Little Stars Nursery

Little Stars Fairchildes Children's Centre, Fairchildes Avenue, CROYDON, CR0 0AH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/01/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 The setting has very strong partnerships with parents, carers and other settings, supporting children's continuous learning and welfare needs.  Staff make the most of spontaneous learning opportunities to explore the weather, extend children's understanding of the world around them and mathematical concepts.  Children with English as an additional language and those with additional needs are supported very well through the effective use of resources and staff's sensitive approaches.  Children are very settled and confident in their surroundings due to the close bond they make with their key person and other staff.  The whole staff team show dedication towards continuous improvements, using information from training to make changes to improve the service for children and their families.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 On rare occasions, the deployment of staff and absence of the key person does not always allow children's learning to be extended and fully supported.

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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 all staff working directly with the children, both indoors and outdoors, throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector arranged time with the manager to discuss safeguarding and welfare issues such as recruitment away from the children.  The inspector looked at children's records including their development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector gained the views of parents, grandparents and staff during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Little Stars Nursery registered in 2012. It operates from five rooms within the Fairchildes Children Centre, New Addington, Croydon. There is a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm, 50 weeks a year. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. There are 16 members of staff employed. Fifteen staff hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational Qualification at level 2. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four- year- olds. There are 67 early years children on roll. The nursery receives support through the local authority.

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

 monitor the deployment of staff, to consistently provide timely intervention and support based on the key person's knowledge of the child.

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who attend

Children are making good progress in their learning and development. Children can choose from a good range of resources, equipment and activities that promotes all the areas of learning equally, both indoors and outdoors. Rooms are well organised to allow children to make choices for themselves and children's levels of development are carefully taken into consideration. Staff provide a well-balanced educational programme with accurate learning intentions for each child. Staff interact well with the children. They provide exciting and stimulating experiences for children to investigate and enable them to explore their learning themselves. However, on rare occasions such as during adverse weather conditions, staff group together to work with children in one room. The deployment of staff on these occasions does not always fully support and extend children's learning. When a child's key person is absent, there is sometimes limited information, especially if a

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who attend

child has just settled, to help other staff to engage children in their target areas for learning.

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who attend

Children make good progress through spontaneous activities they thoroughly enjoy. For example, children explore the snow outside and inside. They talk about what happens when it gets warmer and what patterns can be made in the snow by their boots and bike wheels. Staff encourage the promotion of all areas of learning in these conditions through high levels of engagement, fun and effective questioning.

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who attend

Children show great interest in books, listening intently to stories read by staff who use explanations and questions to help most children stay engaged, interested and intrigued by the story line. Children explore the use of mark-making, and experiment with early writing skills. They understand that words carry meaning. Children attempt to write their name, recognising their name and the letters used to form it from named pegs and self registration cards. They express themselves freely through creative activities, using a good range of resources such as glue, materials, tissue, coloured paper and paint. Staff confidently encourage children into these activities through explanations, instructions and questions. Children communicate well through gestures, facial expressions and speech to relay their thoughts and needs, depending on their age. Babies show their love of music by swinging their legs or bouncing to the music in the background. Staff talk confidently

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who attend

about the music that each child likes and encourages children's movement and imagination through music. Young children explore technology confidently by demonstrating at a very young age that by pressing a button on a book, noises are made that promote reactions from them. For example, a toddler presses a button on the book that makes a laughing sound. The child reacts by smiling and laughing to themselves, pressing it repeatedly. This shows an early understanding of cause and effect. These experiences help children to confidently gain the skills for their future.

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who attend

The setting effectively promotes equality and diversity, supporting children and their families with English as an additional language and those with identified additional needs. Staff promote the use of story sacks in dual languages and DVD stories along side books to support parents/carers with limited reading and writing skills. They support families from diverse backgrounds, celebrating, through resources and discussion, their backgrounds and way of life. Children have access to plenty of resources that promote positive images of today's society such as musical instruments, posters and books helping them to understand and celebrate people's differences.

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who attend

Staff use effective systems to assess, observe and plan for individual children's ongoing development. They identify each child's next steps from information gained from parents, relating to their experiences from home. These are used to plan activities to help them progress in all areas of learning. Regular assessments of children's progress are shared with parents and achievements from home are celebrated through the "WOW" board. Effective systems are also in place to support children's transition to school and other settings by clear communication and records of their current stages of development.

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

Most children are very settled and confident in their surroundings, even when circumstances change and all children of all ages play together. Children settle quickly due to the dedication of staff to make strong bonds with children and support their families through the settling stage. Therefore, children feel reassured and welcomed into the setting. Children show strong examples of independence, making choices for themselves and confidently asking for support from familiar staff. Children demonstrate respect for their friends and for staff. They show care and compassion, helping each other to share and play together. Older children are positive role models, especially when interacting as a group. For example, older children show the younger children how to use the sledge, encouraging them to make snowballs and chase staff. There is plenty of laughter in the setting, demonstrating that it is a fun place to be. Babies are supported well in making

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

close attachments with staff. Key persons make sure they gather plenty of information to help young children settle and feel confident in their care. Children's individual home routines are recognised and promoted to support continuity of care.

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

Children thoroughly enjoy outside play, gaining fresh air and exercise. Children are encouraged to use the space available to them to explore their movements. They recognise the effects of the weather on their bodies, exclaiming when they want to go inside when they are cold. They attempt to warm themselves up by rubbing their hands and feet. Staff are quick to intervene, helping them to change independently into warm dry clothes. Young babies are encouraged to try newly developed skills. The furniture in the baby room allows children to pull themselves up, support their weight and attempt to cruise at an early age. Staff are always at hand to support this development.

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

Children learn about effective hygiene practice through daily routines. They are reminded to wash their hands after messy play and toileting and before snacks and meals. Good procedures are in place to keep the baby room clean for crawling babies. For example, shoes are removed before entering. babies are encouraged to drink water and milk with clear explanations about keeping their bodies healthy. Children are encouraged to try new tastes. For example, children are offered whole oranges to peel and to taste. Meals and snacks are freshly prepared by an enthusiastic cook, ensuring that individual children's dietary requirements are met. Babies' meals are prepared according to their weaning needs and are encouraged to use their fingers and spoons to attempt to feed themselves.

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provision

Children are safeguarded well within the setting. Effective risk assessments are completed on a daily and annual basis to ensure children can play in safety. Staff work closely with the adjoining children's centre to provide a safe, clean, stimulating and secure environment both indoors and outdoors. Staff are vigilant at all times, supervising children well inside and out. Staff attend safeguarding training and are fully aware of the procedure to follow if they have concerns about the protection of children. Required documentation is concise and clearly recorded to support children's welfare and safety. In addition, nursery staff works closely with staff in the children's centre to provide consistent support for families.

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provision

The setting has very thorough systems to promote and monitor staff performance. Effective supervision and appraisals take place regularly to assess individual staff's practices. Management identifies and addresses staff training needs to improve their skills and knowledge in all aspects of learning and development and safeguarding and welfare. Some staff attend formal qualification training whilst others attend regular local training workshops to develop practices. Staff are encouraged to share newly acquired knowledge to promote continuity throughout the setting. Staff and management have good relationships with the local authority development workers. They use their guidance, suggestions, and advise to make improvements in each room. The whole staff team are committed to continuous improvements and actively contribute to the ongoing self- evaluation system. Staff confidently identify their strengths and also areas for further

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provision

development, demonstrating a good capacity for continuous improvement.

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provision

Partnership with parents, carers and other professionals is a particular strength of the setting. Parents and grandparents make very positive comments about their children's care and learning. They state that they are impressed with the progress that their children are making and feel part of their child's learning. They have confidence in the staff in meeting their children's individual needs. Parents have access to a good range of displayed, written and verbal information. This includes menus, staff qualifications, learning and development strategies and policies and procedures. Babies' parents are provided with a daily journal of the days events. All parents are actively encouraged to be part of their children's learning journey, sharing information about their learning at home. Staff have made very effective links with other early years provision that are actively involved in the care of children at their setting. Key information about children's

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provision

development is shared. It is used effectively to provide a consistent approach to children's ongoing progress. Regular communication with other professionals helps staff to provide the support for parents that benefits the children in their care. Good practices are shared amongst local settings to promote positive and developing services. The partnerships support early interventions for individual children to help close the gaps in their development.

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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 EY449944 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 807435 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 63 Number of children on roll 67 Name of provider Collette Mary Singers Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 07535 067 785

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Setting details

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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