Monkey Puzzle

Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY434830 Inspection date 23/02/2012 Inspector Maria Conroy

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Setting address Park House, 16 High Road, LONDON, N2 9PJ

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Telephone number 02079981725 Email p.curry@tiscali.co.uk 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

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

Monkey Puzzle Nursery is part of a franchise chain and was registered in 2011. It operates from the ground floor of a converted building in East Finchley in the London borough of Barnet. The nursery building comprises of a number of nursery rooms designated for the care of children, each of which are defined by age and stage of development. There is an enclosed garden for outside play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered to care for a maximum of 76 children in the early years age group; of these, not more than 31 may be under two years at any one time. There are currently 52 children on roll. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8 to 6.30 for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery is able to support children who have special education needs and/or disabilities. They provide funded education for children aged three and four years.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are sixteen members of staff, of whom 12 hold an early years qualification.

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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, children are happy and settled and staff know their individual needs very well. Documentation and record keeping is well maintained and helps to protect and safeguard children. The activities provided for children fully support learning through play, thus enabling children to become confident and capable learners who are actively supported by motivated staff. Children have opportunities to access a variety of activities promoting all areas of learning; however, there are fewer opportunities for younger children to develop some of their physical skills and to use all their senses. Parents, children and the staff team are proactive in contributing to the development of the setting; as a result, there are clear action plans in place. Partnerships with parents and professionals are effective and they are very much involved in their children's learning. Therefore, there is consistency in the children's time at home and in the nursery, which supports their

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further?

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

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further?

 enhance the different arrangements of toys and soft play materials to encourage tumbling, rolling and climbing for younger children  vary sensory experiences by placing herbs such as basil, parsley or sage in muslin bags for babies to squeeze or catch with their fingers. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

There is a clear awareness of safeguarding issues among staff in the nursery; nominated officers have completed training and the nursery have written policies and procedures for safeguarding, which are shared with staff to support their practice. Children are safeguarded by the robust recruitment procedures; all staff working with children have criminal record checks and suitable references are obtained. The setting identifies dangers as part of their risk assessment of the areas used by the children, and takes steps to eliminate these, helping children to keep themselves safe. A total of six members of staff hold first aid qualifications; as a result, children are well protected.

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the early years provision

The nursery uses quality assurance systems issued by the local authority and the views of parents to help support them in identifying actions, which they prioritise in order to make improvements to the service they provide. There are effective systems in place to appraise staff and identify areas for professional development, which enables them to take part in appropriate training. Staff are enthusiastic and motivated and continually seek for ways in which they can make improvements to their practice; for example, by working in partnership with local authority advisors. The nursery has been only been open for a few months; however, staff are already planning on ways of extending the areas used by the children in order to enhance the activities provided.

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the early years provision

The setting has a varied range of resources which are of good quality and are attractively presented to encourage children to investigate and explore. They include both toys and household items, such as kitchen utensils. However, there are fewer resources to promote young children's physical development and sensorial learning. Resources are used well to promote children's development and staff are skilled and experienced at asking open-ended questions to make children think for themselves and to stimulate their thinking. The play areas are enhanced by the photos, signs and words displayed that support children's language, literacy and numeracy skills. Children have regular opportunities to play both indoors and outdoors.

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the early years provision

Staff know children and their families very well and have a good knowledge of children's individual needs. When they start their placement, they gain information from parents about children's specific needs and continue to get to know them to support planning for individuals. Children who have English as an additional language are well supported; staff gain key words in their home languages which are displayed. In addition, they use picture signs, which support all children in settling in and making choices. There is a good range of resources to promote positive images of diversity, including dolls from different cultural backgrounds, and pictures displayed of people with different abilities. Children are learning about other cultures and their own and they are encouraged to use their home language when they say 'goodbye' to their parents. Throughout the year, there is a variety of planned activities, to enable children to learn about different festivals.

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the early years provision

The setting has a positive relationship with parents, ensuring each child's needs This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 are met. A parent's notice board displays information, such as details about the staff team, feedback of their views following consultation and policies and procedures. Outside each nursery room are details of what the children are doing and parents receive daily individual feedback, both verbally and in the form of a brief, written update. Parents are kept informed about their children's achievement, well-being and development; this is done by means of regular face to face contact and by sharing children's files with their observations and photos during parent's evenings.

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the early years provision

Parents comment: 'the nursery really embraces their culture, language and individual interests'. Another parent states their experiences have been excellent and their child has been learning and developing really well and the staff are excellent.

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the early years provision

The setting effectively works in partnership with other professionals; they share information to enable them to support individual children who require it. They regularly receive advice and support from other professionals who take part in meetings with the parents to plan for their children's future development. There are well-established channels of communication between all professionals involved with individual children, which successfully promotes their learning, development and welfare.

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and outcomes for children

The effective policies and procedures in place ensure that children are protected and well supported. Staff have a good knowledge of the learning, development and welfare requirements, which promotes children's learning and well-being. Staff undertake observations on the children and analyse the information obtained to identify and plan for their interests and the next steps for learning. The nursery staff have begun to track children's progress and are therefore able to monitor where children require further support and their progress towards the early learning goals. Staff actively engage with children and support them in their play, asking open ended questions to make children think for themselves, thereby promoting learning opportunities.

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and outcomes for children

Children's language and literacy skills are continually promoted, as they enjoy listening to stories and singing songs. Mathematical concepts are incorporated into their daily play; for example, when they build a tower, they learn words such as 'taller' and 'smaller' and they count when they sing action songs. Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is supported, as they have fun exploring the treasure baskets and they take part in cooking activities. Children's knowledge of information technology is supported, as they use the computer and learn how to use programmable toys, such as the CD player and digital camera. Children have fun in the water and during sand play; they have many opportunities to create, for example, they paint with vegetables and stones. Their imagination is supported through the many role play opportunities, for example, in the office and in the home corner. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are very secure and develop a sense of belonging to the setting, due the positive interaction from staff and their daily routines. Children are learning to keep themselves safe; they learn about the role of the fire brigade and create pictures to display in their room. They are learning to use a variety of tools safely, such as scissors, along with knives and forks, when they have their meals. Children take part in regular fire drills, which enable them to learn how to safely leave the building in the event of an emergency, such as a fire.

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and outcomes for children

Most children show good awareness about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. They adopt good personal hygiene routines; for example, they are clearly aware of the need to wash their hands before they eat their food, and eagerly move to the bathroom when staff announce snack time. Children take part in cooking activities which enable them to learn about healthy eating. They have regular opportunities to play outside and take part in physical activities, increasing their understanding about the importance of regular exercise as part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy riding bikes and dancing with ribbons.

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and outcomes for children

Children all appear settled and happy; they are confident, showing good levels of self-esteem. They build strong relationships within the setting, both with adults and their friends. Children show a good understanding of diversity, engaging in a good range of activities to support this. Children are learning to take turns and share, for example, they share the sand toys with their friends and very young babies babble in turn, as they take part in conversations with staff. Children's behaviour is good and children are beginning to show a good awareness of responsibility within the setting. They help to tidy up and are praised when they put things away. 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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