Early Learning Years Nursery

Early Learning Years Nursery

Inspection report for early years provision

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Early Learning Years Nursery

Unique Reference Number EY153081 Inspection date 07 February 2006 Inspector Philippa Clare Williams

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Early Learning Years Nursery

Setting Address 19 The Grove, Finchley, London, N3 1QN

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Early Learning Years Nursery

Telephone number 0208 349 3492 E-mail elynursery@btopenworld.com Registered person Early Learning Years Nursery Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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Early Learning Years Nursery

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?

Early Learning Years Nursery a full day care provision which opened in 2002 and is located in a residential area of Finchley. The nursery operates from a two storey house near the main high road with good access to public transport and local amenities. There are three group rooms with an additional art room. There is also a main kitchen, milk kitchen, office and staff room, toilets and changing area. Children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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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 The opening hours are 07:45 - 18:15 five days a week all year round. There are currently 48 children on roll including 13 funded three year olds and 2 funded four year olds. Children can attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special needs, and who speak English as an additional language. There is a team of 13 staff working with the children some of whom work on a part time basis. Seven of the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or above. The nursery receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a clean and well-maintained premises. Children's health is promoted by staff who effectively follow the provision's health and hygiene procedures. For example, staff wear disposable aprons and gloves whilst changing nappies, and there are clear procedures for dealing with sick or injured children, so helping to minimise risks of cross-infection. Children learn the importance and value of personal hygiene through well-established routines, such as washing their hands after toileting, and before meals and snacks. Older children are able to carry out these routines with minimal adult support. All children enjoy sufficient quantities of food and drink. Children are provided with a generally healthy diet, with a four weekly rota of a vegetarian menu, however, there are on occasions, an over emphasis on processed foods. Children's special requirements with regard to health and diet are well documented and parents' wishes

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Helping children to be healthy

are respected. This ensures that all dietary needs are met and they can eat safely. Although children are in small groups at meal times, not all staff sit with children which leads to mealtimes being a less social occasion. Children enjoy physical exercise and have regular opportunities within both the indoor and outdoor areas. They are encouraged to develop their large physical skills through a range of activities and apparatus provided. Pre-school children enjoy activities such as climbing, running, ball skills, group activities with the parachute, and learning to pedal and steer the wheeled toys. Babies and toddlers enjoy a range of activities to develop their physical skills appropriate to their stage of development. Staff are beginning to be aware of how the Birth to three matters framework supports young children's development. However, this is not yet implemented to support individual children's needs. For example, babies were attended to by three different

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Helping children to be healthy

practitioners during one hour period for changing, settling to sleep and feeding, which may leads to a lack of continuity of care.

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Helping children to be healthy

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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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. The premises are secure and procedures are in place to ensure that staff have an awareness of authorised adults allowed to collect the children, this ensures the safety of the children at all times. Staff reinforce these by having clear procedures in place for lost and late collection of children. Children learn to keep themselves safe because staff remind them of safe practices and through discussions. Parents sign the register upon the arrival and departure of the children, and staff maintain their own registers. This ensures that they are aware of who is in the setting in the event of an emergency. Babies and children have access to a range of generally safe and developmentally appropriate play materials, which are organised to allow them to be independent and make choices. However, babies having access to small objects puts them at risk of potential choking hazards.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All required procedures are in place to ensure that the children's welfare is safeguarded and promoted. The staff are clear about routines used in an emergency evacuation and these are practiced. Staff have a good understanding of the procedure they need to put into action if they have concerns about any of the children. Staff have all attended training on protecting children and act appropriately in reporting concerns.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children are confident and they play happily together. They are beginning to develop positive relationships with one another. This contributes to their sense of belonging. Children benefit from the warm interaction with the staff and they have formed good relationships with them, which helps to develop their confidence and self-esteem. Staff interact well with young children and their developing language is supported through plenty of chatter and singing. Staff are sensitive to the individual needs of children, such as supporting them to settle into the nursery at their own pace, and carefully planning transitions when moving up to their next age group. Children are interested in the good range of activities and resources on offer, most of which they can access easily so that they can follow their own interests. However, staff do not yet have a clear understanding of the 'Birth to three matters' framework,

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

which means that positive outcomes for children under three are not yet fully promoted. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children make sound progress towards the early learning goals as staff have satisfactory knowledge of the Foundation Stage and understand the different ways children learn, although they

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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 are less secure in their knowledge of the stepping stones. Children happily join in activities encouraged by staff who lead by example. Staff generally support children's learning well, and encourage them to think and ask questions. Planning has been developed and links to the learning areas which provides children with a balanced range of activities across most areas of learning, although plans do not indicate how activities can be adapted and extended to meet children learning needs. Staff make observations and assessments of children's learning although these are not updated and are not used effectively to enable staff to plan activities. These assessments provide detail of individual challenge so that they can build on what children already know and can do. Children settle quickly and happily join in the range of planned activities. They sit well

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

at story time and listen keenly to staff. They are encouraged to be independent in the routine and their self care, they communicate well to make their needs known. They make relationships with each other and seek out their peers to join in their play. Children work well together and understand the importance of co-operation during group activities, for example they share the computer and sand toys. Children enjoy stories and have access to a wide range of age appropriate books which helps to foster their enjoyment of reading. Their language is developing well and many are confident communicators, as they talk about their families and experiences with staff and each other. They have some opportunities to recognise their names on their coat pegs. However, children are not given sufficient opportunity to write in their self chosen play. Children are learning to recognise numbers, sequence and count during their play. They practice number rhymes which

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

introduces them to early addition and subtraction. However, there is insufficient challenge for more able children to practice problem solving in everyday situations and for all children to count in daily routines. Children design their own models and many are becoming skilled in using the computer. They are aware of time and discuss past and presents events. However, they have less opportunity to investigate objects and materials, living things and find out about the place they live and the natural world. Children's imaginations and free expression are promoted through a range of activities such as singing, painting, role play and craft activities. Children develop fine manipulative skills as they carefully spread jam on crackers, use play dough tools and draw around shapes.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children generally behave well due to staff's positive and consistent approach. All children are able to participate in the activities offered. Children gain some awareness of diversity through using resources and activities relating to festivals such as Divalwi, Eid and Christmas. Overall children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered appropriately. The partnership with parents and carers is good. Parents receive information about the educational provision through the parent's brochure, visits, meetings, newsletters, and weekly plans which are on display. Parents are well informed about their

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 children's progress in learning through meetings and twice yearly reports. A daily diary enables an exchange of information between parents and staff regarding children's progress. This partnership has a beneficial effect on children's progress in learning. Staff have established positive relationships with parents. They request information about children before a child joins the Nursery and obtain relevant parental permissions. This information is used to help meet children's needs appropriately.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. Children are confident in the environment and are developing secure relationships where they show an interest in the activities. They are grouped in rooms according to their age and ability, where space is used well to allow children to play, eat and rest safely depending on their needs. An additional room is available to enable staff to provide extra activities to meet older children's developing needs. All documentation required for the safe and effective management of the group is in place. This contributes towards the welfare of the children. The leadership and management of the nursery education is satisfactory. Recruitment and vetting procedures are in place and clearly understood by management to ensure children are well protected. Although staff ratios are maintained and on the whole staff are deployed effectively, the current contingency plans are not effective in covering for staff absence as the Manager covers and

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Organisation

constant interruptions leads to children receiving sporadic levels of support. Staff development is encouraged and there are plans in place for some staff to attend short courses. However, there is insufficient training undertaken to increase staff understanding of the stepping stones in order to support the funded children. Overall, the nursery meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The previous Children Act inspection required the setting to: ensure that there are effective procedures in place for checking that staff are suitable to work with children, to review the organisation of mealtimes and develop children's opportunities for independence, and to ensure that parents have access to policies and procedures. The Nursery has a satisfactory procedure for checking staff, which includes rigorous interview, criminal records bureau checks and references. The Nursery has taken some steps to promote independence at meals times as children help to lay the tables. Policies and procedures are now accessible to parents as they are kept in folders in the hall way. The previous Nursery Education inspection required the setting to: develop the written plans to identify the purpose and presentation of activities and how these address the Early Learning Goals, to plan each activity area so that children can

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Improvements since the last inspection

identify the resources needed and access these easily, to increase the resources that reflect the diversity within the nursery and the local community, and to provide

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 opportunities for children to learn about and experience everyday ITC. Written plans do identify the purpose and presentation of activities although there are still weaknesses in this area as plans do not include how activities can be adapted and extended to meet children learning needs. Children are able to access resources for planned activities and resources used do reflect diversity of the local community. Children have daily opportunities to access the computer with suitable soft ware. These measures have a positive impact on children's learning.

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Complaints since the last inspection

In June 2005 a concern was raised which related to National Standard 13 – Child Protection. This was investigated by an unannounced visit, and the registered provider was asked to conduct their own investigation and report back their findings. This was received, no breaches of national standards were identified, however, one recommendation was raised to develop staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and procedures. All staff received in-house child protection training. The provider remains qualified for registration. 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): • improve contingency arrangements for dealing with staff absences and deploy staff effectively so that sufficient work directly with children to ensure consistency of contact and continuity of care • further develop staff's knowledge and understanding of stepping stones and the 'Birth to three matters' framework to ensure the needs of under three year olds are met and improve the quality of teaching for funded children (applies to nursery education also ) • improve the range of foods provided in order to ensure children are offered a

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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 healthy, nutritious diet and make sure mealtimes are a social occasion with staff sitting with the children • make sure all resources provided for babies are safe and suitable.

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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): • improve systems for curriculum planning to include how activities can be adapted and extended to meet children's learning needs and ensure that children's individual assessments are regularly updated, include samples of work and are used to inform future planning to support effectively the learning needs of each child • provide more opportunities for children to write for different purposes and to practice problem solving and counting in everyday situations and their self chosen play • provide opportunities for children to investigate objects and materials, to identify features of living things and find out about the place they live and the natural world.

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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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