The Co-operative Childcare Waterloo

Buffer Bear Nursery @ Waterloo Buffer Bear Nursery, 21 Frazier Street, LONDON, SE1 7BD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/04/2013 29/04/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 1 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 settle well because staff spend time getting to know children and plan effectively to meet their individual needs.  Children are protected well from harm because staff understand and implement required policies and procedures well in their practice.  Parents have good opportunities to contribute to their child's learning and are kept well-informed of their child's progress.  Staff manage children's behaviour very effectively. They use praise well to reward and encourage good behaviour.  Staff have good knowledge of children's abilities because they observe them regularly and keep comprehensive assessment records.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Some books are not well maintained, and there is not a very wide range available in the book area, so children do not have the best possible opportunties to read freely.  Staff do not use all opportunities to develop links with local school in order to support children who move to school in all possible ways.

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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 interaction between staff and children.  The inspector sampled a wide range of documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents, staff and children and took their views into consideration during the inspection.  The inspector tracked the progress of several children.  The inspector had a discussion with the management team.

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Information about the setting

Buffer Bear nursery opened in 2004. It is part of a childcare network which currently comprises of 51 nurseries across the country. Buffer Bear at Waterloo is situated in a two storey refurbished building in a residential area in Waterloo. Local shops and parks are within walking distance. Children share an enclosed outdoor area; there is a separate garden for babies. The nursery is registered on the early years register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the childcare register. The nursery offers funded places to children aged three and four years. There are currently 57 children in the early years age range on roll. The setting supports a few children who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery operates from Monday to Friday from 7.30 to 6.30pm throughout the year, except for bank holidays. The nursery employs 17 staff, 11 hold appropriate early years qualifications to level 3, four to level 2, and two staff members are

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

 enhance links with local schools to support children's moves to school in the best possible way.

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

 enhance book areas and increase the range of books and story props, puppets to support children's reading skills and interest in books.

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who attend

Children enjoy their time at this calm and organised nursery. Their interests are reflected well in plans made by staff, which results in high engagement of children in a variety of activities. There is a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities to capture children's interests and to cover the areas of learning. Consequently children make good progress in their learning and development.

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who attend

Staff encourage children to explore their pre-writing skills through imaginative and enticing activities and resources. Older children are able to make links between letters and their meaning. They are able to recognise their written names as they arrive at the nursery and staff support children to write their own names on their work. This helps to extend their pre-writing and letter recognition skills. Staff encourage children to learn to recognise written numerals as they complete number puzzles. Younger children practise making marks on wall-mounted chalkboards and explore marks in creative activities, such as cornflour mixtures. Staff encourage babies to listen to the sounds of corn flakes as they scoop them into containers, and staff use words to describe the texture of the flakes. This helps babies to hear a wide range of words. They are also able to develop their small muscle control as they explore and move the gloop and cornflakes around, and practise

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who attend

gripping containers. Babies delight in playing 'peek-a-boo' under coloured scarves with staff. They learn that things are still there when they are out of sight and enjoy the repetition of this sociable activity.

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who attend

Overall, children enjoy listening to stories and make lots of comments on story events. However, some books are not well maintained and children do not have free access to a very wide range of books. This means that they do not always freely engage with books or make free choices to read. Staff encourage and support children to learn about the world around them. For example, children learn about how things grow by planting and growing seeds in the garden. Staff encourage children to investigate and make links about things around them. For example, staff encourage children to explore their own facial features and discuss why we have eyelashes as children draw eyelashes on faces in their pictures. Children learn well about simple technology. They operate electronic toys competently to hear musical sounds, investigating cause and effect. Older children are able to explore simple computer programmes as they develop their skills in using information and

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who attend

Staff provide opportunities for children to learn to share and take turns as they respond to questions at story time. They engage well with activities and create their own play from accessible resources. As children are able to organise and plan much of their own learning, they concentrate well and enjoy challenge in tasks. This helps them to prepare for school effectively. Children who learn English as an additional language make good progress because staff learn key words in a child's home language and use visual resources to promote language skills. As a result, children feel assured that their home language and cultures are included and valued in the setting. Staff support them to be confident and interested learners.

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who attend

Children enjoy a variety of good opportunities to develop physical skills. They use a range of large and small equipment in a well-designed outdoor area. Staff support them closely as they climb, balance, ride and move in different ways on challenging resources. This enables them to develop their large muscles and their coordination skills successfully.

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who attend

Staff keep comprehensive records of children's progress. They observe children regularly in order to determine their next steps for learning. Staff use samples of children's work and photographs of skills achieved. Progress checks are completed effectively for children aged between two and three years and written summaries are provided for parents. This underpins children's good progress as parents are able to share their children's learning experiences. These activities also enable staff to identify gaps in learning for individual children and take prompt action to close these gaps. Staff also keep parents updated on children's development through regular parents' evenings.

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

Children settle well because they have warm relationships with staff who plan around their interests. Staff work closely with children during their settling-in period to ensure that children feel secure and content. Staff adapt routines to meet the needs of babies and this helps babies to adjust to their new environment readily.

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

Overall, the environment is organised and resourced well. Staff carefully label resources and place them in accessible baskets to enable the children to select freely and independently. As a result children are confident and independent learners. Staff have taken care to encourage children to manage their own safety. Children behave in safe ways, for example by going down the slide one at a time. They walk down the stairs sensibly and hold onto the handrail. Staff help children to develop hygienic practices by encouraging them to wash their hands independently before eating and at other appropriate times. As a result children understand why they need to wash their hands, they say 'to get the germs away.' Staff change babies' nappies in clean, comfortable and private conditions. This enables babies to feel safe and secure during care routines.

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

Children eat healthy, well-balanced meals and snacks. Special dietary needs are catered for well. Children develop healthy habits because they have daily exercise and fresh air as they use a range of equipment in the outdoor area. They enjoy growing plants in the garden and this enables them to learn about where fresh food comes from. This helps to reinforce positive messages about food.

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

Children behave well because staff have high expectations, which they reinforce gently and appropriately. Staff speak calmly to children and use praise to reward and encourage good behaviour. They talk to children about any actions that may not be acceptable and offer clear explanations along with suitable alternatives. Staff skilfully manage behaviour in age appropriate ways. For example, younger children are offered distractions by staff if they behave negatively. Staff are fully aware of the need to manage negative behaviour without physical interventions and they promote positive behaviour as they are good role models.

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

Staff support children well during times of change. For example, staff help children to prepare for school by adding uniforms to the 'pretend play' area. This helps children to explore their upcoming move in safe way. Staff send link books, which contain information about children's development, to schools to support children who move on. However, staff have not organised visits to local schools to fully prepare children in all possible ways for this change. Moves within the nursery are well planned. For example, children spend time in group rooms within the nursery to get know staff and the environment before moving up.

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

Staff find out about the cultural backgrounds of children so that relevant special events can be discussed and celebrated. This helps children to learn about and accept difference. They use a range of multicultural resources in their play that supports their understanding further. Children's self esteem is boosted as they know that their own cultures and backgrounds are embraced and valued in the nursery.

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provision

Children are protected from harm because staff have good knowledge of safeguarding policies and procedures and implement these well. For example, they know and practise emergency evacuation procedures. Management carry out risk assessments on all areas of the nursery, including resources and equipment, and this protects children further. Food is prepared safely and hygienically because the cook and several staff hold food hygiene certificates. Staff are vetted comprehensively for their roles, and receive a thorough induction covering all requirements. Staff are deployed well and this ensures that children's needs are met at all times. Children's safety is enhanced because plenty of staff are qualified in paediatric First Aid. Children are protected and supported well because staff are suitably qualified and experienced for their roles.

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provision

Management offer good support and challenge to staff through regular supervision. They encourage staff to improve their skills or address areas of underperformance by attending training courses. Yearly appraisals help to identify individual training needs. For instance, staff attended an 'Interference or Intervention' course, which led to a greater awareness of the role of the adult during children's play. As a result, they are able to give children more freedom and control in their own play. This has positively improved children's independence.

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provision

Management have a strong presence in the nursery, which helps to assure quality. For instance, management spend regular periods of time observing staff practice in group rooms. They monitor the quality of planning and assessment by sampling children's development folders and review plans. This helps to identify any gaps in learning of children in order for plans to be made to close those gaps.

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provision

The nursery has made good links with parents. For example, the nursery works in partnership with parents by keeping them informed of their child's progress and by providing good opportunities for parents to contribute to their learning. Parents are well involved in their children's care and key persons communicate effectively with parents about their children's needs. Children are settled, happy and make good progress because of this strong continuity. Overall, partnerships with outside agencies and other schools are good. However, there is scope to enhance links with local schools so that children can make even smoother moves to school.

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provision

The nursery management has reflected accurately on the provision and identified clear priorities for development. Previous recommendations have been fully met, such as including views of parents in evaluation of the provision. Management are keen to make further improvements and there is a clear vision for the future of the nursery. There is good capacity to improve the nursery to the future benefit of all children who attend.

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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 EY286079 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 909283

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 57 Name of provider Buffer Bear Ltd Date of previous inspection 29/04/2010 Telephone number 020 7593 1342

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Type of provision

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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