Riverwalk 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. Buffer Bear at Mayday Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 124902 Inspection date 12/09/2008 Inspector Lisa-Marie Jones

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Setting address Mayday University Hospital, 530 London Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey, CR7 7YE Telephone number 020 8401 3819 Email 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).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Buffer Bear Nursery at Mayday has been operating since October 1999. It is situated in the grounds of Mayday Hospital, which is within the London borough of in Croydon. The nursery is based in a converted ground floor building with an adjacent outdoor area. The nursery is open each weekday from 06:45 until 18:30 throughout the year, only closing for bank holidays.

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Description of the setting

The nursery offers full day care for 65 children aged 3 months to 6 years and is registered on the Early Years Register as well as both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Currently 63 children are on roll and are drawn from staff working in the hospital and the local community. The children's hours of attendance vary to suit the working hours of their parents. Children are grouped, according to age, into four separate groups. They support children who have identified special educational needs and children whom speak English as an additional language. There are currently 16 children who are in receipt of funding for nursery education.

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Description of the setting

The nursery currently has 15 full time staff, additional to this the deputy and manager are supernumerary. Additional/cover staff are used from the nursery's own bank of supply staff as and when needed. All staff hold, or are working towards early years qualifications. The nursery have support and training from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP) and Buffer Bears.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The staff's knowledge of each child’s individual needs ensures that in the main they are able to promote children’s welfare and learning successfully. Children are safe and secure at all times and enjoy their time in the setting. The sound partnership with parents and other agencies contributes to ensuring that the needs of all children are met and they get any additional support they need. This means that children make acceptable progress, given their age, ability and starting points. Regular self-evaluation by the manager and staff team ensures that any priorities for future development are promptly identified and acted on, resulting in a service that is responsive to the needs of all of its users.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure that all staff follow written hygiene procedures  improve the current system for using children's observations to aid planning for their individual needs  ensure that the planning and organisation of resources both inside and out, provide an enabling environment for all children  improve the current systems for valuing and supporting children's home languages and provide more opportunities for children to access resources and activities that reflect diversity and the cultures within the nursery and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the wider community.

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provision

The new manager and deputy are a very dynamic team who together recognise the importance of continuous assessment and monitoring to ensure that standards are high and that all welfare and learning requirements are met.

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provision

They have devised good systems to ensure staff are supported in their roles and ensure room leaders have ample opportunities to have planning meetings to organise their own room curriculum, although staff do not always take this opportunity up within the pre school room. Supervision and staff appraisals highlight where staff's strengths and weakness are, and training is offered to support, both internally through Buffer Bears, and through the local authority. It is also through these systems that they are able to recognise where staff need to be deployed to ensure that children fully benefit from well experienced and trained staff. They are very quick to move staff around to ensure that the best matched staff are placed in each room and that staff gel as a team to support each other. They are also responsible for employing and recruiting staff and ensure that thorough and rigorous checks are made on all proposed staff prior to their

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provision

The written polices and procedures are a fully working document of the nursery and are regularly updated to ensure they are inline with current legislation and working practices of the setting. The self evaluations play a crucial part in ensuring that they are striving for improvement all the time. Not only do they have their own self evaluation they also undertake in one from the local authority and internally from Buffer Bears. Action plans are drawn up and clearly show how targets have been met and what they are striving to achieve. The new management team has had a positive impact to the improvements made within the nursery since the previous inspection. They recognise that there are still further improvements that need to be made especially in the area of deployment of staff, the upgrade of toys and resources and the development of the planning and observation systems.

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provision

On a day to day basis the setting runs smoothly and staff and resources are deployed well, the management team are regular visitors to each room to not only work alongside staff, but to monitor and offer support for all staff. Children have strong bonds with the management team and some will make daily visits to the office to show their achievements or to simply say hello.

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provision

The management team endeavours to ensure that they offer an inclusive service where very child matters, and recognise that further improvements need to be made to support children with additional languages and the access children have to resources that depict diversity. They liaise very well with other agencies to ensure those children who have additional needs are fully supported in their learning and development. Parents are given good information about the service that is provided and they have ample opportunities to share their concerns with This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 staff. Settling in procedures are done on a very individual basis. The manager is very skilled in reassuring new and anxious parents and offers opportunities for parents to spend time with their children for example at lunchtimes and they have a ' breast feeding club' for parents who work on site.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Buffer Bears at Mayday enables most children to make progress in their learning and development, including those with learning and/or physical difficulties. Good links and strong relationships between other agencies and parents ensure that children get the support that is needed to help them make progress. However, it does not always fully support children with English as an additional language.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children are very keen to learn and explore the learning environment around them and on the whole are very happy. They are very sociable and make friends easily and communicate well with adults and children. Generally children are supported by adults in their learning and development as staff are deployed well to ensure they can sit with children during activities and assist where necessary. Staff do not have a full understanding of the EYFS learning and development requirements in relation to the early learning goals. The planning systems do not clearly identify learning intentions or fully support children’s individual learning both in and out of doors. Some staff do not always support or aid their learning through meaningful discussion or questioning. Parents and carers have ample opportunities to share their children's progress through daily informal chats and records kept of their children's day. They have access to their children's development records at parents'

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

evenings, and there is an open door policy to accommodate the differing working patterns of parents and carers.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Behaviour is generally good throughout the nursery. A key member of staff is trained and available to support both children and staff with suitable strategies. The management are fully aware of the children that need the support. However some key staff within the pre school area are not fully aware of the strategies that have been agreed with parents to aid their children's development.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

In the main the organisation of the rooms enables children to be independent and safe. Children have access to a wide range of resources, that are set up staff. Children can self-select the activities they take part in and enjoy taking part in adult led activities such as sandwich making. Resources to promote diversity and culture are limited in all areas of the nursery. This is an area which has been highlighted on the action plan by the management to improve, along with the general resources and toys in the Koala room.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The key working system is effective as the majority of the staff are very aware of their key children’s needs especially the younger children and babies. The welfare of children is generally promoted very well. Staff are skilled in promoting and supporting children's needs and show a good understanding of the welfare requirements and guidance. However, some staff fail to follow basic hygiene procedures in relation to cross infection within the Koala room. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Arrangements for safeguarding children are robust and recruitment procedures ensure that all staff are suitable to do their jobs. All written polices and procedures are comprehensive and ensure that staff are able to carry out their duties as required. Risk assessments are rigorous and regular ensuring children safety at all times. Staff provide opportunities for children to take responsibility for their safety

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

and gently remind them, for example, to pick things up, not run within the building and to think about the space available to them and the other children when taking part in outdoor physical games. 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

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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of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

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

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Foundation Stage led and managed?

How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement? Good

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Foundation Stage led and managed?

How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others? Good

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? Satisfactory How well are children helped to be healthy? Good How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? Satisfactory How well are children helped to make a positive contribution? Satisfactory

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being? Satisfactory

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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 B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met 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

Since the last inspection Ofsted has received three complaints that required the provider to take action. These related to behaviour management techniques undertaken by staff; adult: child ratios, The systems for changing nappies; the cleanliness of the kitchen; untrained members of staff being left to care for children with behavioural problems; communication with parents, in relation to consent and notification of accidents and incidents.

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Detail of the complaint/s

The provision wrote to Ofsted to advise that they had completed their internal investigation in relation to behaviour management issues and as a result the provision have taken the following action; to hold weekly review meetings with staff and to do spot checks and to ensure staff have appropriate room leaders, who can offer her support and demonstrate best practice. In relation to the second incident we carried out an unannounced visit leading to the following actions being set: ensure there are sufficient staff to work with children so that minimum ratios are maintained at all times, ensure children's dignity are privacy are respected, particularly in relation to the children's toilet facilities, reduce the risk of cross infection by ensuring children can wash their hands effectively and ensure Ofsted are notified of significant events. We asked the provider to investigate the third complaint. The provider responded

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Detail of the complaint/s

with a full report which included accident reports and an explanation that the child in question had not been on any outings. Ofsted felt the response was not adequate and an inspector visited the Nursery to discuss the concerns. From the visit actions were raised to review the operational plan to ensure staff are effectively deployed with the premises for the safety, development and welfare of the children, to ensure there are suitable contingency plans in place to cover emergencies and unexpected staff absences and to review the current risk assessment and provide an action plan with timescales, which identifies action to be taken to minimise identified risks. The provider remained suitable for registration at the time and the investigations were closed. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which

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Detail of the complaint/s

they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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