Hall Cross Academy

St. Andrews Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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St. Andrews Nursery

137842 Unique Reference Number 04 December 2006 Inspection date Jennifer Devine Inspector

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St. Andrews Nursery

Church Lane, Kingsbury, London, NW9 8SX Setting Address

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E-mail

The partnership of Maureen Hogan and Judith Macaul 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 good. The registered person meets 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 good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

St Andrew's Nursery is jointly run by two private providers. It opened in 1989 and operates from an annexe at the rear of St Andrew's Church in Kingsbury, in the London Borough of Brent. A maximum of 41 children may attend at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 08.30 to 17.30 for 51 weeks of the year.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 30 children aged from two to under five years on roll. Of these 21 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?

The nursery employs eleven staff. Ten of the staff, including the two managers hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children learn the importance of good personal hygiene through well planned daily routines. Older children have a good understanding of why they need to wash their hands regularly. Younger children are developing their awareness through watching others and through the good role modelling the staff provide. There are good procedures in place to sustain levels of hygiene and prevent the spread of infection. Staff are well informed of children's health and all relevant records and documents are in place. All staff hold first aid certificates which enables them to deal with a medical emergency confidently.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children can help themselves to fresh drinking water throughout the day. They enjoy healthy and nutritious snacks of various fruits or rice cakes and have milk or juice to drink. Children are provided with a packed lunch from home. Parents are encouraged to follow the nursery guidelines of healthy eating when preparing their children's lunches. Children enjoy sociable mealtimes where they can eat comfortably around the table with their friends and staff who talk with them whilst they eat. Individual dietary requirements of children are well known by staff.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a selection of activities which contributes to their good health. Staff are conscious of ensuring children have daily fresh air and opportunities for physical exercise. There is a small enclosed outdoor area where children can climb, run or ride on tricycles. Staff take small groups of children outdoors throughout the day for walks in the church grounds or around the local environment. In addition to this all children participate in well organised yoga sessions and older children have the opportunity to go horse riding fortnightly. Children are developing good fine hand motor skills and coordination as they use resources such as scissors, glue, paint and when sewing.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a safe and secure environment where they are well supervised by staff. Although the premises are in a generally poor state of repair, the staff and providers ensure that the indoor environment is welcoming and child friendly. Space within the nursery is used well and provides room for children to play at tables, use equipment on the floor and to relax on comfortable cushions. Equipment and furniture are generally well maintained. Children are able to make choices from a wide range of available resources. Daily risk assessments are conducted by staff to ensure the areas used by the children are safe. However, some of the mats used on the floor are ruffled and this compromises children's safety. Radiators in the nursery are not protected but staff monitor the temperature and turn down the thermostat as necessary. There are good security precautions in place to monitor the entrance of the nursery

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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 Staff use their own cars for outings, particularly when taking the older children horse riding. Appropriate car insurance is in place and staff are fully aware of the legal safety requirements regarding suitable car restraints.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is safeguarded by the staff's knowledge of child protection matters. They understand the signs and symptoms of child abuse and are familiar with the reporting procedure to follow if concerned about a child.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy and content through-out the nursery. Staff effectively use the Birth to three matters framework to plan a wide and relevant range of activities for the children under three years. This has a positive effect on the children's achievements in all areas of their development. Staff provide good levels of support and know the children well. They separate happily from their parents and carers, having close relationships with the staff who understand their individual needs. Children are becoming independent learners as they choose from a wide range of interesting resources that are well organised and accessible. Activities are stimulating, challenging and age appropriate and contributes to extending their learning further. Staff are close by to offer support. For example staff introduced how to make a bridge when building tall towers with the large bricks.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children benefit from a well planned curriculum because staff have a very good understanding of the Foundation Stage and the early learning goals. Planning and assessment clearly links to the six areas of learning. The plans show how the curriculum is delivered to the children and the progress individuals are making. Staff observe children and record progress in their home link books and on their individual profiles. Staff make good use of the digital camera and record progress often with the use of photographs. Staff are skilled at posing questions to make children think and encourage their language and vocabulary further.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident, happy and enthusiastic in participating in activities. They choose and use resources independently and confidently express their needs. They display a high level of involvement during some activities, spending long periods of time concentrating on a task. For example, a group of children sat for a long time designing their own Christmas cards using glue, glitter and shiny papers. Children have good relationships with each other, showing kindness to each other as they play and take turns with games.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children speak confidently with each other and adults. They enjoy story or group times and listen intently to discussions. The children particularly enjoy when the staff use large puppets, being able to help create names and a story line for the puppets to follow. Children enjoy looking at books alone or with an adult present and understand how to turn pages carefully. Children enjoy using a variety of writing materials and pens to practise their early writing skills and use paper to make lists such as for in the home corner. Although the nursery has various

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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 labelling which adults have written around the room there is limited opportunities for children to label their own work or begin to write captions under their work.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have very good opportunities to use numbers through many practical everyday activities. They are solving problems as they build with bricks, count and sort objects. Children are developing confidence with numbers and can count confidently to ten and beyond. Large floor games such as number mats encourage and reinforce children's understanding of numbers. Children enjoy counting how many children are in nursery and predicate how much fruit they will need for snack time.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy exploring and investigating their environment. They are developing a good understanding of the world they live in as they explore new life when watching butterflies grow. They have many worthwhile local outings arranged to learn about the environment and how things work. For example, when studying a topic on machines they visited the local launderette to see how the washing machines work. Children have good access to the nursery digital camera and are encouraged to take photographs of their achievements.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have fun when painting and sticking and as they explore different medias such as sand, water and play dough. They have good opportunities to develop their creativity and imagination in a well resourced creative area with lots of boxes, papers, materials and various implements to stick these together such as sticky tape or staplers. They enjoy good role play experiences in the well equipped home corner. Although children participate in many creative activities most of displays are adult determined art rather than allowing children to freely express their imagination and produce their own creations.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children's behaviour is good and appropriate to their ages. They have a good understanding of the boundaries and expectations of the nursery and play well together, sharing and taking turns. Staff respect the children and this is influenced in the children's behaviour and the calm relaxed atmosphere of the nursery. Children learn about themselves and the wider world through planned activities to acknowledge various festivals through out the year. Resources and visual displays within the nursery reflects positive images of diversity. This positive approach fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Although there are currently no children attending with learning difficulties, the nursery has a designated special needs coordinator and a clear policy on inclusion. Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported as many staff speak several languages and assist children when needed.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is good. Staff have established effective communications with parents both verbally and written. Parents are welcomed into the setting and can discuss their child's progress with the key worker. Staff also complete a comprehensive home link book each day detailing the child's day and achievements. Information on the planning for the curriculum is readily available on the notice board and staff take time to talk to parents about the early learning goals and ways they help their child's learning at home.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

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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Organisation

The organisation is good. The provision is well managed, organised and well resourced. Clear and comprehensive written information is available to staff and most required documentation is in place. Robust recruitment procedures are in place to ensure new staff are suitably vetted.

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Organisation

The leadership and management is good. The managers have a clear commitment to the professional developmental needs of their staff and actively encourage further training. Supervisors have a very good knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum and ensure all staff are aware of implementing it across the nursery. Staff work well together as a team, they are motivated and well organised. Regular staff meetings and supervision ensures good communication within the team.

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Organisation

The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last inspection the nursery has made improvements in the care and education the children receive. Good hygiene practices are in place for hand washing and this promotes children's good health. The staff have continued to develop the assessment methods used to ensure they show individual children's learning needs and all staff take some part in the planning of the curriculum for the Foundation Stage.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection Ofsted received one complaint relating to National Standard 11 - Behaviour and National Standard 12 - Working in Partnership with Parents and Carers. The concerns related to inappropriate behaviour management from a member of staff and not providing information to parents on the complaints procedure. Ofsted investigated the concerns and found that the nursery was meeting National Standard 11. However, an action was raised in relation to National Standard 12 in relation to updating the complaints procedure. Ofsted was satisfied with the action the nursery took to address the concern. The provider remains qualified for registration.

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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 good. The registered person meets 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 good.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND 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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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure mats used on the floor are safe

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • develop methods to ensure children freely express their imagination and produce their own creations in artwork and displays • include children's own labelling through out the nursery

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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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