Garden House Nursery School

Stars Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY360354 Inspection date 19/07/2012 Inspector Jennifer Beckles

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Setting address 50 Gloucester Road, KINGSTON UPON THAMES, Surrey, KT1 3RB Telephone number 0208 5473216 Email enquiries@lsdaynurseries.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.

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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

Stars Day Nursery Kingston opened in August 2007. It operates from a residential house in Gloucester Road, Kingston-upon-Thames. Children have access to a secure outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both parts of the compulsory Childcare Register to care for a maximum of 32 children under eight years of age. There are currently 51 children in the early years range on roll. Children aged three years are funded for free early education. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.30pm for 51 weeks of the year and closed on all bank holidays. Children may attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery employs eight full time staff, seven of whom are qualified; this includes the manager. One staff member is working towards further early years qualifications. The nursery provides care for children who have English as an additional language.

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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 make good progress in this homely and organised nursery. Overall, resources are wide-ranging and are used well by staff to support children's learning effectively. Children are well protected by vigilant staff. Partnership work with parents is effective; however, wider partnerships are less well established. The nursery has identified relevant targets for the future because it has good awareness of its strengths and weaknesses. This demonstrates a good capacity to improve future outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 strengthen younger children's progress in developing information and communication technology skills, for example by incorporating technology resources they can recognise into their play, such as a camera and electronic toys  continue to improve partnership with other settings, other professionals and with individuals and community groups to fully support children's development and progress.

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the early years provision

Children are kept secure in this well managed nursery. Vigilant staff supervise children well and implement relevant policies and safety procedures effectively. For example, risk assessments covering all areas, resources and equipment are This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 routinely in use to help keep children safe. All required documents are well maintained, such as records for children's accidents and medication, alongside accurate daily attendance registers. Staff are vetted as being highly suitable for their roles because of robust recruitment procedures.

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the early years provision

The nursery benefits from a large, landscaped garden which is well designed to promote a good range of children's physical skills. A bike path, digging area, 'car park' and small waterfall and fish pond, are just some of the interesting features of the outdoor area which are used well by children and support many areas of learning. Group rooms are organised well and overall there is a wide range of resources. However, there is a lack of resources to support the development of technology skills in children aged between two and three years of age. Staff have good awareness of the nursery's strengths and areas for development because they evaluate the provision regularly. Consequently, they have set appropriate targets, such as the development of a staff mentoring system to support best practice. Previous recommendations have been met, such as the implementation of a procedure to deal with any allegations against staff. This means that children are

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the early years provision

better protected and shows that the nursery has good capacity to improve outcomes for children in the future.

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the early years provision

Parents spoken to at the time of the inspection felt pleased with their child's progress. They were very happy with the provision. Parents contribute to their child's care and learning by letting staff know about their child's interests and skills. They do this by completing an 'All about me' form when their child first arrives at the nursery. This provides good information on children's starting points which staff use effectively in their plans for children. Parents are kept well informed of their child's progress through regular parents' meetings where they view and discuss observations, samples of children's work and summaries of development. Parents contribute further to their child's care and learning by posting news of children's achievements at home on a 'Wow!' board in the nursery. They also write up observation notes to share with staff. This information is used by staff to inform plans for children. Annual questionnaires are given to parents

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the early years provision

and results are analysed. Staff act on suggestions from parents, such as the establishment of an 'igloo' project which involves the creation of a giant igloo using plastic milk bottles. This helps to support children's learning about different types of homes.

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the early years provision

Staff have good working relationships with local community health professionals based at the local children's centre. They offer advice and support to staff who care for any children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, although none currently attend. However, wider partnerships with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage are not fully developed. Consequently, there are missed opportunities for other providers to be involved in children's care and learning. Staff support children with English as an additional language effectively. They work with local community health professionals to devise careful individual plans for children to promote good outcomes in children's learning. A good range of resources and multicultural stories promote children's understanding diversity, demonstrating people's differences. For example, children play with dolls of various skin colours and can explore books featuring characters from different cultures in

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 wheelchairs or on crutches.

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and outcomes for children

Children explore their environment happily. Their strong relationships with staff and familiarity with routines means that they are settled and secure in the nursery. Children behave in safe ways, for instance, by travelling down the slide sensibly while in the garden. They handle cutlery appropriately as they eat meals. Children have healthy diets because meals and snacks are well balanced nutritionally and cater for special dietary needs. Children develop a very good range of physical skills as they use a wide range of large and small apparatus in the spacious landscaped garden. They have fresh air daily as they play outdoors. A music and movement specialist visits the nursery each week to support the development of children's physical skills. Children understand the need to keep their hands clean and prevent the spread of infection so they wash them at appropriate times.

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and outcomes for children

Staff observe children regularly and plan carefully to meet their needs. This means that children's next steps are clearly identified from good quality observations. Consequently, children are challenged by suitable activities and experiences. There is a good balance of adult-led and child-led tasks. Babies explore their creativity as they dress up in pink wigs and sparkly Asian slippers. Older children operate electronic torches independently and watch in amazement as they make circular light shapes on the ceiling, commenting 'big and small circles going round really fast'. Children use effective counting skills as they make mud pies in the garden for their friends. They use a good range of physical skills as they clamber over logs and tyres and climb and balance on climbing frames.

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and outcomes for children

Children of all ages enjoy sharing books with their friends and point correctly to different characters in stories. Older children write their own names and recognise initial letter sounds of words. Younger children enjoy making marks on the ground using chalk. Toddlers learn about different animals as they sing action songs happily. They join in with the actions and follow instruction well. Older children rise to the challenge of a game where they have to find objects according to colour or shape. They also operate programmable toys, such as robots with competence and demonstrate good technology skills, although younger children have fewer resources to support their developing skills in information and communication technology. As they play in the garden, children stop to observe the features of fish swimming in the pond. Children count the number of fish correctly as they dart and glide under the water. Children enjoy exploring different creative materials to

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and outcomes for children

paint pictures or make three dimensional models. These activities support children's learning well.

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and outcomes for children

Staff manage children's behaviour effectively. They speak calmly to the children and give clear explanations of why certain types of behaviour are unacceptable. Praise is used to encourage good behaviour and rewards are given to children who behave well. Children share and take turns; younger ones do this with adult support. They enjoy playing together and work in collaboration as they build with This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 bricks. Children learn to accept and value difference through discussion and activities. For example, parents visit the nursery to talk to the children about their culture and share food from their countries of birth, such as onion bhajis from Pakistan and flatbread to celebrate Hanukkah. 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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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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