Carlton Hill Community Nursery

Carlton Hill Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Carlton Hill Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY305988 Inspection date 06 December 2005 Inspector Arda Halls

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Carlton Hill Nursery

Setting Address Carlton Hill Nursery, 86 Carlton Hill, London, NW8 0ER

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E-mail

Registered person Westminster Childrens Society Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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 For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are satisfactory. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Carlton Hill Day Nursery is one of 16 nurseries run by the Westminster children’s society. It opened in 1943 and operates from three floors in a large Victorian house in the London Borough of Westminster. A maximum of 83 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday 8:00 to 18:00 for 51 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 27 children aged from 15 months to less than 5 years on roll. Of

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 these 13 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from the local and wider community. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs, and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 11 staff, 7 of the staff, hold appropriate early years qualifications. One staff member is working towards a qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children enjoy a nutritious and healthy diet as they eat freshly prepared meals and snacks that regularly include fruit and vegetables. Their special dietary needs are met through a regular exchange of information between parents and childcare staff. Children's hygiene is mainly promoted by staff who implement appropriate procedures for reducing the risk of cross infection. For example, aprons and gloves are worn during nappy changing. Surfaces used for eating meals are regularly wiped down by staff, all of whom hold a food hygiene certificate. Children are developing a positive attitude to physical exercise which is enjoyed on a daily basis. Children show great delight and excitement when playing outside as they are having fun and are becoming proficient at using ride on toys and climbing and balancing on tyres; however there is lack of challenge for the more able children in

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Helping children to be healthy

their physical development. Children are appropriately cared for due to the sound procedures in place for first aid, accidents and medication, all of which are shared with parents. They are protected from unnecessary illness and are adequately cared for in emergencies as the staff have good procedures in place for dealing with accidents.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a warm and secure environment. There are good security precautions, such as an intercom system in place. The staff help keep children safe in the nursery because they are very careful in closely supervising children when using the stairs to the different levels. However, on the day of the inspection the staff child ratios were not met, which compromised the safety of the children. Children's needs are well met within the setting with ample furniture to rest, eat and play comfortably. Resources are clean and well maintained which older children can access safely. Children show a good understanding of safety issues and group boundaries, for example they assist with tidying the resources away after each session and push their chairs in after use. However, the hot tap on the top floor children’s bathroom is

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 too hot, this poses a risk to the children. Children move confidently around the environment making their own choices about their play. Space is well organised and used effectively to allow children opportunities to be active, engage in physical activities, table top and floor activities and to enjoy opportunities to relax and share books in a comfortable environment. Children's welfare is properly promoted by staff that understand their child protection responsibilities and are familiar with the setting's comprehensive child protection policy.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Staff working with younger children are beginning to use the Birth to Three Matters framework to develop their understanding of how children progress. As a result, they plan a reasonable range of activities for these children, such as various art and craft activities for children's exploration. However, the grouping together of under two-year-olds with rising three-year-olds for some of the day is not well managed by staff. This prevents staff from being able to fully support those children as they participate in activities. Children move confidently around the environment, both inside and out, making their own choices about their play. Space is well organised and used effectively to allow children opportunities to be active, engage in physical activities, table top and floor activities and to enjoy opportunities to relax and share books in a comfortable environment. Nursery Education

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children have fun and they play enthusiastically with a range of toys and resources. They play confidently with each other and form good relationships. The children demonstrate good social and emotional development by their happiness and their engagement in the activities. Children competently use number puzzles and measuring tools to support their mathematical development, however, there are less opportunities for calculation and problem solving. Effective use is made of time and resources to provide children with opportunities to engage in physical activities, such as climbing and balancing and riding bikes steadily. However, children could have their learning extended further by more thorough planning of outdoor activities. The nursery has a wide range of resources to promote children's knowledge and understanding of the world, however these are not

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

incorporated into planning and used sufficiently. Children enjoy a good range of books which they handle appropriately. Staff use props to support stories such as a large scarecrow the children made. They sit in awe of the story teller.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Warm relationships are evident between staff and children. All children are eager to learn, self assured in their play and confident to try new experiences. Behaviour is generally good and children are able to share and play co-operatively together. Staff use a range of methods to help children learn. They generally use effective questioning techniques to help children think. They listen intently to the children and respond appropriately. Staff have some knowledge of the Foundation Stage Curriculum. They respond well to children's interests however, planning has not been fully implemented and activities do not effectively cover all areas of learning. The intended learning outcome of activities is not clear or effectively understood by all staff. Staff are not routinely assessing children's progress in relation to the stepping

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

stones. Consequently they are not able to identify suitable challenges or support to allow individuals to make good progress.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children learn about themselves and the wider world through planned activities and discussions, for example around a variety of cultural festivals, helping them to understand and value the similarities and differences between themselves and others. This positive approach fosters children’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. Children with special educational needs are well cared for by practitioners who know their individual needs and give appropriate one to one care. Children are caring towards one another; they understand responsible behaviour and confidently take on roles and responsibilities within the group, such as assisting staff with laying the table for lunch. The partnership with parents is satisfactory. Children's needs are sufficiently met through procedures to share information with parents and vice-versa. However, children's progress cannot accurately be shared with parents as robust observation

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Helping children make a positive contribution

and assessment records are not yet fully implemented. Parents openly express satisfaction with the service they receive.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Practitioners understand their roles and responsibilities within the group and work reasonably as a team to promote satisfactory outcomes for children. The organisation of the nursery and the deployment of staff is effective throughout most parts of the day ensuring children are happily engaged in activities and secure in their surroundings. On the day of the inspection it was clear that ratios were not met and the provider was in breach of this regulation. It was evident that staff shortages were not appropriately covered from within the staff team and adult/child ratios were not always maintained. However, the provider has taken appropriate and swift action to rectify this situation.

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The effective implementation of most policies and procedures and appropriate recording of documentation helps to promote children's welfare, care and learning. However, staff records are not effectively maintained. Leadership and management are satisfactory with strengths being recognised within the group and some areas for improvement identified. Children benefit because practitioners are suitable qualified and enhance their knowledge and skills through regular training opportunities although none have been taken recently. Practitioners are well supported informally by management. The role of evaluating practice and children's achievement is not yet fully developed. Systems are not robust enough to notice where learning opportunities are missed and procedures to monitor the curriculum do not ensure all areas are sufficiently covered.

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Organisation

As a result, some aspects of children's development are not fully promoted and insufficient challenges are provided to some children. The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the previous care inspection, the nursery was recommended to ensure the lift for transporting dinners was in operational order. This area is still outstanding, however, the nursery has been taken over by Westminster Children's Society who have allocated funding to meet this recommendation.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since the last inspection. 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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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are satisfactory. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 • review the organisation of group circle time, to meet the needs of all children and ensure they gain the most from the activity • ensure the required adult and child ratios are maintained at all times • ensure the hot water tap in the top floor children’s bathroom is regulated to a reasonable temperature

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • provide opportunities for children to develop their understanding of knowledge and understanding of the world and in mathematics provide activities to promote simple calculation and problem solving. • develop observation and assessment records and use these to identify suitable challenges so that all children are able to make good quality achievements. • develop planning systems to ensure all areas of learning are covered.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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