My Choice School Arundel

Toddlers Inn Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 135111 Inspection date 04/05/2010 Inspector Helen Maria Steven

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Setting address Cicely Davis Hall, Cochrane Street, London, NW8 7NX

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Telephone number 0207 586 0520 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

Toddler's Inn Nursery is privately owned and has been registered since October 1992. It operates from a community hall in St John's Wood in the City of Westminster. The nursery has access to a hall and additional play room, kitchen, toilets with a toddler changing room and an enclosed outdoor area within a short distance of the premises. The hall is on the ground floor with two small steps at the entrance, however, there is a ramp which can be fixed if required for wheelchairs.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register to care for a maximum of 24 children; there are currently 42 children on roll aged from two to four years. The nursery supports children who have special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language. Children aged three and four years old now receive funding for early education.

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Description of the setting

The nursery opens five days a week during school term times. Children attend for a variety of sessions; 9am to 12noon, 9am to 1pm, 1pm to 3.30pm, 9am to 3.30pm. Four staff work directly with the children and the manager is supernummary, most staff have appropriate childcare qualifications. The provider includes specific sessions for Drama, French and Football skills for all children. The nursery receives support from Westminster's Pre-School Learning Alliance.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is inadequate.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The setting is not currently meeting all specific legal requirements. The provider is not adequately safeguarding children as there is a lack of detailed risk assessments and procedures. Some required documentation is not available for inspection. Children’s individual needs are known to their keyperson and children have developed strong relationships with the adults. Children engage in a variety of activities that adequately support their journey towards the early learning goals, with specific strengths in some areas of learning. The setting has positive relationships with their parents and carers which contribute to the children's care. The provider has been addressing recommendations from the last inspection, and managers are undertaking training which is generating ideas for the setting, however, this has not yet culminated into a clear vision of priorities for development to improve the quality of provision for all children.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the early years provision requires significant improvement. The registered person is given a Notice to Improve that sets out actions to be carried out.

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further?

To comply with the requirements of the EYFS the registered person must take the following action by the specified date: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  maintain a daily record of the names of the children looked after and their hours of attendance (Documentation) 07/05/2010

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further?

 conduct a risk assessment of the premises and equipment and review it at least once in each calendar year, identifying aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis and maintain a record of these particular aspects and when and by whom they have been checked (Suitable premises, environment and equipment) 30/06/2010

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further?

 carry out a full risk assessment for each type of outing. This assessment must be reviewed before embarking on each specific outing (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 30/06/2010

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further?

 make sure that at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate is on the premises at all times when children are present (Suitable people) 30/06/2010

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further?

 make sure that the behaviour management policy is adhered to by all members of staff (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 30/06/2010

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further?

 ensure there is a written procedure in place for dealing with concerns and complaints from parents and keep a written record of complaints and their outcomes (Safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare) 30/06/2010

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further?

 make sure that there are effective systems in place to ensure that practitioners and other people aged 16 or over likely to have regular contact with children are suitable to do so and make sure that records of the information used to assess their suitability are kept to demonstrate that checks have been done (Suitable people) 30/06/2010

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further?

 ensure that records are accessible and available for inspection by Ofsted. (Documentation) 30/06/2010

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 continue to strengthen the systems in place for monitoring children's progress in order to improve planning to include each child's individual next steps for learning and further develop the environment to ensure it plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning in all areas  develop procedures to promote reflective practice, self-evaluation and identify priorities for development to improve outcomes for children  further support children’s creativity by enabling them to represent their own ideas without necessarily making an ‘end product’ which is adult directed. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are not sufficiently robust to protect children’s welfare. Although the provider reports to have a suitable recruitment procedure there is not adequate information available at inspection to demonstrate to Ofsted that checks have been carried out, including the unique reference numbers of Criminal Records Bureau disclosures obtained and the date on which they were issued for all adults working in the nursery. This is a breach of a specific legal requirement. Staff carry out a visual daily safety check each morning, however, the provider has not conducted a detailed risk assessment covering everything that children may come into contact with to ensure that hazards to children are kept to a minimum. The provider has not identified aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis, for example, testing the battery smoke alarms. It is a specific legal requirement that the provider maintains

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the early years provision

a record of the risk assessment including when and by whom this was carried out; the risk assessment must be reviewed regularly, at least once a year or more frequently where the need arises. Fire drills are carried out approximately once each year. Rightly, staff identify issues arising from these practices, however they do not demonstrate that having assessed the risks they act accordingly to support children’s understanding of how to keep themselves safe in the event of an emergency. Staff have a basic understanding of child protection issues and know how to take action if concerns arise to protect children in their care. Managers are in the process of undertaking safeguarding training to develop their knowledge of child protection issues.

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the early years provision

There are detailed policies and procedures in place from the Pre-School Learning Alliance, although these are not dated to identify when they were last reviewed. Some of the policies are summarised for parents in their welcome pack. There is not a written procedure for dealing with concerns and complaints from parents in place, which is a specific legal requirement. The provider reports that the recommendations set at the last inspection are ongoing. For example, formalising the system to monitor staff practice and reviewing the presentation of activities. Staff practice does not always match the setting’s policies and as a result there are inconsistencies in their approach to issues such as behaviour management which impacts on children’s understanding of behavioural expectations.

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the early years provision

At times, the person in charge is unable to access documentation and as a result, the attendance register is not completed as children arrive, furthermore, when in operation the system is not maintained effectively. This will compromise children’s safety in the event of an emergency. In addition, when children’s details cannot be accessed, it prevents the staff from being able to contact parents if their child has an accident. The provider does not have a system in place to self-evaluate the setting; as a result they have not demonstrated that they have effectively identified and addressed all weaknesses to ensure that the provision meets regulations in order to support the safety of the children. Although the provider reports that she is aware of the weaknesses in her record keeping and attributes this to time restraints. Managers are currently undertaking degrees in Early Years and report to have lots of ideas to bring back to their provision in the future. No

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 staff members hold a current paediatric first aid certificate in order to treat children appropriately in the event of an accident. This is a breach of a specific legal requirement.

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the early years provision

The nursery is welcoming and the space is suitably organised with resources set out to enable children to select from a varied range of activities and toys. However, routines and defined areas are not effectively planned to ensure the environment is challenging across all areas of learning. Parents are positive about the nursery and receive verbal feedback each day about their child. They feel it is a warm, welcoming and supportive setting and consider that their children are making progress in their learning. Information given to the parents covers welfare issues and the setting is implementing systems to strengthen the involvement of parents in the learning and development observations. Managers work effectively with other agencies to ensure information is regularly shared and used to promote children’s achievement and well-being. They act on advice promptly to ensure that children’s individual needs are met.

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and outcomes for children

Children have developed strong relationships with the staff and each other and staff support children in order to ensure they feel safe when new adults are in the nursery. However, children’s safety cannot be fully assured as the provider has not been robust in areas of safeguarding. Children have some opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe, for example, they are reminded to walk in twos when going to the outside area. However, they do not have sufficiently regular opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe in the event of an emergency, for example, by undertaking regular fire drills. Children are in the process of learning to share and take turns, however, the staff team are not consistent in their approach and some strategies conflict with the provider’s behaviour management policy and as result children are not gaining a full understanding of behavioural expectations.

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and outcomes for children

Children make generally sound progress towards the early learning goals in some areas of learning. For example, older children have a desire to mark make and are supported in creating books and displays. Children enthusiastically engage in group activities to support their understanding of blending phonics. However, there are fewer opportunities to mark make for a purpose when children are at the art table or engaged in role play. Older children are proficient in counting and staff support this by showing them number flash cards and encouraging them to physically jump the number they see. Staff use mathematical language in everyday routines to support children in understanding concepts such as size and shape. The children’s individual requirements are known to their keyperson and staff work effectively alongside other agencies to ensure that the setting supports children with specific needs. Activities such as ‘International lunches’, story times and celebrating

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and outcomes for children

festivals enable children to have a sense of belonging and develop their understanding of cultures different to their own. Children with English as an additional language are supported as staff speak some community languages and report that they use effective body language to communicate. Children have the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 opportunity to develop their physical abilities with specific ‘football skills’ sessions for all children. As well as learning to dribble the ball skilfully, they stretch and bounce, negotiate space, problem solve and develop their listening skills.

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and outcomes for children

Children have access to computers to develop their information and communication technology skills, although they are not switched on each session. Children are introduced to the pleasure of books as they share stories with staff members as well as snuggle down in the cosy book corner to look at books independently. Children have the opportunity to undertake art activities, however, there are many examples throughout the nursery where arts and crafts are adult directed in order to produce a desired result. This limits children’s ability to express their own ideas in order to develop their creativity. Children enjoy role play activities and have opportunities to explore sound and rhythm with musical instruments. There are systems in place to record observations, some of which identify the areas of learning and children’s next steps. This current system is in its infancy and managers recognise that it is not fully effective in informing

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and outcomes for children

individualised planning at this time. Children show good awareness about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, activities around this topic develop children’s understanding of issues such as looking after their teeth. Children demonstrate an awareness that they need to drink water after exercising to ensure they are not dehydrated. Staff and parents work in partnership to ensure that children receive healthy balanced and nutritious food. A range of physical activities enables children to develop an understanding of the importance of regular exercise. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 4 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 4

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 4 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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