Bright Horizons Maythorne Cottages Day Nursery and Preschool

Zoom Nurseries Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY231736 Inspection date 03/10/2011 Inspector Jill Nugent

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Setting address Zoom Nursery, Maythorne Cottages, Nightingale Grove, LONDON, SE13 6HE Telephone number 020 8318 1133 Email Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic 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

Zoom Nursery registered in 2003 and is one of four privately owned nurseries. It operates from a two storey building in Hither Green in the London Borough of Lewisham. Access to the building is directly from the adjacent footpath via a short ramp. Children are based in four playrooms, of which two are on the first floor and accessed via an internal staircase. Three groups of older children share access to a secure outdoor play area while the youngest children have direct access to their own outdoor play area. The nursery is open every weekday from 7.45am until 6.30pm for 50 weeks of the year.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 74 children, of whom 16 may be under two, may attend the nursery at any one time. Currently there are 84 children on roll in the early years age group and a total of 20 staff are employed to work with the children. The majority of staff hold relevant early years qualifications. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those 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

The nursery offers an extremely welcoming environment for children where they develop a real sense of belonging and make significant progress in their learning. There are excellent systems and procedures in place and these are implemented effectively by staff so that all children's needs are met appropriately. Children enjoy a high quality of care and a wide variety of stimulating learning experiences. There is a special emphasis on working in partnership with parents which contributes to children's high standard of well-being. The management team are innovative in using various methods of self-evaluation in order to continually improve the outcomes for all children in the nursery.

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further?

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

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further?

 consider ways to improve consistency amongst staff in making the most of opportunities to challenge children in their learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The nursery's documentation is extremely well organised and provides an effective framework for staff's practice. All staff receive regular training in safeguarding issues and are vigilant regarding routine health and safety checks. They abide by a code of conduct which ensures that safeguarding is promoted across the nursery. Detailed and varied risk assessments are carried out and action taken when necessary in order to maintain a safe environment for children. There are effective monitoring procedures in place, including the assessment of any accidents or incidents, outings and fire drills. All staff know what to do and who to contact if they have any concerns relating to child protection.

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the early years provision

The management team are proactive in encouraging staff to reflect on their practice and look at ways to continually improve. Room leaders are well trained in leadership and this contributes to staff working extremely well together as a team. They continually evaluate their provision for children as part of the overall nursery evaluation and this results in a variety of new ideas constantly being explored. For example, managers and staff have recently worked on developing the partnership with parents, trying new ways to communicate with parents and thereby encourage them to be more involved in their children's learning. The childcare director actively monitors and coaches staff on an individual level. This means that future plans for the nursery involve realistic targets and take account of the needs of all children. For example, there is ongoing development of the outdoor areas as alternative learning environments.

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the early years provision

The nursery liaises closely with parents to help children settle and to maintain productive links throughout their time at nursery. A system of home visits works exceptionally well in introducing children to their key person and informing parents about the key policies and procedures, in particular those relating to safeguarding. Staff make very good use of a home nursery diary to liaise with parents on a daily basis. Newsletters and display boards carry relevant information for parents and actively encourage their involvement. For example, children have recently benefited from a parent's gardening skills in learning to grow vegetables. Parents enjoy social events, such as special breakfasts and outings, and meet regularly with staff to exchange information about their children's progress. Parents are enthusiastic in their praise of the nursery and especially the learning opportunities on offer. Staff promote a wholly inclusive setting and are attentive to children's individual

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the early years provision

needs at all times. The various play areas offer stimulating learning environments for all children and they are enthused by an array of accessible resources, comfortable dens and attractive pictures. Children have excellent opportunities to learn about diversity in a wider world as they learn about people in their own community and about special celebrations, for example, Black History Month. There are exceptional systems in place to enable staff to work towards closing any achievement gaps between children of differing abilities and to support children with special educational needs. Staff benefit from regular training in different aspects of equal opportunities, for example, looking at the different ways in which This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 boys and girls learn. They work in partnership with other professionals when necessary and have close links with local schools.

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and outcomes for children

. Staff are efficient and consistent in their use of a comprehensive system of observational assessment. Children's individual learning needs are targeted by recording their next steps of learning on a monthly basis for inclusion in future planning. Staff are vigilant in tracking individual children and plan special focus activities for each child to ensure that they develop appropriate skills and knowledge. In addition they follow up children's particular interests and plan exciting follow-up activities, for example, creating bubbles in different ways both indoors and outdoors. Children have excellent opportunities to gain skills for the future as they explore mark-making, musical sounds and computer programmes. Circle times are used to good effect to reinforce and extend children's learning through discussion, story and rhyme. In this way all children are continually moved on in their learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from having plenty of time to explore and investigate during free choice play. They especially like the cosy reading dens where they sit happily looking at books or listening to stories. They enjoy many opportunities to be creative; for example, cutting, painting or dressing up in role play. They have fun outdoors as they ride and climb or explore with staff in the large sand pits. Very young children benefit from the calm support and interaction of adults and quickly gain self-confidence. Older children show high levels of independence when making their own decisions, for example, concerning play activities or snacks. They are very well supported by staff who actively enhance children's play through conversation and thoughtful questioning. Some staff are adept at challenging children through their interaction, carefully developing play situations to extend children's learning, although not all staff are quite as effective in their interaction

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and outcomes for children

There are excellent relationships throughout the nursery and children enjoy a real sense of community. Staff explain issues clearly so that children are aware of their boundaries and learn to respect others. Children show much interest in the activities on offer and are enthused by staff's attention and interaction. In this way they are encouraged to adopt an independent approach and an open attitude to different learning opportunities. There are appropriate safety measures in place and children are closely supervised by staff. For example, staff teach older children how to use the spiral staircase safely to access the outdoor play area. Children are offered a healthy and nutritious diet which is varied according to individual dietary needs. They are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles through talking about different foods and learning which are good for them. They have an increasing awareness of good hygiene practice and of their own well-being, for instance, the

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and outcomes for children

need to use sun cream or adapt their clothing according to the weather. 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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