The Learning Tree Childcare Ltd

The Learning Tree Childcare The Memorial Ground, Wood Lane, ISLEWORTH, Middlesex, TW7 5ED

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/03/2013 Not Applicable

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is good

 Staff successfully help pre-school children make excellent progress in their communication and language and literacy development.  Staff effectively support all children's personal, social and emotional development, including their behaviour, by using specialist teaching strategies.  Staff effectively support children's learning and development by using forest school teaching methods so they learn about safety, self-care skills and creativity.  Full parental involvement in children's learning contributes to the good progress that children make towards the early learning goals.  The provider is a strong and effective leader. She mentors and coaches her staff well and makes good use of quality assurance processes to identify ways to improve the setting.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 staff do not fully use the base room or local community, to support younger children's communication and language development and understanding of their immediate world  staff do not fully involve pre-school children in reviewing their own progress and successes, to set their own goals, and to plan for and extend their own play and learning.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the pre-school and under two's room and outside environment.  The inspector had discussions with the provider and manager.  The inspector undertook joint observations with the provider.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documents including children's records, some safeguarding records, and the setting's quality assurance tools and improvement plans.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to a number of parents during the inspection, taking account of their views.

p.2

Information about the setting

The Learning Tree Childcare Limited is a privately-owned full day care nursery. It is based in a pavilion building in Isleworth, in the London Borough of Hounslow. The nursery originally registered in 2011 but re-registered in 2012 due to a move from domestic to non-domestic premises. There are two base rooms. One is for children aged under two years and one for those aged two to five years. Toilet facilities are integral and there is direct access to an enclosed outside area and the open playing fields via the pre-school room. A small group of local residents also have the use of the playing fields. The nursery implements the 'Every child a talker' (ECAT) programme and forest school teaching methods. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and cares for children aged from birth to five years. The nursery is open from 8.30am to 5.30pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery offers part-time and full-time places and is in receipt of funding for the

p.3

Information about the setting

provision of free early education for children aged three and four years. There are currently 32 children on roll. The nursery supports children who are learning to, or, speak English as an additional language. The nursery also supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The provider holds an early years qualification at level 3 and has gained Early Years Professional Status. The manager and four staff also hold qualifications at level 3. One member of staff holds Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery also employs a chef who holds qualifications at level 3 in both early years and food hygiene. She prepares and cooks the meals and works with the children after lunch to cover staff breaks.

p.3

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

 create an environment that invites more verbal responses from babies and young toddlers; for example, by displaying pictures and photographs of children's families, favourite activities and everyday objects, and taking them for strolls into the community so they can learn about their immediate world through first-hand experiences

p.3

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

 help pre-school children develop their projects and role-play ideas further, and involve them more in setting their own goals and reviewing their own successes and progress.

p.3

who attend

All children make at least good progress in all areas of learning and development. Staff monitor children's progress by carrying out regular observations and communicating closely with parents. Assessment systems, including the progress checks for children aged between two and three years, are well developed. These assessments are accurate and used well overall to help move children on in their learning. Some groups of children, such as those with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language make exceptional progress. By the time children leave for school all children have made exceptionally good progress in their communication and language and literacy skills based on their starting points on entry. However, the quality of day-to-day teaching practice is sometimes variable. For example, the eldest children in pre-school are already able to read. This is because of the emphasis placed on rhyming and rhythmic activities.

p.4

who attend

In addition staff teach children to link letters to sounds using strategies recommended by the 'Every Child A Talker' programme (ECAT). Staff also use puppets and props to encourage children's listening and attention and understanding during stories and circle time discussions.

p.4

who attend

The pre-school room is full of photographs of children's forest school activities and of children's recollections of their dreams and experiences. The children make these on felt wall hangings and they are then put on display to show how staff value their efforts. This also encourages children to initiate conversation. Pre-school children enjoy trips to the theatre, but babies do not regularly go on outings into the community to learn about and see their immediate world in action.

p.4

who attend

Pre-school children benefit greatly from project-based activities. These provide children with very good opportunities to learn through first-hand experiences. For instance they watch chicks hatch from eggs, which they nurture in an incubator, and observe caterpillars changing into butterflies. Parental involvement in these projects is high. For example, they share the experience of the chicks hatching via an internet link. However, staff do not always respond to spontaneous opportunities to help the older children review their own progress and extend their play and learning. For instance, when the children set up a role- play scenario it ends up being very basic and children's play is short-lived.

p.4

who attend

Children enjoy and participate enthusiastically in a wide range of art and craft activities. Babies have daily opportunities to explore and experiment using their senses. For instance they make patterns and marks using their fingers and hands in flour mixed with cereal. They paint and explore a corn flour mixture as well as experimenting with sand and water. Children all have access to technology, such as basic mechanical toys whereby a baby learns to press a button to create an action or sound. Older children benefit from using two-way radios during forest school activities. All the older children recognise and write their names and children learn to develop pencil control through the wide range of activities that encourage hand muscle skills, such as kneading dough to make chapattis.

p.4

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

Children have well established strong emotional attachments with their allocated key member of staff. The settling-in procedure for new children is carefully planned and supported by staff and parents to minimise parent-child separation anxiety. The nursery is well equipped with play and learning resources. Although they do not fully maximise the use of the space to stimulate young children's learning in an enabling environment. For instance by displaying photographs and pictures on walls in the under two's room and enhancing the use of large corner areas in pre-school.

p.5

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

Staff and parents effectively share information about babies' health and routine needs, such as weaning and sleep times, to support consistency of care. Children's behaviour is skilfully supported by kind and caring staff who use specialist teaching strategies to good effect. For example, under the guidance of qualified professionals, staff use Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) for managing challenging behaviour. Trained staff help children to understand about different types of behaviour and the effect this has on others using three puppet pals. The puppet pals help children to learn the difference between sharing and turn-taking, to identify and talk about feelings, and to manage frustration. Older children are very kind towards younger children and often help them, without prompting from adults, with practical tasks, such as peeling a banana. Older pre-school children, who have been attending since they were babies, have well-established and strong friendships

p.5

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

Pre-school children thoroughly enjoy the twice-weekly forest school activities. This provides very good opportunities for their physical as well as creative development. Children are learning to adopt healthy and active lifestyle habits. Children extend their communication and language, and literacy, skills as they act out stories in the woods. Children develop creative thinking skills as they look for natural items to represent something particular. Their vocabulary widens as they go on listening walks and they learn to recognise their own capabilities and make safe decisions, such as how high to climb up a tree. Children learn to use tools safely, such as a saw, and to behave responsibly around fires. Current arrangements for outdoor play on the nursery premises are temporary while they develop their own on-site forest school. Very young children, particularly babies who are not yet walking, do not always enjoy being in the current outside environment

p.5

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

because there is not a wide range of things for them to see and do. Staff do not always make good of the local parks to help the young children learn to enjoy being in the fresh air. Toddlers enjoy manoeuvring wheeled equipment around. Older children set out their own physically challenging assault courses using crates and planks of wood, tree stumps and discarded lorry tyres. Staff encourage children to experiment with new ideas by modelling balancing along a length of rubber tubing. They create an echo by calling down the tube, which makes children dissolve into fits of giggles when they try it. Mealtimes are a key strength of the nursery and thoroughly enjoyed by all the children. Babies sit in comfortable low bucket chairs facing each other while staff engage them in sociable interaction and encourage them to feed themselves. Pre-school children serve themselves lunch and wash up their plates afterwards, helping them gain independence. All children

p.5

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

are happy and show a strong sense of belonging in the nursery.

p.5

provision

Leadership is strong and effective. They are united in their strive for excellence and have rigorous quality assurance processes in place to drive continuous improvement. The move to non-domestic premises is a new experience for many of the staff and they are all learning to adapt to the new environment. Priorities for improvement are astute, exciting and proactively targeted. For example, the nursery is extending physical play opportunities by introducing football and cricket coaching sessions. Staff are implementing new systems to assess children's levels of well-being and involvement when they first start attending. These include staff carrying out home visits to children before they visit the nursery so that when they do they are greeted by a familiar face. This helps them feel safe and secure. In addition the nursery is working very hard to achieve the local authority's 'healthy setting award'. Parents are strong supporters of the provider. They are keen to

p.6

provision

offer help, such as by providing transport to take the whole nursery on an outing to the theatre. Parents say they are amazed by the things that children tell them, such as that an author writes books and that an orange segment 'is a semi-circle daddy, not a half moon'. Partnerships with external agencies, such as a special educational needs co-ordinator and support workers, are well established. The nursery also has close links with other local nurseries and schools within the borough that children transfer to. They also make a concerted effort to share information with children's childminders to support continuity of care and learning.

p.6

provision

Staff effectively safeguard children's welfare. All records and documentation, and policies and procedures required for safeguarding and promoting children's welfare are in place, well maintained and implemented. The provider has robust procedures in place for recruiting and vetting staff to make certain they are suitable to work with children. Risk assessment is rigorous and effective. There are good procedures in place for keeping children safe on and off the premises. Child protection, paediatric first aid and behaviour management training is mandatory for all staff. This enables them to understand their responsibilities well. The provider closely monitors and supports staff performance through the appraisal process. They receive good quality supervision, mentoring and coaching from management. The staff have attended a wide range of training workshops this year, which they put to good use, to improve the care and learning outcomes for children.

p.6

provision

The provider is highly knowledgeable about the learning and development requirements and the early learning goals. She shares all that she knows, and continues to learn, with her staff and often parents. This helps to support improvement in the children's care, learning and development. For example, parents of children learning English as an additional language are strongly encouraged to speak only their first language to children at home to support the development of bilingualism. The provider makes sure that staff closely and regularly monitor all children's progress. This helps them identify any underachievement and secure early intervention to help close any achievement gaps, in readiness for school.

p.6

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.

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY453962 Local authority Hounslow Inspection number 886573 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 32 Name of provider The Learning Tree Childcare Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07931 780 909

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10