UCL Nursery

UCL Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY433791 Inspection date 13/02/2012 Inspector Christine Bonnett

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Setting address 55-59 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0NU

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Telephone number 0207 679 7461 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 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

UCL Nursery registered in 2011 and is one of two nurseries managed by University College London. It operates from four rooms within a converted basement of a Georgian building in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. A lift from ground level is available. Children have access to two enclosed courtyards for outdoor play area. It is open each weekday from 8.45am to 5.20pm for 49 weeks of the year.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register only. It may care for a maximum of 30 children at any one time. There are currently 22 children aged from six months to two years on roll, some in part-time places. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs nine staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years 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

Children enjoy playing and learning in this caring, welcoming nursery. Resources and activities are of a good quality and generally support children's early learning strongly in all areas. The nursery implements policies and procedures that support children's health and safety effectively. Through exemplary partnerships with parents, skilled staff ensure that they meet all children's individual needs well. The strong management team demonstrate that they have the capacity and enthusiasm to continuously develop the existing good practice of the nursery to further improve outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 provide a range of playthings that excite babies' attention, including battery- operated mobiles and wind-up radios, to further develop their awareness of technology.

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the early years provision

Safeguarding children has high priority. Robust recruitment procedures are in place to ensure all adults working with the children are suitably checked. Staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding policy and know the action to take should they have concerns about a child. Staff conduct and review rigorous risk assessments of the premises in order to identify and minimise all potential hazards. They maintain all the records required for the safe and efficient management of This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the nursery. All staff undergo appropriate vetting procedures and induction, which helps ensure they are suitable to work with the children.

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the early years provision

The management team are fully committed to providing and maintaining high quality childcare. They successfully communicate their high expectations to their motivated staff team. Since registration, staff have continuously reflected on their practice and made many changes to improve outcomes for children. One major improvement has been developing the two courtyards. One is now well equipped with lots of outdoor play opportunities to promote physical development. The other area is currently being transformed into a sensory garden to provide a rich play and learning experience for the children to enjoy. Together the whole staff team have devised an action plan to work towards. The plan includes creating books to illustrate how to promote each area of learning using the available resources. The aim is to show these books to parents to give them ideas about how they can support their child's learning at home.

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the early years provision

The children benefit from a well-maintained and well-resourced environment that helps them make successful strides in their learning. Staff provide skilful interaction to support children to make good use of the play materials and have fun. There is ample space for children to explore the play equipment in comfort and safety. Because the children's rooms are designated 'no shoe' areas, the floors are maintained to a high standard of cleanliness. This means that young babies can lie and play on the carpets with no obvious risk to their health.

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the early years provision

The setting enjoys highly positive relationships with all parents. This is underpinned by the very effective key person system. Each child has an allocated key person and a co-key person. This ensures continuity for the child as only one or two people provide their main care. The key person also liaises closely with parents to keep them very well informed about their child's care and developmental progress. Children move from the nursery when they reach two years of age to the sister nursery across the road. Staff and parents work closely together during this move to ensure the transition is smooth and positive for the child. Parents have the opportunity to voice their views about the quality of the nursery at the regular parent's meetings. The nursery welcomes all comments and ideas for change and considers them positively. Parents and carers are also able to express their views through the parents' representatives. In addition, the nursery

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the early years provision

is shortly introducing parent questionnaire forms. There are currently no children on roll who attend other early years settings or who need support from other agencies. However, the nursery is aware of the need to work in partnership with all other parties if the need arises.

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the early years provision

The nursery is firmly committed to actively promoting equality and diversity. Staff help children understand and respect diversity in the world around them. The nursery acknowledges a rich mixture of cultural and religious festivals. Children have the opportunity of experiencing the customs and traditions of some of the festivals first hand. For example, they visit China Town for the Chinese New Year celebrations. Parents visit to read stories to the children in their home languages and traditional food is enjoyed. Children have photographs of their parents and siblings displayed at low level. This helps them feel secure, valued and develops This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 good self-esteem.

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and outcomes for children

Children become active learners as they engage in a wide variety of fun and stimulating play activities. The system used to observe and assess the development of the children ensures that activities are tailored to meet their individual needs and promote their learning in all areas. This leads to children making strong progress in their learning and development, and the good development of skills overall to support future learning. Children have great fun as they begin to develop pre-writing skills at an early age by making patterns in substances such as shaving foam and jelly. They confidently select books and sit down in a cosy corner with a staff member for a story. Children sing number rhymes and build with wooden blocks to help promote problem solving and numeracy. Although some programmable toys are available, children have fewer opportunities to use them routinely in order to gain the skill to operate information

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and outcomes for children

Children learn the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles. They thoroughly enjoy outdoor play and benefit from the physical activity. They show great skill and confidence as they walk along the low-level balancing beams and smile with pleasure as they jump off the end. In addition to physical play opportunities outside, children also make good use of the 'gym' indoors. This room is well equipped with a challenging climbing frame for young children, tunnels and tents. It also has large foam shapes to encourage younger children to scramble over and under. Hygiene standards are good. Staff use appropriate systems to prevent the risk of cross infection when changing children's nappies. As well as washing their own hands after nappy changing, staff wash the child's hands as well. This practice enables children to link washing hands to toilet times and helps them to learn how to manage their own personal hygiene in the future. Children have healthy and

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and outcomes for children

nutritious meals that take account of their individual dietary needs. Staff are good role models because they eat with the children and enjoy the tasty food with them, such as tuna pasta and salad. Children routinely have fresh fruit and drinking water is readily available.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from the structured routine of the nursery. They become familiar with what is expected of them at certain times of the day and consequently develop a strong sense of belonging and security. They learn how to keep themselves safe without being fearful. For example, they know how to use the climbing frame and balancing beams without endangering themselves, and sing a song about how to cross roads safely. Children receive warmth and kindness from staff. Younger children receive plenty of eye contact and feel nurtured because they have regular cuddles. Older children also enjoy the positive interaction they receive from staff and happily express their needs, such as wanting a story or more fruit. The children's secure relationships with staff and the well-established routine contributes significantly towards the nursery's warm and harmonious This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

atmosphere. 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 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 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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