Bright Horizons Harpenden Luton Road Day Nursery and Preschool

Inspection of Bright Horizons Harpenden Luton Road Day Nursery and Preschool 53 Luton Road, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2UE

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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The provision is outstanding

Children thrive in the pre-school and nursery. Their huge enthusiasm for exploring and experimenting helps them quickly acquire new skills and knowledge, assisting their rapid development. Children predict which dinosaur eggs, made from ice, will melt first. Throughout the day, they return to the trays located both inside and outside to compare the differences. They are eager to locate the tiny dinosaur figures frozen into the ice. Children use their wide vocabularies to explain their thought processes to the highly attentive staff, demonstrating their ability to build on what they already know to help consolidate and expand their understanding even more.

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The provision is outstanding

Babies follow their fascination to post objects in a variety of ways, helping them experience different textures, size, shape and space. They confidently explore the stimulating environment that staff adapt to accommodate babies' developing interests and preferences. Babies follow the established sleep and feeding routines parents use at home. This continuity helps babies quickly settle and feel extremely safe in the nursery.

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The provision is outstanding

Very young children take the increasing amount of choice and independence given to them in their stride. They recognise their pictures on their personal placemats and choose where they would like to sit for snacks and mealtimes. Children select small bags that contain props to use while they join in traditional songs and rhymes that staff enthusiastically sing. The choices children make help them to feel like highly valued members of the nursery, which contributes to their growing self- confidence.

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need to do better?

n Providers and managers have exceptionally high expectations of children and staff. They use a variety of ways to help ensure that all staff are supported in their roles to provide tremendously high-quality care and education. Staff respond positively to children's evolving interests, adding challenges and new opportunities for children to build on what they already know and can do. n Managers and room leaders closely monitor the progress children make. They quickly identify when children need additional support, including the most able children. This helps to ensure that children remain engaged through meaningful and suitably challenging activities. Staff work closely with schools that children will be moving on to, helping to ensure the methods to support children's passion for early reading, writing and mathematics are consistent with the approaches they will experience in their future education.

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need to do better?

n The key-person system is highly effective. Each child is allocated two named members of staff, helping to ensure that they and their parents have a key

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need to do better?

Preschool 30 January 2020 person to identify and communicate with throughout the day. Transitions to new group rooms are exceptionally well planned. Children spend increasingly longer periods of time in their new group before they finally move. Detailed information about children's likes, needs and progress is shared by the previous key persons and parents, helping to ensure that the focused education and care routines continue. n The well-qualified team of staff embrace opportunities to extend their own knowledge and understanding. Staff share their new knowledge during staff and team meetings, helping others to benefit from the new ideas and practices. This helps drive the excellent quality of education further forward. n Providers and managers continually evaluate the quality of care and education. They value feedback from parents and other professionals, and swiftly put any actions to improve or adapt in place. When considering significant changes, such

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need to do better?

as the recent relocation of the pre-school group, managers and staff gather focused information to help ensure changes have a beneficial and positive impact on children's development and well-being. n From a very early age, children learn to take small, age-appropriate risks and responsibilities to help keep themselves safe. A familiar mascot helps them to identify activities and equipment that may pose a risk, supporting children to remember to take time to recall what they understand and know about the situation. Staff remind young children how to handle and use scissors safely, while older children explain to others why water that has been splashed on the floor could cause an accident. As a result, children play an active role in assessing and helping to reducing risks. n Children behave exceptionally well. They confidently negotiate ways to overcome minor confrontations, such as using timers to promote sharing and

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need to do better?

turn taking. Children respect and listen to staff, who are consistently excellent role models.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know how to identify and report concerns they may have about children's welfare. They understand their responsibilities to keep children safe and confidently follow the robust policies and procedures providers have put in place. The manager supports providers to select and recruit the most suitable staff to work in the pre- school and nursery. Regular safeguarding training is undertaken through online and face-to-face courses. The manager, who holds one of the positions of safeguarding leadership, keeps herself and staff updated with any significant changes in the local community that may cause harm to children. As a result, staff remain vigilant to potential signs of abuse from extreme radical views.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY312940 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 10127273 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 0 to 4 Total number of places 110 Number of children on roll 124 Name of registered person Asquith Nurseries Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01582 712361 Date of previous inspection 18 June 2013

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Information about this early years setting

Bright Horizons Harpenden Luton Road Day Nursery and Preschool registered in 2005. The nursery employs 33 members of childcare staff. Of these, 24 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector viewed activities inside the group rooms and outside in the gardens. She spoke to staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection. n The manager and the inspector completed a joint observation. n The inspector held meetings with a representative from the provider's senior team and the manager. She looked at documents, including evidence of the suitability of staff and records of children's accidents. n The inspector discussed children's progress with staff and found out how staff manage risks and hazards. n The inspector spoke to a small number of parents. She took their views into consideration, along with those who had sent emails.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

Preschool 30 January 2020 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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