Lanterns Arts & Educational Nursery

Lanterns Nursery Unit D,Great Eastern Enterprise Centre, 3 Millharbour, LONDON, E14 9XP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/02/2013 19/01/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 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

 Adults listen to children, responding to their needs and joining in children's games to extend their learning.  The learning environment is well resourced and varied, enabling children to experience a wide variety of activities.  Routines are well-established, which helps children feel safe and behave well at all times.  The management supports staff to train and gain further qualifications, which enables them to develop their professional knowledge and be up to date with latest early years curriculum guidance.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Adults pre-select art and craft materials for children's art, which diminishes rather than enhancing the creative and thinking processes in children.  Young children find it hard to join in nursery rhymes because adults sing at a fast pace and grouping of children is at times too large and daunting for younger children.

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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 at play both indoors and outdoors, during meals and rest times, in adult-led and child-initiated play.  The inspector carried out joint observations with the room leaders.  The inspector had discussions with the manager, key persons, children and parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a representative sample of documentation, including children's attendance register, complaints record, risk assessment, staff qualifications and safeguarding certifications, a selection of children's assessment folders and a sample of planning.

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Information about the setting

Lanterns Nursery registered in 1995 and transferred to its new premises in 2008. It is a privately owned nursery and operates from a converted building in the docklands area within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Access to the building is at ground level and children have the use of several rooms on the ground floor, including four large base rooms. The children have access to a dance studio, music room and an arts workshop. Children share access to an indoor soft play area and a secure outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open from 8am until 6.15pm every weekday for 50 weeks of the year. The nursery is registered on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Children are divided into four different age groups. Currently, there are 94 children on roll in the early years age range who attend various sessions. There are 24 members of staff employed to work directly with the children. Of these 23 members of staff are suitably qualified and one member of staff there is training for an appropriate qualification. The manager has achieved the Early Years Professional status. The nursery supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is in receipt of nursery funding for three and four year old children.

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

 organise times to separate toddlers from babies for song time, using actions to accompany rhymes and singing at a slower pace to further encourage them to all join in

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

 increase the range and accessibility of creative equipment and resources, particularly resources for mixing colours, joining things together and combining materials.

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who attend

The nursery offers several light and spacious playrooms equipped with new child size furniture and resources. Children enjoy a variety of stimulating activities and small focused sessions, which enables them to make good progress towards early learning goals. Younger children benefit from very well resourced baby and toddler rooms where they practise crawling, standing and walking. They have access to a wide range of materials and toys with which they practise their hand skills and learn about various textures, which helps them make good progress from their starting points.

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who attend

Younger children learn enjoy daily sessions of song and rhymes with the adults who look after them. They join a large circle which makes them feel part of the group. However, toddlers and babies find it hard to join in songs because the pace of the singing is too fast for them. In addition the words are not always accompanied by actions to support their inclusion. These groupings are too large for young children to connect with the adults and each other effectively.

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who attend

Indoors children have the opportunity to develop their imagination. For example, they pretend they use the phone booth in the play corner to 'talk' with their friends and families. They also imagine they are builders as they play with trucks in the sand pit. Children practise skills such as using the scissors and sticky tape to make their own creations. However, art resources and tools are stored out of their reach, which limits children's free expression through painting or model making.

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who attend

Adults organise the environment in such way so children have the opportunity to practise early writing skills and learn to use numbers for counting objects. There are alphabet letters on the blackboard and children use pencils and paper. Some of older children know alphabet letter names and are confident to write their own names independently. Children practise recognising and writing numerals to 10, count objects and develop early calculations skills in adult led sessions and games. This prepares them for their next stage in their learning as they go to school.

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who attend

Adults read books with children regularly, engaging them in familiar stories with repetitive and rhyming texts. Children enjoy this and join in, practising their spoken English. Adults invite children to answer open ended questions about the books they share, encouraging thinking and understanding of the stories read. This results in all children, especially children who learn English as an additional language, making good and sometimes outstanding progress in Communication and Language.

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who attend

Children are allocated to specific members of staff, their key person, who plan sessions and work with small groups of children. These key persons systematically monitor children's progress in learning and development. They observe children at play to learn what children are interested and able in doing. They plan specific activities to answer children's needs and further their learning. Parents are encouraged to know what their children learn and how they progress and regularly meet with their children's key persons.

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

Children form secure attachments with their key person from the start, which enables them to feel happy and safe. Adults play with small groups of children on the carpet, listening to them and responding to their individual needs. Older children have the opportunity to gather together in larger groups as they listen to stories or have lunch. This enables them to learn about belonging to a group and to begin to have some social responsibilities such as tidying up.

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

The nursery has well-established and clear routines and children know what is expected of them at all times. Adults model friendly and respectful relationships and as a result, children play well together, taking turns and sharing resources. For example, children collaborate well with one another as they hold the ends of the skipping rope to create a skipping game.

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

Children have a healthy life style while attending this nursery. They enjoy fresh air and physical exercise daily, participating in organised sports. Older children make use of a dance studio where they can further develop physical skills in ballet and dance. Younger children have daily access a large soft play room where they practise their balance, learn to climb and gain confidence in all their body movements.

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

Children eat healthy meals while in the nursery as their lunches are prepared daily from fresh food stuffs on the premises. Nursery routines and the nursery staff support children in becoming independent in managing their personal needs such as feeding and using the bathrooms. Adults organise times and spaces for children to rest or relax through the day, according to their need.

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

Resources and tools are well organised, which enables children to be independent and confident in their play and learning. This prepares them well for the next stage in their learning and their transfer to school.

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provision

The manager closely monitors children's well-being and progress in learning. She uses effective managerial systems such as regular reports and weekly meeting with room leaders, to maintain quality of provision. The room leaders ensure that activities and experiences planned contribute to children's all round development. Staff use detailed observations of children's interests and needs to plan for individual children. As a result, children make good progress from their starting points towards the early learning goals.

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provision

Staff regularly compare children's attainments to the Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance so they can identify early if children have any additional needs. The nursery has developed strong links with health professionals who advise and support staff in planning early interventions if the situation arises.

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provision

The manager and staff make children's safety their priority. There are rigorous recruitment systems to ensure all adults are suitable to work with children. Staff have secure knowledge of child protection issues and undertake regular checks of the environment, minimising risks of accidents. The manager and staff use effective systems to account regularly for all the children in their care. Daily registers are used to record days and times of children's attendance. The nursery employs two extra staff who cover any staff absence and lunch hours. Staff working hours are organised in shifts to ensure there is a high adult to child ratio at all times. Entrances and exits are secure so that children are safe from possible unwanted intruders.

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provision

The manager supports staff to develop professionally through attending a variety of training sessions and courses. For example, five staff currently study towards higher levels of childcare qualifications. The learning acquired is effectively used to improve sessions and activities for children.

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provision

Parents are invited to participate in children's learning through a variety of activities. The manager and her staff initiate projects such as resource collections and recycling, in which they encourage parents to participate. Parents engage in a range of interesting and creative activities when they contribute to larger performance art projects. These are performed in the theatre within the building. Such experiences give parents the opportunity to develop their own creativity, which is enriches family life.

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provision

Children's progress folders are well-organised and informative. These are made available to parents at all times. This allows parents to monitor their children's progress and collaborate with the nursery contributing to children's successful development and well- being.

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provision

The nursery has developed strong collaborations with outside agencies, such as the local authority advisers, neighbouring early years settings and health clinics, which is beneficial to all children. The nursery co-operates with a number of national charities who periodically run projects in the nursery, enriching children's experiences and knowledge.

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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 EY372099 Local authority Tower Hamlets Inspection number 904349 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 68 Number of children on roll 96 Name of provider Lanterns Schools Limited Date of previous inspection 19/01/2011 Telephone number 02073 630951

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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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