Ferndale Road Day Nursery

Ferndale Road Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY100846 Inspection date 21/06/2011 Inspector Christine Hodge

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Setting address Ground Floor, Exbury House, Ferndale Road, London, SW9 8AZ Telephone number 0207 733 9779 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

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

Ferndale Road Day Nursery is run by an individual provider. It opened in 2002 and operates from a ground floor flat in a purpose-built block, within a residential estate in Brixton, in the London borough of Lambeth. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 28 children in the early years age group may attend the nursery at any one time and there are currently 39 children on roll. The nursery provides funded early years education for three and four year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 12 members of staff including the manager and deputy, nine of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications and one who is working towards a qualification. The setting receives support and advice from Lambeth Early Years.

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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

Staff at this friendly and inclusive nursery use their good knowledge of the children and their families who attend, to meet the needs of individual children and help them to make good overall progress in their learning and development. Children's safety is given high priority and is underpinned by comprehensive policies and procedures. The nursery develops close working relationships with parents and other early years professionals. The manager and staff team are committed to continuous improvement and are achieving this through the good use of self- evaluation and reflective practice and ongoing training.

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further?

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

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further?

 provide opportunities for older children to have access to free flow in indoor/outdoor play during the free play session and to dish up their own food meals at mealtimes  extend the resources in the baby room to include opportunities for heuristic and sensory play  ensure that nappy changing procedures are clearly displayed and that liquid soap is provided for hand washing. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Staff are confident about their role and responsibility for recording and reporting child protection concerns in line with Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. They attend safeguarding training, take part in quizzes at staff meetings and have access to comprehensive policies and procedures to ensure their knowledge is kept up to date. Thorough risk assessments of the premises, garden and outings ensure that possible hazards are identified and necessary steps are taken to prevent accidents and keep children safe. Rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to ensure that all adults working with the children are suitable to do so. Two members of staff currently hold an appropriate first aid qualification although plans are in place for other staff to attend first aid training. All required documentation and records are in place and readily available for inspection.

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the early years provision

The nursery has an inclusive approach and values diversity. All children and families are welcomed into the setting and children who speak English as an additional language and children with additional learning needs are well supported. Children take part in activities that help them to learn about their own and other cultures, although resources promoting positive images of disability are less apparent. Visual displays, pictures and posters help to create a welcoming environment for children. Resources and activities are age appropriate, suitably deployed so that children can help themselves and make choices, and cover the six areas of learning. However, provision in the baby room offers limited opportunities for heuristic and sensory play.

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the early years provision

The nursery encourages partnerships with parents/carers and welcomes them to be involved in their children's learning and to spend time in the setting, supporting staff with activities and festivals, and out on trips. Parents collecting and dropping off children offer very positive feedback about their children's care and learning and most are happy with the information provided. Staff work well as a team and are well supported in their professional development. This is done through team meetings, in-house training, staff appraisals and attending outside training whenever possible. The manager and deputy are both in the process of studying for their Foundation Degree in Early Years and both plan to go on and study a BA Honours in Education. All recommendations have been addressed and major improvements have been made to the outside play area since the previous inspection. Self-evaluation and reflective practice are used effectively to indentify

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy, confident and feel safe in the nursery because adults provide them with familiar routines, together with warm and consistent care. They make good overall progress because key persons know their starting points, observe This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 them closely and assess their progress towards the early goals. The information is used to carefully plan for the next steps in their learning. Children engage well in a good balance of indoor and outdoor activities although there is no opportunity for free flow play between the garden and indoor play areas.

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and outcomes for children

Older children demonstrate increasing independence as they make choices about their play and where they want to sit for mealtimes, take themselves to the toilet and help themselves to their drinking beakers. However, opportunities are missed at mealtimes to extend this further as children are not able to dish up their own food. In the baby room children follow their individual routines for sleeping, eating and playing, and toddlers are encouraged to feed themselves and choose what they want to play with. Children are developing good communication and listening skills. Younger children are beginning to communicate through gesture and imitating adults. Older children confidently use language to talk to adults and to express their ideas and opinions. The nursery currently has several children who speak French as their first language. Staff support them by learning key phrases and speaking to them in French. Also a French speaking teacher attends the

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and outcomes for children

nursery twice a week and takes music and French sessions with all of the older children. Children enjoy a range of mark making activities and examples of emergent writing can be seen on children's drawings and artwork.

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and outcomes for children

Children have good opportunities to develop their computer skills. They confidently navigate with the mouse and enjoy using a range of programmes for matching, sorting, colour and number recognition. Although younger children enjoy exploring and investigating with toys that make sounds and have buttons to press ,they do not have access to heuristic or sensory resources. Children enjoy developing their creativity through role play, dressing up, singing songs, dancing and musical instrument and by using a wide range of messy and creative materials. They learn about the local community and wider world on visits to the local library, fire station and park and on trips on the nursery's minibus to farms, castles, the seaside and fruit picking. Visits to the nursery from the police and fire service help children to learn about staying safe and various activities and topics help children to embrace their own and other cultures.

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and outcomes for children

Children are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles. They relish their time spent outside in the all weather garden where they take part in planting and growing activities and develop their large motor skills, running around and using a wide range of play equipment. Indoors, children enjoy dancing and musical activities and have access to a good variety of resources to help develop their fine motor skills. They learn good personal hygiene routines such as washing their hands after going to the toilet and before mealtimes, although bars of soap are supplied with paper hand towels rather then liquid soap, resulting in more opportunities for cross infection. Although nappy changing routines are not displayed, staff use disposable gloves and aprons for nappy changing and records about nappy changes are shared with parents. Children are able to self-select when they want a drink or to eat fruit, as they have their own beakers which are available to them throughout

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and outcomes for children

the day, and a fruit platter is laid out at certain times of the day. Four weekly menus which includes a vegetation option and a separate menu for babies ensures that children are provided with a healthy balanced diet. Meals are cooked freshly each day on the premises by the nursery cook or staff who hold a food hygiene This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 certificate. Staff are familiar with children's individual sleep routines, enabling them to rest when they need to. Adults build up close and secure relationships with children and regularly praise and encourage their achievements. As a result, children enjoy their time spent at the nursery as they learn appropriate behaviour and social skills such as sharing, taking turns and forming friendships. 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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