Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery

Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery 50 Chapel Street, Billericay, Essex, CM12 9LU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10 May 2016 29 August 2014

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 The management team is new and at an early stage of implementing improvements to bring about positive and sustainable change.  Observations of what children can do are not always captured throughout the day. This minimises the opportunity to challenge children to progress further in their learning.  Not all staff have had supervision. This hinders managers identifying areas for individual development and leaves some staff not feeling valued or supported.  Communication with parents needs to continue to improve to ensure there is a regular two-way flow of accurate information.

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It has the following strengths

 The new manager has worked hard to identify weaknesses in the setting and has prioritised areas for improvement to bring about positive change.  A new behaviour management method is being implemented in the pre-school room which helps children to articulate their feelings and learn to take responsibility for their actions.  Staff are gaining confidence to propose ideas and support new changes to bring about improvements in practice.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

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Due Date

 ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for the supervision, support and coaching of staff. 01/07/2016

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Due Date

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

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Due Date

 use knowledge about children‟s attainment levels to plan challenging experiences for them to enable progression in their learning  provide parents with accurate information about how the setting operates. This should specifically include information about the activities available to the children, the food and drink provided, staffing arrangements, details of children‟s key person and their role, and how parents can support their children at home  continue to evaluate the quality of provision by developing robust self-evaluation to identify areas of weakness, manage positive change and sustain improvement.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during indoor and outdoor play and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector looked at planning, assessment and evaluation documents including children's learning journals to assess how children's progress is monitored and pro- actively supported.  The inspector spoke with the manager, staff and director, they looked at relevant documents including staff files and safeguarding documents.  The inspector spoke to a group of parents and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Following the recent high turnover of staff, the manager has prioritised recruiting a stable team. The volume of change effected staff morale and practice which generated some complaints from parents. However, parents have commented positively on recent changes. The manager is now focussed on maintaining the emerging improvements whilst developing practice in other areas. Policies and procedures are being reviewed and training has been provided for staff. However, because of the lack of supervision for all staff, the effectiveness of the training has not been monitored well to ensure individual practice is secure. The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff are knowledgeable about signs and symptoms of abuse and what action to take should they have concerns. Staff recruitment is robust and appropriate vetting procedures are in place.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

The quality of teaching is variable. Staff are embedding a new process in how they use assessment and planning to support children‟s progress in their learning. This is working well. Interesting and purposeful learning opportunities are accessible to the children indoors and outside. However, staff do not consistently use spontaneous moments to capture observations of what children can do to extend their learning. For example, when an able child demonstrated proudly how he could count to 10, he was praised by staff but told he would learn how to count “to bigger numbers” at school. The manager recognises this hinders children‟s progress and has already implemented a peer-review programme to improve this area of teaching practice. Communication books for younger children provide some liaison with parents about how they can support children‟s learning at home.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Staff are good role models for children and provide an interesting and welcoming environment for them. The consistency of a child's key person has been compromised recently because of the number of staff changes. As such, children and parents are still developing their relationships with staff. Younger children approach staff happily for reassurance and comfort. Pre-school children are learning to understand how their actions affect others. Staff praise and encourage children well which supports their growing self- esteem and confidence. Behaviour is generally good. Children who have special educational needs or disability are supported well. Staff work with partner agencies and parents to develop and review meaningful opportunities to enable children‟s ongoing progress.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Most children are achieving as expected for their age and are developing skills to support the next steps in their learning. Some children could make more rapid progress if more challenging opportunities were available. Children are confident and competent in exploring their environment. They enjoy being independent. For example, they build walls with bricks and cement, and they also plant and water the bedding area in the garden. They are interested in learning and sharing what they know. Older children enjoy each other‟s company. They share their ideas and interests together with enthusiasm.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY412761 Local authority Essex Inspection number 1050680 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 55 Number of children on roll 83 Name of provider MB & SR Limited Date of previous inspection 29 August 2014 Telephone number 01277 624999

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Setting details

Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery was registered in 2010 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a grade 2 listed four-storey building in Billericay, Essex and is owned by a private provider. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 13 members of childcare, all staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round, from 7am until 7pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 56 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds and supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Setting details

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

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Setting details

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Setting details

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Setting details

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