Horizon Centre

St John's Wood Synagogue Kindergarten Inspection report for early years provision

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135095 Unique Reference Number 29 January 2008 Inspection date Helen Maria Steven Inspector

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37-41 Grove End Road, London, NW8 9NG Setting Address

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E-mail

Sylvia Wolf Registered person Childcare Type of inspection Sessional 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

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

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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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

St. John's Wood Synagogue Kindergarten is privately owned. It has been registered under the Children Act since October 1992. The premises are situated on the first floor of a Synagogue in the St. John's Wood area in the City of Westminster. The nursery has use of three rooms, kitchen, office and toilet/wash facilities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is registered to care for a maximum of 48 children at any one time. There are currently 46 children on roll aged from two to four years. The nursery supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group opens five days a week from 09:15 to 12:00, during school term times.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are nine members of staff who work with the children including the manager, six of which have early years qualifications. One staff member is currently working towards a qualification.

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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 satisfactory. Children’s health is generally promoted adequately as practitioners implement creative hygiene procedures to minimise the risk of cross infection across the setting, for example, by using hand wash gel to enable all children to cleanse their hands prior to eating. They are encouraged to wash their hands with soap and water after using the toilets. They share water when cleaning hands after creative activities, however, the water is changed regularly. None of the staff team hold a valid first aid training certificate to ensure that children are treated appropriately in the event of an emergency, as currently all certificates have recently expired. However, one staff member is undertaking a first aid course at this present time. There are systems in place to record accidents. However, these does not afford children and parent’s confidentiality, as a number of accidents and incidents are recorded on the same page. In addition, the content

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Helping children to be healthy

often includes other children’s names as well as the child who has had the injury. A system is in place to receive parental consent and record administration of long term medicines. Staff report that they have not administered any medication since the last inspection.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are offered water and milk at snack times. Colour coded cups for milk and water ensure that practitioners are aware of children’s dietary requirements. They are given biscuits during the midmorning. Children enjoy physical play each day on the indoor climbing frame. They skilfully negotiate space as they manoeuvre buggies around the nursery. Children have a range of opportunities to support their small muscle skills. They skilfully use tools with confidence for example, when creating collages using spatulas and glue.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is inadequate. Staff have a basic understanding of child protection issues. However, not all staff demonstrate a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children. In addition, the child protection policy does not include the procedure to follow if an allegation is made about a staff member. This is a breach of regulation and impacts on arrangements to support children in the setting.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children move independently around the inside environment, which is warm and well maintained. They are accompanied between rooms and to the toilet. Risk assessments have not previously been recorded, however, there is now a basic one in place. The document notes that all sockets are covered, however, there are unprotected electrical sockets where children hang their coats. Fire drills are not carried out with sufficient regularity to develop all children’s confidence in following the procedures, specifically children new to the nursery. For example, the last drill was carried out in Summer 2007. A security system is in place to enable the safe collection of children. Policies relating to lost and uncollected children are in place but lack sufficient detail.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children benefit from a suitably organised environment that enables them to access a sufficient range of resources safely. The main room is arranged into areas, such as, a creative area and space for physical play. Children are able to relax in the book corner. The main playroom is used for all children, which is above the guidance maximum number of children per group. The staff use two additional playrooms for small group work, which reduces the numbers for parts of the session.

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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

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are greeted warmly on arrival; they are welcomed with open arms. They settle well into the session and are confident in the routine. Staff afford new children time to settle, they spend 1:1 time to help them feel secure. Children generally enjoy their activities and interact well with staff and their peers, building positive relationships with them. Children play well independently and with their peers as well as enjoying opportunities to work more directly with practitioners through activities, such as creative play. Staff all sit with the children to ensure that the young learners are secure and happily engaged in activities. Children’s language is developed by impromptu stories and by staff talking and asking children questions.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young children enjoy exploring different media, they use letter shapes to print and enjoy sticking with glue. They show good levels of concentration when sorting ‘elephants’. Children enjoy the feel of the sand in their fingers and pour it into containers. Children spend time problem solving as they competently fit jigsaw pieces into the tray puzzles set out by the staff. They push trains around using good hand-eye co-ordination to fit the vehicles onto the track. Children enjoy listening and watching staff play the piano and join in singing familiar songs.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Practitioners do not currently prepare written plans of activities and play opportunities or record evidence of evaluation. There is a rota informing staff which area they are covering and the practitioner who covers each area sets out what they choose. Newsletters reflect on how children have been introduced to topics. Observations are recorded on children every six months by their key workers, but many are brief and are descriptive rather than referring to what children have learnt from activities that they enjoy. Children eagerly rush to the door to be chosen to go to ‘lessons’, where staff members facilitate activities such as card games. On occasions children find it difficult to remain engaged in the activity as they have to wait a while for their turn. For example, twelve children play a card matching game. In addition, some overly directive teaching practices impact on the children’s freedom to display their knowledge and

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is inadequate. A complaints policy and book to record complaints are in place, However, staff do not demonstrate a clear understanding of the regulations which came into force in 2005 concerning the management of complaints and this impacts upon a secure partnership with parents.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children benefit from a friendly relationship between staff and parents; they exchange information at the beginning and end of the session. Parents give very positive feedback about the nursery and are happy with the service provided. Many parents have used the nursery for all of their children and travel specifically to use the service. They record that their children are confident and outgoing and have developed their understanding of numbers and letters. Children’s behaviour is generally good; they know what is expected of them and are becoming clear about what is right and wrong. They are given praise when they display good behaviour, which encourages them to continue. Staff are good role models as they are courteous to each other and to the children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff record children’s individual needs on their admission. A keyworker system is in place to assist children to settle into the routine. Currently there are no children attending who have learning difficulties or disabilities. There is a basic special educational needs statement in place

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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 in the parents’ handbook. Children gain knowledge of Jewish customs and traditions which are integrated into their curriculum, for example, they join in a prayer before eating their snack. Parents are informed of how children are learning about these issues through newsletters. There are displays of photos to enable children to value themselves and develop their self-esteem. Birthday’s are celebrated to mark children’s special days, they enjoy cards, songs and cake. Children’s family members join them on Fridays as they prepare for Shabbat, each child brings in a flower and enjoys a party. There are some reflective resources of the wider community and practitioners state that they facilitate discussions to enable children to gain an understanding of other cultures and religions. Children benefit from a staff team who are

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Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. The provider has not kept up to date with changes in criteria of the National Standards and, as a result, there have been breaches in regulation. There is a basic range of policies and procedures in place which are currently organised in a handbook for parents. The lack of detail of some of the policies does not effectively give guidance to staff. Some documents have not been updated effectively, thus providing staff and parents with policies which do not meet regulation. The setting does not meet the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Organisation

Children benefit from a friendly dedicated staff team who ensure that all children are secure and happily engaged in activities. Currently two thirds of the staff team are qualified; the parents’ handbook has not been updated to reflect this. There are adequate staff to maintain ratios and all staff are actively engaged in activities with the children. There is a staff recruitment process, but limited documentation is available to verify that robust vetting procedures have been undertaken. Practitioners meet daily prior to the nursery opening, no minutes are recorded of staff meetings. Staff have the opportunity to undertake training courses and records are kept of this.

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Organisation

There are no current or recent records of activity plans. Staff complete observations on the children twice each year. The majority of the records are very brief and do not focus on children’s progress in all areas of their development or identify the key workers plans on how to support their future learning. In addition, these records are not signed by the staff member. Since October 2007 registers have been kept to record children’s attendance in line with regulation. A staff record of attendance is now operational, although it does not include full names. In addition, the accident record also has incidents with only children's first names noted. There is a book to record visitor’s attendance, but this is not presented routinely for completion to ensure that there is a historical record.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection recommendations were raised to develop staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues. They were also asked to ensure children's hands are washed before snack time. In addition they agreed to comply with regulations to ensure that all records relating to day care activities are readily accessible on the premises, such as, a procedure to follow if a parent fails to collect a child or a child is lost and a statement to follow where a parent has a complaint about the service.

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Improvements since the last inspection

All staff complete a child protection course and staff who have joined the provision since the last inspection have completed this training. However, not all staff demonstrate a sound

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Improvements 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 knowledge of child protection issues or an understanding of the procedure to ensure that children are safeguarded. Children are given hand gel to cleanse their hands before eating to ensure hygiene is maintained. Records are all now available on the premises and include procedures to follow if a parent fails to collect a child, however, this lacks sufficient detail to fully protect children. There is also an updated procedure for staff to follow if a child is lost, however, this is not in sufficient detail. For example, it does not prompt staff to record the incident or notify the regulator if it is a significant event. The parents' handbook contains a statement regarding complaints, however, this does not comply with current regulation.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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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

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

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

To improve the quality and standards of care, the registered person must take the following actions: • ensure that staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of the 2005 regulations concerning the management of complaints • ensure that staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of the child protection procedure and improve the policy to include how to proceed if an allegation is made against a staff member 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 care

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 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

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