Cambian Summit Street

Leapfrog

Inspection report for early years provision

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Leapfrog

Unique Reference Number 135312 Inspection date 27 February 2006 Inspector Carolyn Mary Hasler

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Leapfrog

Setting Address Methodist Church in the Orchard, Old Park Ridings, Grange Park, London, N21 2EU Telephone number 020 8360 0022

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E-mail

Registered person Lesley Vincent Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care, Out of School 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 good. 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 good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Leapfrog nursery school opened in 1998. It is one of three nurseries owned and managed by the same provider. The nursery school operates from two rooms situated on church premises. The nursery is situated in a mainly residential area, and is walking distance to local transport facilities, schools and shops. There is a small front garden area for outside play. The nursery school serves the London borough of Enfield.

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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 There are currently 11 children from 2 to 4 years on roll. This includes 6 funded 3 and 4-year-olds. The nursery school only caters for children with special needs and children can attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery school opens five days a week. Sessions are from 09:15 until 11:45 , and 12:30 until 15:00 . They also operate an Out of School club during school holidays catering for 20 children aged between 3 and 8-years-old. The Head Teacher is a qualified early years specialist teacher who manages a team of 4 staff, with NNEB and NVQ Level 3 qualifications. In addition to the staff team the nursery school employs a specialist speech and language therapist. The setting receives support from mentors from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership, Early Years Social Inclusion Project and the Pre-school Learning

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children’s independence in becoming healthy is promoted as they are encouraged to help themselves to drinks throughout the session. Children make their own decisions about what they would like to eat at snack times through Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS), the use of sign and verbal communication. Children enjoy and benefit from exercise which is readily available becoming involved in daily opportunities to participate in activities developing their coordination and skills, for example they take part in musical movement, climbing and crawling through tunnels. Staff have to make daily decisions about the use of the outdoor play area based on individual health needs. Children are encouraged to follow good personal hygiene routines as they develop independence in their self-care skills for example younger or less able children are given the tools to help themselves and are

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Helping children to be healthy

encouraged by supportive staff through PECS and sign, while older or more able children independently manage to wash their hands on their own. This helps to prevent the spread of infection. Children’s health is well promoted as staff have relevant first aid training and implement effective hygiene procedures to minimise the risk of infection, for example, staff who prepare and handle food receive appropriate training and understand and comply with food safety and hygiene regulations.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children have access to a well organised and safe play space which allows them to choose between quiet and more boisterous activities. They access a good range of well maintained and good quality play equipment and resources which are carefully selected to ensure they are developmentally appropriate for the children present.

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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 Children learn about keeping themselves safe through clear boundaries set by staff. For example, holding hands when climbing steps and learning to be careful of one another. Children practise fire drills each term, so they become familiar with this routine helping to gain an awareness of potential safety issues. Children are kept safe because the staff identify areas of risk and remove them. Risk assessments are carried out and monitored. Ratios are high and the layout of the playroom allows for constant supervision. This means that children receive much individual attention. The implementation of effective systems, such as the arrival and collection of children and the monitoring of visitors, contribute to ensuring children’s safety. The staff have a good understanding of the procedures to follow if they have

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

concerns about a child. They follow the setting's child protection procedure.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children enjoy their time at pre-school. They arrive happy and confident and quickly settle into the routine making their own choices about their play. Count down songs help children settle and become familiar with their surroundings and daily routine. Children are interested in activities and involved in their learning. Practitioners know all children well and talk in detail about how children are progressing and what their next step for development is. The grouping of children is small and children are encouraged to develop social skills and build friendships; one to one time with individual children helps to secure relationships between children and staff, thereby developing a strong sense of trust. Practitioners are beginning to include the Birth to three matters framework within their planning and recognise that this is an ongoing area for development. Practitioners recognise the value of play in a child’s development and introduce a range of

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

experiences, enabling children to learn to play and work together in small groups as well as independently. This ensures effective support and sufficient challenges are provided to help children achieve their individual potential, preparing children for other services where they will have opportunities to become part of larger groups. The nursery provides detailed reports for early years professionals that are linked to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice requirements. Nursery Education: Children are eager to learn and concentrate well showing good perseverance with activities according to their abilities. They feel safe and secure allowing adult interaction, they begin to relate to others through watching others at play, and taking part in group activities. Children generally play individually; however they begin to understand the concept of taking turns for example when using the slide. Children

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

begin to accept the needs of others with support, for example, learning to say sorry. They show care and concern for others through using resources such as the hospital corner, playing with puppets and cuddling each other.

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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 Children listen with great excitement to stories and become actively involved through good use of props. Children's communication skills vary. Children have special individual language programs and use a variety of resources for supporting their communication. For example children are learning to use Makaton and PECs. This helps them to take an active role in group activities such as circle time. Children respond well to songs, rhythms and rhymes. They hear lots of positive and reproductive language all around them. Children independently use a range of tools and materials and freely access a variety of resources from the writing station and from the role play area, they also have access to a touch screen computer and a Widgit, which they use to represent their own ideas.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children begin to build confidence as they self-select activities such as puzzles and threading, helping to increase their manipulative skills. Children enjoy a range of opportunities to express imagination through role play. They experience a range of media and materials encouraging them to explore their senses. Effective use is made of time and resources to provide children with opportunities to engage in physical activities, including musical movement and climbing. However they do not have sufficient opportunities to enjoy physical activities outside when the weather is cold. Children gain confidence in using numbers, as they enjoy group activities when learning about numbers and counting. They join in with number rhymes and songs such as '12345 once I caught a fish alive' and 'five little monkeys' jumping on the bed. Children take part in adult directed counting games; they see numbers in written form

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

for example on the telephone, diary and keyboard in the hospital corner. Children see two and three-dimensional shapes all around them during their play with large soft play equipment, shape sorters, bricks and puzzles. Children begin to understand positional language such as big and little while playing in the home corner. However children’s opportunities to develop understanding of measure and volume are more limited. Children explore creativity using a wide range of media such as paint, clay and pasta. Children show interest in how things work through exploration and investigation, gaining first-hand experience in playing with technical equipment such as computers and torches. They enjoy the use of natural materials when used as props in stories. Communication, language and literacy is given a very high priority. Children begin to make connections between their own life experiences and their play, for example,

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

using the torch from the 'bears cave' as a tool to examine throats. The quality of teaching and learning is good. The children make good individual progress because practitioners have a secure understanding of how children learn effectively and use their self chosen activities to extend their learning. Practitioners encourage children to lead their own learning and this is successfully achieved by a well developed routine, with a good balance of child and adult initiated activities. They have adapted language and communication in accordance with children’s age and ability. Practitioners know children well and have realistic expectations of what they want them to achieve. They monitor their progress and identify targets. The curriculum is tailored to individual children's needs and abilities to help them to achieve their individual potential. Practitioners talk about how each child is progressing and plan their next step for development.

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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

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children begin to gain an awareness of themselves and an understanding of the wider world through positive images portrayed within resources and activities which encourage children to actively learn about other cultures. For example, children listen to Greek music shared by parents and celebrate festivals such as Christmas, Diwali and the Chinese New Year. Practitioners have a good understanding of how to promote equality issues and use resources well, for example, though child size puppets which are used to greet children during circle time. Children with additional needs make good progress towards their development because practitioners have excellent knowledge and understanding of working with children with complex needs. This means that children’s care is exceptionally well supported. All practitioners have an excellent working knowledge of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice and have a wide range of practical experience in working

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Helping children make a positive contribution

with children with special educational needs. All children attending have varying degrees of complex needs and attend this setting as a feeder to other settings, some main stream. Staff from this setting support children when they move to other settings. Additional practitioners such as nursery assistants and speech therapists work along side the senior staff and parents to ensure children with special educational needs make good progress towards their individual developmental plans. Staff ratios are high to support children’s individual needs. Children generally behave well, showing good levels of confidence and self-esteem because staff praise and encourage them continuously, using positive language to help children increase their level of achievement. Practitioners deal with behaviour appropriately helping children to understand and respect others feelings. Children learn how to behave appropriately through the good examples that practitioners set,

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Helping children make a positive contribution

modelling how to be kind to each other. Children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered. Practitioners' partnership with parents of children who receive Nursery Education is good, however the reports parents receive only give a general overview of the six areas of learning. Children benefit because staff have a secure knowledge of individual children’s family and home circumstances. Parents provide appropriate and relevant information about their children to practitioners. This helps to ensure children receive individual care and attention. The setting has identified that they sometimes find it difficult to keep parents fully informed if they do not directly bring or collect children and have been exploring different ways of managing this. They acknowledge this is an area for development.

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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 Children’s care and learning is enhanced by the effective deployment of staff and good leadership and management of nursery education. Management place high importance in giving staff opportunities for professional development and the registered person actively encourages staff to attend training. New staff complete an induction programme and are supported through regular team meetings. The staff team is well established and staff work well together to promote children’s health, enjoyment and achievement. This helps ensure all staff contribute fully to the group and successfully promote positive outcomes for children. Children benefit from qualified and experienced staff who are very caring. All children receive very good support from a staff group that enjoy their company and know

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Organisation

them well; helping them feel secure and confident. Information kept about children is relevant and helps promote their welfare. Children enjoy coming to the setting and have fun while they are there. 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 last day care inspection the provider agreed to make toxic substances inaccessible to children and improve fire drill records to include specific start and stop times, verifying the length of time taken to evacuate the premises. A significant improvement has been made on children's safety. Children cannot gain access to toxic substances and fire drill records are now more specific and clarify times taken to evacuate the premises. At the last nursery education inspection the provider agreed to continue to develop written plans by confirming that all of the six areas of learning are included to ensure that children are offered a range of learning opportunities across the breadth of the curriculum. The provider also agreed to display children's art work as part of the room or wall display in order that children learn to recognise and appreciate their work and those of others. Daily record sheets completed by practitioners now include the six areas of learning.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Children's art work is now displayed around the room so that children can value and appreciate their own work and the work of others.

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Complaints since the last inspection

A complaint was received on 13/07/2005 relating to the National Standard 7: Health, National Standard 12: Partnership with Parents and National Standard 13: Child Protection. Two Ofsted inspectors carried out an unannounced visit to investigate. Two recommendations were made in relation to record-keeping. 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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Complaints 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 The complaint was not recorded on the complaints record as it was received prior to changes of regulation in October 2005.

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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 good. 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 good.

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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): • Record decision making regarding the non use of the outside area (also applies to Nursery Education)

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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): • Update format of reports to easily identify the six areas of learning.

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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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