Storkway Nursery

Storkway Neighbourhood Nursery Storkway Family Resource Centre, Ridgebrook Road, Kidbrooke, London, SE3 9QX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/04/2013 13/02/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 The nursery team forms generally strong partnerships with parents and has good links with the Children's Centre to support continuity in children's care and learning.  There is a good range of policies and procedures which staff understand and implement to support children's welfare.  Children behave well and are self-confident because they form positive relationships with staff and each other.

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It is not yet good because

 Arrangements for evaluating the nursery and the supervision of staff are not fully effective. This means that weaker areas of practice have not been identified.  Staff do not consistently support children's literacy development or mathematical understanding. This weakness applies mainly to older and more able 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

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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 children and staff interaction during both their play and planned activities.  The inspector and acting-manager undertook a joint observation of a group activity.  The inspector discussed leadership and management with the acting-manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's records, development plans and staff suitability records.  The inspector spoke to parents and key staff during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Storkway Neighbourhood Nursery was registered in 2005 and is run by the Pre-school Learning Alliance. It is located in the London borough of Greenwich. The nursery shares the same building as Storkway Children's Centre and is close to local schools, parks and transport services. The premises consist of three group rooms, toileting facilities, a kitchen and two separate outdoor spaces, one of which is designated for babies. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is open from 8am to 6pm each weekday, all year. There are currently 70 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery currently supports children who are learning English as an additional language and children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. There are 14

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Information about the setting

members of staff employed all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff has Early Years Professional Status.

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must:

 Improve the programme for literacy by helping staff understand how to create an environment rich in language to help children learn the sounds that letters make.

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must:

 foster a culture of mutual support, teamwork and coaching, including monitoring of staff, to provide activities indoors and outside to motivate, inspire and challenge learning, particularly in regard to older and more able children.

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

 further develop opportunities for all children to develop their understanding of number through the use of fun and inspiring daily activities

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

 develop staff use of effective questioning and give children time to think and respond to questions in order to make learning more effective.

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who attend

Staff implement the learning and development programme for children adequately, providing a suitable range of activities to help them learn. There are appropriate systems to plan for individual children based on assessments designed to support their progress, in partnership with other agencies. These systems work well with the younger age range but not sufficiently adapted to provide challenging learning experiences for older and more able children. As a result, some activities do not encourage all children to explore, ask questions and develop their own ideas. There are missed opportunities for discussion during adult-led activities and this can lead to children becoming restless, as their interest wanes. Despite this, most children co-operate well with activities on offer which helps them all to make at least satisfactory progress in their development.

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who attend

Children are acquiring many skills to help them prepare for school. They make progress in personal, social and emotional development with kind support from staff. For example, they co-operate well with staff and others, and use 'please' and 'thank you', as expected. They enjoy singing and action rhymes. They know the well-established routines for meals and snacks during which staff help them learn about time and sequence. Staff are involved in a national initiative which includes training in speech and language development. Despite this, many staff lack confidence in teaching phonic sounds. As a result, children are not learning to link sounds to letters in preparation for school. Older children are writing their names using recognisable letters and can recite counting numbers in sequence. However, there are missed opportunities for older children to practice mathematics in every-day activities which means they are not learning to use

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

All children have a 'key person', who takes a special interest in them, to help them settle and develop positive relationships with others. The settling process includes the option of home visits to help children meet their key person in their own home and support the move to nursery. The visit also provides an opportunity for staff to develop sound partnership working with parents and carers to support children. Staff use praise well to raise children's confidence. Older children are encouraged to develop their independence, for example, by serving themselves fruit snacks, laying the table for lunch and going to the bathroom unaided. As a result, children develop their self-help and social skills enabling them to manage their personal needs.

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

Staff provide environments that reflect the differing backgrounds of children attending. Staff value the wide range of languages spoken by families. This respect is evident in displays and some resources as well as through staff speaking other language, such as Spanish, to children during play. This inclusive approach helps parents and children feel valued and develop a sense of belonging as they form bonds with staff. Children learning English and children with limited speech use picture cards to help them learn the routine of the day. There is targeted support for children attending who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator knows children well and works closely with staff and other professionals from the adjacent Children's Centre. This liaison provides children and families with tailored support and helps children to catch up with their learning.

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

Staff use information from parents to follow care routines linked to those at home. Meals, which are freshly prepared, include some foods from other cultures, vegetarian options and pureed foods for babies, so dietary needs are met. Should parents prefer to provide their own baby foods, their wishes are respected. Children rest well because younger children have a sleep in a cot or on a mattress with adult supervision. Care routines for nappy changing and sleep times are managed sensitively. This consideration helps babies feel content and to form secure emotional attachments with staff.

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

The use of the outside play area promotes children's physical skills with a sufficient range of equipment for climbing and balancing; staff are currently training to use an area for 'forest school' to provide further outdoor learning and help children to learn through their senses. Some spontaneous learning opportunities help children learn about nature and the weather. During the inspection, the children were encouraged to put on leggings and wellingtons and to splash in puddles. However, staff do not become involved enough with such activities, meaning that there are missed opportunities for children to develop their understanding of the world.

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

Children behave well due to the positive support from staff. Frequent praise given during activities helps children to learn to share, take turns and listen to others. Staff are good role models and speak calmly and politely which helps children to enjoy their day and develop self-confidence. This contributes significantly to their sense of well-being.

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provision

The nursery is currently under temporary management, shared by two managers, while awaiting a newly appointed manager to begin her post. The current arrangements for managing are satisfactory due to the skills and experience of the leaders, who each manage successful provisions for the same organisation. This means that they are both very familiar with and able to implement the policies and procedures of the organisation to promote positive outcomes for children. However, due to the temporary management, staff are not currently being monitored to ensure that they consistently provide activities that motivate, inspire and challenge children well.

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provision

The managers of the nursery ensure that all staff effectively promote the safety and welfare requirements. Robust vetting and recruitment procedures are in place to ensure that staff who work with children are suitable. They are required to attend safeguarding training as part of their induction and regularly update training to strengthen knowledge. As a result, all staff develop a good understanding of issues relating to safeguarding and secure knowledge of the nursery's child protection procedures. The building is safe with good procedures for identifying visitors before they enter the premises. The hallway displays include photographs of members of staff, their roles in the nursery and qualifications, including those for first aid, in which all staff have been trained. This training ensures that staff are able to respond appropriately to any accidents that children may have. Daily safety checks are carried out to identify potential risks and hazards;

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provision

control measures ensure that premises and equipment are safe for children.

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provision

Sufficient improvements have been made since the last inspection through engagement with staff, parents and other professionals. These include the strengthening of links with the Children's Centre to support families. Improvements have been made to involve parents more in the planning of the activities and events for children. Staff provide daily feedback to parents about their children's well-being and invite parents to six monthly reviews to share information about their children's progress. Planning is shared using a communication board in the hallway for parents to comment on important events and children's interests from home. All parents spoken to during the inspection were very positive and say their child is happy in the setting.

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provision

All staff now use a consistent system to record evidence of child progress so that it can be tracked but planning is not detailed enough to identify what staff expect children to learn. However, there are good systems of self-evaluation, including staff observing each other, and use of a quality assurance scheme, showing that the provider has the ability to plan for further improvements.

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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 EY279982 Local authority Greenwich Inspection number 843608

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 70 Name of provider Pre-School Learning Alliance Date of previous inspection 13/02/2009 Telephone number 020 8331 1995

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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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