Busy Bees Day Nursery at East Malling

Kinder Nursery-Clare Park Day Nursery - Kinder Group Limited Kinder Groups Ltd, Beech Road, East Malling, WEST MALLING, Kent, ME19 6DY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/05/2014 29/04/2009

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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 have developed strong relationships with the children and their families, offering a friendly and caring environment.  Staff provide good supervision so children can have access to all areas of the nursery throughout the day, both inside and outdoors, enabling them to become active, independent learners.

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It is not yet good because

 The management of the nursery failed to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements in relation to responding appropriately to any complaints received.  Systems to monitor staff practice are not robust enough to ensure all staff correctly follow the policies and procedures of the nursery.  Staff do not always use opportunities to fully support children's recognition of letters and mathematical language effectively in everyday routines, resources and activities.

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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 spoke to new management about their action plans to improve the nursery and support staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including safeguarding policies and procedures, risk assessments, accident reports and children's records.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the acting manager.  The inspector took the views of those parents spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff practice and spoke to staff about their understanding of the learning and development requirements, and the safeguarding and welfare requirements.

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Information about the setting

Clare Park Day Nursery registered in 1990 and is one of a chain of nurseries originally owned by the Kinder Groups Ltd. In 2014 it changed ownership and is now owned by Busy Bees Nurseries Limited. It operates from five rooms in a purpose-built building, situated within the Malling School in East Malling, Kent. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm, all year round. Children have access to a number of enclosed outdoor play areas.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 119 children aged from three months to under five years on roll. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years old. It also supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 26 members of staff. Most staff working with the children hold appropriate early years qualification at level 2 or above. They also employ a qualified teacher. The nursery receives support from the Busy Bees regional team as well as the local authority setting improvement partner.

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must:

 ensure staff fully understand and implement policies and procedures, including the procedures for sleeping children

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must:

 ensure that complainants receive notification of the outcome of any investigation within 28 days of the nursery having received the complaint.

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

 improve opportunities for children to recognise letters and written words both inside and outdoors to increase their literacy awareness

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

 develop opportunities for children to explore and experiment using a good range of natural materials, especially in the indoor environment

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

 develop monitoring of staff supervision, so that all staff are able to provide quality interactions with children to fully promote their learning, especially in relation to mathematical language and concepts.

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who attend

The staff promote all areas of learning suitably. The children are busy talking with friends and exploring both the inside and outside environments. The rooms are set out to enable the children to access resources independently. There is a wide range of resources and activities on offer, although inside the children have fewer chances to engage with natural materials. The babies enjoy exploring their environment as staff encourage them to move around to investigate the different texture and sounds, especially in the garden. Most staff interact with the children by asking questions, therefore supporting them to extend their knowledge and understanding. However, the quality of teaching is not always consistent. For example, staff do not take opportunities to fully engage the children in activities and extend their learning about mathematics looking at size, shape and number. Some staff provide the children with opportunities to develop their early writing skills. The children

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who attend

particularly like making passports; they practise writing their names and talking to others about where they are going on holiday and how they will travel. Outside, the older children enjoy getting messy with the cornflour as they make marks in it and transport it to other areas of the garden, watching the trail it leaves. The babies are fascinated by the textures of the paint as they explore making marks everywhere. All children are making satisfactory progress in their learning and development. The children are happy and secure; this is demonstrated by how well they settle and separate from their parents. The staff know their key children well and talk with them about their families and what they have been doing at home. The staff in the baby room are very attentive and respond sensitively, encouraging children to express themselves and learn new words. Staff sing with the children and provide them with instruments to

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who attend

enable them to further explore sounds and rhythms. The children enjoy looking at the range of books on offer in the cosy book areas, as well as in the gardens. However, the garden areas only have a few examples of signs and numbers for the children to see. This means that the children are not fully immersed in a print rich environment to support their reading and literacy.

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who attend

Staff accurately monitor the children's progress and identify appropriate activities and resources, which support the individual needs of the children. Planning is based on regular observations staff carry out on the children. Good information is obtained for the children's starting points from parents, providing the key person with effective information with which to plan the children's next stage of development. Staff complete the progress check for two-year-old children in detail and share it with parents so they are aware of how their children are developing. They also complete a final assessment for those children going through to school.

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

Clear routines support the children to settle well and understand what is happening next. Staff make appropriate use of sign language and picture cards to further support those children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The staff are welcoming and work well together as a team. This has a positive impact on the children who learn from their encouraging role models.

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

The children have plenty of opportunity to explore the outdoor environment in all weathers. They enjoy feeling the different textures of the stepping-stones as they practise balancing on tree trunks. Staff encourage the children to practise riding bikes, as well as identifying how to keep themselves and others safe as they climb up onto the large wooden climbing frame. The children dress up and go for walks with friends to explore the other end of the garden as they hunt for bugs. The babies benefit from a variety of interesting activities, which are set out both inside and out, and staff encourage them to manoeuvre around the unit by reaching and climbing for toys.

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

Staff remind busy children to have a drink and stop for a snack. The children are all offered a healthy snack and older children are encouraged to pour their drinks and cut up their fruit. The children either have a cooked meal prepared by a catering company and served by the staff, or eat a packed lunch brought in from home. Lunchtime is a social time where the children are able to chatter with friends and staff about what they are eating and their favourite foods. Most staff encourage the children to use their cutlery and have a go at cutting up the food themselves. Babies are encouraged to begin to feed themselves with the support and encouragement of dedicated staff. Staff follow hygienic nappy changing procedures, which helps babies feel comfortable and reduces the risks of cross infection. The older children use the toilets and wash their hands independently.

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

Staff have recently received training on behaviour management. They have high expectations for children's behaviour and generally endeavour to praise and acknowledge children who are behaving well. This helps children understand what is right and what is wrong, and as a result their behaviour is generally good. Effective strategies are in place to support all children as they move from one unit to another. Staff prepare children well for their move on to school. The nursery are developing positive relationships with a number of local schools and they encourage teachers to visit to meet with the children before they move to their reception classes.

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provision

This inspection took place as a result of concerns raised to Ofsted with regard to safeguarding children, child supervision, managing behaviour and risk assessment. The nursery has recently been taken over by Busy Bees Nurseries Limited, who are working closely with the parents, staff and children to ensure a smooth transition. At the inspection, the inspector observed that the staff were deployed appropriately to supervise children during the session. Staff carry out risk assessments daily and record these appropriately. The inspector observed that all staff present were following the procedures, as set out in the nursery's safeguarding policy in relation to the use of mobile phones and cameras. Therefore, staff are maintaining the safety of children in their care overall. The new management has identified that not all staff had sufficient knowledge and understanding about how to manage children's behaviour appropriately. As a result, all

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provision

staff have now received additional in-house training on how to manage behaviour consistently. The management has also put in place individual behaviour plans to support staff with managing children's behaviour. However, the inspection found that the previous management had not followed the complaints procedures as not all complaints were dealt with appropriately through the nurseries complaints process, or within the required timescales. As a result of the inspection findings, the provider is required to take further action relating to these aspects of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the associated requirements of the Childcare Register.

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provision

As part of the new management structure, the nursery has very recently appointed an acting manager and deputy. The new manager understands her role in moving the nursery forward. She has detailed action plans in place and demonstrates a strong drive for improvement. The management team are aware of the strengths and areas for progression in the nursery to improve outcomes for children. However, they do not adequately monitor that all staff fully understand and implement the nursery's policies and procedures, including those for ensuring babies are appropriately monitored at sleep time to fully promote their welfare. Nonetheless, there are robust recruitment procedures in place to ensure staff's suitability to work with children. All new staff will receive an extensive induction, which is monitored through regular supervisions and annual appraisals. Staff carry out thorough daily risk assessments to identify and minimise any

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provision

potential hazards. As a result, children's welfare is promoted well overall.

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provision

The acting manager has undertaken designated person child protection training. Other staff have an understanding of their roles and responsibilities in protecting children, as well as the reporting procedures to follow. This enables the nursery to help protect children from harm. Staff generally maintain a secure environment for the children, for example, by asking visitors for identification and requiring them to sign in and out of the building. Fire drills are regularly practised to help children learn to keep themselves safe in an emergency.

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provision

The system for monitoring children's progress is thorough. Staff liaise with parents to find out children's individual care routines and identify the children's capabilities and starting points for learning. The acting manager recognises that some areas of practice are not effective and is working to make some improvements. Although staff have a secure knowledge of the areas of learning, the quality of teaching is variable. The planning and delivery of activities are not always sufficiently focused to sustain good or better learning outcomes for all children. Hence children make satisfactory progress in learning and development overall.

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provision

Partnership with parents is strong at the nursery. Parents spoken to were extremely pleased with the support they receive and comment that staff are, 'approachable, very friendly and helpful'. Parents appreciate the daily updates they receive from staff and enjoy taking home the learning journeys to share with their families. Parents are encouraged to add information to their child's learning journeys, which staff incorporate into the planning for the nursery. These positive strategies enable parents to share ideas and work with the key person to support their child's progress. Staff liaise with other professionals and the local authority to support children with additional needs.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that complainants receive notification of the outcome of the investigation within 28 days of having received the complaint. (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  ensure that complainants receive notification of the outcome of the investigation within 28 days of having received the complaint. (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 127301 Local authority Kent Inspection number 972071

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 86 Number of children on roll 119 Name of provider Kinder Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 29/04/2009 Telephone number 01732 871300

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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 Inspection report: Kinder Nursery-Clare Park Day Nursery - Kinder Group Limited, 13/05/2014 10 of 11

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Type of provision

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. Inspection report: Kinder Nursery-Clare Park Day Nursery - Kinder Group Limited, 13/05/2014 11 of 11

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Type of provision

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, safeguarding and child protection.

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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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