North Harrow Nursery

North Harrow Nursery Ltd Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY260395 Inspection date 01/03/2010 Inspector Victoria Vasiliadis

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Setting address 42-44 Gloucester Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 4PW

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Telephone number 020 8427 0114 Email 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 . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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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

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

North Harrow Nursery Limited was registered in 2003 and operates from two converted houses in the London Borough of Harrow. There are four children's play rooms, a discovery and sensory room. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open each day from 8.00am to 6.00pm all year round and children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting is registered on the early years register. They may care for no more than 94 children at anyone time. Currently there are 150 children on roll within the early years age group. The setting currently supports children with Special Educational Needs and/or disability and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 20 staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. There is one person currently working towards a level three qualification. The setting is a member of the National Day Nursery Association and Pre-school Learning Alliance. They also receive support from the Local Authority.

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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

The children are settled, happy and content within the warm and welcoming environment. They are provided with a wide range of learning opportunities and experiences; this promotes positive results in relation to the Every Child Matters outcomes and ensures children reach their full potential. Partnership with parents, carers and other professionals is good which ensures that the children's welfare and learning needs are well met. Self-evaluation is ongoing and incorporates the views of practitioners, parents and children. Areas for improvement have been identified and most of the previous recommendations have been addressed.

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further?

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

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further?

 prompt babies' and toddlers' thinking and discussion through involvement in their play and make use of activities where talk is used to anticipate or initiate what children will be doing or are doing  further support children's independence skills as they do things for themselves such as allowing younger children to feed themselves and serve themselves at meal times This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Practitioners are well deployed which ensures children's safety is monitored. Practitioners are secure in their knowledge of child protection matters and implement these effectively to ensure children’s well-being is given good priority. Practitioners carry out daily visual checks on the premises and effective risk assessments are in place, which successfully minimise children’s risk of accidental injury. There are robust systems in place to ensure that those adults caring for children are suitable to do so.

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the early years provision

There are effective systems in place to ensure partnership with parents and others is successful. Parents provide written information about their children's individual needs including any disabilities, Special Educational Needs or cultural and linguistic requirements. Practitioners seek information from parents about key words in the child's home language and there are several practitioners who speak a variety of languages which enables them to communicate with children and their families. Written words in some of the children's home languages are displayed throughout the setting, such as Punjabi, French, Spanish and Gujarati which helps children to feel valued and included. Curriculum evenings take place to enable parents to gain an understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how their child is learning and achieving. The setting works very closely with the local authority inclusion team and other professionals, such as speech and language therapists,

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the early years provision

physiotherapist and occupational therapists as a means of supporting children with special educational needs and/or disability. Discussions with parents reveal that they are happy with the service provided and some have said that they would recommend the nursery to friends.

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the early years provision

The manager has a good overview of the work of the team as regular meetings take place and regular appraisals are conducted. As a result, practitioners' professional development is monitored and training issues identified. This ensures that the team continue to build upon their skills and knowledge. Self-evaluation is ongoing and includes the views of practitioners, parents and children. The setting has accurately identified their own strengths and weakness and continue to work on areas that they feel need addressing in order to improve outcomes for children and to develop the service further. The setting has addressed most of the recommendations from the previous inspection. However, the recommendation in relation to ensuring staff are consistent in their questioning techniques has not yet been fully met.

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and outcomes for children

Children are provided with good opportunities to make progress across all areas of learning and development. Planning is flexible, responding to children’s individual interests, their starting point and their capabilities. Clear plans help to identify the next steps in the children's learning and ensure they are actively engaged whilst in the setting. Practitioners are aware of their key children's individual needs and in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 discussions communicate their knowledge of the children's development and next steps well. Children have access to a wide selection of resources and equipment that is challenging, meets their individual needs and covers the six areas of learning. The environment is well organised which enables children to make choices in their play.

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and outcomes for children

Children are investigating how things work as they use programmable toys and computers. They are able to give meaning to marks and drawings that they create. For example, some of the children drew pictures of the people in their families and then practitioners record their words acting as scribes for the children. Children are supported in their learning as the practitioners sit with children and engage in conversations with them, they support children's language and extend their thinking and creativity. However, this practise is not consistent throughout the setting. As a result, babies and toddlers have less opportunities to develop language for thinking. For example, the children are presented with a pasta activity which they thoroughly enjoy exploring. But, practitioners do not talk to them about what it is they are experiencing or doing.

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and outcomes for children

Children are supported in developing positive relationships with their peers as practitioners challenge negative behaviour or comments. Children are encouraged to share resources and practitioners talk to the children about the consequences of their behaviour. Practitioners work in partnership with parents to ensure consistency when managing children's behaviour. There are a range of strategies that praise the children’s good behaviour such as star charts, certificates and star of the day. This ensures that children are respected and valued. Children are encouraged to respect their resources and environment and help to tidy away toys at the end of sessions. Children are recognised as valuable contributors to the setting as their cultural and ethnic experiences are acknowledged. For example, photographs depict countries that represent the different backgrounds of the children and their families.

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and outcomes for children

Practitioners place a strong emphasis on developing the outdoor play and learning opportunities, where children are encouraged to plant, dig and collect worms to put in their home made wormery. Daily free-flow outdoor play supports babies and children’s physical development as they enjoy peddling the bikes, pushing buggies, climbing and sliding. Children have access to healthy and nutritious foods which take account of their dietary and individual needs. The children are beginning to learn how to keep themselves healthy as discussions take place about germs and why they need to wash their hands before eating. Discussions with the children also reveal that they are increasing their understanding of healthy foods. For example, a small group of children identified that strawberries are healthy. Children are encouraged to help themselves to snacks but they are not provided with opportunities to serve their own lunches. In addition, some of the younger

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and outcomes for children

children are able to feed themselves confidently, but at times practitioners intervene unnecessarily and take over this task. This therefore results in children's independence skills being restricted.

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning the importance of how to keep safe. For example, children know what to do in the event of a fire because they routinely practise the evacuation procedures. Children are also reminded to keep bikes in the designated This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 areas in the garden so as not to hurt others. The babies are able to explore their environment from a secure base as they have developed healthy attachments with their carers. 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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