Busy Bees Day Nursery at Rainham

Meredale Day Nursery - Kinder Group Limited Solomon Road, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 8EB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/09/2014 05/11/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff ensure that detailed planning is in place to monitor, plan and make accurate assessments. This helps to ensure that they meet each child's individual needs.  All staff ensure that effective strategies are in place to communicate closely with, include and value all parents which fully maintains partnership with parents.  Staff have a well established key-person system and build good relationships with all children enabling babies and children to feel safe and secure.  Safeguarding is a priority within the setting and risk assessments are thorough meaning that all children remain safe at all times.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Occasionally during busy times of the day, such as meal times, staff do not always keep children fully engaged.  Staff do not always use open-ended questioning techniques. This means that staff occasionally miss opportunities to fully extend children's learning and development.

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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 viewed the areas of the nursery that children use.  The inspector observed staff interacting with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled written documentation, including children's progress reports, policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to children, gathered parents' views and spoke in depth with staff.  The inspector invited the manager to carry out a joint observation.

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Information about the setting

Meredale Day Nursery registered in 1997 and since March 2014 is now one of 239 nurseries privately run by Busy Bees Nursery group. It operates from four rooms in a building which is located within the building of an independent school in Rainham, Gillingham, in Kent. All children share access to enclosed outdoor play areas. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is open each weekday from 7am to 6pm, or later by special arrangement, for 52 weeks of the year. There is an after school club and a holiday club for children who attend school. There are currently 85 children aged from three months to five years on roll. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs and /or disabilities. The nursery employs 23 members of staff. Of these, 20 hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational

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Information about the setting

Qualification level 2. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four- year-olds.

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

 review the organisation of daily routines, such as meal times, to enable children to remain fully engaged

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

 consistently use open-ended questioning in order to extend children's learning and development further.

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who attend

All staff demonstrate a good understanding and show dedication towards promoting children's learning and development. They use well-established detailed assessment and planning strategies, which supports children's next steps in their learning. Staff are qualified and are an experienced team. They demonstrate a good knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff provide a vast range of exciting and engaging activities and learning opportunities, which are accessible daily to all children. For example, older children enjoyed interactive computer programmes, developing mathematical, language and imaginative skills. Babies enjoyed a splashing activity outside with water, where staff responded to their babbling and developed communication as they talked and mimicked their sounds. However, staff occasionally missed opportunities to further extend children's learning and development by

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who attend

using a high quality of open-ended questions consistently during the constant interactions. Children are encouraged to make independent choices in their play, as they become curious, explore and actively learn. Children choose whether they would like to access in the indoor or outdoor environment and do this freely. Staff are well deployed to provide suitable supervision meaning children are kept safe and all times.

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who attend

Staff plan challenging yet achievable targets for all children using their interests, meaning that their individual needs are being met by appropriate next steps. As a result, all children make good progress and staff accurately track progress to enable them to clearly identify any potential gaps in development. Staff's effective planning strategies extend children's learning and engagement well. For example, staff enthusiastically praised children for writing the letters in their names. They used props and materials to engage children in the experience and extended their learning through props, senses and actions. Staff use constant and effective facial expressions, body language, and talking at the children's eye level. This helps extend children's language and communication development, regardless of the children's age and ability.

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who attend

Younger babies are engage in constant communication and singing. For example, staff sung traditional nursery rhymes with the children as they played. Staff respond promptly to babies babbles, actions and smiles and use this good practice to quickly settle, comfort and support them in the routines. Staff obtain general information regarding children's interests, routines and preferences by fully including parents. Staff use a series of documentation to find out children's learning needs from parents. They share five-weekly initial observations support forms to identify accurate starting points. This supports a consistent approach between home and the nursery.

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who attend

Strong relationships with parents and outside professionals are established and good strategies are in place to maintain continuity in care for all children. Staff have regular meetings with parents to share information and children's progress. Parents are encouraged to take an active role in their children's development. Staff invite parents to take the learning journals home on a regular basis and add their own comments about what their children like to do at home, include photographs and encouraging parents to complete weekend news forms. This provides a consistency of care and an accurate overview of children's learning and development. Parents say they are well informed on children's progress and state 'we love taking the learning journeys home to share with daddy'.

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who attend

Staff provide a wide range of resources and learning opportunities, both in the indoor and outdoor learning environments, to stimulate and motivate children of all ages. This helps children to make good progress in their learning and development. For example, staff encouraged children to use their imagination in the garden as they used sand to make patterns. They also negotiated obstacles using varying sizes of tyres and learned about space and shape as they used balancing equipment. Children developed their understanding of the world as they baked bug cakes in the mud kitchen. Babies experimented with splashing in puddles and explored sensory activities, such as interactive feeling boards, books and puzzles. Children have good opportunities to use a variety of materials to experiment with marks, developing their imagination and early writing skills. For example, children can daily choose paints, chalks, sand, water and a variety of writing

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who attend

equipment. These activities support children to develop hand-eye coordination and small muscle skills.

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

The dedicated staff team meet the needs of all individual children, by taking into account their individual needs and interests. The key-person system is well-established and as a result, children develop strong and trusting relationships. This helps them feel safe and secure and children develop a sense of belonging. The key-person system is effective in helping children during periods of change such as, settling-in, moving rooms and getting ready for school. However, the organisation of changes in some of the routine such as meal times, means that staff occasionally miss some opportunities to keep babies and children fully engaged during these times. Children demonstrate good behaviour due to the consistent praise and positive reinforcement from staff.

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

Staff plan activities daily to cover all areas of learning effectively. For example, children learn about keeping their bodies healthy as they discuss healthy snack options and the importance of accessing the outdoor environment for fresh air and exercise. Staff are skilful in ensuring babies are comforted and settled using their personal care routines and preferences. This means that they develop a good sense of well-being. Children independently and confidently wash their hands before snack and lunch and find their coats and shoes to access the outdoor areas. Children are encouraged to prepare their own snacks and choose their own fruit. Children develop awareness of using equipment safely, such as knives for cutting fruit under close supervision. Staff are good role models. They sit with the children during activities such as snack, water and phonics activities, offering support and extending children's learning. This helps children as they prepare for

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

their next stage of learning, for example going to school. Children receive good levels of support to develop their understanding of everyday life skills during their learning experiences. For example, they are encouraged to be independent, find their names, have their own named trays and line up when accessing areas in larger groups.

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

Safeguarding is a high priority for all staff. Thorough daily and long-term risk assessments of the learning environments, outings and activities, and future action plans are effectively in place and regularly updated and reviewed. This helps to ensure that all areas in the nursery are safe and secure. Staff deploy themselves well and most hold a relevant first aid qualification, which enables children to receive prompt care in the event of an accidental injury. Staff support children of all ages to identify and manage risk to help keep themselves and others safe. For example, children are encouraged to have an active part in regularly practising fire evacuation drills. This develops their understanding and confidence to keep themselves safe in the case of an emergency. The garden is secure and spacious and encourages children explore the outdoor environment. This helps them to develop control and coordination of their bodies.

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provision

Dedicated management follow well-established systems to ensure the safe recruitment of qualified and experienced staff. A thorough induction system includes detailed reviews of policies, obtaining references and detailed explanation of the safeguarding process. Staff demonstrate an extremely good knowledge and understanding of the nursery's policies. Staff are particularly confident of policies, procedures and contacts in relation to safeguarding, and planning and assessment. This promotes children's safety and well- being.

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provision

The management team has a good knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and effectively supports staff in meeting children's individual needs. They regularly observe and monitor staff practice through regular meetings and supervisions, highlighting training needs and future focuses and plans. The management team routinely reviews children's learning journals, to ensure staff track and plan for children's progress. This helps to ensure that they promptly identify any gaps in children's development. The management team gathers shares and respects views through effective use of meetings, questionnaires, learning journeys, and observations. The staffing team demonstrates dedication to continue to make positive improvements. There are clear future action plans in place, which are thoroughly risk assessed. For example, management and staff have identified the importance of the learning environments.

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provision

Therefore there is to be a refurbishment and changes to the layout of the setting to further develop organisation, accessibility and safety for children of all ages and abilities.

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provision

Positive relationships are in place and maintained with other professionals including the local childcare support officer, local sure start centre and receiving schools. This provides a good support system and effective strategies for information sharing promoting consistency of care for all children. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or English as an additional language effectively through well embedded strategies. For instance, they use visual prompts, displays of key words, language books and share activities and information between the setting, home and other professionals. As a result, children with additional needs make good progress. Parents report positively on the support staff offers to help their children. For example, parents comment that their children have made good progress with speech and behaviour. They speak highly of the nursery, commenting 'I would highly recommend the nursery the whole team are lovely

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provision

and often get talked about fondly at home'.

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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 103719 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 962666 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 77 Number of children on roll 85 Name of provider Kinder Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 05/11/2013 Telephone number 01634 362221

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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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