Hampstead Garden Suburb Pre-School

Hampstead Garden Suburb Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY338293 Inspection date 12/11/2010 Inspector Siobhan O'Callaghan

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Setting address Free Church Hall, Northway, LONDON, NW11 6PB

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Telephone number 07785 995 412 Email sam@hobbs4305.fsnet.co.uk 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 assesses 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.

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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

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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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

Hampstead Garden Suburb Pre-school was previously run by a management committee and has been operating for approximately 50 years. Since then, it has had a change in ownership and was registered in 2006 to offer full day care. The provision continues to operate from the community hall in Hampstead Garden Suburb, which is situated in the London borough of Barnet and serves the local area. The nursery has access to the main hall, upstairs cloakrooms and an outside play area. The provision is open during term time Monday to Thursday from 8am until 4.15pm; on Friday the provision closes at 12 noon. Children may attend all day or sessions which run from 8.30am to 12 noon, and then from 12 noon to 1pm there is a lunch club and the afternoon session then continues until 4.15pm. There is also an option to attend the breakfast club five days a week; this operates from 8am to 8.30am. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both

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Description of the setting

the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of 24 children from two years to under eight years at any one time. The nursery provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds. There are currently 21 children aged from two years to under five years on roll. The nursery currently supports a number of children with English as an additional language. There are six members of permanent staff working with the children. Parent helpers also spend time assisting within the provision. The manager holds a Diploma in Pre-school practice. All other staff hold relevant early years qualifications and one member of staff is working towards an early years degree.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Hampstead Garden Suburb Pre-school provides good quality learning and development opportunities for children. Staff plan an interesting range of activities and experiences which, overall, give due emphasis to children's individual interests. Children's welfare is promoted through a comprehensive range of policies and procedures which help to keep them safe. The positive partnerships that are in place with parents and other settings further supports the pre-school in promoting many aspects of children's continuity of care and learning. The staff team demonstrates an enthusiastic approach towards implementing improvements to the provision; this can be evidenced in their capacity to address all recommendations raised at their previous inspection and their commitment to further developing their self-evaluation systems.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  improve the regularity of observation systems to ensure that these are continually informing everyday planning  develop further information gathered from parents to support and acknowledge children's home languages in the setting  develop further self-evaluation systems so that the views of parents and carers are utilised to assess all aspects of the provision and therefore improve outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

The pre-school has developed comprehensive records, policies and procedures to support the safe and efficient management of the provision. There are robust recruitment and vetting systems in place to ensure that staff are experienced and suitable to work with children. The provision gives due emphasis to safeguarding children as all staff are familiar with the policies and procedures in place to protect children from potential harm or neglect. Staff are well deployed in the provision as they effectively supervise children to support their overall safety. All staff members are responsible for maintaining a safe and secure environment; daily risk assessments are implemented to ensure that potential hazards are highlighted and removed. Separate risk assessments are in place for the safe conduct of outings and all relevant permissions are sort to gain parental consent, thus overall children's safety is successfully promoted.

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the early years provision

Staff organise a bright child-friendly environment where children are encouraged to have independent access to a broad range of resources and experiences to support their overall learning. Many resources give due emphasis to promoting diversity and inclusion and thus supporting children to develop a positive attitude towards their own and other cultures within the wider community. The provision has worked tirelessly to translate all of their policies and procedures into the many different home languages spoken by parents utilising this provision. However, staff are yet to gather from parents key words in children's home languages to further support their sense of belonging within the pre-school. Discussions with many parents confirm that on the whole they are very happy with the care and learning opportunities offered to their children. Parents' comments include: 'My child is very happy; he is always delighted to attend and he learns a lot' and 'staff are very

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the early years provision

good at helping children to settle into the pre-school; we can stay for as long as it takes for them to settle which is really reassuring'. However, a small number of parents demonstrate that they would like more opportunities to be involved in sharing their ideas about future improvements to the provision.

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the early years provision

The pre-school staff team have a positive attitude towards developing their knowledge and skills and thus implementing improved outcomes for children. Since their last inspection there has been very good progress in addressing the recommendations that were made. For example, children benefit from improved safety measures which have included a secure entry system into the building and safety covers have been built around the radiators. Children now have running warm water in their main playroom which supports their personal hygiene and independence. Staff have developed their planning and assessment systems so This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 that these are now more focused on children's individual interests and abilities. All staff are involved in monitoring the quality of experiences provided in the provision and are looking at ways to improve and enhance their practice. Children's

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the early years provision

integrated care and learning is supported through the positive partnerships that have been established with the two local schools that children tend to move onto. This in turn helps children to experience a smooth transition into mainstream school.

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and outcomes for children

The staff team demonstrate a confident knowledge and understanding of how to plan and deliver a successful programme of activities and experiences which take account of children's individual needs and interests. All children have a key person who is responsible for maintaining regular observations of their progress which then feed into planning systems. In practice this seems to be working well, although there is irregularity around the occurrence of some children's observations. Children enjoy participating in adult-led activities such as cooking and art and crafts; equally they enjoy initiating their own play and do so confidently. Staff are on hand to offer children good support and challenge as they work directly with them all of the time. Although there are no children attending requiring additional support, staff are aware of the importance of working both in partnership with parents and outside agencies to ensure that children are able to

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and outcomes for children

Children arrive happily and are greeted warmly by the staff team. They immediately access their environment which has been set up with a wide variety of resources and experiences for them to choose from. Children have many opportunities to develop their independence, for example, they are delighted to help prepare their own snack as they cut up fruit and pour their own milk. Good use is made of the space available as cosy areas are set up for children to read and play quietly if they wish. Children are developing good communication, language and literacy skills. Older children demonstrate their emergent writing abilities which are evidenced in the books they have made with staff. Children display very good listening skills as they engage within story time sessions, both planned and impromptu. They enjoy the challenges of problem solving tasks such as weighing the correct amount of ingredients for their cookies. Staff skilfully

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and outcomes for children

encourage children to think about the changes that will take place when the cookies come out of the oven. Children have many opportunities to develop their imagination and to be creative. They play purposefully with dolls as staff are on hand to support and extend their play, and they delight in exploring a full range of art and craft materials.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health, safety and overall well-being are effectively promoted within the provision. Children are offered healthy snacks and drinks to support their good health. They engage within a wide variety of physical pursuits both inside and outside; this fully contributes towards them developing a positive attitude towards living a healthy lifestyle. Children's physical skills include learning how to balance, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 climb, run and jump in a safe environment. Children are proactive in taking care of their own personal hygiene as they wash their hands before participating in cooking activities and before eating food. They handle resources safely and responsibly as staff teach them to understand the risks associated with, for example, using scissors and cooking utensils. Overall, children are very well behaved; they have established strong and secure relationships with the staff team

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and outcomes for children

and their peers. Consequently, children are developing many valuable learning and development skills which help to set secure foundations for their future learning. 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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Early Years Foundation Stage

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 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 2

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Stage

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

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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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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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