Head Start Day Nursery

Head Start Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY217518 Inspection date 19/04/2011 Inspector Shirley Paddock

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Setting address 54 Station Road, New Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, EN5 1QG Telephone number 01438 840 681 Email 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

Head Start Day Nursery opened in 2002. The nursery is in a detached house on three floors, which has been fully refurbished for the purpose of a nursery. The nursery serves the local and surrounding areas.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 71 children from three months to five years on roll. This includes 20 funded three and four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery offers full day care and opens five days a week all year round. Part time places are offered to meet parent's needs.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 17 staff working directly with the children. All the management team hold a suitable qualification; a high percentage of staff hold a recognised child care qualification. The remainder are working towards obtaining a qualification. The setting receives support from a teacher/mentor from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP). Since registration the setting has received the 'Investors in people' award.

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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

The setting has an exceptional understanding of all children as individuals, which results in their welfare and learning needs being extremely well promoted. Children make exceptionally good progress. The setting has an excellent capacity for improvement and provides clear direction to all staff, enabling them to effectively support and develop the children's abilities. The setting makes excellent use of self-evaluation to gain an overall understanding of its strengths and weaknesses, and ensure they are continuously improving.

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further?

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

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further?

 developing further the partnerships with other professionals involved in the care of the children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Safeguarding is outstanding. Robust systems are in place to help safeguard children and promote their welfare. Staff have attended relevant safeguarding training and all the required documentation is in place. Policies and procedures are of extremely high quality and are managed effectively and in the best interest of all its users. Excellent systems are in place to ensure the ongoing suitability of staff to work with children. These include safe recruitment procedures and vetting checks, induction programmes and ongoing systems of appraisal. There is an effective entry system which enables staff to be able to monitor those who enter and leave the building. All staff have received first aid training. Children's good health and well-being are given excellent attention by staff promoting and role modelling good hygiene procedures. Staff take positive steps to ensure any hazards are minimised and any action taken is reviewed. The setting undertakes regular and effective risk

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the early years provision

assessment to maximise children's safety both at the setting and when they go on outings.

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the early years provision

Staff support all children in a very caring way and treat each one as an individual. Deployment of resources is effective and staff make good use of space, ensuring children are constantly and purposefully engaged in play. Excellent systems are in place to monitor staff and ensure that ratios are met at all times. Diversity and equality are promoted effectively as staff show a high regard to meet children's individual care, learning and development needs. Children have good opportunities to learn about other cultures and beliefs through planned activities based on various festivals and celebrations.

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the early years provision

The setting shows a strong commitment to driving improvement and they have met all the recommendations raised at the last inspection. There are excellent systems in place to ensure effective partnerships with parents and parents comment on how valued they feel. The setting has developed good systems to work in partnership with others, particularly the local authority and physiotherapy services, although this is not fully developed to enable a close working partnership with others who have a professional involvement in the education and care of the children. An excellent system for self-evaluation underpins the continuous improvement made by this setting.

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the early years provision

The leadership and management of the nursery are outstanding. The leader provides clear direction so that all practitioners can focus on providing a safe, secure and stimulating environment where children can progress in their learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

All children make excellent progress within the setting and are well supported by the staff who have a superb understanding of their individual needs and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 understand how to encourage the children in making choices and becoming independent learners. An established settling in period enables staff to accurately find children's starting points. They skilfully use observations to gain an understanding of the progress the children are making. Well thought out plans reflect a thorough understanding of the children's individual interests and reflect each child's next steps in learning. There is a superb balance of adult and child-led activities and staff give the children a great many opportunities to explore their individual interests. For example, the children found a worm in the garden. Their overwhelming enthusiasm was exceptionally well supported by staff who used the

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and outcomes for children

opportunity to encourage the children to find out about other insects in the garden. This was done through the use of excellent open-ended questions incorporating many areas of learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children show excellent communication skills as they play together, share books and resources, use messy equipment and help prepare the table for lunch. There are opportunities for mark-making using a variety of resources, for example, chalk boards, sand and pens. Children make shopping lists to buy their fruit at snack time. There is a wide range of resources to support children's numeracy skills together with two computers for the children to use as they begin to gain an understanding of technology. Children begin to learn about the world through the wide variety of puzzles and construction resources. Well maintained and highly resourced home corners enable children to develop their imagination, social and language skills through role play. Robust systems are in place to monitor children's progress and keep a track of their individual learning needs through regular assessments. Parents are invited to regular review meetings enabling them to be

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and outcomes for children

fully informed about their child's progress. The outstanding use of assessments and observations guides staff in planning activities which offer stimulation and challenge to the children and introduce them to new experiences.

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and outcomes for children

Adults have high expectations of the children and encourage good behaviour. The superb relationships between staff and children ensure the children develop very important life skills. They become increasingly more able to concentrate and use what they already know as a springboard for future learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children adopt healthy lifestyle as they are provided with a nutritious diet of meals, which are freshly cooked on the premises. Older children are able to serve their own food and pour their own drinks, enabling them to make healthy choices of the foods they would like to eat. They are offered fresh fruit and vegetables and have access to fresh drinking water throughout the day. Children wash their hands before and after lunch and understand that they need to remove the germs. Highly effective nappy changing procedures are maintained to ensure that the spread of infection is kept to a minimum. Staff wear gloves and aprons at each nappy change and changes them for each individual child. This setting provides children with an excellent start and prepares them well for the next stage in their education. 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 1 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 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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