The Co-operative Childcare Croydon

The Co-operative Childcare Croydon Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust, Mayday University Hospital, 530 London Road, THORNTON HEATH, Surrey, CR7 7YE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/03/2013 12/09/2008

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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 are confident and motivated as they move freely between inside and out choosing what they wish to play with, owing to staff organisation of the environment.  Children benefit from a good range of purposeful activities planned well by staff that continually promote their learning and development.  Children gain good communication skills because the quality of teaching is effective and staff skilfully use good questioning to help children to think.  Parents are effectively involved in their children's learning and development because there is effective two-way communication with the child's special 'key person'.  Thorough self-evaluation ensures that the nursery staff are continually working towards improvements that benefit the children most.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 younger children have less access to interactive toys so there are fewer opportunities for them to begin to understand how simple information and communication technology (ICT) works  links with other early years settings children attend are not sufficiently robust, so the information exchange about children's learning and development is not fully effective.

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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 made observations of children while playing both inside and out.  The inspector viewed documentation and looked at children's individual records.  The inspector held discussions with staff and parents.  The inspector interviewed the area manager and deputy of the nursery.

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Information about the setting

The Co-operative Childcare Croydon is one of a large chain of nurseries owned by Midcounties Co-operative. It is situated in the grounds of Mayday University Hospital in the London Borough of Croydon. The nursery is in a converted building with an enclosed outdoor area. The nursery is open each weekday from 06.45 until 18.30 throughout the year, only closing for bank holidays. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Currently 92 children are on roll. Children's hours of attendance vary to suit the working hours of their parents. Children are grouped, according to age, into four separate rooms. They support children who have identified special needs and/ or disabilities and children whom learn English as an additional language. The setting provides funded education for two, three and four- year-old children. The nursery currently has 17 staff, including the manager and the

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Information about the setting

deputy. Additional/cover staff are used from the nursery's own bank of supply staff. All staff hold or are working towards a childcare qualification; two hold a BA Honours Degree, two are level 4 qualified, four are level 3, six are level 2 qualified.

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

 strengthen links with other early years settings that children attend to ensure that their learning and development is fully complemented

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

 develop the range of interactive toys available for the younger children to acquire basic skills in turning on and operating simple ICT equipment.

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who attend

Children make good progress in all areas of learning because staff clearly understand how learning through play. Staff gather good information about children's individual needs from parents when they start. An effective 'key person' approach means that children get to know one member of staff very well. There is also a good system to ensure that children do not just form attachments to one person but receive good support from all staff too. The key person undertakes meaningful observations of the children to assess how they are developing. Staff track children's development to see if they are making suitable progress expected for their ages and stages of development. The staff use this information to clearly inform planning for future learning, so children move forward at a good pace. The staff carry out a progress check for children at age two years to identify achievements and learning priorities for them. Any child who is not moving forward as

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who attend

expected receives good support from the staff team. Consequently, all children gain good skills for the next stage of their leaning and development.

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who attend

Children benefit from a good range of purposeful activities that continually promotes their learning and development. There are good opportunities for them to play inside and out because a 'free flow' system works very well, in which children choose where to play. Children thoroughly enjoy outside play and gain strong physical skills as they ride on bikes, climb on an apparatus that helps them to learn how their bodies move. They play with a wide variety of materials such as sand, water and mud using utensils to fill up and tip out, which helps them to develop a good understanding of quantities and volume. Children benefit from the 'mud kitchen' where they can dig, and 'cook' with the mud. They also use sticks to make marks explaining what they are writing as they do this. Children learn about the world around them by taking part in fund raising events for charities making cakes to sell within the nursery. Older children use suitable equipment that

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who attend

develops their understanding of simple ICT, such as using a computer. However, the younger children have fewer interactive toys, so there are less chances for them to begin to understand this technology. Children pour water into a length of guttering and the member of staff places a plastic ball onto this, encouraging the children to work out how much more water they need to pour onto the tube to make the ball move. In such ways, children develop strong early mathematical skills in solving problems.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is effective in supporting children's progress. There are prompts displayed around the nursery both inside and out to remind staff of how to interact effectively with the children. They skilfully challenge children's thinking by asking questions such as 'I am not sure, what else can we do?'. Young children's language and communication skills are good. Staff sing familiar songs with repeated refrains to help them build their vocabularies as they join in with excitement. The babies react well to the happy and friendly voices of the staff. They smile and turn to look at them as staff call their names, repeat simple words and sing to them. This gives the babies a good understanding of two-way communication and prompts them to make sounds back. As a result, of the effective interaction all children gain good communication skills. Children gain useful skills for the next stage in their early education, when they move on to school.

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who attend

Parents are encouraged to come in, take part in activities, and share their interests with the children. One parent brought a pet chicken in to explain how it is cared for, where eggs come from and give them an opportunity to touch the bird. There are regular parents' evenings, when the key person shares details of children's progress. Parents can contribute to the children's observations through using 'wow vouchers'. This is a way for staff and parents to share details of children's achievements and progress. This means parents are effectively involved in their children's learning and development.

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

Children's physical and emotional well-being is catered for well. Children form strong attachments to staff, are happy, and settle quickly. Each room has a good range of toys and resources freely available for children to make choices. The outdoor area is highly stimulating with areas for children to dig and explore the natural world and be active. Young children show they are settled and have confidence in the staff's care as they move to explore the areas around them, from the secure base. The effective deployment of staff gives children maximum support as they learn through a good balance of adult-directed and child-initiated play. The nursery is bright and inviting with displays of useful information and pictures of children taking part in activities. There is a strong reflection of diversity throughout the nursery. This means all children and parents feel valued.

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

Children's safety is important in the nursery staff. There are finger guards on doors to prevent accidents and daily checks ensure children play in a safe environment. Staff talk to children about safety rules when they are playing and monitor them closely as they use equipment, such as scissors or the climbing frame. This care means children can take risks safely learning to assess these for themselves.

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

All food is cooked freshly on the premises and children thoroughly enjoy the snacks and meals they have. They are able to help themselves to food at dinnertime, developing independence well, and staff encourage them to eat and try different flavours. They sit with them and monitor the portions they eat. This ensures that children have a good balance of nutritious food and learn what kind of food is good for them.

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

Staff manage children's behaviour consistently. They get down to children's level and talk quietly to them about why the behaviour is not acceptable. Staff remind children to be kind and polite to each other, promoting a culture of respect for everyone. Staff reinforce good behaviour with lots of praise and encouragement. This consistency makes children feel valued and as a result, they gain a strong sense of belonging.

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provision

The management and staff team have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. They demonstrate a clear knowledge of the learning, development and assessment requirements. The manager monitors children's assessment records on a regular basis to ensure they reflect an accurate understanding of all children's skills, abilities and progress, which staff then use to plan a varied range of activities. As a result, children benefit from tailored experiences that mean they move forward at a good rate. Staff's awareness of the nursery's policies and procedures is good. These are displayed around the nursery so there is a regular reminder of what to look for if a child was thought to be at risk. Staff explain clearly that they know what to do should they have a concern about the welfare of a child. A thorough policy underpins their practice well. Safeguarding training is offered regularly to ensure staff have the current knowledge to

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provision

There is a good recruitment and vetting system in place to ensure all staff are cleared as suitable to work with the children. Staff are effectively involved in the management of the nursery through regular staff meetings, where they can take a lead roll. All staff have good opportunities to share their experiences of the training courses they attend. The manager monitors staff performance through yearly appraisals to identify training needs. Staff benefit from good support at one to one sessions with the manager at which they discuss their strengths and weaknesses and set themselves achievable goals. Staff have good opportunities to take on more responsibility, such as maintaining ratios in the nursery or becoming a 'colleague council representative'. These people meet with the head of childcare for the company to discuss issues for their nursery. Training opportunities for staff are good and ensures that they are working towards constant

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provision

improvements in their professional development. This system makes the staff feel very much part of the nursery and aids staff motivation effectively, so they do their best for the children.

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provision

There is effective two-way communication between parents and staff. This means parents get good feedback about their child's well-being each day. There is a 'suggestion tree' where parents are encouraged to leave notes of any ideas they have for improvements within the nursery. A newsletter sent out each month keeps parents up-to-date with events taking place in the nursery. These communications help ensure relationships with parents are positive. There are effective links with other agencies such as the local authority inclusion team and the company's quality development team, so staff know where to find additional support for children, when needed. However, links with other early years settings children attend are not as robust; hence some areas of children's learning and development are not shared fully.

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provision

The management team seeks the views of staff, parents and children through discussion and questionnaires. Through the self-evaluation process, they effectively indentify strengths and weaknesses of the provision offered. There is good support from the company's quality development team who come into the nursery to aid with planning and implement changes that will benefit the children most.

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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 124902 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 908208 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 65 Number of children on roll 92 Name of provider Buffer Bear Ltd Date of previous inspection 12/09/2008 Telephone number 020 8401 3819

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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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