Ceres Nursery Ltd, Working Mums Daycare & Preschool

Working Mums Daycare & Pre School Centre Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY432978 Inspection date 21/05/2012 Inspector Linda Close

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Setting address Roebuck house, 284-286 Upper Richmond Road West, LONDON, SW14 7JE Telephone number 07786330382 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

Working Mums Daycare & Pre School Centre is one of two nurseries owned by Ceres Nursery Ltd. It was originally registered in 1992 and was taken over by this provider in 2004. The nursery moved to new premises in January 2012 and it now operates on the first and second floors of a building which was originally office space but has now been remodelled and refurbished for nursery use. The building is located in the East Sheen area of the London Borough of Richmond. The children have access to a total of nine rooms. Children are grouped according to their age and stage of development with younger children on the first floor and older children on the second floor. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of 77 children under eight years. All of the children may be in the early years age group but only 32 may be under 2 years at any one time. There

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Description of the setting

are currently 69 children on roll aged from seven months to four years three months and they attend full or part time hours. A manager and thirteen members of staff are employed to work with the children and all are appropriately qualified. A cook is also employed to prepare children's meals on the premises. The nursery opens at 8am and closes at 6pm every weekday all year round closing only for Bank Holidays and for one week between Christmas and New Year. The nursery is accessed via flights of stairs and there is a lift. A roof garden for outdoor play with a free flow indoor/outdoor play room is currently under construction. There are twelve 3 and 4-year-olds and two 2-year-old children in receipt of nursery education grant funding. Several children hear other languages spoken at home and a small number of children have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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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 are happy, calm and confident in the care of the staff at the nursery. They make good progress in their learning and they enjoy exploring the local area and the world around them. Staff and parents form an exceptionally close knit and mutually supportive team. The nursery has also forged excellent links with specialist advisors and they work together particularly well to provide valuable support and care for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The provider, the manager and the staff team evaluate their service to children accurately overall but visual prompts for the children and experience of information technology are not used to their fullest potential. Staff are determined to secure continuing improvement through reviewing their work and accessing training and support from local authority advisory staff.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  enhance the learning environment through displaying more signs, symbols, numbers and words particularly on the floor for younger children  provide more opportunities for children to develop their early information, communication technology (ICT) skills.

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the early years provision

Staff approach to safeguarding children is good in most respects. The manager has taken active steps to ensure that staff are well informed about safeguarding through refresher training and discussion. A relevant policy and procedure together with contact information is kept to hand for communicating any concerns to relevant outside agencies. Systems in place to keep children safe include regular risk assessments, the exclusion of personal mobile phones and rigorous reference and suitability checking at the time of staff employment.

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the early years provision

The staff team are all invited to add their thoughts and ideas to the nursery self evaluation document which is thorough and largely accurate. The ongoing drive for improvement includes very worthwhile steps. This includes a rolling programme of well targeted training initiatives and extensive building and landscaping work. When completed, this will provide an open air play space on the roof together with a free flow playroom with doors opening wide to the outdoor area. Advisory staff from the local authority visit regularly to assist the staff team in developing their assessment, planning and overall provision for children.

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the early years provision

Children who hear other languages spoken at home are supported effectively and their progress in speaking English is good. The providers ensure that the programme of activities over time includes celebrations from different cultures. Story books and resources reflect a range of cultural backgrounds. A member of the staff team shares her Spanish language skills with the children. A book of their own family photographs taken in different countries is a great source of interest and this helps the children to know that they are valued members of the nursery family.

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the early years provision

The nursery is well lit, spacious and clean. All rooms on both floors are well furnished with good quality tables, chairs and room dividers with finger guards in place to prevent accidents. Window blinds are used to provide a dimly lit sleeping area for the children and staff are deployed to keep children safe when they are sleeping. Children have a good range of toys, books and craft materials which they can access easily to make independent choices. Displays of children's art work, words, numbers, signs and symbols are interesting and stimulating in the area set aside for the older groups. However, the use of display space in the rooms for younger children is a little limited and numerals are too small and placed above children's eye level. Children benefit from having access to a sensory room which has resources that are very appealing to their interests.

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the early years provision

The provider, manager and the staff have established an outstanding partnership with parents and carers. All of the adults involved have come together to form a This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 strong community with shared aims to help and support one another and to secure the ongoing development of the nursery for the children. Parents feedback their views to the staff who willingly respond to their suggestions. For example, they have introduced a process for parents to sign in and out their child's learning journal so they can take them home to read at leisure. Parents regularly feedback how they love the new environment and the separate space from the youngest children. Meetings are held for parents to find out about progress, individual targets, ways to help their children and moving on to primary school. Partnerships in the wider sense are also outstanding. Staff are exceptionally supportive if

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the early years provision

children experience learning difficulties or have a disability. They welcome specialists into the nursery to work with the children and staff carefully follow their advice. Targets are set and reviewed regularly and care needs are well documented and shared with all members of staff which enables them to give well targeted and cohesive support to the children.

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and outcomes for children

Children show that they feel safe in the confident way they come into the nursery and greet their friends. They happily share their thoughts and views with the staff and they show a keen interest in visitors and politely invite them to read a story. The children in all age groups select toys and resources independently. The very youngest members of the group are calm and contented and they are sufficiently confident to leave their parents and join the staff and the other children without tears. The settling in routine is particularly beneficial in that it is planned to meet the individual needs of the children and it is further adjusted if parents request changes.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy a very good range of healthy meals and fresh fruit or rice cake snacks and most children eat well. The chef and the manager devise a rolling menu which rotates over a four weekly period to provide children with variety. Together they make sure that the food is varied, healthy and nutritious and they alter the ingredients if children show a dislike for them. Older children eagerly take turns at being the lunch monitor which helps them to take responsibility for helping others. Staff make sure that children's individual dietary needs are met and they supervise the children to make sure that they all wash their hands before eating which helps the children to learn about good personal hygiene.

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and outcomes for children

Older children in the pre-school group are making very good progress in early literacy. They find their own labelled placemats with the minimum of support and their learning journal files include many examples of their first attempts at writing. The children are learning to count up to 10 and beyond and they are beginning to recognise figures, in particular the numbers that are important to them. Children are fluent speakers and they show that they are gaining the ability to predict what happens next when they talk about stories with the staff. Children learn the correct terms for position, size and weight through discussions with staff. They take a keen interest in handling real items of fruit and vegetables and they make sensible comments such as how heavy a butternut squash feels. The nursery has some This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 good quality ICT equipment including modern computers and other worthwhile

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and outcomes for children

electronic and battery operated resources although these are not always ready for use of fully accessible to the children which somewhat limits this aspect of developing their skills for future.

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and outcomes for children

Staff make sure that the children benefit from daily healthy outdoor play in local parks particularly until the construction of their outdoor play area is completed. Children have easy access to art and craft materials in dedicated messy play areas on both floors. Babies and toddlers explore cornflour and water, sand and paint and they enjoy squeezing and moulding brightly coloured dough which helps them to develop their senses and promotes their control over their hands. Children enjoy dressing up and a representative group of children has recently taken part in a charity fundraising toddle dressed as superheroes. The children learn to help others through activities such as this and at the same time they learn about the wider world. Cooking activities also help the children learn to think of others. The older children make savoury pizzas for tea for all of the children in the nursery. 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 1 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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