Bright Horizons Oxford Waterways Day Nursery and Preschool

Kidsunlimited Nurseries-Oxford Waterways Kids Unlimited, 45 Clear Water Place, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 7NL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/05/2014 21/03/2011

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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

 Most children are settled and appear to enjoy their time in the nursery. Staff are on hand to support and reassure children who do not settle easily.  The environment is safe and staff supervise children closely to help prevent accidents and injury.  Children learning English as an additional language make some good progress in their acquisition of English.  Careful tracking of children's progress helps staff to identify and address gaps in learning.

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It is not yet good because

 The key-person system, particularly in the baby and younger toddler rooms, does not always work effectively to fully meet children's needs.  Noise levels in the interconnecting baby and toddler rooms sometimes impact negatively on the quality of interactions. In addition, interactions with babies are not always well-focused on promoting their communication and language development.  Staff are not always well-focused on achieving learning outcomes to support children's development.  The monitoring and supervision of staff is not fully effective in promoting good practice.

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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 age groups.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with a deputy manager in one of the toddler rooms.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held leadership and management meetings with the management team.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of children's development records, planning documentation, evidence of staff suitability, and the nursery's self-evaluation form and action plans.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Kidsunlimited Nursery-Oxford Waterways is one of a large national chain owned by Bright Horizons Family Solutions. It registered in 2007 and is situated in the northern area of Oxford. The nursery serves the local area. It operates from purpose-built premises over two floors. The building has an enclosed outdoor area, which is used by all children throughout the day. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and is caring for 131 children in the early years age range. It is registered on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery cares for children learning English as an additional language. It opens on weekdays from 7.30am to 6pm throughout the year, except bank holidays. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years. It employs 32 staff, of whom 26 hold relevant qualifications, including staff who have attained Early Years Professional

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must:

 develop the role of the key person, particularly in the baby and younger toddler rooms, so that children can build secure bonds with their key person and so that welfare routines are tailored to meet children's individual needs

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must:

 improve support for children's communication and language development by enhancing the quality of interactions with babies and reducing noise levels in the baby and toddler rooms

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must:

 improve the planning of activities throughout the nursery to ensure a stronger focus on achieving learning outcomes

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must:

 develop the monitoring and supervision of staff to support them in improving the key-person system, promoting communication and language development and enhancing the quality of activities.

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who attend

Babies have access to an interesting range of resources that are easily accessible and they enjoy exploring the environment. They take part in some focused activities, such as painting, and staff model how to use brushes and rollers so that children can copy them. This approach helps children to develop their physical skills and to become creative. However, staff do not always use good quality interactions with babies to fully promote their communication and language development. In addition, noise levels in the baby and toddler rooms on the ground floor are very high at times. This weakness sometimes impacts negatively on babies' communication and language experiences, including their ongoing interactions, stories and singing sessions.

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who attend

Children in the toddler rooms on the ground floor and first floor enjoy a suitable range of activities and resources. At times, staff support their learning well. They read stories with enthusiasm and are actively encouraging children's early writing through making marks and helping children to develop descriptive vocabulary. Children enjoy building train tracks and exploring sensory activities, such as playing with cooked noodles, with close support from staff. At other times however, staff are not well focused on children's learning outcomes. They do not always gain children's attention, they do not always make good use of open questions and they do not always manage group activities effectively. As a result, children do not always get the most out of learning experiences and sometimes become restless.

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who attend

The garden provides a good range of resources for children's physical development and opportunities for making marks. However, the nursery is aware that the garden is an area for improvement and is planning to provide a wider range of activities to cover different areas of learning. Pre-school children enjoy energetic chasing games and using wheeled toys to move around the garden. They enjoy clambering over crates they use as stepping stones and playing ball games. They use paintbrushes with water and chalks to make marks around the garden on different surfaces. Sometimes, staff support their play well, helping them to create pictures with chalk or challenging their physical skills. At other times however, the focus on learning and development is less effective, which demonstrates that the quality of teaching is inconsistent. Some children take part in a gardening activity during which they talk about the herbs and flowers they are growing.

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who attend

Staff encourage them to comment on the scent of the plants, to observe the roots and to think about what plants need for growth. This approach helps children to learn about the natural world and to care for living things. Staff also incorporate some mathematical elements, such as counting or thinking about how tall plants will grow. However, the activity focuses mainly on observation and discussion and lacks a practical element to fully engage children's interest or to consolidate their learning.

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who attend

The nursery has a consistent observation and assessment process in place to track children's progress. Staff clearly identify children's next steps in learning, recording these on a whiteboard in each room so that they can include these in ongoing activities. Progress checks for two-year-old children are in place and shared with parents. This assessment process helps to prepare children for their next steps in learning, although in practice the quality of teaching is inconsistent. The impact of funding for free early education enables children to make some progress. Children learning English as an additional language make some good progress in their acquisition of English; older children become confident communicators and are able to engage in fluent conversations with adults.

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who attend

The nursery develops positive partnerships with parents. Key persons provide information to parents on a daily basis about their children's time in the nursery. Children achievements are recorded in their learning stories, which are available to parents at any time so that they can reflect on children's progress. The nursery encourages parents to contribute comments about their children's progress from home and provides ideas for activities that parents can enjoy with their children. For example, a recent newsletter explains a mathematics-based activity relating to preparing food so that parents can help their children learn about shapes and the concept of halves while making sandwiches.

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

Most children appear to be settled and to enjoy their time in the nursery. Staff are on hand to support and reassure children who need it. The key-person system works well for some children but is not always fully effective, particularly in the baby and younger toddler rooms. Key persons do not always greet babies on arrival or spend much time playing and interacting with them. Other staff are available to greet babies and to give them some attention but this approach does not fully promote secure relationships. Staff in the baby and toddler rooms share responsibilities for changing children's nappies and settling them to sleep. However, this approach is not consistent with the nursery's policy that key persons are responsible for supporting their key children's individual welfare routines in order to promote secure relationships.

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

The environment is safe and staff supervise children closely to help prevent accidents and injuries. Children learn about safety as staff support this routinely, such as helping children to come down the stairs safely or reminding them not to run indoors. Staff use the nursery's safety mascot routinely to further support children's understanding of staying safe. Children demonstrate an appropriate understanding of behavioural expectations and generally respond well to instructions and guidance from staff. They form suitable friendships and develop some confidence in their abilities. This approach helps children to prepare for their next stages in learning, such as moving on to school. Staff help children to prepare for school, such as having picnic lunches so that children can learn to manage their lunchboxes independently.

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

The nursery provides healthy and nutritious meals, such as roast turkey with potatoes and carrots. Staff encourage children to be independent in line with their capabilities, such as cutting up food or helping to pour drinks. Children learn to use knives and forks competently. Cooking activities and visits to the local shops to buy food help children to develop a positive approach to healthy lifestyles. The nursery is effective in supporting children with medical needs, ensuring that any appropriate staff training is in place.

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provision

The leadership and management team demonstrates a secure understanding of its responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It is aware of weaknesses in practice in most cases and there are plans in place to improve staffing arrangements and the organisation of rooms to enhance practice. Recent changes in staffing mean that staff teams are still in the process of adjustment. Self-evaluation procedures are appropriate in identifying most strengths and weaknesses. The nursery has a variety of procedures to monitor and support staff, including appraisals, supervision meetings and regular training. Action plans for individual staff and for each room help to drive improvement. Room leaders and managers routinely review children's learning stories and next steps in learning to ensure consistency. A computer tracking system enables the nursery to identify the progress of individual children, and groups of children,

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provision

so that further support can be made available as necessary. Clear processes are in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language. However, the monitoring and supervision of staff is not currently fully effective in promoting good practice in all areas. The impact of qualifications and training on promoting good practice is not fully evident.

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provision

The nursery has a variety of systems in place to promote children's safety. The nursery is secure and parents enter using a code that is changed regularly. Staff are vigilant and work well together to supervise children at all times. The majority of staff hold first-aid certificates so that they can attend to any accidents or injuries appropriately. Suitable risk assessments and safety policies help to reduce the risk of any incidents. Where accidents occur, the nursery follows procedures correctly to provide children with good quality care and to meet legal requirements. All staff complete safeguarding children training routinely and discuss safeguarding issues in staff meetings to promote their knowledge and understanding. Clear procedures are in place to respond to any concerns, such as reporting these to appropriate agencies. Robust recruitment procedures help to assess the suitability of new staff. A comprehensive induction programme helps new staff to become

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provision

familiar with their roles and responsibilities.

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provision

The nursery encourages parents to contribute their views and to make suggestions. Staff display results on a notice board showing a positive response, such as how they have improved feedback regarding children's progress. The nursery also develops positive partnerships with other settings that children attend and schools to which they will transfer. Staff encourage children's new teachers to visit the nursery and they provide transition booklets with information about individual children to promote consistency.

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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 EY347496 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 967495 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 100 Number of children on roll 131 Name of provider Kidsunlimited Limited Date of previous inspection 21/03/2011 Telephone number 01865 310433

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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

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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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