Ferndale Road Day Nursery

Ferndale Road Day Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Ferndale Road Day Nursery

EY100846 Unique Reference Number 19 September 2006 Inspection date Mauvene Burke Inspector

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Ferndale Road Day Nursery

Ground Floor, Exbury House, Ferndale Road, London, SW9 8AZ Setting Address

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E-mail

Natalie Anne Salawa Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Ferndale Day Nursery opened in 2002. It is situated in a ground floor flat in a purpose built block, within a community estate in the Brixton area in the London Borough of Lambeth. The premises comprises of a kitchen, children's dining area, over two year old play room, children's bathroom, baby nappy changing area, office/staff room, staff bathroom, under two year old play room, sleep room and boiler room. There is an enclosed outdoor play area adjacent to the premises. The nursery is open each weekday from 08.00 to 18.00 for 51 weeks of the year.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 33 children aged from 0-5 years on roll. Of these 10 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery currently supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 There are eight members of staff including the manager and a cook. All staff working with the children hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is inadequate. Children are kept healthy through being cared for in a clean environment, with effective measures in place to prevent the spread of infection. Floors, surfaces and sinks are cleaned regularly by the staff, for example, table tops are cleaned after each activity and the floor is mopped after lunch times. At the end of the day staff in the baby unit wash or wipe down toys and equipment and all staff help in cleaning the nursery. Bank holidays are used to give the nursery a "deep clean". Further protective measures are taken in the baby unit as staff and all visitors are asked to remove their shoes before entering. This helps to promote children's health and well being.

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Helping children to be healthy

There are clear procedures in place for dealing with sick children, which helps to minimise the risk of cross infection. There are appropriate systems for recording accidents and medication administered to children. More than half of the staff hold current first aid certificates ensuring that their knowledge is up to date to in order to provide appropriate care to injured children.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are provided with a healthy balanced and nutritious diet. The food is freshly prepared by the nursery cook, who has a clear knowledge of individual children's allergies, dietary needs and preferences. As a result children with allergies are fully protected. Children receive some opportunities to access drinks, mainly with snacks and after lunch, however, water is not always available for free selection throughout the day.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children over two have access to the outdoor play area, which is currently being developed in order to provide children with more opportunities to engage in a wider range of physical activities, however, the planning does not effectively show how outdoor play is catered for. Children under two do not have many opportunities to go into the garden, therefore are not receiving fresh air, they are crawling and learning to stand up through equipment provided.

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Helping children to be healthy

Nursery funded children can march and jump, moving confidently and safely. They show an awareness of space around them for example, when doing their stretching exercises and when moving around the nursery room. There are too few opportunities for children to be involved in well-planned outdoor activities as staff do not include specific areas of learning in their planning. Children are learning about the importance of eating healthily through stories and general discussions. They use a limited range of small equipment such as pencils and paint brushes, but are unable to select these for themselves.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is inadequate. Staff greet children and their parents when they come into the nursery. Children come into the nursery happily and settle quite quickly into pre-organised activities. Those children who find

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 separating from their main carer difficult are quickly reassured and comforted by a member of staff, usually the child's key worker.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Babies are cared for in a safe and secure environment which is equipped with soft furnishing and safe play equipment. Children aged two and over are provided with adequate resources but due to lack of storage and limited space, they are unable to independently select which resources they wish to use as many are stored and stacked on shelves. Children's risk of accidental injury is minimised as the staff are aware of and comply with health and safety requirements, for example, by carrying out daily risk assessments of the premises. However, safety annual checks on fire fighting equipment and electrical and gas appliances have not been completed for some time, therefore children's all round safety is not assured. The current fire evacuation procedure is in the process of being checked out by the fire safety officer to ensure that children's safety is not at risk.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Child protection procedures are in place and staff have a satisfactory knowledge of procedures to follow if they are concerned about a child's welfare. However, the manager has an insecure knowledge and understanding of the procedures to be followed if an allegation is made against a member of staff; this has been omitted from procedures and therefore staff also lack understanding in this area. Furthermore, the manager has not ensured that in her absence her staff are aware of how to implement the policies and procedures and she has yet to attend training to up-date her own understanding of the latest procedures. As a result of this, children's welfare is not fully safeguarded.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is inadequate. Children under two years are based in the baby unit. They receive lots of cuddles and attention and are comforted when they cry. They have a strong bond with the staff that care for them, this increases their sense of well-being. They benefit from routines which are consistent with their experiences at home. Their physical development is promoted within the unit, as staff support them with praise and encouragement as they practice mobility skills. They play imaginatively using all their senses; developing early communication skills as they attract the attention of staff who respond to their sounds, promoting their confidence and self-esteem. They have access to water play and paints and enjoy cause and effect, for example, when they drop toys through holes and when pressing knobs and a sound is produced. Displayed plans link to the Birth to three matters framework, but staff do not show awareness of this, therefore

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

plans are not always followed. Some staff do not clearly understand how recording children's progress and planning activities for young children works to support and improve their experiences and achievements. No planning is made for children under 18 months.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children aged two to three years do not always benefit from a good range of activities. Although children are familiar with the daily routine and can make some choices about their play in the form of table top activities chosen by staff, opportunities provided are limited and do not sufficiently retain children's interests or concentration. This results in children becoming easily bored, such as thumb sucking whilst turning their backs to the table and flit between activities. During a story telling session, staff sit with small groups of children each reading a different story or having a discussion with the children, some children become confused as they cannot

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 concentrate on what is being said as they are disturbed by what is going on in another part of the room. Children not wanting to sleep have to remain in the blue room where children are having a rest until the red room is ready for use. This means that children are often left sitting in the dark whilst looking at books. Children have insufficient opportunities to enjoy and experiment with a wide range of natural and malleable materials such as sand, water and clay, which consequently hinders children's knowledge of new concepts, ideas and tactile sensory experiences.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is inadequate. Children do not experience consistent opportunities to make good progress and extend their learning, because staff have an insecure knowledge of the Foundation Stage. Although staff record activities under each area of learning, not all aspects are covered sufficiently and lack detail. Staff do not use the stepping stones to clearly identify children's achievements and plan the next step in their learning. As a result, children, especially the older children, are not suitably challenged and this as a result hinders their progress. All staff have good relationships with children and have high expectations of their behaviour.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children come in confidently and settle quickly, choosing from the activities set out by staff. They talk easily to their friends and are familiar with the expectations and routines of the setting. Children play well together and are well behaved because of the realistic expectations of the staff. They are enthusiastic and motivated most of the time. Children do not have enough opportunities to build on their independence skills as they are not allowed to pour their own drinks, lay the table for lunch and in some cases encouraged to fasten the buttons on their coats.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The more confident of the children are at ease when speaking in familiar groups, and are able to express their thoughts and feelings. Children handle books well and listen with enjoyment to familiar stories such as "The Bear Hunt". Children have limited opportunities to extend their pre-writing skills and gain an understanding in that print carries meanings as activities are not planned with this in mind. Staff use worksheets to help children to write their names. Children enjoy French lessons on a weekly basis. Staff do not consistently use opportunities to help children develop their understanding of calculation, measuring and comparison in terms of length and weight. Children are able to count independently between 1-10 which helps build their confidence, but have little opportunity to use this knowledge to solve simple number problems during everyday practical activities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are learning about the world they live in through the celebration of different festivals, magnifying glasses and tape recorders. They are able to explore living things such as leaves and mini-beasts and are beginning to construct using bricks made of plastic and wood but have little scope to build using a wider range of objects or to select tools and join material together. Children can move confidently and safely and show an awareness of space around them. Children are currently unable to choose when they play in and outdoors and although they do have some opportunity to play outside poor planning in this area means that equipment available provides little challenge for those children who are more confident and able. Children know and enjoy familiar songs and rhymes and enjoy exploring rhythm with musical instruments.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Children do not always have access to good quality imaginative play as many of the home corner equipment is kept in a cupboard. They do not have opportunities to explore colour as paints are mixed by adults. Displays in the nursery show that staff use templates, this hinders children's creativity and cutting skills. Some children are able to draw recognisable pictures.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children's care and health needs are generally known by staff because information about children is obtained from parents prior to admission. This helps to ensure that children's individual needs are met. Parents are encouraged to give prior written consents for their child to be taken out or receive urgent medical treatment. Children come from a variety of backgrounds. They are learning to acknowledge and respect differences through the celebration of festivals and through covering a variety of topics during black history month. Although there are some resources which positively represents diversity, access to these are somewhat limited and not easily accessible to children as most are kept in cupboards.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are learning to take turns, for example, during Circle Time they wait until one child has finished speaking before they speak, they are encouraged by staff to put their hands in the air when they want to say something. Staff are consistent in their management of children's behaviour and as a result, children behave well, they are polite and considerate of each other. Overall their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is being fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is satisfactory. Children benefit from the informal contact between parents and staff and there are good settling-in arrangements. All parents know their child's key worker and share general information with them about their child's general well-being. However, parents are not given information about the Birth to three matters framework, and the parent handbook has not yet been distributed to parents as it contains some printing errors and is currently in the process of being updated. At present, parents are given a daily report in the form of a book which they are encouraged to take home at the end of the week. Parents are not involved in their children's progress, for example, there are no reviews and are therefore unaware of their children's next steps of learning. The complaint's procedure is currently not in line with Ofsted new regulations.

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Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. A breach of registration conditions has resulted in staff to child ratios not being adequately maintained. For example, the setting is registered to care for 14 children under the age of 3 years but was found to be caring for a total of 16 children. Further to this, recruitment checks are not rigorous enough to ensure that staff working with children are suitable to do so. Although all policies and procedures are in place, some are not in line with current regulations, such as the child protection and the complaints policies. In addition to this, electrical and gas appliances have not been serviced or had recent checks for safety. As a result of this children's complete safety, well-being and welfare is at risk.

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Children in the nursery are generally settled and are appropriately cared for. They are able to move around the premises whilst being under direct supervision. The organisation of activities and resources for children over 24 months old is poorly organised mainly because of the lack of storage, this provides children with little variety and choice, which as a result, hinders their learning and development. The staff team on a whole work exceptionally well together, providing support to each other and through having good communication within the day to day running of the setting. They all have a suitable qualification and the majority have been employed in the nursery for over a year so know the children well.

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Organisation

The leadership and management is inadequate. Although the nursery has appropriate aims for children's care and learning, many of these are only achieved in practice because the staff are experienced and have a satisfactory understanding of the needs of children and how they learn. Although they plan a range of activities for children these do not go far enough to ensure that they meet the needs of individual children, for example, children's next steps of learning have not been identified. The manager has not established any system to regularly monitor and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of teaching, this is because she does not have a secure knowledge of the Foundation Stage. As a result of this, gaps in the plans for children's learning continue to go unnoticed. The manager has since been in touch with an advisory teacher who will offer help and support in this area. The setting does not meet the needs of the range of

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last care inspection the nursery has made some improvements. The nursery was asked to ensure that clear information is provided for parents and staff as to how the behaviour management policy is implemented and to ensure that children's hours of attendance are recorded. The behaviour policy is now displayed on the notice board and staff are consistent in the management of children's behaviour, as a result, children in the nursery behave well. Children's attendance hours are now recorded showing times of their arrival and departure. This ensures that staff are aware at all times which children are on the premises.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The nursery was further asked to ensure that procedures are in place to ensure that staff working with children are suitable to do so and that there is a trained member of staff who has responsibility for child protection issues. During this inspection, both issues remain unchecked in that there are still staff working unsupervised with children, who have not been vetted. Although there is a nominated member of staff responsible for child protection issues, this person has not ensured that they are up-to-date with new information regarding child protection

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Complaints since the last inspection

Ofsted has received two complaints since 1 April 2004. The first related to National Standard 2: Organisation; National Standard 6 : Safety; National Standard 7: Health and National Standard 8: Food and Drink. The complaint related to staff qualification, cleanliness of the premises, security of the premises, parents signature on accident records and parents wishes regarding food. Ofsted carried out an unannounced visit on 19th February 2005. No evidence was found that the provider was not complying with the National Standards. We took no further action and the provider remained qualified for registration at the time the investigation was closed.

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Complaints since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The second complaint related to National Standard 1: Suitable Person; National Standard 2: Organisation; National Standard 7; Health; National Standard 11: Behaviour. The complaint related to the role of an additional person on premises, staff ratios, the administration of medication, recording of accidents, the hygiene of babies bottles and the management of children's behaviour. Ofsted carried out an unannounced visit on the 21st March 2005. The registered person was asked to make sure that clear information is provided for staff and parents on how the setting's behaviour management policy is implemented. No evidence was found that any of the other National Standards had been breached. The provider remained qualified for registration at the time the investigation was closed.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care, the registered person must take the following actions: • ensure that effective procedures are in place for checking that any staff not vetted are not left unsupervised with children • organise resources so that they are readily accessible to children to enable them to make choices • ensure that any recommendations made by the Fire Safety Officer and the Environmental Health Officer are complied with and ensure all certificates obtained are made available for inspection • ensure that fresh drinking water is available to children at all times • keep a record of complaints relating to the National Standards and any action taken • ensure that the child protection policy includes the procedures to follow in the event of an allegation of abuse being made against a member of staff and provide opportunities for staff to up-date their knowledge and understanding of child protection

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The quality and standards of the care

issues • organise the use of the red and blue units during the course of the day to ensure that the needs of all children are sufficiently met

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • ensure correct staff/child ratios are maintained at all times These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education, the registered person must take the following actions: • ensure rigorous systems are in place to monitor and evaluate nursery education provision • develop assessment procedures to identify individual learning needs of children and track their progress and ensure that these are shared with parents • increase staff's knowledge and understanding of the curriculum guidance for the foundation stage to improve the quality of teaching and children's learning These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice. The Department for Education and Skills and the local authority have been informed.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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