name recognition. Children's letter formation is not fully supported as staff do not consistently show children how to write their names correctly or encourage children to label their work. Children demonstrate an increasing understanding of numbers and quantities. They match the foam numbers to the

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who attend

spaces in the number mat, naming the numeral and calculating what number comes next. They continue to find the associated amount of small bears to match the number on the mat. Some older children show an ability to compare the sizes of the bears, finding four large bears for number four and three small bears for number three. Children with English as an additional language are given appropriate support to value and reflect their home language in the setting. Staff gain information about key words and source resources, such as, dual language books. Staff work closely with parents to promote children's speaking skills in both languages. The majority of opportunities and activities available to the children, supports their skills for future learning. The assessment, observations and planning programme is improving and still developing. Staff gain verbal starting points from parents and use these to initiate planning for

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who attend

children's next steps when they are settling. They take into consideration information about children's preferences and interests. Planning is extensive and identifies learning for the individual child. Observations are made for each child by any member of staff, which are used on a regular basis to form a summary update of their progress in an 'All about me' booklet. This is actively shared with parents and their comments about their children that are taken into account when planning for children's future development. However, parents are not given clear guidance as to how children learn through play, especially with regard to pre-reading and writing skills. Therefore, their expectations of what children should be doing at particular ages are not always in line with the nursery's expectations. Although, some parents receive verbal information about how to support children's learning at home, this is not consistently promoted through the 'All about me' booklet.

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who attend

Children's next steps are identified but not always used well in the planning process to provide activities and support to further their development in some areas of learning. A progress check at age two is carefully completed by both key persons involved in the child's time in the nursery, in baby room and the main playroom. This provides a summary of a child's development around the age of two and supports the identification of any areas of concerns regarding their development.

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

Children settle well into the nursery due to the caring and calm attitudes of the staff. They know the children well and make close bonds with their key children which supports children's confidence and security. Staff provide skilful support when children transfer to the next room. They assess children's confidence and ability to manage new situations, discuss the move with parents and plan the transition well. They use quieter days to introduce younger children to the larger and busier room. Where possible, the younger children's key person joins them in the next room to develop their independence, decision making and introduces them to the new resources, layout and activities they experience. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of differentiating activities and routines for younger children, allowing them to explore their new environment while others take part in more formal activities, such as, circle time. The play environment is adapted well to

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

meet the needs of the children. For example, children in the older room enjoy designated areas of play, such as, role play, construction area and the creative area. The baby room is a cosy and welcoming room with resources at low levels to attract children's attention and engagement.

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

Children behave well. They are aware of rules and boundaries and are confident to communicate these to others. They openly share and invite others into their play, demonstrating their progressing social skills. Staff are positive role models, acting as a whole team, supporting one another in their roles. Children have a very good understanding of keeping healthy and safe. They talk confidently about the effects exercise has on their bodies through positive discussions led by staff. This involves regular exercise, listening to their hearts and talking about what they need to do to keep healthy. For example, children recall rolling and running down the hill at the rear of the nursery within the school grounds. They talk about their heart beating fast to make it work harder which helps them to grow and become stronger. Children help themselves to water throughout the day and have freshly prepared healthy meals every day. Children

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

thoroughly enjoy their food, learning to serve themselves and make choices as to when they have had enough. They confidently communicate their needs demonstrating their independence and the positive attachments they have made with all the staff. They use the outdoor equipment well to develop physical skills. They show skills at pedalling backwards and forwards, steering as they go. They climb ladders confidently to the slide, knowing that they need to sit down carefully, balancing at the top before sliding off the end and running round to climb again. Children are developing a very clear understanding of safety, especially when using physical equipment, such as, the bikes and the climbing frame. They wait until others have climbed ahead of them, talking about their shoes not hitting others and steering around other children on bikes to prevent crashes. These skills portray the good levels of emotional well-being that the children have and promotes their

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

emotional readiness for the transition to school and other settings.

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

Staff promote equality and diversity appropriately throughout the nursery. Children celebrate festivals and celebrations linked to different cultures and religions, such as, Black History Month and Hanukah. Staff gain information about children's backgrounds on entry and discuss specific needs with parents. Children play with toys and equipment that portray positive images of today's society, such as, dolls, books and posters, helping them to understand and celebrate people's differences.

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provision

The manager and staff understand their responsibilities to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Appropriate procedures are in place to recruit new staff and all staff hold appropriate checks when working with children. Children are suitably safeguarded as staff have a clear knowledge of the procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child in their care. All staff have received up to date safeguarding training. Staff ensure checks are carried out on a daily basis to provide children with a safe and secure environment. Any hazards that are identified are acted upon quickly through an appropriate communication system with the management team. All confidential records are stored and maintained appropriately. Visitors are recorded and mobile phones are discussed with visitors to outline the nursery's policy on their use to further promote children's safety.

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provision

The management and staff team have developed a clear commitment to identifying areas to be improved and gaining advice on how to make improvements. The majority of the actions from the last inspection have been met. Ofsted carried out a monitoring visit since the last inspection and suitable progress was being made. Action is planned and thought out for the remaining identified areas. The nursery is confident to ask for support from their local authority and carefully implements changes to promote a better quality of service for children and their families. Staff attend training, which is identified through regular supervision meetings, team meetings and observations of their practice. However, the management does not actively challenge observed poor practice to make immediate changes and relies solely on training to make these changes. For example, managers identify the limited questioning from some staff and book a course to remedy this. They

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provision

do not use the skills of other staff who demonstrate effective questioning with children to challenge and extend their thinking. The management team recognise the difference that the improvements have made to children's learning. However, they do not always monitor the planning of their future learning, to ensure that individual children's progress is being effectively planned for their identified next steps.

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provision

The partnerships with parents and other settings are suitable. Parents talk to their key person every day. They receive detailed written and verbal information about their child's day, what they have eaten, activities they have participated in and any significant achievements. Parents receive regular information about their children's progress but do not always receive information about how children learn through play and how this can be supported at home. There is a range of displayed information available for parents in the entrance hall and around the nursery. This includes what is happening in their local community to support parents and their children. Policies and procedures are available to parents in a folder in the entrance hall to support parents understanding of the requirements of the nursery. Parents complete questionnaires frequently to make comments on the nursery, how their children are progressing and what the nursery can do

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provision

to improve. The nursery liaises with other settings that children attend when they first start. However, they do not continue this partnership to share ongoing information about children's achievements or gaps in their development, which can result in delays for early intervention.

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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 EY423109 Local authority Thurrock Inspection number 965364

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 16 Name of provider Blooming Babies Day Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 10/12/2013 Telephone number 07957 158890

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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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