Little Learners Day Nursery

Little Learners Day Nursery 156 Whitehorse Road, West Croydon, Surrey, CR0 2LA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/01/2013 10/10/2012

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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

 An effective key person system helps children to form secure attachments with staff and means they build positive and trusting relationships.  Children are motivated and keen to learn in the stimulating environment showing good levels of curiosity and imagination as they explore the wide range of resources available.  Children are well behaved and have a good range of opportunities to promote their independence, which helps them prepare for the next stage in their learning.  Children are confident talkers and communicate well with the staff and each other. Children who have English as an additional language receive good support from staff who use words from their home language and signing to promote their communication skills.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not consistently use open-ended questions or language that challenges children thinking further.

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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 indoors and outside.  The inspector held discussions with staff and parents  The inspector viewed documentation and looked at children's individual records.  The inspector interviewed the manager and deputy of the nursery.

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Information about the setting

Little Learners Day Nursery registered in 2009. It is a privately owned setting. The provider runs two other day nurseries in Croydon. The nursery is located in the London Borough of Croydon. It operates from a single storey building. There is disabled access and toilet facilities. There is a car park available for parents to drop off and collect their children. There is one main playroom, which is divided into areas to accommodate children, who are grouped into two age ranges. There is a separate kitchen, toilet facilities, office and an enclosed outdoor area for children to have outdoor play opportunities. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 38 children on roll, most attend on a part-time basis. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is open weekdays 7.30am until 6.30pm for 51 weeks a

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Information about the setting

year. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education to children aged two, three and four years old. A total of seven staff are employed to work with the children, including the manager. Of these, four hold the equivalent of National Vocational Qualifications at Level 3 or 4, 2 have Level 2, and two are working towards a qualification.

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

 strengthen teaching methods by encouraging open-ended thinking by not settling on the first ideas and posing questions such as 'What else is possible?'.

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who attend

Staff gain a good understanding of children's capabilities when they first start at the nursery. They gather detailed information about what children can do through an 'All about me' information record. They use this form to aid discussions with parents to develop a good understanding of children's needs. Consequently, they have a firm base to move children forwards in their learning and development. The nursery implements an effective key person system. This means that all children receive good support and build good relationships with staff. Key staff complete regular observations of the children to assess how they are developing. They evaluate these observations and indentify realistic next steps in the children's learning. The next step shapes the planning for individual children in order to support their development in all areas of learning. Any child who is not moving forwards as expected for their age and stage of development benefits from the

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who attend

nursery's links with the local inclusion team. Therefore, staff seek additional support for children quickly. Parents are effectively involved in their children's care, learning and development while at the nursery. They are encouraged to come in and take part in activities with the children. There are regular parents' evenings, when the key person shares details of children's progress with them. Parents have good opportunities to contribute to the children's observations regularly and staff discuss with them ways they can support children to develop at home. This means that all children get good opportunities to make progress in their leaning and development.

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who attend

Children are active talkers who are keen to communicate. They confidently approach staff and visitors to engage in conversations. For example, children ask many questions about who the inspector is and why they are visiting. Children confidently explain to the inspector what they are doing. They demonstrate good language and understanding skills as they talk about what is happening now, and what will happen next. For instance, they chat amongst themselves about what they are going to play with after lunch, and then after this, mummy will come. Staff use 'signing' well to back up verbal communication. This benefits those children who have English as an additional a language or whose language development may be slower to develop. Staff interact effectively with the children, chatting about things that interest them. They repeat names of objects for the younger children to help them learn new words. They provide a wide range of labelling in

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who attend

all the languages used by the children. Consequently, they begin to recognise familiar words in their home language as well as in English. Staff use a range of questions that children respond to well. However, they do not always make the most of opportunities to encourage open-ended thinking, for example, by challenging child with questions such as 'what else is possible' or 'what will happen if?.?' during focused or spontaneous activities.

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who attend

Children have access to a wide range of toys and resources that challenge them across all areas of learning. The younger children thoroughly enjoy being creative as they make marks on paper with paint. Older children freely use mark-making materials, such as, pencils, pens and chalk as these are readily available at all times. As a result, they are developing early writing skills well. Children develop good mathematical skills as they enjoy activities such as threading and join in enthusiastically with numbers rhymes and songs. The young babies play with toys that promote their early understanding of technology as they press buttons on the activity centres to make sounds. Children have good opportunities to play outside. They have a well-resourced play area and to ensure all children can benefit from this they have set times when they go outside. Children are dressed appropriately for the weather as the nursery provides a wide range of hats, coats

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who attend

and gloves so all children can benefit from outdoor play. Staff promote children's independence well. They encourage them to manage personal tasks. Such as, taking themselves to the toilet, putting on and taking of their coat. Children show pleasure at their achievements, as they eagerly tell staff they have undone their coat by themselves, and receive praise for their efforts. As a result, children gain confidence and skills that means they are ready for school and support their next stage of learning.

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

Children form close bonds with the staff and particularly with their key person. They chat animatedly with staff, seek them out to play with and ask them many questions. Babies demonstrate secure attachments as they approach staff for cuddles and reassurance. These secure bonds promote all children's emotional and physical well-being effectively. Children play and learn in a friendly and stimulating environment. Staff set up play areas well, which enables children to make independent choices. The effective deployment of staff gives children maximum support as they learn through a good balance of adult- directed and child-initiated play.

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

Children behave well, the nursery is harmonious, and children are sociable and interact positively. They play cooperatively with each other and the staff, showing their self- assurance. Staff are good role models who offer children consistent explanations about unacceptable behaviour. This helps them learn right from wrong. Staff reinforce children's good behaviour with lots of praise and encouragement which makes them feel valued and confident. As a result, they become active learners.

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

Staff help to promote children's understanding of safety effectively through the daily routines. Children are involved in tidying up, learning that toys on the floor can be a hazard and they may trip. Children's behaviour shows that they feel safe in the setting. They move around with confidence, make choices about what they play with, and demonstrate good self-esteem. Children are encouraged to be independent by managing self-care and other personal tasks for themselves. For example, they wash their hands before they eat and get themselves ready for outdoor play. Children benefit from healthy home cooked meals. They serve their own food and demonstrate their knowledge of healthy food by saying they like vegetables, because 'they are good for you'. This shows clearly that children learn about a healthy diet. Consequently, children gain good skills for the future.

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provision

Staff have a good understanding of the nursery's policy and procedures, in particular the safeguarding policy that supports them if they should have a concern about children in their care. Arrangements for safeguarding children's well-being are well established and effective. For example, there is a robust recruitment and vetting procedure to ensure all staff are suitable to work with children. There are thorough risk assessments in place. Each day, staff carry out an opening and closing procedure so that they can ensure the nursery is safe for the children to play in. The inspection took place following concerns that a child left the premises for just under a minute having followed a parent out of the building. The provider informed Ofsted, and took immediate action to strengthen security systems. The inspection found that management and staff are fully aware of their responsibilities and took all the necessary steps to ensure children are safe at all times.

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provision

Action plans are implemented when issues arise which show good steps are taken to enhance safety within the setting.

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provision

The manager monitors staff performance through regular supervision and appraisals and indentifies training and development needs effectively. Each month staff undertake a quiz on the Early Years Foundations Stage framework to strengthen their knowledge and identify further areas for development. Staff acknowledge the good support they receive for their personal and professional development. They particularly value the in-house training and opportunities to study for the next level in their qualifications. This helps to ensure that the nursery has a well-trained staff team.

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provision

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the learning and development requirements as they make observations of children's progress and development. 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. The nursery has good links with other external agencies so they are able to seek early intervention and support for those children that need it.

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provision

The management and staff team show a good understanding of the nursery's strengths as well as areas for further development. The staff team work on the areas for development at staff meetings, reflecting on their practice and agreeing action plans to make the changes required to move the service forwards. They have addressed the recommendations set at their last inspection. Therefore, demonstrating the nursery has the capacity to improve and uses thorough methods of self-evaluation. The nursery fosters a positive relationship with parents by inviting them to regular events such as, a barbeque, sports days and a big breakfast morning. Staff establish effective two-way communication, so that parents get good feedback about their child's achievement's and their next steps in learning. A weekly newsletter includes information about activities and planning for the week. As a result, parents can carry on with children's learning at home if

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provision

they wish. Parents are able to share their views and give constructive feedback through regular questionnaires. Parents report that they are extremely happy with the care and level of education their children receive. They particularly value the regular up-dates about children's progress and warm and friendly relationships they have with their child's key person.

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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 EY401871 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 901560 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 22 Number of children on roll 38 Name of provider Joanna Louise Bennett Date of previous inspection 10/10/2012 Telephone number 02086832476

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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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