Seabrook Day Nursery

Seabrook Day Nursery 32 Lewsey Road, LUTON, Bedfordshire, LU4 0EP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/05/2014 21/03/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 All practitioners have an excellent understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use exemplary teaching techniques. Their exceptionally practical assessments of children support the planning of highly appropriate activities. Consequently, children make excellent progress.  The thoughtful use of an extensive range of communication options supports excellent partnership working with parents. Therefore, they are active in working with practitioners to promote their child's learning and development to the very optimum.  Highly skilled, genuinely caring practitioners are fully committed to providing a positive and extremely stimulating environment. As a result, children are offered a rich variety of creative play experiences that promote their learning in all areas.  Children are happy and exceptionally motivated. They enthusiastically explore the environment, showing high levels of curiosity and independence. They quickly develop

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This provision is outstanding

a positive attitude to learning and are, therefore, very well prepared for school.  Managers and practitioners set very high standards for the nursery. Leadership of the setting inspires and motivates practitioners to work for the very best for each child. As a result, children's safety, welfare and development are exceptionally well promoted.

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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 rooms and the outside areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager, the deputy manager, the company Regional Director and the Childcare and Education Officer.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation and checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children, the provider's self-evaluation information and improvement plan.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Seabrook Day Nursery was registered in 2000 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a purpose-built premises adjacent to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital in Luton, Bedfordshire. It is one of 47 nurseries run by the Childbase Partnership Limited. The nursery serves the local and neighbouring areas and is accessible to all children. It operates from five main rooms and there are three enclosed areas available for outdoor play. There are currently 41 staff working directly with the children. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 33 hold qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7am until 6.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 179 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and

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Information about the setting

four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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

 exploit the already very good partnership working with local schools to ensure that children are offered the maximum support during transition to school.

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who attend

Practitioners invest time and attention in ensuring that they fully understand each child's needs and interests. This means that they offer children highly relevant support and extremely well-planned activities. Consequently, children are very secure and demonstrate positive attitudes to their play and learning, preparing them well for the move to school. Innovative teaching methods support children in making exceptional progress. All practitioners have a confident, extensive knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They use initial meetings with parents to gather a comprehensive range of information, enabling them to securely assess children's starting points. Excellent communication with parents means that they have numerous opportunities to share updates about their children. For example, they complete home observations and 'weekend books'. Parents are also supported very well in extending their child's learning. For example, they receive

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who attend

a weekly email which explains the following week's planning for each room and gives ideas for activities at home. The setting also provides resources and activity cards and offers a lending library. Practitioners conscientiously observe children as they play, carefully assessing this information and keeping meaningful records. They also note how each child prefers to learn, carefully linking this to their knowledge of the characteristics of learning, enabling them to fully understand how to support each child. Their excellent use of this information to inform the daily planning means that all children are consistently offered a rich variety of activities that capture their attention, challenge them and promote their development. This is further supported by the excellent approach of all practitioners. They demonstrate that they enjoy playing and exploring and show children that they believe in themselves and are determined to succeed. Children respond to this, showing

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who attend

determination and perseverance and eagerly trying new activities.

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who attend

Children are exceptionally well supported in developing the skills to learn effectively. They thrive at this innovative and caring setting, where their natural curiosity is promoted and they enjoy exploring and finding out for themselves. For example, young children are fully engaged in their play, constantly making independent choices in this. They help themselves to bug collecting boxes and search the garden for insects. Other children choose magnifying glasses and use these to study leaves, sand and patterns on bricks. Children playing with the sand help themselves to containers and scoops. When they start emptying the sand onto the floor, a practitioner recognises that this is something that they like to do and part of how the children are learning. She skilfully intervenes to offer children buckets. They eagerly accept these and become engrossed as they empty sand into the buckets and then transfer it back again. Children's learning is consistently

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who attend

promoted and they are offered creative activities that are meaningful to them because practitioners optimise all spontaneous opportunities. For example, when children notice that the puddles have disappeared, practitioners talk with them about evaporation. They then extend children's current interest in science by helping them to set up a simple experiment where they add different substances to water and note which evaporate the fastest. Children enthusiastically watch this and competently explain that the container with water and oil is lasting longest as the oil is floating on the top and stopping the water from evaporating. Practitioners in every room make excellent use of resources, carefully linking these to children's current interests. For example, after noting how much the babies enjoy exploring the treasure baskets, practitioners extend this by putting out bowls of straw, cornflour paste and sliced fruit. The babies are captivated and thoroughly enjoy

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who attend

exploring the different textures and smells and transferring the items from one bowl to another.

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who attend

Children are offered an extensive range of opportunities that promote their physical development. For example, they build an obstacle course with crates and hoops, carefully balancing and jumping as they move along and around the objects. Thoughtful daily practice and well-planned activities mean that children have meaningful opportunities to understand diversity. They learn simple words and greetings in the languages spoken by other children in their room, and enjoy celebration days where, for example, they cook traditional dishes and look at writing from other countries. Children's play is enhanced and their development promoted as practitioners make resources according to children's current interests. For example, children enjoy exploring the discovery boxes, which follow themes, such as pirates and maps. Practitioners encourage them to talk about the items and use them to spark children's imagination, thereby also extending children's vocabulary

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who attend

and communication skills. Each child is truly valued as an individual and practitioners work tirelessly to help them reach their potential. They seek additional help whenever needed in order to support children's progress and development. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are exceptionally well supported so that they are able to participate in activities and gain as much as possible from the opportunities offered. For example, practitioners use a simple visual timetable that helps children understand what is available now and what they can do later. Similarly, children who use English as an additional language are exceptionally well supported. Practitioners respect the child's language, learning and using simple words in this as part of their daily communication with the children. They also support the children in learning English and are able to report that children leave the setting at expected or higher levels in communication and

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

The key-person system is exceptionally well implemented. Each child has a key person and a further named practitioner, so that there is always someone available who knows the child and family very well. Practitioners take care in building excellent partnerships with parents, supporting the continuous exchange of information. This contributes to children being happy, forming secure, trusting attachments and feeling assured in exploring their environment and expressing their views. They demonstrate that they thoroughly enjoy the interaction with practitioners as they take toys and books to share with them and naturally go to them for comfort. Practitioners are kind and caring. They are vigilant and notice what children are doing, offering them praise for their efforts and for their achievements. As a result, children's confidence grows and they are positive about their learning and are, therefore, emotionally well prepared for the move to school. The truly notable attention to

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

detail that practitioners pay to providing a highly stimulating environment means that children have numerous opportunities to explore, experiment and develop their own play. For example, children playing in the atrium extend their language skills and develop a love of reading as they snuggle down in a 'cave' and read books, use the plentiful resources to create and re-tell favourite stories, write their own stories and put these up on the wall for others to read.

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

The sensitive, thoughtful settling-in procedures mean that new children quickly settle. Key persons work closely with parents to find out about children's interests, abilities and needs. Settling-in is then tailored to suit each individual. Similarly, great care is taken to make sure that children's transitions within the setting are smooth and comfortable. For example, practitioners use a transition pack, which they complete with parents. This reviews children's needs and provides detailed, practical information about every aspect of the room that children will be moving to. This enables parents to continue to feel confident in the setting and means that practitioners in the new room are aware of all details so that children's care and learning are uninterrupted. Children's behaviour is exemplary. Practitioners are aware that children follow their example and so act as excellent role models, showing their genuine concern and respect for all. Children mirror

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

this and so learn to respect each other. Practitioners use excellent techniques to help children understand how their behaviour affects others. For example, babies and young children play with puppets and soft toys that each represent a value, such as being kind, sharing and being honest. This is then continued throughout the setting, with the use of associated cards and books.

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

Children are offered a wealth of daily opportunities that promote their understanding of the relevance of healthy lifestyles. For example, their awareness of the effects of exercise is promoted as they participate in sports and physical exercise sessions, where they talk about how this uses their muscles and raises their heart rates. The use of fun characters, such as 'Suzy Soap and Geoffrey Germ' encourage children to think about daily practices, such as washing their hands, and to gain a practical understanding of the relevance of these. The thoughtful organisation of resources and equipment supports children well in developing their self-care skills. For example, children learn to take responsibility for their own belongings and for items to take home as they place these in their own named drawers. Thoughtful daily practice, ongoing explanations and the use of relevant resources also support children very well in gaining an excellent understanding of how to keep

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

themselves and others safe. For example, children know that when they see a picture of 'Harry the Hippo' they need to be aware of hazards, quickly learning how to assess these themselves. Older children competently explain that the picture of 'Harry' in the construction area means that they need to look out for hazards, such as towers toppling over. Also, they know to be careful when using the woodwork tools.

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provision

There are exemplary safeguarding procedures and every aspect of children's welfare is very well considered. For example, practitioners are supported in refreshing and extending their knowledge by considering serious case reviews as part of their ongoing training. Exceptionally robust recruitment procedures ensure that all practitioners are suitable to work with children. Children's welfare is further promoted as the setting ensures that they maintain an accurate record of children's details and needs. These records are regularly reviewed with parents, who have appropriate access to all information about their child. Parents are also provided with practical information about the policies and procedures, ensuring that they are aware of daily practice. This is further supported by the excellent induction procedures for new parents, where practitioners explain all details and make sure they fully understand the requirements of the child and their family. This information

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provision

is checked by senior managers in order to consider any further support that children, families or practitioners may need. The frequent review of comprehensive risk assessments ensures that all areas are safe and secure. Children's health is exceptionally well considered. Medication procedures are thorough and mean that all medication is securely checked and recorded by managers and the child's key person. Healthcare plans are in place for any child requiring long-term medication. These are agreed with parents and frequently reviewed to make sure that children are always administered the correct medication and that this remains in date and in sufficient quantity. Healthcare plans are also used exceptionally well to support the setting in meeting children's dietary needs. Again, these include detailed and frequent consultation with parents. Managers and practitioners implement these procedures rigorously in order to ensure that they only

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provision

provide meals and baby feeds that have been agreed with parents. Their daily procedures also support this. For example, the setting's cook agrees all meals and snacks with the manager before presenting them to the children, and practitioners follow the colour coding system to ensure that children only receive the correct food. Managers and practitioners adopt an honest, positive approach to the continuous evaluation of their work. They seek feedback from parents, children and other professionals, enabling them to build a comprehensive picture of their strengths and weaknesses. This information is then actively used to develop and implement highly practical plans for continuous improvements. Recent changes include building work to combine two rooms, providing more space and play opportunities for the older children.

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provision

Managers set exceptionally high standards and are excellent role models. Their ongoing monitoring of practitioners is exemplary and means that practitioners feel that they can approach managers about any issues or concerns. Practitioners' individual strengths are recognised and extended and they are fully supported in developing their professional practice. All practitioners receive frequent supervision and are very well supported in attending training and gaining childcare qualifications. This has a highly positive impact on children. For example, as a result of training about the characteristics of learning, practitioners now have a better understanding of how each child learns, using this information to inform their assessments and to plan pertinent play opportunities for each child. Regular training and team meetings are used to refresh practitioners' understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Policies and procedures are

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provision

frequently reviewed to ensure that they support practitioners in consistently promoting children's health, welfare and development. Managers and room leaders actively monitor the progress of each child, enabling them to identify any areas where children require further support. They skilfully gather data about the progress made by all children in every area of learning. This information is then used to inform the planning and ensure that children receive relevant support. For example, after noting that mathematics was a weaker area, managers developed the daily planning and provided additional supporting resources. The setting's secure monitoring means that they are able to report that all children make excellent progress and leave having achieved higher than expected levels in each area of learning. The key-person system is also monitored very well, ensuring that all children and families are supported and that practitioners are offered support and

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provision

Managers and practitioners are experienced and work exceptionally well with a wide variety of other professionals. Consequently, they offer well-planned, clearly targeted support to children and their families. Procedures for sharing information with other providers caring for the children are very good. For example, practitioners contact key persons and exchange assessment information, enabling all to work together. However, there is scope to extend this area by continuing to develop the partnership working with local schools in order to support children even further during their move to school. There is a practical and thorough complaints procedure. This is explained to parents and is readily accessible in information given to them and in displays at the setting. All complaints are accurately recorded and the setting investigates and responds within the required timescales. Partnerships with parents are excellent and they are kept

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provision

exceptionally well informed of their child's progress and activities. For example, they meet frequently with their child's key person in order to review progress and plan next steps. Parents report that they appreciate the excellent communication and the care offered by committed, well-supported and valued practitioners.

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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 105266 Local authority Luton Inspection number 967927

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 94 Number of children on roll 179 Name of provider Childbase Partnership Limited Date of previous inspection 21/03/2011 Telephone number 01582 490555

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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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