Union Grove Community NurseryOfsted inspection, 10 Jul 2008

Union Grove Community Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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EY361828 Unique Reference Number 10 July 2008 Inspection date Rebecca Hurst Inspector

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Community Resource Centre, 110 Union Road, LONDON, SW8 2SH Setting Address

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02076 223 194 Telephone number union.grove@btconnect.com E-mail Union Grove Community Day Nursery Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Full day care Type of care

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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?

Union Grove Community Nursery provides full day care and has been registered since 2007. The group operates from the first floor of the community health centre having sole use of a self contained unit with two large playrooms with direct access to an enclosed outside play area, kitchen, bathrooms, office and a meeting room.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The nursery is accessible via internal lifts and stairs. The group is registered to provide full day care for 48 children under five years at any one time. There are currently 14 three and four year old children receiving government funding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

They operate from Monday to Friday, 07.45 to 18.00, all year round. The setting is a registered charity and is managed by a voluntary management committee. The setting has children's centre status.

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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 thrive as a result of having healthy and nutritious foods. Children's special dietary requirements and religious requirements are fully taken into account when food is prepared. Quantities of food are more than adequate for the needs of the children. Children take turns to set the lunch tables with cutlery and cups which aids their acquisition of independence skills. However, there are missed opportunities to further enhance these skills as staff serve the children their meals and pour their drinks.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have daily opportunities to enhance their physical development. Children have access to an under cover outdoor area which is equipped with a good range of resources, which promotes all areas of learning and both small and large muscle movements for all children. Children enjoy balancing on small beams and exploring the wet and dry sand the staff have set up for them.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are protected from cross infection and contamination as all staff wear gloves when they are serving foods. Staff also ensure tables are cleaned with anti bacterial spray before, after and in-between courses. This ensures children are eating in a clean and healthy environment. Staff ensure children wash their hands before lunch time, however, they inconsistently wash their hands before they have snack. As a result children are learning mixed messages for when to wash their hands. All medication is stored in a central area so all staff are able to access them, especially if it is an emergency with epi-pens.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Staff have a good understanding of child protection and safe guarding children, as a result children are protected from harm and neglect. Staff in all of the rooms are aware of the settings policies and procedures with regard to child protection and the procedures to follow. Children are welcomed into a warm and friendly child centred setting. Children's self esteem is nurtured as their work is displayed around the setting. Children are looked after by caring staff which helps to boost the children's self confidence.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have access to a good amount of resources that are appropriate for the age of children that are accessing them. The resources are checked daily to ensure they are safe for the children to use. This further enhances children's safety. Children are protected from harm in an emergency as they regularly practice fire drills with the staff. These are carried out once a month and are fully evaluated to ensure it all runs smoothly.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff follow the settings policies and procedures when they leave the building. The staff count the children when they leave the building and continually whilst they are out, they will then count the children back in. Staff also explain to the children the importance of walking around the nursery. This teaches the children the importance of keeping themselves safe from harm whilst in 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

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children arrive eager to start their day at the nursery. They are warmly welcomed by the staff, and leave their parents and carers with ease. Staff ensure they have a broad range of resources and activities attractively arranged before they arrive, so children can start playing as soon as they are settled.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff have detailed planning for the children and they fully take into account children's interests when planning for the following week. Staff have detailed observations on all of the children, however, their next steps are inconsistently completed in their files. As a result there are missed opportunities to fully utilise the information they have recorded. All children receive lots of attention from all of the staff and the younger children are regularly reassured by the staff with affection and cuddles.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have access to a broad range of heuristic play, and staff participate in activities that involve exploration with the treasure basket. Children enjoy exploring the different textures of the floor tiles and the pots and chains that have been arranged for their heuristic play. Children excitedly join in song time and play along with the staff with African drums. Children happily dance in time with the beats and the singing.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff are skilled in getting in asking children questions that make them think. Staff make play dough for the children to explore and investigate. A simple question from a member of staff asking a child what he has made led to a 10 minute conversation around the table about birthdays and what they do at them and how old they will be at their next birthday. Staff are skilled in responding to the answers the children gave to further question them to extend the conversation.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Staff have detailed plans in place to aid their teaching of the children. Children are making good progress from their starting points and are making good progress towards the six areas of learning. This is the result of good planning for the children which includes differentiation, for more and less able children. Staff have detailed observations on all of the children and use this information to aid their planning, however, the next steps of their assessment are not consistently completed.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy a varied range of activities and resources that are arranged to maximise the learning of the children. Children enjoy singing songs and dancing in time with the music. The children request songs from a CD and they listen to the instructions and follow what actions they have been ask to do. Staff are fully aware of the needs of the children and make sure they do not sit for long periods of time, staff get the children up and dancing around so they do not get fidgety.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy counting, one child is able to correctly count the number of children that are sitting in the circle, even when another child moves, it does not put the child off and she is able to correctly count the number of children present. Children are aware of different cultures and languages. A member of staff asks the children what they are going to say when she takes the register, children put their hands up and say in different languages hello.

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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

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children have access to a good range of resources that actively promotes equal and diversity. Children celebrate a diverse range of festivals and celebrations from around the world, and staff ensure parents are fully involved with what they do. Staff work well with outside agencies and settings to promote the development of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. All children with targets have these fed into the planning so their needs are met.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are well behaved and play cooperatively, because adults consistently praise and encourage children to share and take turns. The children talk to each other about acceptable behaviour as the adults are good role models promoting positive attitudes. The staff communicate well with the parents and carers about the children's development and this is promoting the children's welfare. Overall, children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. Information for the parents and carers is attractively displayed, so that they are kept well informed about the sort of activities the children are taking part in. Written information is available, so that parents have a good understanding of the Foundation Stage. Adults make time to talk to parents and to share information, both formally and informally, so that they feel welcome, informed and involved in their children's life at nursery.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff also organise open events for the parents to meet the staff and for every one to get to know each other. Staff organise a yearly barbeque, and annual trips which all parents are invited on. Parents and carers have good opportunities to express their views and opinions, helping them to feel involved and promoting positive partnerships. All parents receive developmental reports half yearly so they are kept informed of their children's progress.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Overall the setting meets the needs of the range of children in its care. All of the settings policies and procedures are in place and are used as a working document. All staff are fully vetted before they start work, and the managers ensure they are monitored for six months before they are allowed to change nappies and be left alone with the children. All staff have a full induction which shows the running of the nursery and the settings policies and procedures. This ensures children are being cared for by suitable people and that they are kept from harm, as non vetted people are not left alone with the children. Records, policies and procedures are in place, ensuring the safe and efficient management of the setting and these are implemented effectively so that the welfare, care and learning of the children are actively promoted. Activities are especially well organised, so that children have easy access to a broad range of interesting

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management are good. The manager is working consistently to raise the quality and standards of care and learning in the setting. Comprehensive plans are in place and conscientiously carried through, so that adults caring for children, more effectively promote their care and learning. Regular meetings are held with staff and some good training opportunities are available to them, this means they are equipped with the appropriate knowledge and skills. Staff are supervised appropriately and managed, so that they have a good

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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 understanding of the Foundation Stage of learning and effectively deliver the early years curriculum, promoting children's learning and helping them to make extensive progress.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This is the first inspection since registration.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since registration 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 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

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure children wash their hands before snack times • ensure next steps are continually completed in the children's assessment files (also applies to nursery education)

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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): • devise ways for children to gain more independence at meal times.

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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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