Little Cherubs Nursery School

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. Little Cherubs Nursery School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY345735 Inspection date 04/12/2008 Inspector Helen Maria Steven

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Setting address Carmelite Parish Centre, Pitt Street, London, W8 4JH

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Telephone number 0207 3764460 Email littlecherubs@tiscali.co.uk Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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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.

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Introduction

The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration whichever is the later, which require Ofsted or the provider to take action in Annex C.

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Introduction

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). This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Little Cherubs Nursery School was registered in 2006. It is one of two privately owned nurseries and operates from the Carmelite Parish Centre in the W8 area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The premises consist of four playrooms, kitchen and toilet facilities and an enclosed outdoor area. The nursery has it's own entrance which is accessed by a flight of stairs, however a lift will shortly be available for disabled access.

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Description of the setting

The nursery follows the principles of Montessori teaching. It operates Monday to Thursday from 09:00 to 15:15 and on Friday from 09:00 to 12:00. It is open 30 weeks of the year during term times. Children attend a variety of sessions and some stay all day.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered to care for a maximum of 48 children at any one time. There are currently 32 children on roll. A team of seven staff are employed, most of which hold appropriate qualifications in early years education and the manager is supernumery.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children enjoy their time at the nursery and have good relationships with the friendly staff team. Practitioners are keen to develop the quality of their service and have begun to self evaluate, in addition they have developed questionnaires for parents to assist in their quest to identify strengths and areas for development to improve the quality of provision for all children. Practitioners are aware of children’s individual needs and aim to meet them by developing activities to enhance children’s sense of belonging, but care is not always taken to ensure that children attending part-time are fully included.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 improve children's safety by seeking advice from a fire safety officer to ensure that acceptable exits are identified and all children have the opportunity to practice a fire drill  develop the environment to support and extend children’s development and learning, for example, ensuring the environment is rich in text and numbers  continue to develop the process for observation, assessment, planning and evaluating practice.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 develop the system for conducting risk assessments, including one for each type of outing carried out, review regularly and record when and by whom the 31/01/2009 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 aspects have been checked. (Safeguarding and promoting welfare)

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provision

The staff team are welcoming and are keen to develop the quality of their service. They have attended courses and are in the process of developing their understanding and delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). They are currently experimenting with their systems for observation, planning and assessment to find approaches that best meet the needs of their organisation. They have begun to self evaluate their practice to identify strengths and area for development that will improve the quality of provision for all children, but this process is in its infancy. Practitioners develop good relationships with parents and verbal feedback is given daily. Parents report that they are happy with the nursery and feel able to approach practitioners with any concerns. Children currently have two specific practitioners known as their key workers assigned to monitor their individual needs, rather than the recommended one.

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provision

There are a range of policies and procedures in place, which are shared with parents, however some are unclear. Confidentiality is not always afforded, for example, incident reports of injuries shared with parents, such as, a scratch sustained by another child include the name of both children, not just the wounded child. Children are safeguarded as there are robust recruitment procedures in place and practitioners are aware of their responsibilities. The management use training props to refresh practitioners’ knowledge regularly. The organisation of the environment and routine impacts on the children’s ability to make good use of the dedicated book area and craft room. Areas of the environment have yet to be developed to embrace all areas of learning, for example, the role play corner does not include resources to support children’s literacy or numeracy. In addition displays of art are predominately adult-led. Interesting activities, for example,

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provision

sinking and floating experiments and feely games as well as circle times, arts and crafts and lunch times are undertaken in relatively large groups. This impacts on some children’s ability to fully engage and benefit from practitioners’ ability to extend the activities to meet their individual learning needs.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children enjoy their time at nursery developing relationships with their peers and the friendly staff team. They learn how to share and have respect for each other as practitioners gently remind them about good manners. Children display confidence when using the microphone on stage recalling their lines as they practice for the Christmas play. A wide range of resources enable children to problem solve and they are encouraged to use everyday routines to count. Practitioners ask children their age and how old they will be on their next birthday, supporting them in working this out by counting on their fingers. Children enjoy mark making, for example, they use coloured pencils to draw independently and have opportunities to paint. There is a cosy book area with soft cushions and a This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 good selection of available books; however the children cannot access this area

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

independently. Story times are not always well organised and practitioners do not capture some children’s attention. The children explore nature through the nursery’s wormery and opportunities to investigate during trips to the local park. Wonderful links are made with children’s home cultures as the newly introduced ‘Paddington bear’ is taken home by families at weekends, parents support this project by taking photos and recording his adventures. For example, photos in the bear’s diary show him sitting down for a Japanese meal and parents comment that he used chopsticks. Children using the main room are able to access the outside space freely. Good quality photos illustrate a book reflecting the routine of the nursery, however it does not include all the children as the ‘day’ stops when the morning children go home and does not reflect the experiences of children who attend full day or only in the afternoon. Although the space is limited there are

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

opportunities, for example, for ball skills, climbing and gliding down the slide, sand and water. Children enjoy washing dolls clothes and pegging them out to dry.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children behave well within their stage of development and practitioners demonstrate skilful strategies and confidence in managing unwanted behaviour. By undertaking activities such as sorting pictures into healthy/unhealthy foods and through discussions on how milk is good for their bones, children develop an understanding of how to keep their bodies healthy. Children learn how to keep themselves safe as they know not to run indoors and the morning children have had the opportunity to practice an emergency evacuation procedure. Fire evacuation signs are outdated and it is unclear to practitioners and visitors which are functional. A basic risk assessment is in place, but does not meet requirements as it does not include outings. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

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

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of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

How well does the provision promote inclusive practice? 3 The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement.

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Foundation Stage led and managed?

How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement? How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others? How well are children safeguarded? 2

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 3 How well are children helped to be healthy? 2 How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? 3 How well are children helped to make a positive contribution? How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being?

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted

This section of the report includes details of any complaint/s made to Ofsted when:  we took action for the provider to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or  we asked the provider to take action in order to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or  the provider had already taken any necessary action to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register.

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Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted

We will not report on any complaint where the provider met the requirements of the Early Years Register or did not require any action by Ofsted or the registered provider.

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Detail of the complaint/s

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since registration.

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Detail of the complaint/s

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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