Holbrook Junior School

Leapfrog Day Nursery - Chiswick Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 116179 Inspection date 13/06/2011 Inspector Jennifer Devine

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Setting address 4 Marlborough Road, Chiswick, London, W4 4ET

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Telephone number 0208 742 0011 Email Info@leapfrogdaynurseries.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

Leapfrog Day Nursery, Chiswick registered in 2001 and has been part of the Busy Bees Group since September 2007. The nursery operates from a detached building with rooms set over two floors. It is situated in Chiswick within the London borough of Hounslow. A maximum of 78 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each week day from 7.00am to 7.00pm, throughout the year. All children have access to an outdoor play area. There is a lift available to the first floor.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 78 children in the early years age range. Of these, 25 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery is registered to care for children up to eight years of age but currently there are no children on roll in this age range. The nursery has systems in place to support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children for whom English is an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 10 staff. Of these, eight staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff is currently studying for a childcare qualification. The nursery is registered on the Early Years register, and the compulsory part of the Childcare register.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are settled in the nursery and are making steady progress in their early learning. Overall, the staff team have an appropriate understanding of children's needs and have built up sound relationships with parents. Staff have a satisfactory knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and plan a range of activities to support children's learning. Although there are some weaknesses in the observation and planning methods, the management team are aware of this and have taken steps to provide further support. Most documentation is in place, although some procedures are not sufficiently robust. The deployment of staff sometimes impacts on the children being moved from their key carer groups. Self- evaluation processes ensure the staff team review their practices and make action plans to identify areas to improve the service.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 ensure prior written permission is obtained from parents for each and every medicine before any medication is given (Safeguarding and welfare) 04/07/2011 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  ensure staffing arrangements are organised to meet the needs of the children (suitable people) 04/07/2011

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 improve the observation and assessments so they clearly identify the next steps for learning and clearly show the children's progression through the Early Years Foundation stage  develop the outdoor area to afford children more opportunities for free flow play across the six areas of learning  review the risk assessment and take action in relation to hygiene and cleanliness of the setting and in relation to hazards in the garden  ensure that small group times are organised to enable each child to receive an enjoyable and challenging learning experience.

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the early years provision

Appropriate recruitment procedures are in place, which ensure adults working with the children are suitably checked. The manager has recently been recruited and is in the process of submitting her personal information to Ofsted to enable them to complete suitability checks. Children's welfare is protected, as the staff have an overall good understanding of the safeguarding procedures to follow in the event they are concerned about a child.

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the early years provision

Risk assessments are conducted on the premises which ensures children's overall safety is maintained. However, staff do not thoroughly check the garden for all hazards before children go out to play, for example, an ant's nest had been made in the gardening area and posed a risk to children. Furthermore, the risk assessments do not take into account ensuring the environment is clean, for example, carpeted areas were not thoroughly vacuumed and the garden had not been swept to remove excess sand. The nursery has a good security system in place to prevent unwanted visitors entering the premise; any visitors are requested to sign in the visitor's book and show their identification. Staff sign the children in on arrival and record when they leave and this ensures children are accounted for during the day. Although a record of accidents is maintained, the procedure for notifying parents is inconsistent, as not all accident forms have been signed by

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the early years provision

parents to indicate they have been informed of an accident occurring. There are procedures in place to ensure prior written permission is sought from parents before administering medication, but staff are not vigilant in checking that the forms are completed fully by parents to ensure their signatures are obtained. This compromises children's overall safety. Overall, staff ratios are met, permanent staff sometimes move around rooms to cover short term absences and the nursery use agency or bank staff to cover longer absences. However, occasionally children are also moved from their base rooms to help with ratios and this hinders their relationship with their key carer.

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the early years provision

As the manager's position has been vacant for a number of months, two managers This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 from other local Busy Bees nurseries have been supporting the deputy in conjunction with a senior Head Office advisor. The setting has met with the Local Authority advisor who has conducted an annual review using the Hounslow reflective practice documents and has set actions to target areas for development. The Head Office advisor has also conducted a review and is providing ongoing support to help develop the staff team and improve outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

The setting is sufficiently equipped with a range of safe and suitable furniture and equipment. Staff set up the room in the morning and children can choose from these available resources. They can also make some choices about their play, as they can access further resources from low level units stored in the play rooms. The nursery is in process of purchasing some new equipment, particularly resources to support children's investigative knowledge and information technology.

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the early years provision

Staff have a sound knowledge of each child's background and their individual needs. Parents complete a 'getting to know your child' form on their child and this enables the key carer to build up a clear picture of each child's routines, likes and dislikes to help them settle in. Staff are knowledgeable about promoting an inclusive environment for all children. Children with additional languages are generally well supported as staff obtain key words from parents to help children settle. Although there are currently no children with special educational needs and/or disabilities attending the nursery, staff are aware of how to support individual needs as required. The nursery celebrates a variety of festivals over the year and has a range of books and resources to help children understand about diversity in their society.

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the early years provision

Parents and carers are welcomed into the setting and are encouraged to share information on their child to enable good working relationships to develop. Parents are invited to attend more formal reviews twice a year to enable them to meet with the key carer and discuss their child's progress in more depth. Parents can view their child's developmental records as they wish. A formal report is given to parents when children leave the nursery to move onto school to help with the transition process. Parental comments indicate they are happy with the service the nursery provides and state they have seen improvements over the past few months. The nursery has developed some links with local schools to help with the transition to reception class and works closely with the Local Authority advisor to raise standards.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy and settled at the nursery and are making steady progress in their learning and development. On arrival they know where to hang their coats and are pleased to see each other and greet their friends and the staff at the beginning of the day. They separate well from their parent or carer and are developing a sense of belonging in this friendly setting. A few children currently settling are initially tearful but quickly settle as the staff are sensitive to their needs This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and provide reassurance and comfort as needed.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have a satisfactory understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and plan a generally suitable range of activities that cover the six areas of the curriculum. In the main, staff observe the children's development on a fairly regular basis. However, not all staff keep their learning journals up-to-date with the children's achievements and do not fully use the observations to assess the next steps of learning for each child to ensure planning is personalised and tailored to meet the individual needs of children. Overall, children are supported and supervised sufficiently by the staff who work closely with groups of children or individually. Staff have a satisfactory understanding of how to interact and question children to make them think and extend their learning further. The staff set up the room with some activities and children are encouraged to develop their independence and move freely from one activity to another. Generally, Children

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and outcomes for children

play well together and are learning about sharing and some have formed strong friendships. Overall, children's behaviour is satisfactory; they respond positively to praise and encouragement by staff. Any difficulties are handled appropriately by staff.

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and outcomes for children

Pre-school children come together as a group in the morning for 'circle time', where they talk about the day of the week. Children enjoy taking part in singing their favourite songs and end the circle time with their news from the weekend. However, the circle time is too long and is poorly organised as there are too many children. Consequently they begin to lose interest and do not listen to each other's special events. All children enjoy creative activities and take time to paint their own pictures using brushes. The babies have great fun exploring the sand as they sit in the sand tray and feel the texture running through their fingers. Toddlers enjoy the water play and enjoy pouring and filling containers watching the water pour out over their hands. They are developing their problem solving skills as they enjoy playing with the puzzles, learning about shape and size as they sort the different sized puzzle pieces. Children have generally good opportunities to practice their

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and outcomes for children

pre-writing skills and some children are beginning to write their names on their work. Each room has developed a generally well resourced book area and this is used fairly well by the children. They sit and look at books alone or with an adult in these comfortable cushioned areas. Pre- school children have good opportunities to develop their skills for the future, as they have access to an interactive whiteboard and use this confidently during the day. Younger children enjoy using the computer and are learning to follow a simple programme with the help of an adult. The nursery has recently extended their range of programmable toys to enable children to develop their understanding of computerised resources.

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and outcomes for children

Children in the under two's rooms are given generally good support in their learning. Staff are caring and attentive to the young babies' needs. Babies are encouraged to move around and investigate and staff are close by to offer reassurance and cuddles as needed. Staff are aware of the need to provide exciting experiences to develop their faculties and promote their early development. Toddlers thoroughly enjoy the freedom of moving around their room and are developing their physical skills as they begin to walk and enjoy attempting to climb the small stairs and use the slide with confidence. All children have satisfactory opportunities to use the outdoor area during the day. The children This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 under two have a separate outdoor area and are able to have free flow play. The older children are based on the first floor of the premises and although they go out

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and outcomes for children

every day as part of the nursery routine, staff have not developed their planning to enable children to have more choice about playing outdoors at other times and in ensuring the garden reflects all six areas of the curriculum.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing healthy lifestyles, as they adopt good hygiene routines, such as washing their hands before their snack, or after using the toilet. Children are provided with healthy and nutritious snacks of fruit, crackers and milk or water to drink. Pre-school children's independence is promoted as they learn to pour their own drinks and serve their own lunches. Children are provided with healthy and nutritious home cooked foods which are freshly prepared by the chef. Individual dietary requirements are well catered for and there are rigorous systems in place to ensure children with any allergies do not come into contact with the foods they are allergic to.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn about keeping safe, as they take part in regular fire drills, which helps them understand about safely evacuating the building. They are reminded about the safety rules when indoors, such as not running around and taking care when on the stairs. However, the lack of effective use of risk assessments compromises children's overall safety. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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