Banana Moon Day Nursery St. Albans

Banana Moon Day Nursery St. Albans Prime House, 14 Porters Wood, ST. ALBANS, Hertfordshire AL3 6PQ

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Inspection date 19 February 2019 Previous inspection date Not applicable

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Not applicable Effectiveness of leadership and management Good 2 Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2 Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2 Outcomes for children Good 2

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This provision is good

n The new team of staff working with the children at this nursery are enthusiastic and genuinely passionate about their roles. Their interaction with the children is nurturing. n Children enjoy a good range of activities that are planned to meet their interests and learning needs. Staff offer older and/or most-able children challenge in their learning, which means that these children remain engaged and interested. n Children make good progress from their starting points. Older children demonstrate that they are ready for school when the time comes; they are articulate, can write simple words and have built good friendships with each other. n Key persons know their children well and parents have been informed when the key person has changed. This helps parents to develop a good working relationship with the key persons who care for their children. It also helps children to feel confident and to enjoy what the nursery has to offer.

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This provision is good

n The manager is very new to her post. She has a clear vision for the nursery and ideas about how to develop the provision. Staff feel well supported as this working partnership with the manager grows and develops. n Staff are deployed effectively to ensure that children are appropriately supervised indoors and when playing outside. The nursery is appropriately maintained and areas, such as nappy changing stations and toilets are clean and hygienic. n Partnership working with other providers is underdeveloped. This does not help promote a consistent learning experience for those children who spend time in more than one setting. n On occasions, some staff interrupt young children to do routine tasks when children are highly engaged in activities of their choosing. This has an impact on the flow of play and prevents children finishing their play to their own satisfaction. n Due to staff changes, supervision has yet to be embedded as a tool for driving the

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This provision is good

quality of the provision to the highest level.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

n re-embed the use of staff supervision to drive the quality of the provision to the highest level n ensure that staff consistently promote younger children's highest levels of engagement in activities of their choosing and enable them to finish these activities to their own satisfaction n develop partnerships with other providers when children attend more than one provision, so that a consistent learning experience is promoted.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

Inspection activities n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector spoke with staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection. n The inspector held a meeting with the nursery manager, a director and members of the quality improvement team. She looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery. n The inspector spoke with a parent during the inspection and took account of written reviews of the nursery provision by parents.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Safeguarding is effective. Staff are fully aware of their responsibility to protect children from potential harm or abuse. They understand who to go to with any concerns and the procedures that should be followed. New staff are well qualified and demonstrate through their knowledge and practice that they are adept at working with young children and suitable for their roles. Staff use a variety of methods to communicate and share information with parents. This means that parents are aware of their children's daily routines and progress in their development. The nursery has an inclusive admissions policy and suitably meets the needs of all children they care for. Ratios of staff to children are maintained at all times and when numbers of children are low, groups successfully merge together. Children are kept safe and staff assess risks well to ensure that hazards to children are minimised. Complaints are responded to and appropriate

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

written records are maintained where required. Management and the quality improvement team monitor the progress made by specific groups of children. Staff are also given ownership of this information so that they can identify where improvements in provision, learning opportunities or resources are required. This helps to ensure that all children make the progress that they are capable of.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Assessment of children's learning and achievements is accurate, and the quality of teaching is good. Staff know children's interests and plan or adapt activities to promote these. For example, staff choose books that they know are children's favourites, to promote their next steps in learning to learn simple words. Older children show much skill as they write three-letter words independently while sounding them out, and then write further words that rhyme with the first. Staff know when to add challenge to support children to think further. Babies show that they understand simple instructions as they lift their feet and tilt their bodies when staff ask, 'shall I push you in?' when sitting at the table for their snack. Children enjoy finding magnetic letters in shaving foam and pretend to have a white beard 'like daddy'. Staff get involved and prompt children to think. For example, children comment that the foam 'smells like peaches' and

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children behave well. They have respect for each other and those caring for them. Staff praise children regularly and as a result, children demonstrate pride in their achievements. For example, children initiate a cuddle with their key person when she tells them 'what brilliant writing'. Children enjoy nutritious meals and snacks, which promotes their good health. Any accidents that happen are dealt with and recorded appropriately. Children develop an understanding of risk as they explore their environment. For example, they learn to balance on a bench and jump on stepping stones.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children develop the key skills that they require for the next step in their learning and school when the time comes. All children develop the confidence to explore and demonstrate the curiosity to learn. They are confident, happy to talk about what they are doing and persevere to get things right.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY548571 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 10094874 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 77 Number of children on roll 44 Name of registered person Blooming Kids Nursery Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 07984499360

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reference number

Banana Moon Day Nursery St. Albans registered in October 2017. The nursery employs 10 members of childcare staff. Of these, seven hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, one holds a qualification at level 4 and two hold a qualification at level 2. The nursery also employs a chef. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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reference number

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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procedures 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 . 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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, safeguarding and child protection.

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