Fordfield House Nursery & After School Club

Fordfield House Nursery & After School Club Fordfield Road, Millbrook, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK45 2HZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/07/2014 07/02/2011

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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

 Teaching is outstanding because staff make excellent use of accurate observations and assessments. These are used to plan stimulating activities and experiences both indoors and outdoors, based on children's interests and development needs. As a result, children thrive exceptionally well and are making rapid progress in their learning and development.  Leadership and management are inspirational. The well-qualified staff team are highly motivated and there is a strong drive for continuous improvement. Highly effective self- evaluation and action plans enable staff to improve their already first-rate practice.  Staff have an exceptional knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, and children are significantly protected.  Partnerships with parents, carers and other providers are excellent and enhance all aspects of children's overall learning and well-being. Parents are hugely involved in the

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This provision is outstanding

nursery and speak very highly of the experiences their children receive. As a result, this promotes a consistent approach to children's early learning experiences.  The outdoor area is significantly enhanced and children have access to their own allotment, swimming lessons with qualified teachers and large grounds to explore. Consequently, their physical development is promoted very well.

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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 nursery and talked with the staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed the indoor and outside areas used for childcare, including the allotment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff and a range of other documentation, including the safeguarding procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents, as recorded via discussion during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed the nursery self-evaluation process and discussed the nursery plans for improvement.

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Information about the setting

Fordfield House Nursery and After School Club opened in 1988 and is on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is owned by Fordfield House Nursery Ltd and operates from a converted residential building and additional outbuildings in Millbrook, Bedfordshire. The nursery is accessible to all children and there is a large outdoor play area and allotment. It is open each weekday throughout the year from 8am to 6pm, except for two weeks at Christmas and two weeks during the summer. There are currently 122 children on roll, 81 of whom are in the early years age group. They attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds. It supports children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 17 members of childcare staff, 16 of whom hold an appropriate early years qualification at levels 2, 3 and 6.

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

 consider enhancing the already excellent outside area by making the entrance to the nursery more aesthetically welcoming to children.

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who attend

The high quality teaching strategies deployed at this nursery are extensive. Children are given first-class opportunities to learn the skills that they need for their future. For example, staff extend children's vocabulary and teach them to use new words. They do this by encouraging children to repeat words back to them from stories and play. They ask children varied open-ended questions about what they are doing, which challenges their thinking and understanding. This consistently takes place throughout every age range in the nursery. Children who speak English as an additional language are additionally encouraged by the use of flashcards and books from their home language. Consequently, children's speech and language skills are developing very well. Children have sufficient time to practise and reinforce what is being taught to them. For example, staff teach children new skills, such as how to swing by moving their legs to and fro, and allow them

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who attend

time to have a go themselves while in a safe environment. Therefore, children are gaining confidence due to the skilful support around them. Staff teach children to socialise by placing utmost importance on them sitting together at mealtimes. Both children and staff use these opportunities to talk about life outside of nursery and to listen to one another. As a result, children's personal, social and emotional development is effectively encouraged. Children are motivated to try new experiences because staff provide art and craft materials to encourage their senses. For example, there is paint, sand and lemon juice water for children to touch, smell and taste. Staff praise children's efforts enthusiastically and encourage quieter children to join in. This means that children are receiving interesting and stimulating activities which support their overall learning and development.

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who attend

There are a wide variety of rich and imaginative resources in the nursery to cover the prime and specific areas of learning. These include sensory areas for younger children, so that they can feel different textures and multicultural toys for older children to learn about the wider world. Older children are also encouraged to use technology. For example, they are able to use the nursery camera to take photographs of their peers and interesting things that they see. They learn how to operate the camera and to zoom in and out. Staff weave mathematical language in to everyday activities and consistently ask children questions about the number of items around them. Mathematics is also extended into more in-depth activities for older children on a regular basis. For example, they were recently encouraged to count items under cups, recall how many were there, take some away and add them to another cup, before recounting them. As a result, children are

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who attend

learning the beginning of adding and subtraction. Children's imaginations are encouraged by large role-play areas, such as play kitchens and dressing-up clothes. Additionally, older children are taught ways to extend their developing language skills. For example, when they are talking about the weather, staff teach them different words to describe the day, such as 'mildew' and 'damp'. They are encouraged to write their own names and recognise other letters that they see. This means that their literacy skills are well promoted. Furthermore, staff challenge children to take responsibility for managing their personal needs and looking after their belongings, along with listening to instructions. As a result, children's school readiness is supported very well.

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who attend

Staff plan both indoor and outdoor activities which cover all of the areas of learning and development. Children have a comprehensive learning journal which shows photographs of their achievements and artwork. Staff monitor children robustly and assessments are rigorously maintained and used to evaluate children's progress and identify their next steps. These next steps form part of the planning process and are reviewed to ensure action is taken. The progress check for children between the ages of two and three years is meticulously completed and shared with parents. As a result, children, including those who speak English as an additional language, are making rapid progress towards the early learning goals. Parents receive information explaining the Early Years Foundation Stage so that they understand how their children learn. They receive newsletters from the nursery which detail upcoming events and topics. This enables parents to support their children's

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who attend

learning at home. Parents are able to view their children's learning journals on request and formally meet staff twice a year to discuss progress. Furthermore, parents send in 'wow' moments from home, which are animatedly celebrated by staff. As a result, children are proud of their achievements and want to share information.

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

Children are well supported when they join the nursery. An 'All about me' form is completed by the key person and parents to establish the home routines and preferences of the children. Children attend settling-in sessions prior to their first day, which means they learn to separate from their parents with ease and their well-being is effectively promoted. Staff excellently support children's transition between rooms, which are defined by ability rather than age. The children's key person takes the children to their new room and stays with them until they are settled. Therefore, children are prepared very well for the move between rooms and on to other settings and school when the time comes. Children have a sense of belonging at the nursery as they have a space for their personal belongings, and their artwork is prominently displayed. There is a large family tree with photographs of their families on it to further make them feel settled. The environment is

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

welcoming as music plays softly in the background, to which children spontaneously dance to when they hear a song they like. Staff complete daily care books about the children's experiences at nursery. These include information about when children have slept or toileted and what they have eaten. Additionally, parents send information in to the nursery when their children try new foods at home, and this is incorporated into menus. Children behave extremely well because they are engaged in what they are doing and are continually challenged by the high level of activities that are offered. Manners are consistently encouraged by staff, and children are learning to be polite from an early age.

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

There is a first rate key-person system in place to support children throughout their time at nursery. This is reviewed on a regular basis by staff and management so as to ensure that all children are supported by the member of staff who knows them the best and has the closest bond with them. The children's key person demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of the children and families that they work with. They cuddle the children and provide reassurance to them when needed. Staff are sensitive to children's needs and support them at a rate that individually suits them. For example, young children are gently encouraged to join in new activities because staff gradually introduce it to them. Furthermore, staff allow children to remain deeply engaged in activities and do not impose a strict routine on them unnecessarily. This means that they grow in confidence as they gain new experiences. Children have good relationships with each other and are kind to

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

one another. For example, they hold hands and share toys together. Therefore, children are forming strong bonds with the staff and their peers. Children are learning to be exceptionally independent as staff give them plenty of opportunities to practise skills. For example, they learn to use safety knives to cut home-grown vegetables and to spread cream cheese onto crackers for snack time. Children of all ages are encouraged to feed themselves, and older children additionally serve their own food and drink. They wipe their own faces after eating and wash their hands extremely competently. Children are given opportunities to take responsibility for things during the day. For example, children help a member of staff wash the outside ride-on cars in a pretend car wash. They enjoy cleaning the vehicles and chatter to each other while they are doing so. As a result, children's independence is extremely well promoted. Staff teach children about how to keep

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

themselves safe. For example, during a water play activity, they remind children not to eat the bubbles as they might become ill. Children are also prompted to stay together when visiting the allotment and walking outside of the main nursery area. As a result, children learn important information about personal safety.

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

The allotment is inspirational at this nursery and is run by a dedicated garden and allotment manager. Children work with him to plant seeds and cultivate them until they are ready to pick. They collect their daily snack from the allotment and learn about how food grows with sun and water, eventually decaying. The nursery chefs teach children about how to prepare and cook ingredients and herbs. This means that children are learning interesting information which supports them to be healthy. The nursery is highly innovative because it creates menus which support the latest guidance from institutions to support asthma sufferers and other illnesses. It sources food locally from farmers and dairies and promotes rural links within the community. There is a healthy eating and hygiene manager at the nursery who works with staff, parents and children to provide the highest quality of food education possible. Children are learning to keep themselves

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

healthy. For example, they are encouraged to wash their hands prior to eating and after using the toilet. Children receive superb opportunities to gain daily fresh air and exercise. For example, they attend swimming lessons in the nursery pool with qualified instructors. Children thrive on this experience and they are becoming efficient swimmers. Children take part in an annual sports day held in the nursery grounds, which raises money for charity. Family members attend and children relish taking part. There is a newly planted woodland area and also long grass for children to treasure hunt in. Children are able to choose where they would like to spend their time because there is free-flow access from indoors to outside at the nursery. Consequently, children's physical development is highly encouraged. The equipment in the nursery is exciting and tailored to meet the needs of the children who attend. It is placed in easily accessible boxes and is age appropriate.

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provision

Staff have an excellent understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. This is because the owner and manager ensure that the policies and procedures are thorough and are consistently updated. All policies are implemented and rigorously monitored by the manager. They are shared with parents so that they have a full understanding of the processes followed by the nursery. Utmost priority is given to risk assessments. All areas of the nursery, indoors and out, and all outings are comprehensively tracked on a risk grid. For example, the manager has recently reviewed all doors in the nursery to see the flow of children and identify if they are necessary. Any doors that are unnecessary are removed so that children are prevented from trapping their fingers. The manager reviews any accidents that happen in the nursery in order to deal with any problem areas and ensure that they do not happen again. Staff have an extensive knowledge of child

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provision

protection procedures and are able to confidently explain signs and symptoms of abuse and who to go to if they need support or to report concerns. As a result, the safeguarding and welfare requirements are promoted very well. The nursery operates highly efficient recruitment and induction programmes. Staff are carefully vetted before joining the nursery and hold Disclosure and Barring Service checks. They undergo well-thought-out induction training, which is tracked and reviewed regularly. Staff complete information sheets about the work that they are doing and are encouraged to raise any concerns they have. They discuss these with a member of the management team, who seeks a solution to the issue. The manager conducts supervisions every six weeks. Staff receive an annual appraisal where they can formally discuss their performance and agree any training needs. The nursery holds a staff meeting twice a year formally and many smaller meetings

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provision

The nursery strongly promotes professional development. Information gained on training courses is cascaded to the rest of the nursery where appropriate, and staff are invited to move between the nursery rooms to demonstrate their learning. Room leaders support staff in their rooms and have created an apprenticeship training plan to ensure that their newest members are fully trained. The owner and manager monitor the learning and development requirements effectively. They track legislative changes and review all information they receive to see how they can improve the nursery. The manager spends considerable time in the nursery reviewing the quality of teaching. She monitors the delivery of education programmers by reviewing the planning sheets for every room to see if there is anything that can be improved. In addition to this, the room leaders regularly monitor the delivery of teaching within the rooms. This means that children are getting

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provision

the highest possible learning opportunities. The nursery has an in-depth improvement plan, which is constantly being reviewed and updated. There are inspiring ideas for improving the already outstanding practice. Each room completes their own self- evaluation in addition to the overall plan that is run by the management team. The owner has a passion for helping children to understand the wider world. She has crafted an excellent relationship within the community in order to introduce local produce into the nursery. She has helped staff to embrace multicultural relationships by creating themes about different cultures. For example, a recent topic was about Bangladesh, where children were able to cook and sample food from the country. They also visited Asian shops to see saris and other artefacts. An identified area for the nursery to improve is to enhance the already outstanding outside area and entrance to the nursery to make it

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provision

more aesthetically pleasing to children. Consequently, the nursery is consistently improving the service that they offer.

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provision

The nursery has strong relationships with parents. They talk highly of the service provided and currently have no areas that they feel should be improved. There are open communication lines and they feel that they can contact any member of management whenever necessary. Parents' views are taken extremely seriously and feedback is used to tailor practices to meet the needs of the children who attend. In addition, children are closely observed and questioned so that their voices are heard. Their likes and dislikes about activities and experiences are noted and reviewed by staff. As a result, parents and children feel valued and important to the nursery. There are also excellent links with other providers in place. For example, the nursery has formed highly effective partnerships with the local schools, where the teachers visit the children frequently and get a thorough understanding of them before they start school. The nursery work with speech therapists

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provision

and other external agencies if required. Therefore, partnership working is significantly enhanced.

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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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 219075 Local authority Central Bedfordshire Inspection number 854509

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 90 Number of children on roll 122 Name of provider Fordfield House Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 07/02/2011 Telephone number 01525 405 524

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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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