St. Michaels /St. Matthews Nursery

St. Michaels /St. Matthews Nursery St Matthews Church, St Marys Road, London, NW10 4AU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/10/2012 08/01/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children show high levels of confidence and demonstrate they feel safe and secure in their surroundings  Staff demonstrate they have high expectations of the children and their independence is supported very well  Babies show they are happy and content and share close bonds with staff who are caring and attentive to their needs.  Staff interact well with the children, joining in with their play and extending their ideas.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The setting's book area lacks appeal and as a result children show limited interest in using this area to access books to explore.  Staff miss opportunities to create a relaxed and social occasion at lunch time and to use that time to talk to children about their healthy meal and other general conversations.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children and staff in both the main hall and baby rooms, both indoors and outdoors.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the deputy manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the deputy and senior manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of staff suitability and qualifications, and the nursery's self-evaluation form.  The inspector spoke to parents and took their views into consideration.

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Information about the setting

St Michaels Nursery opened in 2003. It is one of four nurseries run by a private provider and operates from a church hall at St Matthews Church, in Harlesden, in the London Borough of Brent. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open each week day from 8.00am to 6.00pm all year round; except for bank holidays. The setting offers places for 46 children on the Early Years Register and is also registered on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 45 children on roll within the Early Years Register. The setting supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 13 staff, the vast majority hold an appropriate early years qualifications.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 Create an attractive book area where children and adults can enjoy books together

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 Use lunchtime as an opportunity for children to talk to their small group about something they are interested in or have done and what they like to eat

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who attend

Children arrive at the nursery happy and eager to join in with the activities. Staff are active and playful with the children, which they effectively combine with good teaching techniques. This positively impacts on children's learning and development, helping all children make good progress. Staff are deployed well and are responsive to the needs of the children. For example, a group of children excitedly role playing with their cars are loud and energetic with staff who are animated and join in whole heartedly with their play, in contrast, a member of staff sat with children enjoying a threading activity is mindful of children's concentration as she is quiet and engages in calm, purposeful conversation.

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who attend

Staff use effective techniques to extend and challenge children's thinking. They model good vocabulary and give children time to think. At the water play station, staff encourage children to explore with filling and pouring, asking them to find the animals and numbers hidden in the bubbles. At the dough table, staff ask children what the dough feels like and model how they can use their hands and fingers to manipulate the dough. In the baby room, staff encourage babies to touch, poke and squeeze dough, as part of their sensory exploration.

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who attend

Children have excellent opportunities to learn about the world in which they live. They explore various religious festivals and enjoy a project around celebrating black history month. For example, they enjoy looking at large laminated photos of important people from black origin, such as Presidents and Olympic winners. Children enjoy looking at the pictures and pointing out the ones they know, one child says, 'he got a medal because he won a race!'

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who attend

To encourage children's literacy and reading skills, staff have used printed word well in the environment. Equipment and resources are labelled, and have been written by the children themselves. This encourages all children's early understanding of how and why we use words. Furthermore, in the settings book corner, staff have displayed real items such as instructions and packets from food with the ingredients, giving children familiar ways in which print is used. However the book area in general lacks attractiveness as some of the more well-handled books have ripped and are missing a front covers. This makes the area appear messy and uninviting.

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who attend

Babies personal, social and emotional development is fostered well. They show interest in the activities and resources staff present and enjoy finding their eyes and ears as part of naming games. Babies learn quickly that their actions have an effect on others. For example, one baby shuffles on his bottom which makes the inspector laugh, he recognises this and repeats it many times, finding the repetition of making someone laugh highly amusing as he giggles in delight.

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who attend

Children have many opportunities to engage their imaginative skills. During outdoor play, staff create a police chase with the trikes. They all pretend to be police officers as they say try and catch another member of staff. They ride around in their cars as staff join in and say, 'nee nor nee nor'. Staff have successfully planned for a wide educational programme for both children's indoor and outdoor play. Children can enjoy digging in the garden patch, exploring the different textures with the plants and pebbles, they enjoy counting with the interesting hangings on the fences and enjoy making music with the many instruments available. Planning is informed from the observations staff make as well as information shared from parents about their interests or influences from home. Staff establish children's current developmental stage when they first start at the setting through discussions with parents and the detailed 'all about me' forms parents are asked

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who attend

to complete. This helps staff plan accurately for children's development and establish progress they make in relation to their starting points.

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who attend

There are effective systems in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work effectively in partnership with parents and other agencies. For example, speech and language therapists and educational psychologists. This supports staff in being able to identify and implement targeted individual plans for children. All parents are encouraged to contribute information about their child and staff keep them well informed about the progress their children make. Furthermore, parents are given ideas for continuing and learning at home.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children display very high levels of confidence which is a result of the secure attachments children make with their key person in helping them feel safe to explore in their surroundings. High priority is placed on a smooth settling in period and staff are creative in finding ways to support this important stage. For example, prior to children starting, they receive information about their key person in the form of a photograph and some funny information about them. This is highly beneficial for both parents and children in building upon trusting relationships that will pave they way for a successful experience at the nursery. This continues through the nursery as children move up into the main room from the baby area. Staff place high priority on children moving when they are ready and in agreement with parents. Staff consider how confident children are in their walking and their readiness for further interaction, among other things, when planning for their

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

transition. Transitions to school are equally well supported. Children use a good range of toys and equipment that enable them to develop valuable skills to prepare them for school. Furthermore, their independence is greatly supported as they freely access all resources and competently use cutlery at lunch time.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children display excellent manners and their behaviour is very good. During outdoor play with the cars children are heard saying 'excuse me' as they wish to get past, always followed with, 'thank you!' as they pedal off. Children form close friendships with one another, greeting each other in the morning as they say, 'give me a high five!'. Staff show they have high expectations of children, as they play a key role in the daily routine. For example, at lunch time, helpers serve the plates of food and hand out the cutlery. The children helpers even wear their own hair nets to help them understand about health and hygiene. Interaction from staff at lunch time however is limited. While they encourage children not to talk when they have food in their mouths, being mindful of manners, the lunch time period is extremely quiet and not made to feel like a relaxed and social time.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children are encouraged to manage their own hygiene and personal needs; even the youngest children show an understanding of healthy manners as they are seen covering their mouths when they cough or yawn and know to line up for hand washing at meal times. Children enjoy visits from people in the community. Most recently children had fun learning about good oral health with a visit from a dentist and learnt about those that help us when visited by a local police officer. Staff help children learn about safety during their play; outdoors staff set out an imaginary 'road' with crates, children pretend to drive their cars, knowing to stop when the member of staff says, 'red light' and go when its 'green'. This helps children learn about road safety as they are aware of the rules of the road.

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provision

Leadership and management are effective, which enables the nursery to run smoothly. Managers have a good understanding of their responsibilities to ensure that the provision meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery receives regular visits from a senior manager who has just completed her Early Years degree and offers much support and guidance. Managers' work together to monitor the educational programmes, observations and planning to ensure all children are making progress. Staff are supported in their professional development. Formal supervision takes place providing opportunities for managers and staff to discuss performance, areas for development and any training needs. Management arrange for training to take place in the nursery, enabling inclusive and accessible development for the staff team.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are securely in place. Clear policies and procedures contribute to the safety and welfare of the children, including a thorough safeguarding policy. Staff demonstrate a firm understanding of safeguarding and have all received training in child protection. Staff show a good knowledge and understanding of what do to if they have concerns about a child in their care as well as the procedures to follow should an allegation be made. Recruitment and induction procedures are robust, resulting in children being cared for by suitable, qualified and experienced staff.

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provision

Self evaluation is effective and staff show a strong commitment to making continuous improvement. Monitoring information, previous inspection recommendations and feedback from local authority early years visits all inform the setting's action plans which are displayed in the office area for staff to refer to regularly, keeping them aware of the importance of making improvements. Since the last inspection, improvements have been made positively impacting on the independent choices children make, effective assessment of children's progress and staff knowledge and understanding of safeguarding procedures.

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provision

Partnership with parents is well-established. The staff team are welcoming and provide opportunities for parents to be involved in social events as well as formal meetings within the nursery. Parents state they are very happy with the level of care provided, giving much praise for the staff. Parents have access to much information including notice boards displaying information about the Early Years Foundation Stage, setting plans and templates of the observations staff take to help parents understand how the staff work.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY240976 Local authority Brent Inspection number 814477 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 46 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider St. Michael's Nursery Date of previous inspection 08/01/2010 Telephone number 020 8961 6399 set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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