St Elisabeth's Church of England Primary

Clowns Nursery Care Ltd Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 147516 Inspection date 14/04/2011 Inspector Fay Shelton

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Setting address Cinderella Path, 153 Northend Road, Golders Green, London, NW11 7HZ Telephone number 020 8455 7333 Email info@clownnursery.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.

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as 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

Clowns nursery has been registered since 1994. It operates from a manor house which has been converted to a fully equipped nursery, in Golders Green. The nursery consists of eight classrooms, a fully staffed kitchen and three outside play areas. Along with a reception area for handovers, there are toileting facilities throughout. The nursery is open for 50 weeks a year from 8.00am until 6.00pm, Monday to Friday and a variety of sessions are available.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 263 children on role aged between 6 months to five years. The setting employs 49 staff, of these; the majority hold a level three early years qualification or are working towards one. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register.

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Description of the setting

Systems are in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an additional language.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding. Children make exceptional progress in their learning and development at this outstanding and fully inclusive nursery. Children have tremendous fun as they play and learn in the safe and wonderfully inspiring environment. The very strong emphasis on partnerships between parents and others ensures that children's individual needs are fully met. Excellent reflective practice clearly identifies areas for continued progression, which results in well-targeted and sustained improvement to the provision for the children and their families.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 reviewing the use of storage areas to ensure they are consistently well organised to meet the needs of all children

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the early years provision

Children thrive in this nursery environment because enthusiastic staff take extremely good care of them. Procedures for safeguarding children are robust, regularly reviewed and understood by staff, for example staff have an excellent This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 awareness of issues that may give rise to concerns regarding abuse or neglect and they have a very good understanding of Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures for the protection of children. Clear and rigorous procedures are in place for the recruitment and vetting of new staff and this ensures that all adults working with children are suitable to do so. The management team have robust systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided by staff. For instance, through staff's self-evaluation and appraisals considerations are made for future targets and training.

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the early years provision

All documentation is accessible on request and maintained to a very high standard. Precise and detailed risk assessments are undertaken to ensure that outings, all areas of the building and garden are safe for children. A picture of each child's development clearly emerges through staffs' very thorough planning, observation and assessment records, to which parents have open access. The key person system works very well in practice as children build secure relationships with their key person as well as other staff. In addition, improvements have been made and goals achieved in accordance with the nursery's self-evaluation completed in September 2010, fully addressing the aims that were raised to benefit the children.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents, carers and outside agencies are excellent. Parents receive comprehensive daily verbal information about their child's day which enables them to be very effective partners in their children's learning. They are fully involved in the setting, for instance, they are often invited to go on outings. Parents hold the nursery in high regard. Comments such as, 'staff have been amazing and supportive', 'our child always enjoys coming everyday' and 'communication is brilliant' are words used by parents to describe this nursery. The nursery places a strong emphasis on promoting the inclusion of all children. Staff are skilled at identifying any concerns in relation to children's learning and development and they work well with parents and others to put additional help in place for them. Children with English as an additional language make equally good progress because staff invite parents to join them in religious festivals and

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the early years provision

celebrations. Furthermore, staff establish good links with the local receiving schools. Staff are well deployed. There is an excellent range of toys, materials and resources to meet the varying needs of the children attending.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing a very good understanding of why it is important to lead healthy lives. Lunch and dinner menus are carefully considered to ensure a balance of food groups and that meet all children's dietary needs. Children very much enjoy meal times, it is a very sociable occasion and children are seen thoroughly enjoying the delicious meals whilst offering the children healthy choices. Children follow rigorous personal hygiene routines, for example, washing their hands after outside play activities and before meals. Children are experiencing an impressive range of thought-provoking and memorable learning experiences both in and outdoors. They are very busy and curious learners from the time they come This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 eagerly into nursery to the time they leave. Children are making excellent progress because all of the staff have a thorough knowledge and understanding of how

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and outcomes for children

children learn and develop. They provide a very enabling learning environment in which babies and children can select resources and make decisions about their own learning. Throughout the nursery, staff focus on allowing the children to have significant input when planning and developing their own learning experiences. Staff supplement the children's ideas to provide challenging and exciting experiences gaining information from weekend sheets from home. Events and interests are integrated into flexible planning.

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and outcomes for children

All children enjoy fresh air and exercise and develop their physical skills, as they slide, climb, run, ride vehicles and crawl. They practise fine motor skills as they make use of and completely focus on sequins scattered on the floor. They are highly involved in many sensory activities, such as, participating in a sticking activity and water play. They investigate as they prod and poke buttons on toys to find out how they work and thoroughly enjoy music, singing songs and rhymes. Children have many opportunities to practise their early writing both in and outdoors, for example, drawing on the walls, floor and any available surface in the outdoor area. Children's understanding of diversity and difference is enhanced as they celebrate many festivals and special events from around the world. They access excellent resources that reflect positive images of people from different cultures and of different abilities from themselves. For example children celebrate

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and outcomes for children

their differences and similarities through spiritual and cultural celebration of familiar festivals such as Nuruz, Purim and St David's day. The ethos in the setting is outstandingly inclusive of children's backgrounds. Children thoroughly enjoy coming to their nursery because they are cared for by kind and passionate staff. Children's welfare, learning and development are supported extremely well. Children make consistently excellent progress towards the early learning goals, relative to their starting points, because staff make very effective use of their observations of children in planning activities that support their individual development. Children experience an excellent balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. Children are curious, enthusiastic and play a full and active role in their learning. They are very confident communicators who are keen to share their thoughts and ideas. They are developing extremely good skills for

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and outcomes for children

the future, for example, they seek out resources independently which they feel will aid their play and exploration. Children are very well behaved throughout the nursery and demonstrate an extremely good understanding of the setting's rules and expected codes of conduct that are based on safety and respect for one another. Social skills and good manners are modelled well by staff, who consistently praise and encourage children, supporting their developing self- esteem and personal confidence. 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 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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