Packington Children's Centre

Packington Children's Centre Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY442174 Inspection date 19/07/2012 Inspector Liz Corr

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Setting address New North Community School, 32 Popham Road, LONDON, N1 8SJ Telephone number 02077043903 Email ana.sevilla@islington.gov.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

Packington Children's Centre originally registered in 2008. It was re-registered in 2012 due to a change in management. It is now managed by the London Borough of Islington. The Children's Centre is situated in Canonbury in the London Borough of Islington next door to New North Academy. Children access two group rooms and an outdoor play area. The Children's Centre offers wrap-around care for nursery and reception aged children from the Academy. It is open from 8am to 6pm for 48 weeks a year. Wrap-around care is provided between 8am to 9am and from 3.30pm to 6pm.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 18 children in the early years age group may attend at any one time. There are currently 26 children in the early years age range on roll; some attend part time. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two and three. The setting supports children learning English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The Children's Centre employs 13 staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications, this includes Early Years Professional Status.

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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

Children make significant progress here. Staff use excellent systems to work in partnership with parents, carers and other agencies to enable children to thrive. Self-evaluation and highly reflective practice strongly support continuous improvements to the service. Staff are extremely motivated and inspired by their highly effective management. Consequently, the outcomes for children are continually improving. Children's communication and language skills are exceptionally well supported and is an area the staff are continuing to develop.

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further?

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

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further?

 strengthening opportunities for children to develop communication skills by extending the use of sign language. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Procedures for safeguarding children are securely in place and promote the safety and welfare of children to high level. All staff receive regular training in child protection and are fully aware of their responsibility to report child protection concerns promptly. As a result, they work collaboratively with other agencies to protect children. Children are safeguarded by the robust systems for staff recruitment and vetting procedures. Staff follow highly effective safety procedures, which provide children with a safe and hazard free environment. For instance, staff securely monitor sleeping children to keep them safe. Furthermore, extensive procedures promote children's safety and enjoyment on outings.

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the early years provision

Staff are very confident in their individual roles and responsibilities. They work successfully in partnership to meet the learning and development needs of the children. They are extremely well led and supported by management. Consequently, staff morale is very high. Staff are actively involved in extensive reflective practice to review and improve their work and drive improvement. As a result, highly effective targets are set to improve the service. This means that outcomes for children's achievement and well-being are excellent. The learning environment, both indoors and out provides exciting planned and spontaneous opportunities for children to develop highly effective skills for the future. Children are busy and fully involved in their play as they independently access a wealth of equipment.

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the early years provision

The nursery has highly effective relationships with parents and carers. Staff use exceptional systems to involve parents in their children's learning and to find out about their interests at home. Parents are extremely well informed about their children's daily progress during discussions and written records. Staff organise regular meetings with parents to discuss children's development and provide excellent feedback about children's progress in the six areas of learning. Parents are extremely happy with the nursery. They report they have noticed significant progress in their children's development during their time here. They appreciate that staff build on children's interests from home in meaningful ways and support parents to continue their child's learning at home.

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the early years provision

The nursery has excellent partnerships with other agencies. For instance, to support children moving up to the nursery class in the adjoining school or schools in the local area. Staff at the school receive extensive information on children's development. Furthermore, the nursery arrange for children to meet their new teachers, which ensures a smooth transition. There are highly productive channels of communication between all agencies involved with individual children. This successfully promotes their learning, development and welfare.

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the early years provision

The nursery places the promotion of inclusion at the heart of all its work. Children benefit from the highly effective settling-in procedure. For example, all children receive a home visit before they start. This successful procedure helps staff plan for each child's individual needs. They make plans to support individual health or development needs promoting a nurturing settling in period. The staff are highly This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 successful in identifying and taking steps to close identified gaps in children's achievements. They set individual plans and targets for each child and closely monitor their progress.

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and outcomes for children

All children show an extremely strong sense of security and confidence. New children have all the time they need to get used to the different routines and as a result, they relax and settle at their own pace. Children thrive as staff make individual plans to meet their needs in strong partnership with parents and other agencies. This supports all areas of their development extremely well and children enjoy and achieve significantly well. Staff have an outstanding knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. They regularly observe children in the six areas of learning and provide next steps to support their continuing development and to prepare them very well for school. Planning is highly productive and staff use information from parents to think of inspiring activities to build on their interests from home. Through careful observation, staff discover children's individual learning styles. They find out that some children learn better outdoors.

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and outcomes for children

As a result, they tailor individual activities based on their interests to take place in the outdoor area or on outings. The outstanding organisation of the setting means that children can choose to play indoors or out.

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and outcomes for children

Babies and toddlers develop excellent skills as they explore their surroundings with great interest and become active and inquisitive learners. For example, they thoroughly enjoy opportunities to experience natural materials. They experiment and use their senses using shaving foam, shredded paper, flour and paints. Children make progress with mark making and early writing as they explore a wide range of materials to capture their interest. Staff support children's skills for communication, language and literacy depending on their stage of development. They organise small group sessions so children have extremely effective support to learn new words and to support sentences. Furthermore, staff use signing during language support sessions to promote and stimulate speech development, and this is an area for further development.

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and outcomes for children

All children are highly valued at the setting. Staff have embedded highly effective strategies to respect children's rights. As a result, children's behaviour is excellent. Children are motivated to behave well as staff share their good behaviour with each other and praise the children for their help. Staff support children's understanding of keeping safe at the setting. They gently teach younger children how to sit safely at meal times and guide them when tidying up their equipment. As a result, older children show excellent levels of responsibility as they help staff to tidy up. Children are learning excellent skills to promote their awareness of a healthy lifestyle. They make healthy choices during meals and snacks and help themselves to water when they are thirsty. Staff support their individual health needs significantly. They have an extremely secure knowledge of how to meet children's individual dietary needs. Furthermore, children receive highly effective

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and outcomes for children

explanations when they need medication or skin care. As a result, children This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 understand why this is important for them and are very cooperative. 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 1 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 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 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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