St Michael's Nursery School

St Michael's Nursery School Elm Bank Gardens, Barnes, London, SW13 0NX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/05/2013 23/09/2010

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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 enjoy a wide range of stimulating activities and benefit from strong Montessori teaching methods.  Staff develop warm relationship with parents resulting in positive feedback.  Staff are supportive of children and are very aware of their individual needs. As a result children are settled, secure and very happy in the nursery.  Staff encourage children to solve problems and to explain their feelings, thoughts and ideas. As a result, children are clear and confident speakers and independent learners.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Some staff do not always remind children how to behave in the outdoor area.  Staff do not take all opportunities to enable children to completely express their own ideas in their craft activities, or early writing activities.

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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

 Two inspectors completed this inspection. The inspectors observed activities in the two rooms and the outside learning environment.  One inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspectors looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspectors checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children, the settings policy, provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspectors took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

St. Michael's Nursery School was registered under the present owner in 2000. It is located in a church hall situated in a residential road in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames. The nursery school follows the Montessori educational philosophy. The premises consists of a large hall and a small hall for children's activities, a stage which is used for storage purposes, a kitchen, toilet facilities and an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The nursery school serves the local and surrounding areas. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 74 children on roll aged two to four years. The nursery receives funding for 50 children age three and four years. The nursery supports children who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery welcomes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery is open

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Information about the setting

every weekday during term time only. Sessions for older children begin at 9.15am and end at 12.30pm. Children aged between two and three years attend for two hours between 1pm and 3pm on all days except Fridays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Older children may bring a packed lunch from home and stay all day during the summer term. The provider manages the setting assisted by 14 members of staff. There are eight members of staff who are full-time and six who are part-time workers. This includes specialist, qualified, peripatetic teachers of yoga, music and art who visit to lead these activities. More than half of the staff are appropriately qualified, six of whom hold Montessori Diploma qualifications at level 4. The nursery follows the Montessori philosophy and method of education and works within the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage framework.

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

 develop further opportunities for children to represent their own ideas in their creative work and early writing

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

 enhance the consistency of messages that all staff give to children about expectations for their behaviour outdoors.

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who attend

The nursery follows the Montessori method of teaching and stimulating activities are provided for the children to take part in. Staff use high-quality teaching to help the children make progress across the different areas of learning. Children enjoy a wide range of activities as specialist tutors visit the nursery to teach French, yoga and specific craft sessions. As a result activities cover all areas of learning and children make good progress.

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who attend

The in-depth educational plans promote children's knowledge and development and staff evaluate activities to improve teaching. Staff take regular observations of the children and use these to support their planning for individual children. Staff gather lots of information about children's starting points from home. Parents are encouraged to share observations about any significant progress and this information is used to extend children's learning and reflect their individual interests and needs. Children benefit from this shared approach to learning and parents feel very involved in their children's development. The staff effectively challenge children's thinking skills. They give them many opportunities to solve problems for themselves and children make confident connections. For example, staff provide resources about butterflies and the life cycle of the ladybird. Children explore these resources and confidently predict what will happen to the caterpillar when it

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who attend

All children make good progress and develop skills that prepare them for their next stage of learning and for school. The children register themselves as they place their named card in a box. Children are encouraged to be independent throughout the day as they serve themselves healthy snacks throughout the session. They clear their own plates and are responsible for washing and drying these. The children learn about recycling and help with cleaning and maintaining the garden. This means that they have a clear respect for their surroundings and they treat their resources very carefully. This supports their personal, social and emotional development. Staff are very aware of individual children's learning styles. This means that they can plan activities to encourage their independent learning, which is a particular focus of the Montessori method.

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who attend

The main room of the nursery is divided into different areas of learning. Children use these areas to develop a number of important skills. For example, in the 'Practical Life Area,' children learn to develop their small muscle skills and concentration skills through bead threading, using scissors and pouring water, so that children can learn to carry out real life activities. Staff stand back during these activities, allowing children the space to complete them, but supporting when necessary. This means that children concentrate well and become absorbed in these interesting and challenging activities.

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who attend

The children have access to a wide range of Montessori equipment including resources about science, technology such as headphones with a tape recorder, remote control toys, a well-stocked arts and crafts area, construction materials, wood work tools and mathematical equipment. Resources are safely accessible to children so that they can explore a wide variety of good quality learning experiences independently. As a result children often follow their own particular interests as well as taking part in planned activities.

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who attend

Staff members use lots of mathematical language in everyday activities, which gives children a meaningful understanding of numbers. Children show strong counting skills and enjoy exploring sorting, matching and weighing games. The children benefit from caring and learning about the class snails and the children's brightly coloured topic work is displayed showing the children they appreciate and value their contributions. Children enjoy daily access to writing materials and hold their pencils well as they learn to form recognisable letters and numbers. However, staff often write children's names on their work, rather than encouraging children to do this themselves. Also, children are not always encouraged to create their own images during craft activities and staff sometimes provide them with pre-drawn templates and choose paint colours for them. This means that they are not always able to fully use their free creative skills and imagination.

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who attend

Younger children attend during the afternoon and staff provide them with plenty of age appropriate toys. The children engage well in activities, such as painting, reading stories or riding on wheeled toys. They develop a wide range of skills to prepare them for the more formal pre-school sessions. Staff focus on children's personal, social and emotional development during these sessions, helping them to separate well from their parents and to make friendships with staff and children. As a result, even these young children are confident, happy and focussed learners. Staff support their learning effectively. They support them to speak well, for example, extending their speech to develop simple sentences and encouraging them to learn to hold conversations.

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who attend

Children are able to use the outdoor garden freely and have access to a play area with a range of equipment, including a water system, train, play house, slide, tunnel and balls to encourage the development of physical skills. There is a vegetable patch situated at the entrance of the setting and the children are also able to use the church gardens. However, while children are very well behaved indoors and staff mostly use very positive behaviour management techniques, this is not always the case outside. In this area, staff sometimes do not reinforce rules such as 'no walking up the slide' and this means that children do not always behave as well outside, as they do inside.

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who attend

All staff promote an inclusive environment that meets children's learning needs very well. Staff use a visual time table so that all children know what to expect and individual programmes are in place for children with speech and language difficulties. Partnerships are in place with health care professionals to provide support to any children that need it. New children who are learning English as an additional language are made to feel most welcome and are secure, engaged and settled as they confidently join in activities. Staff learn key words in children's home languages to thoroughly support their early communication skills. As a result all children speak very confidently and are able to fully express their feelings, thoughts and ideas. All children develop an excellent understanding of the world as they take part in different projects such as fundraising events and learning about different cultures. For example, the nursery recently celebrated Thanksgiving for

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who attend

children with American heritage. Children make strong progress in all areas as a result of this careful attention to detail and the clear commitment of staff to meet their individual needs.

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

All children benefit from the secure key person system in place. All children, including those learning English as an additional language, quickly become familiar with the nursery and feel confident and safe. Children develop a good awareness of their own safety as they participate in regular fire drills.

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

Parents feel thoroughly welcomed into the nursery and staff reassures them when settling in their children. Staff obtain valuable information from parents regarding children's needs, routines and interests and plan effectively for new children's first days. These excellent relationships are ongoing and parents feel very involved in their children's progress.

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

Staff work well as a team and there are high ratios of staff to children. They support the children's confidence and self-esteem through giving praise and encouragement. Children have positive relationships with staff who comfort them if they are upset. Overall, children manage their own behaviour very well and are polite and share space and toys. However, staff do not always remind the children of the rules in the garden area to support them to use the slide correctly, or to remind them not to throw balls at each other. Overall, children are very good natured and quickly resolve any conflicts between themselves.

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

Children have a secure understanding of tidying away their toys and clearly respect their environment. This helps them to learn valuable skills for the future. Children enjoy many opportunities to learn about healthy lifestyles. For example children wash their hands without being asked to, they make healthy choices from the wide range of snacks on offer. They understand how their own actions can support their good health, for example when children eat together, they remind each other that 'cucumber is good for you.'

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provision

The manager and staff have developed very positive partnerships with parents and carers. Staff share details of the children's day on a daily basis to keep parents informed of routines and progress. Parents are welcomed to make their views known about the nursery and stated that the staff are very approachable. They share that they are very happy with the care and learning opportunities that their children are receiving. Parents are very well informed about their children's development and praise the excellent progress their children have made at the nursery.

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provision

The manager and her team have made numerous improvements to the nursery since the previous inspection. For example, they reviewed all documentation to make sure that it is kept in a confidential way. All staff, children and parents contribute to the evaluation of the nursery and as a result the manager makes clear plans for improvement to benefit all those who use the nursery.

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provision

The manager demonstrates a thorough understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and understand her role and responsibility in supporting staff and monitoring the educational programmes. The manager uses secure recruitment procedures, thorough vetting checks and regular supervisions of staff to make sure that they are all suitable to care for children. There are thorough safeguarding policies and procedures in place. All staff are fully aware of how to record and report any concerns to the relevant local agencies. There are robust procedures to follow in the case of an allegation against a member of staff. As the manager is in the nursery everyday and takes part in activities directly she is able to supervise staff closely. These measures mean that children are thoroughly safeguarded in the nursery. Clear risk assessments are in place to help provide a safe and secure environment, and to promote safety on outings. As a result, minding

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provision

areas are safe, well organised and child friendly to enable children to play safely.

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provision

The staff are able to undertake a range of training opportunities with the local authority to improve practice. Regular staff meetings are conducted on a monthly basis. The staff are currently using an effective local authority self-evaluation tool which identify areas for improvement. This ensures that all staff strive to raise standards and make continuous improvements within the nursery. These targets are regularly reviewed on a termly basis and evaluated to drive continuous improvements.

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provision

Staff have developed strong links with local schools and provide strong support to prepare children for their move to school. Children are able to make smooth moves to their next place of learning.

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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 509698 Local authority Richmond upon Thames Inspection number 918945

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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 Debucare Ltd Date of previous inspection 23/09/2010 Telephone number 02088780116

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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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