St Michael's Nurseries Ltd

St Michael's Day Nurseries Ltd (Clapton Park) 76 Blurton Road, London, E5 0NH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/03/2013 28/04/2009

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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

 The leadership of the nursery is a strong feature of the provision. There is a particularly effective system of self-evaluation in place resulting in a good capacity for continual improvement.  Children make good progress in their learning given their starting points. This is particularly well-evidenced in the pre-school room.  Staff promote children's welfare through appropriate attention to health and safety in the nursery.  Children have many opportunities to go on interesting outings in the local area. These offer diverse learning experiences that support children's overall development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Not all staff make the best use of the daily routine to offer a variety of play experiences, both indoors and outdoors.  Children do not have a wide range of opportunities to express ideas creatively using different media and materials.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled 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 the children as they took part in indoor play activities and story sessions.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector interviewed the manager, and deputy manager, and talked with members of staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the nursery's documentation, particularly that relating to safeguarding and the assessment of children's progress.  The inspector took into account the views of parents.

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Information about the setting

St Michael's Day Nurseries Ltd (Clapton Park) registered in 2003 and is owned by St Michael's Day Nurseries Ltd. The nursery operates from the basement of a church in Clapton Park in the London Borough of Hackney. It is open from 7.30am until 6pm every weekday for 51 weeks of the year. Children have the use of three indoor play areas and a soft play area. They have access to a outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Currently there are 39 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. A team of eight staff work with the children. Three members of staff hold Early Years Professional

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

 review the organisation of daily routines so that all children have opportunities to take part in a wide variety of indoor and outdoor activities every day

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

 provide more opportunities for children to investigate different media and materials so that they can be encouraged to engage in the exploration of different textures, concepts and ideas.

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who attend

Staff provide a variety of attractive play resources in different learning areas to encourage children to explore. Children show much interest in the activities on offer. They develop social skills as they play alongside others. Older children have firm friendships and play harmoniously. Staff join children in their chosen play activities. They enhance children's play through their involvement. For example, younger children have fun rolling balls with adults while older children enjoy role play and making pictures. Staff are aware of children's differing needs and plan suitable activities for each age group. They are adept at using books and songs to encourage children's communication skills. Staff in the baby room help children to become more aware of sound and rhythm as they sing and play music. In the toddler and pre-school rooms children are very keen to share books. Staff happily read to them as they sit comfortably in book corners. They encourage children to

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who attend

talk about the pictures and stories as well as how they feel. They increase children's awareness of numbers, shapes and patterns. These activities help children to develop a sense of belonging as well as encouraging them to use spoken language in different ways.

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who attend

The nursery has an effective system of observational assessment in place. This enables staff to record their observations of children's learning and then plan around children's individual needs. Children's assessment files include written observations and supporting photographs, which provide a clear visual record of their progress. Staff in the pre-school room are particularly efficient in their use of this system and this results in them being very knowledgeable about children's interests and needs. Consequently, they make the most of opportunities to extend children in their learning, for example, when joining them in making a map to help guide home a spider they have found. Children are encouraged to think about the needs of the spider, to mark on the map places for it to go and to describe the different parts of the map so that an adult can add written labels. By interacting in this way staff help children to gain useful skills for the future. Staff also offer

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who attend

good support to children with special educational needs. They liaise closely with other professionals, making use of individual plans to help move children on in their learning.

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who attend

Children have good opportunities to learn about the natural world and living things. For example, they learn about trees and snails when visiting the park. Children benefit greatly from the various outings that are arranged for them. For instance, after visiting the cinema to view a film they talk excitedly about the characters in the film. Children have experienced cookery sessions at a local shopping centre and have the chance to observe butterflies at a butterfly dome. In addition staff organise activities around numerous celebrations, taking into account the differing backgrounds of the children. Recently children have learnt more about life in Nigeria, Japan and China. These experiences help to increase children's knowledge and understanding of different communities and environments. Children also have opportunities to use creative materials in arts and crafts. Pre-school children are able to include good detail in their pencil drawings. However, there

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who attend

is limited access, at times, to different media and materials, which means that children are not always able to explore ideas in hands-on creative activities.

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

Staff promote children's well-being through their caring attitude. They are attentive to the emotional needs of children and offer individual support to help children settle. The play areas are set out in an inviting manner so that children are encouraged to make choices. They feel safe in the setting as adults are always on hand for comfort or reassurance. Children especially enjoy the soft play area where they climb, run and bounce freely. The outdoor area is especially attractive and well-equipped. However, staff do not always organise each day as well as possible, so that children have opportunities to move around between play rooms, soft play and the outdoor area, thereby engaging in a wide variety of learning experiences. Children develop self-confidence and learn to concentrate on their chosen tasks for increasing lengths of time. They show respect for each other as they move freely around the play areas. Staff are consistent in their management of children's behaviour and

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

children are very much aware of what is expected of them. Staff make sure that each area is secured using gates or dividers so that children are always visible. They encourage children to develop personal independence and to adopt good hygiene practices. Children's self-esteem is boosted through much praise for their achievements. This helps children to develop an open attitude to the learning experiences on offer. In the pre- school room children are very keen to try out new activities. Such attitudes will be useful to children in the next stage of their early education.

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

Children enjoy a variety of nutritious, healthy meals. Mealtimes are well organised and children eat in small groups in a relaxed atmosphere. Children are gradually encouraged to feed, and then serve, themselves. As a result, they are happy to try different foods and to eat what is on their plates. The menu is varied and well-balanced, including foods from different cultures. The meals do not contain any added extras, such as sauces, so children are able to acquire a taste for natural foods. The cook is knowledgeable about children's differing dietary needs and caters for these appropriately. Staff ensure that drinking water is always available and that children have times for rest or sleep. In this way they promote an understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles.

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provision

The nursery's owner/manager and deputy manager work in partnership, with the deputy being very much responsible for the day-to-day running of the nursery. This system works effectively as staff benefit from the knowledge and experience of these leaders, both of whom hold Early Years Professional Status. The nursery's documentation is well organised and staff are generally efficient in maintaining the various records relating to children's health and safety. There are good procedures in place to promote the safeguarding of all children. The management team has put checks in place to ensure that all staff working with children are cleared as suitable to do so. Staff carry out daily safety checks around the premises in order to maintain a safe environment for children. The management team assess new risks as these arise and are vigilant about risk assessing outings before taking children out. Staff know what to do if they have any concerns relating to child protection.

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provision

Staff are well deployed around the nursery and this results in children being well supervised in each play area. Staff are very well supported by the deputy manager, who monitors their practice closely. She helps staff to make the best use of the system of observational assessment to focus their planning around children's learning needs. She encourages them to explore new ideas for improving their teaching. At present she is working closely with a new room leader who is particularly keen to improve the practice in her room. Staff gain experience of working with children of different ages, especially when children are grouped together during the day; for example, when some are taking part in an outing or others need a quiet environment to continue resting. However, staff do not always use their time effectively with these different groups of children in order to include a wide variety of indoor and outdoor learning experiences every day.

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provision

The nursery has recently been through a time of transition but the management team has made the most of this opportunity to review their systems, and staff practice, in order to highlight areas needing further improvement. The management team use self-evaluation particularly well to highlight the strengths of the provision and to note those things that are not working as well. In addition they take parents' views into account, making changes if these are seen to be of benefit to all children. Their evaluation process results in action plans being set up to address those aspects of staff's practice that need further development. The manager tracks all children's progress to ensure that children progress as expected given their starting points. The deputy manager motivates staff by working alongside them and modelling good practice. She sets relevant targets for the future, for example, the introduction of small group times, to ensure all children are included in a

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provision

The nursery has a good working partnership with parents and also with other early years provisions that children attend. Staff exchange information with parents daily, either in the form of a written diary or through verbal conversation. New parents receive detailed information about the nursery's policies and procedures. On an initial visit to the nursery parents also learn about the educational programme and system of assessment. They receive regular progress reports and are invited to consultations with their children's key persons. In this way parents are encouraged to support their children's learning at home. Additionally staff have the opportunity to follow up parents' requests regarding their children's learning. Parents are very keen to be involved in the nursery and this is actively encouraged by the manager. Children enjoy the extra learning experiences this involvement offers, for example, discovering more about music or cookery. Staff offer

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provision

good support for children at times of change, for example, when choosing key persons for children changing rooms.

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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 action. 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 EY270205 Local authority Hackney Inspection number 908176 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider St Michael's Day Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 28/04/2009 Telephone number 020 9852 886

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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, which are usually the childminder’s 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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