Little Foot Steps Day Nursery

Little Foot Steps Day Nursery Acton Hill Church Centre, Woodlands Avenue, LONDON, W3 9BU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/11/2012 30/06/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children are happy and confident and have sound relationships with staff and children.  Children's communication and language skills are appropriately supported overall.  Staff share useful information with parents each day about children's daily progress.  Children are supported effectively during transitions, helping them to settle as the move into the next age group and as they prepare for school.

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It is not yet good because

 Suitable food hygiene procedures have not been fully considered when providing lunch at a time when the gas supply was temporarily disconnected.  Children who speak other languages are not actively encouraged to use their home languages during their play.  The organisation of meal times, group activities and of the resources in the baby and toddler rooms does not always effectively meet all children's individual needs.  The key person system does not extend to supporting their key children's personal care routines. Therefore the opportunity to further help babies feel safe and secure at such times is missed.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children in the baby room, the pre-school room and the garden area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff about their assessments of children's progress and sampled records relating to this..  The inspector held discussions with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager during children's lunchtime.

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Information about the setting

Little Foot Steps Day Nursery was registered in 2010. It operates from the first floor of a church hall in Acton in the London Borough of Ealing. The nursery is accessed from the ground floor by a staircase. Children have access to three playrooms. There is an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery provides care to children in the early years age range. A maximum of 26 children are accepted at any one time and there are currently 17 children on roll. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm all year round. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 11 child care staff; the owner of the setting is also the manager. Eight of the staff members hold an appropriate early years qualification. The other staff members are working towards a childcare qualification.

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must:

 ensure that the requirements for the hygienic preparation of food are maintained at all times.

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

 provide opportunities for children to use their home language within their play and learning

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

 improve the organisation of the space and resources for babies and toddlers so they can explore, build and role play

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

 develop the key person system further to support children during personal care routines and at meal times.

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

 improve the organisation of group activities and provide opportunities to support children's individual learning needs that involve turn-taking and sharing in small groups.

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who attend

Children are provided with a variety of suitably enjoyable experiences and activities, which provide an appropriate educational program. Staff regularly observe and assess children and use this information to plan for the next steps in their development. Furthermore, they are able to demonstrate how children are making suitable progress towards the early learning goals. Staff know the children well and take time to find out about their individual interests. They use this information satisfactorily to encourage children's development in literacy. For example, sharing stories children are particularly interested in from home. Children's language development is suitably fostered through opportunities to engage in conversations with staff during everyday activities. During an activity using play dough staff remind children of the names of the tools and the shapes they are using. Babies and toddlers enjoy opportunities to develop their language skills as they sing their favourite

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who attend

songs and move their bodies to action rhymes. They enjoy opportunities to develop early reading skills as they choose books to share with the adults. They snuggle up with staff who make these sessions enjoyable. Children show they are able to recognise the different animals in picture books as staff use appropriate questioning techniques to support their understanding. Children are making appropriate progress in their language development given their starting points. Staff encourage parents of children with English as an additional language to provide key words in their home language when they settle in. Some staff share children's home language or have knowledge of other languages children speak at home. However, in general children have too few opportunities to use their home language in their play.

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who attend

Children have regular opportunities to be imaginative using a suitable selection of items that reflect every day life. For instance, toddlers enjoy helping themselves to the selection of hats and bags. Older children enjoy opportunities for role-play as they dress up as chefs or doctors. Staff make good use of story times to introduce the youngest children to counting. For example, they encourage the children to count the stairs in the pictures introducing them to numbers from one to ten. These sessions are relaxed and children receive good attention, which increases their interest and learning. The older children use a good selection of resources to encourage their understanding of numbers, shape, space and measure. They have an organised area where they can explore for themselves. However, group sessions for older children are not always organised sufficiently for children's individual needs, which means they become distracted and are not fully

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who attend

Staff work in partnership with parents to support children's care, learning and development. Although staff have not yet provided parents of two-year-olds with a short written summary of their children's progress, as required, parents are able to look at the profiles kept for their child. These contain photographs and examples of children's engagement in activities. Sessions are provided for parents to discuss their child's individual progress and parents are regularly asked to provide examples of children's learning from home. This helps staff to get to know children's interests and all-round abilities and to plan activities based on children's individual needs and interests.

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

The provider has established a suitable key person system to help children feel secure. For example, the key person supports younger children as they transfer to the pre-school room, to reduce any anxiety and help them to settle.. Staff have an appropriate knowledge of their key children as they share information with parents about children's progress at the setting and at home. They are attentive to their key children if they are feeling unwell, taking their temperature regularly and communicating their concerns with parents. However, the key person system does not always provide individual tailored care to strengthen children's emotional attachments during some personal routines and at meal times. Staff provide suitable role models for good behaviour as they provide consistent boundaries. For example, during activities, they explain to children about the importance of sharing toys and equipment with their friends. They also model good manners to

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

children thanking them for their help with everyday tasks. Staff explain to children that it is polite to say 'please' and 'thank you' when people help you. Children are developing an understanding of how to promote their own safety. For instance, they take part in regular emergency evacuations that help them to learn how to behave safely in an emergency. Staff provide suitable explanations for children to learn about hygiene and safety. For example, they explain why they need to wash their hands before meals and why it is important to clean the floor after meal times.

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

Children access a well-resourced environment, which helps to support their learning in all areas of their development. Resources in the pre-school room are well-organised into different areas of learning; for example, areas to help promote children's understanding of the world and early mathematics. Children confidently help themselves to the toys and equipment. However, space in the baby and toddlers' rooms is not as well organised. Consequently, children are not always able to help themselves to toys and books, as they are stored out of reach on high shelves. Children are familiar with the daily routines at the setting and these are generally well organised. However, lunch times are not as well planned. For example, staff do not use this time effectively to provide a relaxed environment, sitting with the children to encourage spontaneous opportunities for learning. Children have daily opportunities to play outdoors. Here they enjoy fresh air and

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

exercise, developing their physical skills as they use the available play equipment.

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

Children learn to respect people's differences as they use toys and equipment with positive images of the wider world. Children enjoy dressing-up in costumes reflecting different roles and cultures. Furthermore, they take part in organised activities that raise their awareness and understanding of other cultures.

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provision

The manager has a suitable understanding of both the learning and development requirements and the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Mostly she implements suitable systems, policies and procedures to meet the requirements. However, on one occasion the supply of gas was disconnected and alternative arrangements were made to provide children with a cooked lunch. At this time the manager failed to give sufficient consideration to food hygiene implications and admits that the arrangements made did not fully promote food safety. Staff demonstrate a suitable knowledge of the safeguarding procedures including how to report child protection concerns. The effectiveness of educational programmes is sufficiently monitored.

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provision

Since the last inspection, staff have made improvements to the observation and assessment process and have improved communication with parents to involve them more in their child's learning and development. This helps staff to plan for children's individual interests and needs. These measures support the setting's continual improvement. The manager is aware that more can be done to improve the provision; during conversations, she clearly demonstrates a positive attitude to making changes to improve the outcomes for children.

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provision

Positive relationships are developed with parents. Staff encourage a free-flow of information each day about children's routines and progress. Parents receive surveys to provide them with opportunities to give their views of the service. The manager considers their responses carefully making changes where necessary. Parents report that their children are happy here and they are pleased with the daily feedback about their children's progress. Systems are not in place for sharing information with other providers delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, this has been identified as an area for improvement as part of the self-evaluation process to improve consistency for children attending other settings.

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provision

The manager uses appropriate systems for recruiting, inducting and monitoring staff performance. She has positive plans in place for improving staff's access to training as a team. Appropriate training opportunities are provided for staff to up date their knowledge through the early years service. Clear policies are easily available for staff and parents to access. Staff are all clear of their roles and responsibilities.

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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 EY401091 Local authority Ealing Inspection number 886687

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 17 Name of provider Little Foot Steps Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 30/06/2011 Telephone number 02088 960 081

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Type of provision

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. 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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