Busy Bees Day Nursery at Lewisham

Loampit Hill Day Nursery 56-60 Loampit Hill, London, SE13 7SX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29/05/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff place priority on children's safety. Over half of the staff team is qualified in first aid and staff check all aspects of the nursery to help keep children safe.  Children are happy and settled because they have warm, secure relationships with staff.  Children develop healthy habits because staff provide nutritious snacks and meals and children have daily physical exercise outdoors.  Children enjoy taking part in a range of activities because staff reflect their interests in planning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Opportunities for children to practise their early writing skills in play situations is not widely developed.  Although there are stimulating activities in the outdoor environment, opportunities for children to learn how things grow and where food comes from are not well embedded.  The range of materials available for babies' exploration is not extensive or inclusive of natural materials.

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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 invited the manager to carry out a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed interaction between staff and children in the indoor and outdoor environments.  The inspector tracked the progress of several children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a discussion with management and sampled a range of documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents, staff and children and took their views into consideration.

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Information about the setting

Loampit Hill Day Nursery opened in 2013 and operates from a purpose-built building. It is situated in Lewisham, in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is privately owned and part of a chain of nurseries owned by Busy Bees Day Nurseries Ltd. Children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the early years register. It is open each weekday from 8am until 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery receives nursery education funding for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery employs seven staff who work with the children. All staff hold appropriate qualifications in early years. The manager has a degree in early years; five staff members hold level 3 qualifications; and one staff member holds a level 2 qualification. There are 45 children in the early years range on roll.

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

 support children's understanding of the world further by helping them to learn how things grow and where food comes from

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

 develop further opportunities for older children to practise their early writing skills in play situations

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

 enhance the range of materials available to babies to explore by including a variety of natural materials.

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who attend

Children engage well in a range of stimulating activities in this organised nursery. Staff reflect children's interests well in activities and cover areas of learning in planning. For instance, children show interest in sea animals so staff provide a wide range of sea creatures and flexible resources to extend their play. Staff encourage children to fill containers with water to fill a large tray. They talk to children about different sea creatures and extend their thinking skills. For example, children point out that crabs have shells and staff ask children to see if they can find any other creatures with shells. Children find a water turtle and this leads to more discussion about the purposes of shells. Children make flowers from tissue paper and use good small muscle control to form shapes from paper. Although there are writing and drawing tools and materials available to children, this is not always well used by children. The role play area does not contain writing tools and

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who attend

materials for children to practise their early writing skills. Children listen attentively to stories read in interesting tones by staff this supports children's early literacy skills. Children make spontaneous comments on stories and staff listen and respond to children. Staff use daily opportunities to support children's counting skills. For instance, children line up toy frogs in the water tray and staff ask children to count the number of frogs. They sing counting songs about frogs which supports their early addition and subtraction skills. Children learn to recognise their names on cards which they use to practise writing their names. Staff talk to children about the initial letter sounds in their names and children have good letter sound knowledge. This supports their early literacy skills well. Overall, children learn good skills for later use in school.

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who attend

Babies engage well in activities. They enjoy exploring the texture of shredded paper and watch in amazement as it falls through the air. However, opportunities for babies to explore a wide range of natural materials, such as wood, rounded metal, silk is not fully developed. Babies use simple technology by pressing buttons on electronic books to create sounds. Staff talk to babies about the different sounds heard, using words to describe different sounds. This helps to develop babies' vocabulary. Staff talk to babies as they carry out care routines, describing what they do. Babies respond to conversational tones by babbling happily. Babies independently select their favourite books from the book corner. Staff look at pictures with babies, pointing out objects and teach babies names of objects.

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who attend

Children create their own play from accessible resources, which is balanced by structured adult-led activities. Children move freely between the indoor and outdoor areas, which supports different ways that children learn. Children develop a good range of physical skills in the stimulating outdoor area. They balance on logs and climb across frames. Children use push bikes and pedal bikes, according to their skill level and negotiate space competently as they move around outdoors. A separate area for babies enables them to move safely in different ways as they crawl and climb. Children practise their language and social skills as they talk with friends in the play house. They use the workbench to join things in different ways, such as by using screws. Although there is a range of learning opportunities as described, opportunities for children to learn how things grow and where food comes from are not fully developed.

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who attend

Staff maintain good records of children's progress. They carry out regular observations, which they evaluate to form children's next steps for learning. They collect evidence of children's skills, such as photographs and art work, and use this to determine children's developmental stages. Staff use this information to plan effectively for children. Staff keep parents well-informed of their children's progress. They talk with parents each day when they arrive at the nursery. This also enables parents to share their observations of their children with staff and contribute to children's learning. Staff complete daily diaries for younger children, which contain details of children's care and learning activities. Staff complete regular reports on children's development which they share with parents. Progress checks are carried out for children aged two years and written summaries are provided to parents. This helps to keep parents up to date on their children's progress.

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

Staff have warm, strong relationships with children, which helps children to feel happy and secure. Staff know children well because they find out about children's likes and dislikes. They use this information to provide activities that children enjoy. Staff display pictures of babies and their families, which help babies to feel valued by staff. Staff readily adapt nursery routines to meet the needs of babies and this helps them to settle readily. The nursery is bright, attractively designed and organised, which supports children's well- being.

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

Children have good awareness of how to behave in safe ways. They walk around the nursery sensibly, one behind the other; tuck chairs into tables and tidy away floor toys when finished to avoid accidents. Staff encourage children's independence. For instance, children pour their own drinks and feed themselves independently at meal times. Children have good self-care skills. They use the bathroom independently to take care of their personal needs. Children wash their hands at appropriate times. Children feel comfortable and at ease because staff change nappies in bright, private, clean areas.

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

Staff encourage children to be healthy. They provide nutritious, appetizing meals and snacks, which cater for special dietary needs. This helps to ensure that children eat suitable food. Children have daily fresh air and practise their physical skills on a range of equipment in the spacious outdoor area. Staff manage children's behaviour well. They encourage children to share by using sand-timers to take turns to use resources. Staff talk to children in calm tones and give gentle reminders of why certain behaviour is not acceptable. Staff use praise to motivate children to behave in positive ways. Children learn about difference because staff talk to children and celebrate special events. For instance, they celebrate Chinese New Year by making craft items. Staff support children who move groups at the nursery by spending time in new rooms. This helps children to become familiar with new staff and routines. Staff have begun to form links with local schools to

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

support children who move to schools in future.

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provision

Staff place children's safety first. They help to ensure that the nursery is safe by carrying out regular risk assessments covering all areas of the nursery. Over half of the staff team is qualified in first aid and this helps to keep children safe. Management vet staff well to assess suitability for their roles, which adds to children's safety. Management have good systems in place to keep children protected from harm. For instance, there is closed circuit television covering all areas of the nursery and a secure electronic intercom entry system to help prevent intruder access. Staff have good knowledge of policies and procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child, which protects children further. The management team has secure understanding of its role and responsibilities in relation to the requirement of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

Management has a clear understanding of the quality of staff practice because they carry out regular supervision. Any issues related to performance are discussed and addressed through mentoring, training and discussion. Management also carries out observations of staff so that they directly observe and comment on practice to aid improvement. Management have put plans into place to carry out staff appraisals in order to accurately identify staff training needs. Staff have attended some training courses to enhance their skills. For example, staff attended a course on how to effectively support children with special educational needs. This led to a greater awareness of the external support available to aid children's progress. Staff track children's progress well and this enables them to see clearly if children are operating below expected levels. Staff put appropriate support into place to close gaps in learning.

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provision

Staff have a range of effective links with others involved in children's lives. For instance, staff work closely with the early years department of the local authority to obtain advice and support. Staff keep parents well informed of their children's progress and provide good opportunities for them to take part in their learning. Staff have begun to develop links with local schools to support children who move to school in future. Staff reflect on all aspects of the nursery, which helps them to identify its strengths and weaknesses. The management team has summarised the findings to form an improvement plan, which prioritises clear goals for improvement. For example, they plan to enhance partnership work with parents to provide more opportunities for parents to be involved in children's learning. The nursery operates well and has good ability to maintain this in future.

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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 EY473394 Local authority Lewisham Inspection number 944314 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 70 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider Kinder Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01634 230222

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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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