Bentley Heath Church of England Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 28/11/2004 Inspector Name Maggie Thorp

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care, Out of School Day Care Setting Name Stonecroft Under 5s Centre Setting Address 100 Priory Road HORNSEY London N8 7HR

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Early Years and Play Address River Park House 225 High Road Wood Green London N22 8HQ

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education also identifies strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the early learning goals (elgs) by the end of the Foundation Stage. This inspection report must be made available to all parents. If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.

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Information about the setting

Stonecroft Under 5's Centre was registered in October 1999. It is managed by the London Borough of Haringey's Early Years and Play Service and is situated in Hornsey, at the foot of Muswell Hill. The nursery operates from the ground and first floor of a three story detached house. The youngest children have their own self contained playroom, bathroom and sensory garden. Older children use a series of interconnected rooms, the larger garden, an additional group room and a bathroom on the ground floor. All children also use a soft playroom, family room and bathroom on the first floor and a sensory room downstairs. There is a kitchen, laundry, office and staffroom for adult use. The nursery serves the local community. Other community provision at the centre includes: the local authority inclusion service office, a weekly group for children under three with disabilities and their parents; a health visitors' community group for first time mothers and a support

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Information about the setting

forum for local childminders. The nursery operates Monday through to Friday, from 08:00 - 17:45, all year round. There are currently 58 children from 2 to 5 years on roll. This includes 25 funded 3 and 4 year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are 14 children who have special needs and 24 children who speak English as an additional language attending. There are 10 part-time and 10 full-time staff working with the children. Sixteen staff have early years qualifications. The nursery also has a cook and a part time administrator. The setting receives support from a teacher from Haringey Early Years Advisory Service and has been awarded Quality Assurance by The Effective Early Learning Programme.

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How good is the Day 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 Stonecroft Under Fives Centre provides good quality care for children. The organisation of the nursery is good and the well qualified staff team work together effectively. However, there are weaknesses in the system for keeping Ofsted informed of staff changes. The indoor and outdoor environments are very well planned and resourced, providing children with very stimulating and comfortable places to play and learn. Children's health and safety is good. The environment is kept clean and generally well maintained. However, written risk assessments with action plans are not regularly carried out. Good systems are in place to safeguard children's well being if there are concerns about possible child abuse. Children have healthy meals prepared on the premises and all staff are alert to

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How good is the Day Care?

children's dietary needs. Staff plan and liaise with parents and other professionals well to ensure children with special educational are encouraged and included. Children's similarities and differences are acknowledged and valued. Displays and resources reflect diversity positively and staff put their detailed knowledge of children to very good effect in celebrating any family events or special days. Children's care, learning and play is very well provided for. Staff form close relationships with their key children and plan a wide variety of activities to match each child's individual stage of development. They begin and end each session with small group times which help children to get to know each other, to talk and share. Children are very caring towards each other generally and staff help children resolve difficulites well. Children in the youngest group are very confident and independent. Partnership with parents is good. Parents are made welcome and good systems are

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How good is the Day Care?

in place for sharing information and settling new children.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

No actions were raised at the last inspection

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What is being done well?

• The organisation of the key person system and the balance of small group and free play time fosters children's self confidence and communication skills very effectively. • Staff's knowledge of children's abilities, cultures and families is good. They skilfully weave this into activities, group times and general conversation thus encouraging children's pride in their own culture and background and interest in those of others. Children sign to each other and learn greetings in different languages. • The very well organised and resourced indoor and outdoor environments create rich opportinities for children to play and learn and to foster their independence. • The group for the youngest children is an extremely nurturing environment that manages to provide equally rich oppportunities for them to play and learn

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 as the older children have but at a scale just right for this age group. • Parents and staff work very well together to enhance the play and learning resources and environments for children. Parents and staff joint fundraising has led to a wonderful sensory garden being created for children.

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What needs to be improved?

• risk assessment • keeping Ofsted informed of changes

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 1 Implement more effective procedures for keeping Ofsted informed of staff changes and the results of suitability checks. 6 Produce a written risk assessment which identifies any actions to be taken and implement.

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by the time of the next 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Stonecroft Under Fives Centre provides children with a very stimulating and caring environment. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. A very effective system is in place to identify and support children with special educational needs and children with English as an additional language. Staff encourage good behaviour very well. The quality of the teaching is very good. Children enjoy uninterrupted periods of free play when they can develop their skills and follow their interests. The skilled staff team help children learn the most from these experiences. Small group times provide children with a secure base and rich opportunities to talk. The environment indoors and outside is extremely well planned. Each area is very well resourced and enabling children to be confident independent learners. Staff regularly observe, discuss and plan for children's learning. Their progress and

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How effective is the nursery education?

next steps are matched to the stepping stones and this is used well to inform the planning. However, use of the wording of the stepping stones to describe progress and next steps means children's achievements, interests and plans for how to develop these are not expressed very specifically and clearly, especially for parents. Leadership and management is very good. The management team have clear shared aims and the systems for evaluating and developing practice are very good. Responsibility for each learning area is delegated to a specific member of staff who takes pride in developing this. Time is made for staff supervision, training, discussion and planning. Partnership with parents is very good. There is very good communication between key workers and parents. Parents receive good information about the nursery verbally and through well a written booklet, displays and newsletters. Parents are made welcome and regularly meet with their child's key person to discuss their

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How effective is the nursery education?

child's progress. They are active in supporting fundraising.

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What is being done well?

• The sound management of the nursery encourages effective team work. Staff discuss their work at regular team meetings, they are keen to attend training and to put what they learn into practice to enhance children's learning and enjoyment. • The quality of the interaction between staff and children is very good. Staff listen to children, follow their ideas and introduce little ways a child's experiences could be extended. They follow up projects with excellant display to further enhance learning. • Children's language is encouraged very effectively by the simultaneous use

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 of signing and spoken language, by the praise given to good listening and by the small group times so children do not have to wait long for their turn to talk. • Children's understanding of number is promoted well. Children enjoy handling and sequencing numbers, and exploring the other maths activities in the cosy, stimulating maths den. •• Children's interest in the natural world in fostered very well. Children have excellent first hand opportunities in the environmental area to dig, plant, grow, and explore. This is further enhanced by very good adult support and the use of photographs, and display to help children recall and discuss the processes they have been involved in. • Children's creativitiy is encouraged very effectively by the access they have

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What is being done well?

to a variety of art materials and the freedom the have to experiment and and explore these.

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What needs to be improved?

• clarity of how children's progress and next steps in learning are expressed so parents are able to understand and development of plans to be even more well matched to children's current interests and knowledge

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the no key issued were raised. The point for consideration was 'to maintain the good quality of the provision and the imaginative approach to learning'. The nursery has done this very well. They have been involved in a quality assurance scheme to help them reflect on and evaluate their practice. As a result of this they further developed their practice to ensure boys and girls access the all areas of the curriculum, to raise everyone's awareness of nursery policies, to encourage more staff to attend training and to increase children's access to outdoor play. One outcome for children is that boys are developing more interest in creative activities and girls in maths games. Also children free flow between indoor and outdoor play areas and all children including those with special needs enjoy using the imaginatively set out sensory garden.

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What has improved 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; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are very confident. They make choices and are able to concentrate and persist even when they find an activity difficult. Children's behaviour is good. They are learning the rules for getting on well together, these are rules the children have developed themselves. They are very independent and take a pride in being the nursery helper when it is their turn. The children love to tell about their home experiences and events.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children communicate well and are confident in signing as well as talking. They are very expressive e.g. describing shaving foam as 'soap and snow'. Children's early reading and writing skills are good. Some are beginning to read the helper rotas and labels displayed. Children know letter names and sounds. They write their own names and write tickets when playing travel agents. Children enjoy looking at books and listen with interest to stories.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Many children can count confidently to ten and above. They are able to name and place written numbers in the right order and say which number is more than another. Children do simple calculations as part of games in the maths den and in action songs. Children know the names of many shapes and some are beginning to create patterns with shapes and colours. Children measure as part of cooking and building activities and can talk about size accurately.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children have a keen interest in exploring and planting in the environmental garden. They can describe the life cycle of a frog using illustrations displayed by the pond. Children explain to each other how the seeds they planted became sunflowers as they look at photographs of these. Children design and make cars and houses in block play. They use the computer and tape recorders confidently. Children are enthusiastic about cultural activities and celebrations.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children have good co-ordination and control using the wide range of large and small equipment available skilfully and safely. Children are developing climbing, balancing and bike skills well. They use brushes, scissors and cutters with control and knives and forks at lunch time. Children learn about keeping healthy, they talk to each other about the need to wear gloves to keep warm outside. They are able to move in a variety of ways e.g. when impersonating jungle animals at story times.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children create little stories as they use role play and small world areas. They dress up and go out to parties, they become travel agents issuing tickets, and builders in the block play area with hard hats. They enjoy using musical instruments, singing, and experimenting with rhyme and rhythm. Children take delight in their creations and the freedom and encouragement they have to experiment with many different mark making resources. Some children are beginning to do still life drawings.

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Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable and is of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • point for consideration • continue to develop records of what children have achieved and their current interests so that progression is obvious to practitioners and parents and the next steps are even more clearly matched and simply stated in activity plans.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents and to the Local Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection of funded nursery education.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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