Busy Bees Pre-school

Busy Bees Pre-school Methodist Church Hall, Church Road, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA7 4DD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/06/2014 20/01/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 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 are skilled at promoting children's learning through play. As a result, children make strong progress towards the early learning goals.  Staff are well focused on planning around children's interests. This focus helps motivate children and results in them enjoying play with a purpose.  Staff promote children's health by providing healthy meals and a clean, hygienic environment.

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It is not yet good because

 The provider does not make sure that staff are aware of the need to disclose any issues that may affect their suitability to work with children.  Staff lack a good understanding of some aspects of the reporting procedures for safeguarding children's welfare.  The setting lacks a good range of resources to help children who are learning English as an additional language develop good communication skills.  Children enjoy outdoor play but there is less open space for them to run around freely and create their own play areas.

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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 the play rooms and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the setting and invited them to conduct a joint observation. The inspector also discussed practice with staff.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's assessment records, planning and other relevant documentation including the provider's safeguarding policy.

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Information about the setting

Busy Bee's Pre-school first opened and registered in 1965. It operates from the Methodist Church Hall, Church Road, in Bexleyheath, Kent. The pre-school has use of the main hall and three additional smaller rooms, all of which are located on the ground floor. There is a small paved, fully enclosed area for outdoor play. The pre-school is open each weekday morning from 9.15 am to 12.15 pm, term time only. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 38 children aged from two to five years on roll. The pre-school currently supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school is in receipt of funding to provide free early education for two-, three- and four- year-old children. The pre-school employs six members of staff, including the manager. Five staff hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational

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Information about the setting

Qualification level 3 and the manager holds Qualified Teacher Status.

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must:

 ensure staff are aware of their responsibility to disclose any convictions, cautions, court orders, reprimands and warnings received before or during their employment at the setting which may affect their suitability to work with children

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must:

 improve staff's understanding of safeguarding policy and procedures, and the relevant agencies to inform about any concerns relating to children's welfare.

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

 develop the range and use of resources to support children who speak English as additional language further

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

 organise the outside learning environment to create more play space and provide an area where children can move around freely and explore.

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who attend

Staff form good partnerships with parents and gain useful information from them about their children's needs, interests and routines. Staff use this information successfully to help new children settle in and feel at home. They plan and provide a wide variety of interesting activities and learning experiences that reflect children's interests and meet their needs. Staff consistently observe and assess children's progress. They systematically summarise children's progress and identify individual learning priorities for them. This helps staff to narrow any gaps in the children's learning and development. Staff share this information with parents and actively encourage them to support their children's learning at home. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development.

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who attend

Staff thoughtfully plan activities that cover all areas of learning. Children enjoy the activities and are keen to learn as they become absorbed in their play. Staff interact well with children and give them the support required to develop the skills they need to prepare them successfully for school. For example, children confidently explore and investigate for themselves. They listen, discuss and wait their turn. Children develop their language skills as they are encouraged by staff to solve problems by asking questions that require them to think about their answers. Staff respond well to them and reinforce new words. Children with special educational needs are supported well. However, there is not a good range of resources to further support and extend communication skills for children who learn and speak English as an additional language. For example, there are no visual displays of routines or picture cards to help children express themselves or understand

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who attend

what is going to happen next. As a result, this limits the way some children communicate.

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who attend

Staff encourage the children to develop their ideas and imaginations through role play where children dress up as different characters and make pretend cream teas and heart- shaped biscuits for staff. Children develop a love of books and become engrossed in listening to stories read by adults. They develop good literacy skills as staff encourage them to join in recalling stories and sharing their own experiences. Children anticipate what will happen next when they listen to their favourite stories, developing their literacy skills with confidence.

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

Overall, the working practices of staff help to protect and safeguard children. Staff supervise children appropriately and promote their emotional well-being. As a result, children show they feel safe and secure within the pre-school. They move around safely indoors and staff gently remind children how to play with equipment in a safe way. Children make choices from a suitable range of safe and appropriate resources. Staff make these easily accessible on low-level tables, storage units and on the floor, which helps children become independent learners.

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

Staff protect children's safety through risk assessment arrangements. Children are familiar with agreed safety practices within the pre-school, for instance as they learn to understand the actions to be taken in the event of an emergency evacuation. This helps them learn about risks and how to keep themselves and others safe. Staff help children learn to manage risks, such as when they play outside using the slide. The children show increasing coordination and develop sound physical skills while being aware of others around them. However, the outside play area is quite small and cluttered with a large range of equipment. This means there is less clear space for children to develop skills such as running and to create their own activities, limiting the children's ability to explore effectively.

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

Staff follow sound hygiene procedures by maintaining a clean environment. This helps to prevent the spread of infection and promotes children's good health. Children adopt suitable personal hygiene procedures, such as washing their hands after playing outside, and before and after eating. Staff also actively promote sun safety with children. Children enjoy a healthy diet and staff make sure they have easy access to fresh drinking water so they do not get thirsty during the session.

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

The key person system works well and this helps children form sound emotional attachments to a special person responsible for their care. Children show they feel confident around adults and happily move away to explore. They become independent learners as they organise and make decisions about their learning in the environment. Children behave appropriately and learn to share and take turns. They form friendships and show increasing social skills. Staff are caring, friendly and supportive as they provide cuddles when children need reassurance. Children learn to respect and value differences in society. For example, they find out about one another's backgrounds and share in different celebrations to learn about the world around them.

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

Staff help make children's move on to school as easy as possible by developing links with local schools. Staff invite school teachers into the pre-school from the children's new schools and exchange a range of information to aid children's eventual move to full-time education.

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provision

Overall, the manager and staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This inspection took place following notification from the pre- school of a safeguarding issue that may have had an impact on children's welfare. The inspection has found that management does not fully meet all of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is because they do not ensure all staff are clear about how to implement the pre-school's safeguarding policy and procedure. As a result, they are unsure who to contact in the event of safeguarding issues that may affect children. However, staff have a sound knowledge of how to identify any possible child protection concerns and are aware these concerns must be recorded and monitored to help them to protect children. The management also fails to ensure staff disclose any changes to their suitability to work with children, which is a breach of

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provision

requirement and affects the effectiveness of their safeguarding arrangements.

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provision

Staff take appropriate steps to maintain a safe and secure environment for children. The provider takes action to complete risk assessments for each outing in advance and these are specific to each outing. Staff have sound procedures for supervising children outdoors and for escorting them back indoors at the end of their play. Staff carry out daily safety checks and risk assessments that help them identify and minimise hazards appropriately. These procedures help promote children's safety and independence.

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provision

All of the required documentation is in place and appropriately maintained. The staff use these records in partnership with parents to help promote children's well-being and consistency of their care. Parents receive a variety of helpful feedback from staff about their children. They say they particularly like staff making themselves available to talk to them and keep them well informed about their children's progress. Parents are happy with the care provided and say they like the friendly and professional staff. Parents also state that they like the fact that they can share their concerns with staff and get advice about how to support their children further.

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provision

Staff form positive links with other settings. They share information with them, such as the children's progress reports and identified learning priorities. This liaison enables them to work appropriately together to meet children's care and learning needs. Staff also form sound links with agencies and support workers. These mean they are able to access additional support for those children who need it to help them achieve more.

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provision

The manager implements recruitment and induction procedures that help ensure staff are suitable to work with children. They actively encourage the professional development of staff through ongoing training, appraisals and supervision. The manager takes appropriate steps to address any under performance in members of staff to raise standards in the pre- school. The team work together to monitor and evaluate the childcare provision. They regularly review the educational programmes to make sure these meet children's needs. Staff take suitable steps to adapt the programmes and environment as needed in order to improve outcomes for children. Staff are currently well focused on continuing to improve how they ensure children are keep safe and protected in their care by being clear amongst themselves who to report to in the event of a concern. They are also attending and reviewing their training needs to improve their skills and knowledge to provide effective

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provision

quality care and learning to children. The management and staff team show a sound capacity and willingness to continue to improve outcomes for children.

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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 115342 Local authority Bexley Inspection number 977212 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 38 Name of provider Pamela Godin Date of previous inspection 20/01/2011 Telephone number 0208 306 0568

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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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