Lakelands Academy

Once Upon A Time Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 139102 Inspection date 16/02/2010 Inspector Julie Biddle

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Setting address Cavendish Sports Pavilion and Cavendish House, Field End Road, Eastcote, Middlesex, HA4 9PG Telephone number 020 8866 7258 Email 0208 8668076 Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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 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.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Once Upon A Time day nurseries is a privately operated day nursery which opened in 2000, the provision also offers after school club facilities. The nursery and after school settings are one of several operated by the same provider. The nursery operates from within Cavendish Pavilion and the After school club from within Cavendish House in Eastcote, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 52 children may attend both settings at any one time, with no more than 38 children within the early years age group. There are currently 36 children within the early years age group on roll within the nursery and 52 children in the later age group in the after school club. The nursery is open each weekday from 7:45am to 6.00 pm for 52 weeks of the year. The after school club is open from 3.20pm to 6.00pm during term time only. Children are only collected from Newnham Infants and Junior school, but children can attend from other schools. All children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area, along with the open fields within the Pavilion.

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Description of the setting

The nursery and after school club supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and also supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs 12 staff within the nursery who work directly with the children, plus cook and cleaner, of whom 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications. There are three staff currently working towards an early years qualification. There are three staff employed within the after school club and two hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are happy, confident and thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. The provision's effectiveness in helping children to learn and develop is good; staff are successful in promoting children's self-esteem and encouraging their enthusiasm for learning. A positive partnership with parents, carers and other professionals enables children's individual needs to be effectively met. Staff are keen to continuously improve the service for children and their families. They are well- organised in relation to all aspects of children's welfare and learning.

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further?

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

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further?

 continue to develop areas of the setting to expand children's imagination and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 imaginative play

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the early years provision

The setting has a strong commitment to keeping children safe. There are, for example, clear procedures in place to ensure that staff working directly with children are suitable to do so. The setting has in place a robust recruitment procedure that includes Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks, three references and a detailed induction period. All staff undertake safeguarding training on a regular basis and show a good understanding of child protection. Systems for recording visitors to the group are good and staff are very aware of the procedures to follow to ensure unvetted persons do not have unsupervised access to the children. Daily safety checks ensure the premises, toys, equipment and activities are suitable and safe for the children attending. Written risk assessments are undertaken which identify hazards and enable the preventive measures to be put in place to protect children. Staff are vigilant in supervising the children in

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the early years provision

particular when the children choose to play outside or in.

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the early years provision

The manager and staff are dedicated to their roles and have worked hard, implementing a number of changes which have resulted in improved learning opportunities for the children. For example the room is now divided into designated areas and children enjoy free flow from area to area, with safe areas for the younger children. Systems for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the setting are in place and identify areas for further improvement. All recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection have been addressed to benefit the children. In addition, the views of parents are sought through the use of questionnaires and a suggestion box. Feedback from the parents is valued and addressed, resulting in improvements that benefit the children. Staff are continuing to make improvement and are currently working to change furniture and resources in the setting.

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the early years provision

The nursery is proactive in forming good links with other professional agencies to ensure that children with learning difficulties and or disabilities receive additional support to meet their needs effectively. The nursery has established good links with some local schools. They are however reviewing how this can be extended to include more schools and in turn to benefit the children to ensure continued progression of care, learning and development. In addition, they work closely with other settings in the chain and the local authority to share good practice. The provider and manager are committed to ensuring the staff are suitably trained and can access training throughout the year, meaning staff are enthused in their work with the children. Many of the staff are currently involved in training to broaden their skills and knowledge in the childcare field.

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the early years provision

Partnership with parents is good. They have good information about the setting and are kept up to date with current themes and activities through a regular newsletters. Parents receive ongoing information about their children's progress through link books and regularly opportunities to view their child's personal file. In addition key workers are always available to discuss any issues with parents. A This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 written annual report and progress sheets follow each child into mainstream school. Parents speak highly of the nursery, in particular the approachability of all the staff.

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the early years provision

Overall children benefit from a fully inclusive environment. The setting actively promotes equality of opportunity by ensuring that all children and their families are valued and respected. Staff's planning for the individual child helps to narrow the achievement gap and support all children’s progress. There is a range of toys and resources which help to promote children's understanding of diversity within our society. Furthermore, diversity is valued through recognising special events and festivals such as Mothers day, where Mothers are invited in to the setting to share breakfast with the children.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They engage children in a range of purposeful activities, which are planned to support individual learning. There are clear procedures in place for staff to observe children's stages of development, where information is effectively fed into individualised planning. There are good levels of child-initiated and adult-lead activities. Children independently make choices about the activities they wish to take part in. The individual skills of the staff team provide an expertise, which is well used to provide a rich learning environment. Deployment is effective to ensure that children are well supported and supervised as they move between their chosen activities

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and outcomes for children

Children listen intently to staff as they read a story. Story sacks are used to enhance story time, the children have a super time using the characters and props from the story to act out each part of the story. This activity captures the children's interest exceptionally well and they all enjoy predicting what may happen next. Children enjoy singing familiar songs and have particular fun as they use a song sack and sing about meat balls rolling off the table and out of the door. Children are delighted as they sing to staff and visitors. Children are developing their early writing skills, they have opportunities to write for different purposes and have access to a range of writing resources which they select independently. They enjoy different creative medias such as play dough and painting at the easel. Children benefit from time on the computer they develop their mouse skills and learn how to turn take as the share the mouse.

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and outcomes for children

Children receive lots of positive praise and encouragement from staff throughout the session, helping them to feel a valued member of the setting. Staff show great respect for the children, they speak to them with kindness and in a way that captures their interest. Staff have developed good questioning techniques to encourage children to think for themselves, for example children recall the colour of the family car and how many cars they have.

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and outcomes for children

Children are beginning to learn about how to keep safe as spontaneous discussions take place with the children during the course of the session. For example, staff This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 talk to the children about the consequences of not sitting down as they eat. In addition children participate in evacuation procedures so they know what to do in an emergency.

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and outcomes for children

Children have developed good friendship in the setting and are able to show sincere concern for others. As children leave at the end of their session they call goodbye to their friends, saying see you tomorrow. Staff are good role models they have a calm approach to behaviour management, and encourage children to show kindness to each other. Children are gently reminded to remember good manners as they share resources with each other.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing an understanding of healthy lifestyles; they are able to explain why and when it is important to wash their hands. They talk about healthy foods as they eat their meals. Menus are varied and include foods that meet children's individual dietary needs. Meal times are social; staff sit with the children as they enjoy their food. Children are delighted as they help themselves to pitta bread cheese, tuna and salad. They talk about the food and where it comes from as they eat. Staff extend children's learning opportunities and physical development when they play outdoors. They ensure a good range of activities are readily available in this area. For example, children enjoy role play activities and have a great time as they use the see saw. 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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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

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

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