Brightsparks Day Nursery

Brightsparks Day Nursery Oasis Academy Coulsdon, Homefield Road, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 1ES

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/11/2014 09/09/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Systems for observation and assessment inform comprehensive plans for indoors and outdoors so all children make extremely good progress from their starting points.  Staff create a nurturing environment where all children feel a very strong sense of belonging.  Staff have extensive knowledge of how children learn, which allows them to plan an exceptional range of experiences that promote children's interests and imagination.  Staff are highly effective in engaging with parents to support their children's care, learning and development in the setting and at home.  Self-evaluation is highly impressive and regularly identifies the strengths and areas for improvement.  Leadership is highly effective in monitoring staff practice that impacts on the children's outcomes for example, peer observations and supervision.

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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 carried out observations indoors and outdoors and invited the manager to carry out a joint observation.  The inspector viewed several learning journals and spoke to staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed care routines; for example meal and snack times, hand- washing and nappy-changing procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector scrutinised policies and procedures including the safeguarding policy, complaints procedure and the nursery's self-evaluation.  The inspector spoke with several parents, taking account of their views.

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Information about the setting

Brightsparks Day Nursery registered in 2004, and re-registered in 2009 when it moved to its current location. The nursery is one of four settings within the Brightsparks group owned by the same provider. The nursery operates from a single-storey, purpose-built building in the grounds of the Oasis Academy in Coulsdon, which is within the London Borough of Croydon. There is a fully enclosed area for outdoor play. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and has 60 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery is open each weekday all year round and sessions are from 7.45am to 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery employs 13 members of staff who work full and part time, including a cook. Of these, nine members of staff hold a relevant qualification at level 3 and one member of staff has a qualification at level 4. The manager has a Foundation Degree in Early Years and Education, a level 5 qualification.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two-, three- and four-years-old. The nursery has strong links with the local children's centre.

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

 enhance the outdoor area so resources are more accessible to children all year round to support their learning through play.

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who attend

Staff keep meticulous development records of children's learning, completing a range of observations and assessments of children to identify the next steps in their learning. This means staff have extensive knowledge of how young children learn and are progressing. This allows them to plan an exceptional range of imaginative experiences across the day to help children make extremely good progress in all areas of learning. Plans are exemplary and demonstrate staff's comprehensive understanding of each child's learning needs. Staff and parents collaborate on planning topics, mini topics of interest, and staff use the resources in the environment purposefully to meet children's individual needs indoors and outdoors. This means staff are motivated in their work and have high expectations of what children can achieve. Staff track children's progress from their starting points to ensure no child falls behind. Children with special educational needs

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who attend

and/or disabilities, and those children learning English as an additional language make excellent progress. Staff work with parents and other professionals to develop individual educational programmes to support children's learning and development exceedingly well. Staff complete the progress checks for two year-old children, sharing these with parents and the health visitor to help to identify if children are progressing towards their expected levels of development.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is excellent and consistent across the rooms. Staff actively involve themselves in children's play and promote children's communication and language very effectively. During the inspection, staff modelled language during a dolls' tea party and provided a narrative for children about what they were doing. This involved engaging young children in make-believe play, demonstrating pouring out the tea and feeding the dolls, building on what the children already knew. Children enjoyed rhymes and showed they were listening by trying to join in the actions and words. Children were extremely engaged and happy in their play and learning. Staff discussed with children at circle time about going in a space rocket and landing on the moon. They consolidated and extended the children's learning, exploring what they have learned through role play. The children took part actively in purposeful adult-initiated focused activities. Staff helped children to

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who attend

learn new words for example, 'astronaut' and 'moon buggy'. Staff introduced resources relating to a favourite children's television programme at home to build on the children's knowledge and experiences in a fun way. Children were developing their imagination and building stories around toys. Staff read to children and used skilful questioning to find out about what children knew, for example, 'What do we put on top of a Christmas tree'? This means children are learning from each other about the different possibilities.

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who attend

Children experience and enjoy using an abundant range of sensory resources, for example sensory blocks, water, sand, messy play, and they explore a range of natural objects in a treasure basket. This means babies and young children are learning about the properties of objects and materials to gain an awareness of shape, space and measure. Staff promote mathematical language asking children if the stone is 'big' and 'heavy'. Children show interest in toys with buttons and how to operate them. They enjoy the cause and effect of their actions seeing the buttons light up and listen to the sounds.

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who attend

During the inspection, children enjoyed a construction activity joining some building bricks together. They used their imagination and resource very creatively to make links to what they knew. Staff followed children's interests playing I-spy and used open questioning extremely well to promote memory and recall of the places and events that interest children. Staff begin to support children's basic reading and writing skills through using the letters and sounds programme, self-registration and making marks on paper. Children write and sound out the letters in their name while they enjoy a painting activity. Literacy skills are higher than expected and the children have acquired the key skills needed for the next steps in their learning, including school.

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who attend

Children have been discussing Remembrance Day and painting poppies. This has led to a mini topic learning about the Royal family. Children learn about other people and difference though playing with a wide range of resources and learning experiences. These include dolls, puzzles, books, role-play equipment and talking about different hair, celebrating different events and religious festivals.

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who attend

There are ample opportunities for children to participate in a range of physical and social activities outdoors, though staff do not always make a wide range of resources accessible to children all year round. During the inspection, staff were innovative and lead children in a game of What's the time Mr Wolf, to teach counting skills and group play. Children laughed and ran excitedly in the garden when the wolf chased them. The children enjoyed singing nursery rhymes outside and joined hands in a large circle moving round to different songs. This means children make positive relationships with the other children and adults. Staff set challenges for children to ride around the cones on their pedal bikes. This enabled children to practise and extend their co-ordination and balance skills.

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who attend

Children have excellent opportunities to make marks with chalks and brushes dipped in small buckets of water, practising their early literacy skills on a large scale. They explore the natural world by collecting leaves for an autumn activity. Children also grow vegetables and strawberries in the garden to learn about where food comes from through excellent first-hand experiences. Staff hang pictures of insects found in the garden on the fence and display a number line on different bugs. This means children see print in the environment and learn the names of some living things. Management have also provided opportunities for children to observe some young chicks brought into the nursery. Staff take young children out into the garden and in the local community. Children therefore are becoming very familiar with the world around them.

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

Staff provide an exceptionally warm and welcoming environment where children settle quickly. This is supported by the extremely positive relationships staff have with parents and the highly effective methods of communication to support home learning. For example, staff share a contact book, next steps for children's learning and weekly newsletters to help them to meet children's individual needs. Children form excellent bonds with their key person who supports their emotional well-being and sense of belonging. Children have their own tray for transitional objects and comforters from home, which contributes to their self-worth and feelings of belonging.

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

The teaching and learning environment in each of the rooms is awe inspiring and highly stimulating to children, covering the seven areas of learning. Staff organise the environment extremely well. Consequently, children can exercise choice over their activities and become deeply involved in their play. The staff present activities to children in a very attractive and appealing way that motivates children to join in and make connections in their learning. Resources on the low shelves are organised in wicker baskets that are labelled with pictures and words. This encourages children to be independent in selecting and making choices about what they want to play with, gaining ownership over their own learning through play. Routines are calm and well planned, encompassing a balance of adult-led and child-initiated play where individual children can flourish. This is evident through the vibrant displays of children's work around the nursery

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

and hanging from the ceiling. Staff in the baby room provide an exceptionally nurturing environment in which babies have plenty of space to play and explore. Photographs of the children's families are displayed on the walls. This helps children settle and staff talk to children about special people to extend connections for children between home and the nursery. Staff have fully embedded children's understanding of the importance of a healthy diet, physical exercise and managing their own care routines. Children put their own tissues in the bin and wash their hands before meal times. Staff provide a snack bar where children can choose from a wide variety of fruits. Water and milk are made readily available and staff help children pour their drinks so each child gains strong independence skills useful at school. Meals are prepared on site and are healthy and nutritious with plenty of vegetables. Staff take account of parents' wishes for their children's dietary requirements

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

to meet each child's needs. The staff sit with children during meal times and children talk about people they know and events at home. Staff actively promote children's communication and language skills, developing children's confidence to speak in social situations. Staff discuss with parents children's toileting needs and safe procedures are followed when changing young children's nappies.

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

Children's behaviour is exceptional. This is because children are highly motivated during their play and extremely well supported by adults. Staff set clear boundaries, having appropriate expectations for children's behaviour. They remind young children occasionally they have to take turns and share the toys and sometimes use a sand timer to help manage this. Staff give children responsibilities during daily routines, such as taking turns to put out the place mats and lay the table. This means children are learning to understand the rules for being together while developing self-help skills. Staff role model saying 'please' or 'thank you' so the children develop very good social skills.

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

Staff provide an excellent level of support to prepare children for their transitions across the nursery and to school. They spend time with their key children in the new room until children settle. They talk to children, use books and staff meet with the reception teachers from the local schools at the local children's centre. This means children become emotionally prepared for the next steps in their learning. Staff write a summary report for children leaving the setting so information about their care, learning and development is shared with the next setting to aid the settling-in process.

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provision

Leadership and management have an excellent understanding and knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager organises staff meetings to monitor the delivery of the educational programmes. Staff are highly effective in informing her about children's individual progress. When appropriate, they actively seek the support of external agencies so children rapidly receive any additional support they need. Regular observations of her staff help the manager to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching during planned activities. Consequently, the quality of teaching is consistent and of a very high quality across the different aspects of the session.

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provision

Management and staff have an excellent understanding of the safeguarding policy and procedure to protect children's welfare. Staff understand what they should if they have any concerns about children in their care. This information is contained in the policies, which are shared with parents detailing the staff's duty of care to all children. The safeguarding policy also covers allegations against adults and the use of mobile phones. The nursery has extremely robust systems in place to ensure the safe recruitment of suitable and qualified adults to work with the children. The adult-to-child ratios across the nursery are maintained extremely effectively. The manager monitors records for children's medication and minor accidents, robustly following the nursery's policies and procedures. Staff demonstrate a very high priority in minimising risks, carrying out daily risk assessment checks of the rooms and outdoor areas. Therefore they promote children's

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provision

Leadership and staff have developed excellent partnerships with parents and other professionals working with children. Parents are extremely positive about the care and education their children receive; they are very pleased with how much staff involve them in their children's learning. Parents receive a parent pack when they are new to the nursery and attend open evenings twice a year. They are able to express their views verbally, using a parent questionnaire or suggestion box. Parents comment that the nursery is 'welcoming and friendly with excellent enthusiastic staff'. Children are very happy and talk to their parents about the various activities they have enjoyed. The partnerships with the local children's centre and a selection of feeder schools are also extremely well established.

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provision

Leadership is innovative, demonstrating an exceptional sense of community in raising money at a summer charity event for a children's charity. Parents have also donated food stuffs for Harvest festival to give away to The Salvation Army. Children have discussed Remembrance Day with staff and made red poppies. This means children are learning to become a good citizen and think of others beside themselves.

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provision

The manager is highly reflective of the nursery's practices and continually evaluates the quality and standard of the provision. She provides extensive evidence which is exemplary, demonstrating very clearly how the nursery is improving, based on the views of children, parents and staff. This includes producing regular work plans for each room, writing weekly newsletters, keeping records of minutes from staff meetings and parent questionnaires. In pursuit of excellence, to maintain the highest levels of achievement in all of the nursery's activities, she carries out peer observations on staff. The manager also delivers very high quality professional supervision that has a clear impact on the staff's practice. Staff work extremely well together and are exceptional role models to the children. All previous recommendations from inspection have been fully completed, demonstrating a very clear ability to improve and develop the provision provided. The

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provision

manager sources training for staff so children's identified needs are targeted, for example Makaton sign language, behaviour management and discovery play for the under two's. This means that outcomes for children continue to improve significantly.

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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 EY388257 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 830116 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 60 Name of provider Emma Jane Jones Date of previous inspection 09/09/2009 Telephone number 01737 552646

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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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