Bexley Manor Nursery School
visit Ofsted's websiteBexley Manor was inspected by Ofsted in May 2011.
A summary of the inspection report is shown below. The full report may be found on Ofsted's website, here.
OFSTED NURSERY EDUCATION INSPECTION REPORT
Introduction
This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. 'Early years provision' refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.
The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).
The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.
Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration.
Description of the setting
Bexley Manor Nursery School was established by the current head teacher in 1984. It operates from a purpose built detached building in a residential area of Bexley, Kent. There are separate kitchen and toilet facilities. Children have access to three ground floor classrooms which all have exits to secure outdoor play areas. There are disabled access ramps to access the building. The nursery serves families from the local area and the wider community.
The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. They are registered to care for a maximum of 48 children at any one time.
There are currently 105 children aged from two years to four and a half years, on roll. All children fall within the early year's age range. Children aged three and four years receive funding for nursery education.
The nursery opens five days a week, from 8.45am until 12.30pm and again from 12.45pm until 4.15pm term time only. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports 16 children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and four children who speak English as an additional language. There are 15 members of staff who work directly with the children; they all hold recognised early years qualification to National Vocation Qualification level two or above. Additionally, there are two nursery support staff who provide catering and office support.
The overall effectiveness of the early years provision
Overall the quality of the provision is good.
The provider is good at meeting children's needs because all children are treated as individuals and their individual needs are catered for. In some areas the provider is outstanding. Overall, safeguarding, self evaluation and adopting a healthy lifestyle are good. The provider has addressed recommendations from the last inspection and has implemented improvements of her own. This shows that the provider is able to maintain the continuous improvement of the provision well.
What steps need to be taken to improve provision further?
To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:
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practise the emergency evacuation regularly so that all children know how to protect themselves in an emergency and record details of any problems encountered and how they were resolved
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further review the organisation of the various play areas to further encourage children's spontaneous play and choices, both indoors and outdoors.
The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision
The provider organises the provision well. She is aided by her able deputy and other members of her staff team. The staff recruitment and vetting procedures are rigorous and robust as are the staff induction and appraisal programmes. The provider maintains the list of staff's Criminal Record Bureau checks well. Regular risk assessments are carried out on the premises and staff are encouraged to remind children about safety issues. However, not all children have the opportunity to practise the emergency evacuation drill which means they do not learn to keep themselves safe in an emergency. The provider's complaints procedures are displayed for parents.
Overall, children's well being is promoted. The provider has carried out a good evaluation of the provision. She has included the views of staff, parents and children. The evaluation has highlighted improvements which the provider and staff are working on. For example, by providing more low level storage to help children access toys and activities more easily. The provider provides an excellent range of resources for children which are of good quality and suitable for the ages of children using them. For example, the soft flooring in the outdoor play area and the extensive range of equipment for the role play area. There are also some excellent resources available to promote equality and diversity with the children, particularly regarding gender and culture. The children learn about each other's differences and develop excellent attitudes. Over time, the provider has built an excellent reputation with the local authority and other health professionals regarding the provision of services for children with special needs. Other care providers visit the setting to discuss the provision's procedures with the dedicated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). The SENCO has regular meetings in the setting with a wide variety of health professionals who visit the children there. The SENCO makes all staff aware of the current progress of all children receiving additional services by posting updates on the staffroom wall. Children are receiving excellent support.
The provider has an outstanding record for partnership working with local schools and other care settings. She instigates contact with other care provisions when children attend additional settings and has been commended by local schools for the meticulous preparation of children during the transition stages to school. The provider also has excellent relationships with parents. This is mainly due to the provision's open door policy which allow parents to get involved, and the availability of the staff to listen to parent's concerns and act upon them. Children receive excellent consistent care. Finally, parents report that this is an excellent provision which their children love to attend.
The quality and standards of the early years provision and outcomes for children
Children are eager to attend the provision and are keen to talk about themselves and their families. They develop good relationships with their key person through regular key group sessions. Children use good procedures to keep themselves and others safe particularly during their outdoor play sessions. However, due to the layout of the building, children's full choices of play activities are somewhat limited to the timetabled use of the larger indoor play area. The children show they feel safe in the setting through their attitudes and dispositions.
Children are making excellent progress towards the Early Learning Goals. Through excellent promotion of communication, language and literacy most children are easily able to recognise letters and words and some children are able to read simple books. For those children who speak English as an additional language, a wide variety of communication cards are readily available to help them progress. The role play area can become many different venues, such as, a travel agent's or a post office. In the area children use many real items that they would find in their own homes. The children's excellent knowledge of the world around them is promoted through the use of equipment, such as magnifying glasses and binoculars and is carried on into problem solving and reasoning with the use of magnets and a variety of different types of measuring equipment. For example, children used magnets to see what they would attract. They concluded that some metals would stick. They used the magnets at tidy up time to pick up the paperclips. The children are very creative, both in their artwork and with music and games. Staff report that the latest wall friezes of the royal wedding captured the children's imaginations and was fully embraced by them all. Parents were involved in helping their child make a prince or princess costume to wear on the day. The children have timetabled opportunities for play in the large outdoor area and can freely access the small outdoor areas leading from the three classrooms. By using all the activities available to them, children are developing an excellent range of skills for the future. Children's progress is recorded in their development record. Parents are involved in providing the initial information about their child's abilities which enable the key person to plan activities which help the child to feel at home and that they are interested in. These activities lead to further meticulous observations and assessments which help staff identify each child's next steps and to record their achievements. The provider also carries out assessments to help her monitor the record keeping procedures. Parents receive a written report on their child's progress at the end of each term. The records clearly show children are making excellent progress.
Children use good procedures for self care and clearly understand why. For example, they can explain about germs and when they need to wash their hands. The younger children can use the sequence pictures displayed in the toilets as reminders. Children are happy to be helpers and servers at snack time when they all sit together to eat and chat. Individual dietary needs are catered for. However, children could be more involved in food preparation. They have regular cooking sessions which give them time to talk about where different foods come from. They plant and grow vegetables in pots in the garden. They engage in a variety of outdoor play activities, such as, using the parachute. This encourages team working. Staff promote children's understanding of how their bodies work and the effects of physical exercise. The older children can explain that they need to drink lots of water in hot weather. Children are developing a good healthy lifestyle at the setting. Children introduce each other to visitors and show their knowledge of each others backgrounds. Children are making a good contribution to the setting through the procedures used by the staff's and parents combined efforts in recording children's views. Monitoring sheets are issued to parents with details of a recent activity on them. Parents discuss the activity with their children at home to gauge their child's enjoyment level and understanding of any processes involved. They are then assessed by staff and included in the child's development record. In this way children's needs are further acknowledged.
Annex A: record of inspection judgements
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The key inspection judgements and what they mean Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough |
The overall effectiveness of the early years provision
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How well does the setting meet the needs of the children in the Early Years Foundation Stage? |
2 |
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The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement |
2 |
The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision
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The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage |
2 |
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The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement |
2 |
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The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources |
1 |
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The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity |
1 |
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The effectiveness of safeguarding |
2 |
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The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement |
2 |
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The effectiveness of partnerships |
1 |
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The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers |
1 |
The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage
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The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage |
2 |
Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage
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Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage |
2 |
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The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning |
1 |
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The extent to which children feel safe |
2 |
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The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles |
2 |
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The extent to which children make a positive contribution |
2 |
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The extent to which children develop skills for the future |
1 |
Annex B: the Childcare Register
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The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: |
Met |
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The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: |
Met |