Busy Bees at West Byfleet

Positive Steps West Byfleet West Hall, Parvis Road, WEST BYFLEET, Surrey, KT14 6EY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/04/2014 09/09/2013

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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

 Although there is a system in place to ensure children are cared for by a consistent staff member, it does not work in practice. Staff do not ensure that all children, particularly the babies, form secure attachments with the adults looking after them.  The deployment of staff is disorganised and results in some staff prioritising routine tasks rather than spending quality time interacting with the children. Consequently, the emotional needs of the younger children are not met. This has a negative impact on children's emotional needs and their confidence to learn and explore their surroundings.  The management team is ineffective in monitoring the nursery provision and it does not have secure systems in place to manage staff performance.  Staff do not recognise the importance of having key words for children who speak English as an additional language to fully support their settling-in process.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff have a secure understanding of how to protect children. They are aware of the procedures to follow if they are concerned about a child to help keep children safe.  The outside area is well developed to support children's physical development and their understanding of the world.  The staff team has developed some positive links with a number of schools to support children with their move to school.

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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 spent the majority of inspection time observing the children in the nursery as they played.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's information and development records, staff records and policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the manager throughout the visit, including about safeguarding.  The inspector discussed the nursery with a number of parents.  The inspector and manager conducted a joint observation in the baby room.

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Information about the setting

Positive Steps West Byfleet registered in 2013 and is one of seven nurseries run by Positive Steps Children's Day Nursery Limited. The nursery operates from self-contained premises in West Byfleet, in Surrey. Children are cared for in four rooms over two floors. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. It is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.15pm for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 146 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years. The nursery employs 20 staff. Of these, 10 hold relevant childcare qualifications. Three staff are currently training for a childcare qualification. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the

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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: improve the key-person system so that consistent staff support children's care and learning needs as soon as they start at the nursery

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

improve staff deployment to ensure children's care and learning needs are met at all times, particularly for the babies and younger children.

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must:

 improve the arrangements for the monitoring and supervision of staff who have contact with children and families to ensure this identifies any practice issues and provides coaching to improve staff effectiveness

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who attend

The quality of staff practice within the nursery is variable. At times, the provision for babies and younger children is poor. As a result, not all staff fully understand the learning and development needs of babies and are not continually attentive to their personal needs. For example, some staff choose to undertake routine tasks rather than spending quality time with the babies in their care. This results in young babies sitting alone on the floor with insufficient staff being directly with them to support their learning through play. The remainder of the staff then become over stretched trying to pacify babies when they become distressed. This means staff are unable to give babies the reassurance and cuddles they need. Consequently, this significantly affects babies' development as they are not emotionally secure and confident to explore their surroundings and learn through play. This has a negative impact on the developmental progress children make. Babies who are

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who attend

able to move around independently enjoy exploring the environment. They have opportunities to practise their early physical skills as they crawl or walk around the room. They enjoy practising their climbing skills as they venture carefully up the small steps and use the slide.

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who attend

Children who learn English as an additional language do not receive good support, particularly during their settling-in period. Staff do not encourage and explain to new parents the importance of having key words in the children's home languages to help their communication and support them in settling in well. There are satisfactory systems to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Some staff are employed to give particular support to individual children to promote their inclusion and personal learning needs.

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who attend

The provision for pre-school children is more effective. Older children are provided with a stimulating and exciting environment which helps them to make sound progress in their development. Staff have developed suitable planning methods which take into account each child's needs and interests well. Observation and assessment methods are well developed and identify children's achievements and their next steps of learning. Staff set up the ground floor nursery rooms to ensure there is a broad range of interesting activities which promote all areas of learning. After saying good-bye to their parents and carers on arrival at the nursery, older children explore the environment and settle down to their choice of play. Children love to wave goodbye at the 'waving window' as part of their daily routine. They can also choose other activities, as many resources are easily accessible and this supports children's emerging independence and their readiness for school.

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who attend

Staff support older children's communication and language soundly. They ask questions to make the children think and extend their vocabulary. Pre-school children enjoy their daily group times where they sing their hello song and talk about the days of the week and what the weather is like. Staff working in the pre-school room have developed some positive links with a number of schools to help prepare children for starting school. Staff encourage children to be ready for moving on to school by encouraging children to listen attentively and manage their personal needs well. As a result, older children are gaining the skills they need to be ready for school or their next stage of learning.

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

The nursery has a key-person system in place but this is not effective. Not all staff fully understand the purpose and importance of their role in meeting children's needs. Therefore, this is not fully embedded into everyday practice. This is particularly noticeable for new children settling into the nursery, and results in some children being upset and quite distressed at times. Staff fail to recognise the importance of emotional attachment for the babies and very young children. Consequently, staff do not plan quality and meaningful times with their new key children to develop a secure and trusting relationship. As a result, a number of young children show signs of distress during the day, crying often and generally being unhappy. In addition, staff lack knowledge of suitable techniques for settling babies for their sleep and the importance of the key person in comforting their key child at this special time. This results in a number of babies being placed in their cots at

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

the same time and all crying for attention and comfort from one member of staff. Consequently, the support for the younger children's well-being is poor.

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

Older children have formed some positive friendships and play well together. They show kindness to each other and understand about taking turns. Older children demonstrate patience with younger children when playing outside. They involve them in their play, for example by showing them how to water the plants. Staff manage children's behaviour well and use positive strategies to deal with any minor issues that may occur to help children learn about expectations.

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

Staff understand children's individual health and dietary needs as these are clearly recorded. Children learn about healthy lifestyles and follow suitable hygiene practices as they take responsibility for washing their hands appropriately throughout the day. Staff attend to the younger children's hygiene needs throughout the day to support their health. They change nappies regularly and clean babies' hands and faces appropriately before and after meals to reduce risks of cross infection. Children are provided with a healthy and nutritious meal cooked by the nursery chef during the day. Older children develop independence and self-help skills well because they serve their own lunch; they choose which snack they would like and pour their own drinks.

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

The nursery premises are comfortable and have ample space for children to move around in. Staff conduct daily checks of the premises and sound risk assessment procedures are in place to identify any hazards in the environment to help children stay safe. The nursery has effective security systems in place and any visitors need to ring the doorbell and show their identification before entering the premises. In addition, the nursery operates a closed-circuit television security system throughout the nursery. These procedures help to keep children safe. However, these systems have not been effective in helping the management team recognise the weaker provision available for babies.

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provision

This inspection took place following a concern reported to Ofsted. The nature of the concern related to the staffing ratios not being met; poor hygiene practices; inappropriate methods for putting children to sleep; staff handling children roughly and general poor practice. In addition, a second separate concern was reported to Ofsted regarding children's observations not being completed and that staff move children to different rooms to meet staffing requirements.

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provision

This inspection has found that the provider was aware of the first complaint and had investigated the concern adequately. As a result of the provider's investigation a member of staff was dismissed. It was found that staff had used inappropriate methods when putting children to sleep as they placed blankets over the children's heads and a comforter had been put around a child's neck to prevent it getting lost whilst they slept. This put the child's safety at risk. Staff were not found to be rough in their handling of children. However, the provider identified from watching the closed-circuit television that staff had picked up children from behind before placing them into the ball pool, without the child being able to see them. This practice does not support children's welfare appropriately.

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provision

The inspection has found that hygiene methods are suitable in promoting children's health and that staff use appropriate individual face cloths when cleaning children's faces. Children's developmental files are completed on a regular basis and no evidence has been found that children move rooms to meet the staff ratio requirements. Each room is satisfactorily staffed with the correct minimum ratio of qualified staff. However, staff are not well deployed to meet children's needs. The nursery has suitable contingency plans in place to cover for any staff absences using qualified bank staff or senior managers.

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provision

The leadership and management of the nursery are currently ineffective, which has a significant impact on children's learning and development and welfare. The manager has a system in place for performance management to monitor staff and provide support for their further professional development. However, the system is ineffective and weak. For example, the management team were unaware of the poor practice by staff in some rooms, particularly in the baby room. Although the closed-circuit television is operational in the office, the management team only became aware of staff practice issues when they watched footage for themselves. This means the procedures for monitoring staff performance and the quality of provision are not good enough.

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provision

There are some inconsistencies in staff's understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, and the learning and development requirements. In particular, although there is a key-person system in place, this is ineffective. Staff do not understand their role in supporting new children to settle. They do not work sensitively with the parents to help develop secure attachments with their key children. This has a negative impact on children's well-being. Self-evaluation systems are in place, but they are ineffective as they do not identify the weaknesses of the setting.

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provision

Robust recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to check the suitability of all adults who work with children in the nursery. Staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of what to do if they have any concerns about a child's welfare. They understand how to make a referral if they need to protect a child's welfare. There are relevant systems in place to ensure the safe use of mobile phones and cameras. This contributes to the protection of children. Relationships with parents and carers are satisfactory. Communication is through daily verbal feedback and the use of daily sheets for the younger children. Most parents speak positively about the nursery, although some parents have some concerns about the amount of staff changes which have occurred over the past months. They comment that this can affect the completion of observations of their children's progress during these changes. Parents are provided with a range of information to help ensure they are

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provision

informed about how the nursery operates. The staff keep parents informed about their child's progress, achievements and daily experiences so they are involved in their child's development. Regular newsletters provide useful information and give ideas of how parents can get involved in their child's learning 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 EY460544 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 972263 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 72 Number of children on roll 146 Name of provider Positive Steps Children's Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 09/09/2013 Telephone number 07932 395668

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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

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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