The Kiddies Academy

The Kiddies Academy St. Mary & All Saints C of E Primary School, Maxwell Road, BEACONSFIELD, Buckinghamshire, HP9 1RG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 31/10/2014 25/06/2012

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Children make good progress given their initial abilities on entry as the quality of the teaching is good. Staff motivate children to learn through stimulating play activities.  The management and staff understand their roles and responsibilities to ensure that children are safeguarded and they are very committed to continually developing the provision for the benefit of the children.  The staff are successful in encouraging an effective partnership with parents and engaging them in their children's development and learning.  Children are happy and very secure in their relationships with the staff. Therefore, they settle easily and show that they feel very safe and secure in their care.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Managers and staff in the older children's rooms have not fully embedded the system of reviewing assessments of children's progress to fully support the otherwise very good practice that is sustained throughout the nursery.  On occasions, staff do not always prepare for adult-led activities and the mealtime routines, to help minimum any delay, and to ensure that children remain fully engaged in their learning.

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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 classrooms, the outside learning environment and talked with the staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined a range of documentation, including evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, a sample of children's records, development plans and staff records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the registered provider and the manager and completed some joint observations with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

The Kiddies Academy registered in 2012. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The Kiddies Academy operates from rooms in St. Mary and All Saints Church of England Primary School in Beaconsfield. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Nursery Schools Ltd. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 10 members of childcare staff, of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, one member of staff is qualified to level 5 and the manager holds a qualification at level 6. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Nursery sessions are from 8am until 6pm. The nursery provides before school and after- school care and during school holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 67 children on roll in the early years age group. The provider is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two-, three- and four years. The nursery supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 enhance the already high-quality learning experiences provided for all children, by scrutinising more closely the tracking processes, to challenge individual children's learning and development further

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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, snack and the preparation of activities, so staff use these times to maximise potential learning opportunities and further promote children's independence, personal and social skills.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements and they effectively support children's progress. They promote children's language and communication skilfully. Babies and young children show much joy as they join in the songs and rhymes. Staff sing to them while rocking them on the see- saws outdoors. Staff speak clearly and sensitively repeat back to the children the correct pronunciation of their words in order to model appropriate speech patterns. Staff learn a few words in children's home language. They use signs, gestures and pictures to help children understand and feel confident in their surroundings. This supports children with special educational needs and or disabilities, and those for whom English is an additional language. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development considering their initial learning points and capabilities on entry.

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who attend

Staff know that children learn best through play and first-hand experiences. They skilfully support children to participate in activities and motivate them to learn. For example, staff encourage children to take turns as they begin to use tools. Children thoroughly enjoyed mixing a variety of dried foods with water to make pretend dinners. Staff effectively supported children to think what will happen next if they poured water into a colander. They encouraged children to discuss how much potato to take so that there was enough for their friends to have a piece. This gives children valuable opportunities to use mathematical language and compare quantities. Staff excite babies and young children's interest when they introduced a sensory activity of mixing cornflour and water to make gloop. Babies observed and felt the changes with their hands and independently added water and then food colouring. Young children concentrated for a long period time

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who attend

exploring the gloop with various utensils and their hands. There was much fun and laughter as they splashed and occasionally tasted the mixture. Staff are sensitive to the children's engagement ensuring all children can see and take part in activities outdoors. They quickly realised that the water tray was too high for the younger children to access and they brought out equipment that could be explored at floor level. These good teaching strategies help children to be keen and ready for the next stage of their learning and eventually for school.

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who attend

Staff thoroughly observe and assess children's development and use this information to make detailed plans to aid children's continuing progress. However, on occasions, in the older age room, there is less scrutinising of children's progress. Although gaps in children's learning are recognised, these are yet to be fully targeted with highly effective activities. There are strong partnerships with parents who are mostly very well informed about their children's learning and progress. Parents are invited to regular reporting sessions with their child's key person. They receive an extensive range of useful information about their child's day both verbally and in the daily records. Staff give details of children's activities through regular consultation meetings and in the summary assessments. Parents regularly take home their child's learning journals to encourage them to share information on their child's learning and development with the nursery. This good two-way flow of information

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who attend

helps to support children's individual needs and their learning at home.

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

Children are happy and eager to attend the nursery. Parents and children have built good relationships with their key person. Staff discuss with parents how their children are settling in and establish ways of responding to young children's emotions. For example, staff encourage parents to bring children's comforters from home. Children are very well supported for their move to another room within the nursery. For example, staff share information from each child's parents, previous key person and share records that are kept continually since the children started at the nursery. This promotes an effective continuity of care and education, which helps children move onto the next room and eventually to school.

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

Staff are good role models helping children to behave well. They are respectful to children by saying and by sensitively reminding the children to say please and thank you. Staff encourage children to consider the feeling of their friends. They successfully encourage children to negotiate their turn with the ladles during their role-play and to say sorry if they have accidentally hurt a friend. This helps children to be emotionally ready for the next stage of their learning. Children enjoy occasional visits from a pet dog belonging to a member of staff. They learn to gently stroke the dog and respect living things.

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

The environment is well organised. Children have daily access to the outdoor area. There is a small garden area specifically for babies and a covered area so children can have access to fresh air in all weathers. Children gain control over their bodies as they learn new skills such as riding a tricycle. They learn to put on their boots independently as they go into the digging area. Children see their names displayed on their pegs and they have a named drawer for their personal belongings. This helps children to feel welcome and develop a strong sense of belonging. Staff are well deployed to ensure children are busy in their learning. They sit closely beside a children to help them use a knife to cut into a raw potato safely and can learn about taking acceptable risks. Staff have valuable conversations with children and sing to them when they are sitting at the table. However, on occasions, staff do not always have resources prepared in advance for snack time,

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

lunch time and some activities. Therefore, some children are not fully occupied and find it difficult to wait. Consequently, at times some children's interest in purposeful play is not maintained.

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

All children are learning about a healthy lifestyle. Staff sensitively encourage children to become competent and independent in their self-care skills. They work closely with the parents to introduce toilet training with the young children. Children can choose for themselves whether to use the potty or toilet. Staff are gentle and ensure children are comfortable and ready when changing nappies. Children are learning about healthy eating as staff provide nutritious snacks. Parents are able to order a hot meal for their children's lunch or bring a packed lunch. Staff encourage children to eat the savoury items first. This ensures that children have a balanced meal and helps children learn about the social conventions of mealtimes.

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provision

The staff and management team fully understand their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Effective arrangements are in place to safeguard children and promote their welfare. All staff have comprehensive information on child protection, including details of the whistle-blowing procedure. This reinforces the commitment by staff to ensure children are safe and well cared for. The management have effective systems in place to provide an ongoing programme for updating training for staff on safeguarding. In addition, planned team meetings provide staff with opportunities to discuss any issues relating to safeguarding as well as staff quizzes, which are organised for the next follow-up meeting to test their knowledge of safeguarding. This ensures that staff understand their responsibilities towards the children in the nursery and know what steps to take if they have concerns

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provision

Robust recruitment procedures are in place to assess that staff are and continue to be suitable to work with children. Effective systems for induction mean that all staff are familiar with the nursery's policies and procedures and they work well in practice. Staff supervise children well and ensure that the environment is safe by completing robust risk assessments and daily checks. These checks identify any hazards, which staff then minimise through the use of effective safety procedures both indoors and outdoors, and during any outings.

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provision

A strong management team strives to motivate staff and sets out a clear vision of their expectations. Staff have successfully addressed the recommendations from the previous inspection. For example, parents are given detailed information on the Early Years Foundation stage, to help continue their children's learning at home. The management team regularly discuss improvements. They have assigned well-qualified and experienced staff members to mentor and support other less experienced staff as part of their continuous professional development. This has helped staff grow in confidence and impacts positively on children's achievements. Staff are committed to self-evaluation and reflective practice. They are eager to improve their knowledge and skills. Management monitor teaching and learning effectively to quickly identify children's individual development needs and to help minimise any underachievement. This includes the

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provision

completion of the progress checks for two-years-old children and offering additional support, to close gaps in children's learning.

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provision

Staff build strong and effective relationships with other professionals. This ensures that appropriate interventions are secured for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities so that children and their families receive very good support. Staff have good links with feeder schools, which promotes good partnership working and aids the smooth transition to the next stage in children's learning. There are high levels of parental regard for the pre-school. Parents state that their children are happy and settled and most are extremely pleased with the progress their children are making in their learning and development.

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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 EY441574 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 824580 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 66 Name of provider Buckinghamshire Nursery Schools Ltd Date of previous inspection 25/06/2012 Telephone number 01494816263

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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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