Hamd House School

Floral Place Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 131687 Inspection date 14/06/2011 Inspector ISP Inspection

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Setting address 2 Floral Place, Northampton Grove, Islington, London, N1 2PL Telephone number 020 7354 9945 Email floralplace@brighthorizons.com 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

Floral Place Nursery is one of a chain of nurseries owned by an international company who manages nurseries throughout the country. The nursery has been registered since 1991 and operates from the ground floor of a multi purpose building serving the local area. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is situated in near Canonbury in the London borough of Islington. It is open each weekday from 7:30am to 6.30pm for 51 weeks of the year. Children come from a wide catchment area.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare register to care for a maximum of 50 children in the early years age group at any one time. There are currently 35 children aged from three months to under five years on roll. Of these, 16 receive funding for early education. The nursery currently supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs. The nursery employs 13 staff; 12 work directly with the children and all hold a relevant childcare qualifications.

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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

Overall, the nursery provides effectively for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage; as a result children are making good progress in their learning and development. Overall planning is effective, and there are strong policies and procedures in place that contribute towards promoting children's learning and welfare. Strong partnerships have been established with parents, keeping them well informed of their child's care and learning, and fully involved in the nursery. Effective communication with a range of professional agencies ensure that children's needs are successfully met in all areas. Leadership and management - including the capacity to maintain continuous improvement - are good. The management team promotes a strong culture of reflective practice, and communicate their high expectations to staff, who are very enthusiastic and committed to promoting and sustaining quality and meaningful experiences for all

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further?

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

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further?

 further develop observations and assessments systems, in particular information used to identify the next steps in children's learning and show how this is followed through and achieved This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  further improve children's access to resources that reflect diversity to ensure that this reflects the everyday experiences provided

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the early years provision

The nursery is led effectively by the manager and this contributes to a very good capacity for maintaining continuous improvement within the setting. The manager embeds ambition and drives improvement well. All staff are actively involved in evaluating the effectiveness of the provision in terms of outcomes for children. Good use is made of staff meetings, individual supervision meetings and in house training. This enables staff to focus on specific aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage welfare, learning and development requirements, and to identify where improvements could be made to practice. This is done in order to further enhance the effectiveness of the setting and thus the quality of children's experiences. All the required policies are in place and the documentation is well maintained and organised, so that paperwork is easily accessible and accurate. There is excellent recognition of individual staff skills within the organisation,

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the early years provision

resulting in confident staff who have a positive attitude towards self development.

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the early years provision

There are appropriate procedures in place to ensure the safeguarding of all children, and most staff are confident in their role in this. The regular review of comprehensive risk assessments ensure that potential hazards are identified and addressed promptly in areas used by children, and staff are well deployed to constantly provide children with high levels of supervision. Robust staff recruitment and monitoring procedures ensure that children are cared for by suitable adults, and all visitors to the setting are properly identified, recorded in the visitor's book, and supervised at all times. Staff follow strict guidelines regarding health, hygiene and safety. They are well qualified in first aid so that children receive appropriate treatment in the event of an accident. All medical records are well maintained, and accident records are closely monitored as part of the nursery's risk assessment procedures.

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the early years provision

Staff are experienced and well qualified. They work well together to provide a secure and harmonious atmosphere. Good ratios of adults to children are maintained overall so that children develop a sense of belonging, and their individual needs are met effectively. The group is mostly successful in promoting equal opportunities and inclusive practice. Children's individual needs are well known and supported. Staff work towards an inclusive setting so that children feel valued and included, for example, photographs of children engaged in various activities are displayed throughout the setting, and displays of families from different backgrounds are also displayed at child level. Children's awareness of diversity is increased through special celebrations, including a variety of religious and cultural festivals. However, children's access to resources that reflect their individual cultural backgrounds are not made freely available to children.

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the early years provision

A key strength of the provision is its engagement with parents and carers. As a This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 result the nursery has a strong focus on engaging with parents and effective partnerships have been established. Staff make parents feel welcome in the nursery and provide them with daily feedback. In addition six monthly reviews are held, keeping that parents are continually involved in their children's learning and development. Parents are actively involved in events in the setting and the nursery actively seeks their views, using a variety of strategies to ensure they gain a good understanding and a representative overview of opinions. Effective partnerships have been established with other agencies involved with children, which contributes toward ensuring cohesive support and care for all children. The nursery are currently working on strengthening their partnerships with local schools that

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and outcomes for children

Children play in a bright, stimulating and welcoming environment where they are well supported in making good progress, and are provided with a wide variety of opportunities across all areas of their learning. The environment is very well planned and thought out, providing a good balance of adult led and child led activities that children can choose for themselves. Staff have a secure understanding of child development and how young children learn. They know and support children well and there are clear systems are in place to gather information from parents, which is generally well used to provide a clear base for learning. Effective systems of observation and assessments are in place, enabling staff to plan and provide activities that are well matched to children interests and capabilities; however there are some gaps in some profiles, where the next steps of learning are not always identified or followed through.

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and outcomes for children

Nutritious meals and snacks help children to recognise healthy foods. The nursery manager and the experienced chef work closely together with parents in providing a menu full of healthy options that children learn to enjoy from an early age. Information is sought from parents regarding any special dietary requirements and good provision is made for babies. Mealtimes are sociable occasions; staff and children sit together and the children serve themselves, judging their portions well and discussing the benefits of healthy eating. For example, they confidently state that the vegetables on their plate ''help you grow big and strong''. Their health and well-being is further promoted through the well implemented hygiene practices to prevent the spread of infection; staff wear gloves and protective clothing when changing nappies, and outdoor shoes are not permitted in the baby room.

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and outcomes for children

The emotional and individual needs of babies are particularly well met. They receive good levels of care from staff that have appropriate experience and good knowledge of the needs of babies. They have developed close and trusting relationships with staff and benefit from the secure attachments they have formed with them. They enjoy opportunities to satisfy their natural curiosity as they explore the many creative opportunities available, including, paints, sand, shredded paper and heuristic play. They enjoy the free flow of outdoor activities where they crawl around safely and are free to take risk as they learn to walk as This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 they try to reach the interesting range of resources available. Opportunities for older children are good. They take part in a varied range of activities across all areas of learning. Children are developing early writing skills; there are good

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and outcomes for children

examples of lettering displayed, good opportunities to write for different purposes and children have good access to a range of writing resources which they select independently. Children take part in themed events, such as 'book week' and 'world book day' to support them in gaining and appreciation of books. However, children do not access the book area independently and opportunities for children to listen to stories are not routinely planned for.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very well behaved because they are actively engaged in the interesting activities provided which are aimed at their interests. They play well with peers, share and take turns and are considerate of each other. Staff listen to and provide them with good explanations to help them understand and resolve issues themselves. Children are taught to be safety conscious and show as good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, as they complete their own risk assessments for activities. Independence is very well fostered as children serve their own food and pour drinks. Children benefit from a good range of outdoor activities in all weathers and are keen to explore the different outdoor play experiences provided. They show high levels of independence, curiosity and concentration and they make good progress overall in developing the personal qualities that enable them to take responsibility for small tasks. For example, they

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and outcomes for children

serve themselves at mealtimes and clear away their own plates and utensils. This supports their developing skills for the future. 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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