Woodland Barn Day Nursery

Butterfly Barns Day Nursery Puddleducks Day Nursery, 105 Old Heath Road, COLCHESTER, CO1 2EX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/09/2014 10/06/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Children are not effectively safeguarded as the manager has not consistently adhered to the Government's statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children, with regards to notifying agencies with statutory responsibilities without delay if they have concerns about children's safety or welfare.  Leaders and managers do not have robust understanding of their responsibilities to notify Ofsted of any changes to the individuals who are partners in, or directors of its governing body.  Monitoring of all aspects of the nursery, including monitoring of the quality of teaching, is poor. This results in incorrect dates and information being recorded in children's development records and rotas, evidencing responsibility for general activities, not being consistently completed.  The manager demonstrates limited knowledge of how to deal appropriately with complaints, with regards to fully investigating and following up concerns. Therefore

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This provision is inadequate

partnerships with parents are not robust.

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It has the following strengths

 Children enjoy their nursery day and have good opportunities to make use of the local environment to enhance their learning experiences.  Children are able to make choices about whether they learn in an indoor or outdoor environment.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector had a tour of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed play and learning activities, and spoke to children and staff in the indoor and outdoor environments.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a meeting with the manager and registered individual, whereby she looked at and discussed a range of policies, procedures and documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at evidence regarding the suitability of all practitioners and adults working at the nursery and saw a sample of qualification certificates.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to at the time of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Butterfly Barns Nursery was registered in 2005 on the Early Years Register. It is located within the Colchester area of Essex. It is managed by a private company. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 13 members of childcare staff. Of these, 12 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and 4. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm and children attend for a variety of these. There are currently 78 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an additional language.

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to:

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

have regard to the Government's statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children, by notifying agencies with statutory responsibilities without delay if they have concerns about children's safety or welfare, or if an allegation is made against a member of staff.

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must:

 develop knowledge of and follow correct procedures for notifying Ofsted of all changes to the individuals who are partners in, or a director, or other member of its governing body

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must:

 improve leadership by implementing effective monitoring and supervision of all practitioners to ensure they promote the interests of children

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must:

 implement effectively the nursery's procedures for investigating written complaints relating to the fulfilment of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements and notify complainants of the outcome of the investigation within 28 days of having received the complaint.

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who attend

Practitioners demonstrate a sound knowledge of the seven areas of learning and how children learn. They use their knowledge to plan interesting and appropriate activities for children, which help them to make progress across all areas of learning. Planning is effectively tailored to include activities which help individual children to achieve their next steps in learning. Key persons use their observational skills to track children's learning and development, and record these in their individual learning journeys. Tracker sheets are used to follow children's progress and provide key persons with a clear picture of any gaps in their development or in the range of learning experiences provided for them. Parents are encouraged to view their children's learning journeys and to share achievements from home. Assessments records show that children across the nursery are making suitable progress in their learning towards the early learning goals. This includes children who

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who attend

speak English as an additional language and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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who attend

Babies have fun exploring a range of developmentally appropriate toys and resources, which are presented on floor mats for easy access. Practitioners are close by to support children's exploration and to introduce new resources when necessary. Babies' communication skills are promoted by practitioners responding affectionately to their babbles and sounds. They ask them questions and name pictures in books and objects around the room to enhance their communication skills. Babies who are progressing from crawling to walking have appropriate furniture and equipment to help them to pull themselves up to a standing position and practitioners are on hand to support their early attempts at walking.

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who attend

Practitioners intervene in children's play in a timely fashion to support their thinking and to enhance their learning. They use appropriate questions to encourage children to think critically and to consider ways in which they can resolve problems for themselves. For example, practitioners are heard asking children, 'What do you think would happen if?' Children carefully consider their responses and tell the practitioner what they think might happen. Children are encouraged to communicate their feelings through planned activities. For example, during the topic All about me, children are encouraged to talk in large and small groups about what makes them happy, sad, cross or shocked. They share their feelings with the adults and their peers, and enter into discussions about how the behaviour of others makes them feel. Practitioners extend this discussion by providing opportunities for children to make emotional faces in coloured flour. The discussions about

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who attend

feelings continue during this activity, with providers sitting close by to hear and support children's discussions. The range of activities available to children throughout their nursery day enables them to develop skills which help them to prepare for their next stages of learning and school. For example, children use drawing and writing resources to develop their handwriting skills. They learn how to link letters to sounds through discussions with adults and planned activities. A planned physical exercise session enables children to learn how to take their everyday clothes off and replace them with shorts and tee shirts. Children learn how to sit quietly and listen to instructions through the daily circle times.

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

Weaknesses identified in the nursery's implementation of their safeguarding policy have an impact on children's overall safety and well-being, resulting in the judgement for this aspect of the provision being inadequate. Children are generally settled and comfortable within the nursery environment. Key persons work in partnership with parents to establish clear information about children's interests, capabilities and family structure during their settling-in sessions. This enables the key person to form a secure picture of children's routines and needs, prior to commencing nursery. Key persons help new children to settle during their early days at nursery by using the knowledge they have obtained about each child. For example, new children, who are finding it hard to settle, are provided with familiar photographs of their family to carry around with them. Should these photographs be mislaid, copies are available and a replacement photo graph provided. Practitioners

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

promote children's self-esteem and confidence using praise and encouragement. They remind children how clever they are and encourage them to be kind and caring towards each other through appropriate activities and discussions.

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

The nursery environment, in which children play and learn, is bright, welcoming and interesting. The nursery operates from three rooms, one for babies, one for two-to-three- year- olds and one for three-to-five-year- olds. Babies enjoy exploring in a large room, which has a section dedicated to sleep and rest. There are a number of cots and floor mattresses for children to rest on. The section provides a calm and relaxing environment to aid children's restful sleep. Older children freely access the two nursery gardens from their room, enabling them to make choices about whether they learn indoors or outdoors. Practitioners make very good use of the local environment to enhance children's learning. For example, they regularly visit the woodland trail area situated behind the nursery to explore nature and wildlife. Children also go on outings to the local shops and park.

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

Children develop knowledge of how to keep safe and healthy through the practitioners' clear guidance. They enjoy a range of healthy and nutritious meals and snacks during their nursery day. All meals are prepared and cooked on site by the nursery chef. Older children are provided with good opportunities to develop independence skills at mealtimes as they help to serve their own meal and make choices about how much they eat. Children remain well hydrated, as practitioners ensure they have access to fresh drinking water throughout the day. Children develop knowledge of keeping themselves safe; for example, they are reminded to place their chairs back under the table when they have finished and to wear protective aprons when they are painting or playing with water. Children moving from one room within the nursery to the next are appropriately supported by their key persons. This results in confident children who have opportunities to become

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

familiar with their new surroundings at a gentle pace appropriate to their requirements.

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provision

The inspection was prioritised following concerns being raised about the provider's ability to safeguard children in the nursery. This was with specific regard to the provider allegedly not following correct procedures for dealing with allegations against a practitioner and the non-timely management of complaints. The inspection found that the manager had failed to respond appropriately to an allegation of abuse against a practitioner and had failed to deal with the complaint alerting them to this incident. As a result, the appropriate authorities were not informed of an allegation against a practitioner in a timely fashion to ensure interventions were made to safeguard children. The nursery has a written safeguarding policy that meets the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; however, this was not implemented effectively on this occasion. In addition, the provider has failed to notify Ofsted of changes to the directors of the

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provision

company that own and manage this nursery. These significant weaknesses in practice are breaches in the safeguarding requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children generally play in an environment that is kept safe throughout the day through clear cleaning routines and safety checks. All adults working directly with children are vetted and proof of the checks used to assess their suitability are available on file for inspection.

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provision

This nursery is one of two which are owned and managed by Puddleducks Child Care Ltd. The nursery recently underwent changes to the directors, which prompted a re-launch and change of name from Puddleducks Nursery to Butterfly Barns Day Nursery. The management team comprises of the registered individual, the nursery manager and the deputy. Management support a number of practitioners, many of whom are qualified to level 3 and above. Most practitioners demonstrate clear knowledge of how children learn and use their expertise and experience to provide children with an educational programme that is tailored to meet each child's individual learning needs. The manager has systems in place to support the team of practitioners, through regular supervision meetings and annual appraisals. This enables her to review each practitioner's training needs and to put in place a programme of professional development, which enables them to pursue their

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provision

interests and update their current knowledge. The manager is beginning to implement some systems for monitoring the nursery, including children's progress and development. However, these systems are not robust enough to secure good quality. For example, some of the written information in children's development records such as, dates of birth is incorrect, providing inaccurate information about the child. The systems currently in place for the manager and deputy to review each child's development are weak. This results in the manager not being able to keep a sharp focus on each child's progress. There are some systems in place for managers, practitioners and parents to evaluate the success of the nursery. The manager has a large file of evidence to show the development of the nursery and to document future plans and improvements.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are generally secure. Parents spoken to at the time of the inspection share their views on the friendliness of the practitioners and how well they feel that their children are progressing. Some very new parents to the nursery comment on the effective way in which their child's settling-in period has been handled. However, the systems for managing concerns from parents are not robust, resulting in some concerns not being dealt with in a timely manner or proficiently. Links with local schools and other early years settings, which children attend are effective and enable key persons to liaise with and share relevant information with those settings to help to complement the learning that takes place in other areas of the children's lives.

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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 EY303073 Local authority Essex Inspection number 990153

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 78 Name of provider Puddleducks Child Care Ltd Date of previous inspection 10/06/2009 Telephone number 01206790174

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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

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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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