Strawberry AcademyOfsted inspection, 26 Feb 2013

Strawberry Academy 25-27 Wilcox Road, LONDON, SW8 2XA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/02/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The setting is not implementing safeguarding and safety policies and procedures effectively.  Children's learning is hindered as staff are not planning rich learning opportunities to provide challenge across all areas of learning.  Documents are not maintained accurately to support children's welfare and some required documents are not available for inspection.  The environment is not organised well to support children's welfare and learning.  Systems to support, monitor and train staff are not effective.  Children's behaviour is not managed consistently.  There are no systems in place for self-evaluation in order to identify priorities for development in order to improve outcomes for children.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are generally encouraged to develop healthy lifestyles.  As a bilingual nursery, the staff provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language as well as English.

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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 activities in the play room.  The inspector had discussions with parents, staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had ongoing discussions with the provider and nursery manager and undertook a joint observation of a routine activity with the provider.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of available documentation such as the safeguarding policy, attendance records for staff and children, visitors' records, observations, activity plans and the local authorities visit report.

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Information about the setting

Strawberry Academy registered in 2012. It is privately owned and is situated in the Vauxhall area in the London Borough of Lambeth. Children are cared for in one ground floor room with adjacent toilet and kitchen facilities. There is no outdoor play area but children are taken to a local playground for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 13 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery is not in receipt of funding for early years education. It is open from 8am to 6pm for 50 weeks of the year. There are four staff, including the manager, who has a relevant childcare qualification. The nursery support children who are learning English as an additional language. It is a bilingual environment; staff speak with the children in Portuguese as well as English.

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must:

 improve the safeguarding of children by ensuring that recruitment procedures are strengthened; all staff have up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues; all staff understand the safeguarding policy and procedures and the mobile phone policy is effective and known to all persons on site

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must:

 improve risk assessments and daily checks to remove hazards to promote children's safety

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must:

 develop the delivery of the learning and development requirements by planning rich learning opportunities through play, both inside and outdoors; providing safe and challenging age appropriate resources; using routines as an opportunity to support children's learning and monitoring how children engage in activities to consider the learning and enjoyment of the activities on offer

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must:

 organise the environment to ensure that there is a separate area for children under the age of two and space for staff to take breaks away from areas being used by children

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must:

 ensure staff are suitably trained and supported by making sure that induction training is improved to help them understand their roles, responsibilities and the policies of the setting; ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for the supervision of staff; regular staff appraisals are carried out to identify any training needs and secure opportunities for continued professional development

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must:

 ensure that records are maintained effectively and are available, to provide evidence of a robust recruitment procedure; and to demonstrate there are suitably qualified staff caring for the children and to document attendance of children and staff

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must:

 develop procedures for behaviour management to ensure consistency across the staff team and for all children

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must:

 devise and implement effective systems for observing, monitoring and assessing children's progress, including a progress check at age two, in order to inform individualised planning and involve parents in the process

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must:

 foster a culture of continuous improvement by developing systems for self- evaluation to accurately identify areas for development in order to improve outcomes for children

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who attend

Although the range of resources reflect all areas of learning, staff do not plan enough interesting activities to provide adequate challenge for all children, including babies. Therefore, children are not well prepared for school or their next stage of learning. Children and babies are all cared for in one room and, as a result, the learning environment is not tailored to all children's needs. Subsequently babies often watch others and are not engaged in purposeful play. Staff report that children always go to the book area and home corner. However, these are the only two areas that have been invitingly set out. Low-level tables are pushed to the side with nothing on them, most of the time. Although there is low-level storage for resources, not all children make free choices. Books and jigsaws are large in number, but many are stacked which makes it difficult for young children to choose. Staff do not effectively assess children's starting points to form the

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who attend

basis for robust monitoring of their progress. Some observations are carried out but this is not consistent; some do not include dates and they do not identify children's next steps in learning. Furthermore, staff remove children's records from the setting and store them at home. This means that they are not available for parents or inspection purposes. Children and babies' progress is not tracked effectively as the manager has not put systems in place. Therefore, staff are not identifying areas where children are not progressing as well as expected.

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who attend

Children sit and listen to an impromptu story and a staff member uses small world animals as props. Children sit with the provider and staff looking at story books. Older children are encouraged to identify the first letters in their names but are not introduced to the letter sounds in order to progress their learning. They are encouraged to write the letters with wax crayons but no visual prompts, such as name cards, are available to help them. Children are excited when using a mathematics programme on the computer and several children gather around to watch. They count dots and find numbers but this provides little challenge for more able children. Staff give children paper with fruit drawn on it for them to colour in and scatter a selection of wax crayons on the table for them to choose from. In addition, staff guide children's drawings by placing their hand over the child's hand. Although this gives the children an opportunity to make marks on paper, it does not

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who attend

encourage them to express their own creative ideas and thoughts. Children begin to role- play based on their own first-hand experiences. They pretend to cook on the toy stove and push buggies around the playroom.

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

Although, there is a key person system in place for children, babies' care is not primarily undertaken by this specific adult. Furthermore, the environment does not help them to feel secure with their key person and explore in safety. Babies are cared for by all staff members which impacts on their sense of security. For example, they become upset when adults move away from them. Babies are sometimes placed in the middle of the floor of the playroom without any toys or equipment around them. Most children behave appropriately, however children's unwanted behaviour is not managed consistently. As a result, some children are given access to areas that are not appropriate, such as the kitchen.

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

Although the environment is bright and clean, the lack of well-planned activities means that some children are not engaged which hinders their learning. Staff report that they have discussed fire safety with children to help them to learn how to keep themselves safe in an emergency. However, this has not been done in practice as no fire drills have been undertaken since registration. Staff remind children to take care during play, although some practices, such as walking around while they eat, are not discouraged. In addition, weaknesses in safeguarding procedures have an impact on children's safety.

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

In general, children are encouraged to develop healthy lifestyles. Staff report that children use a local playground for physical activities. Indoors, babies pull themselves to standing and move along the furniture, although this cannot always be done safely. Children are encouraged to develop appropriate personal hygiene practices. They eagerly wash their hands after toileting and before food and clean their teeth after lunch. Staff know children's specific dietary needs. However, preparation for babies' food is not always planned well and they have to wait for their meal. Freshly made soups are given to the children regularly to encourage them to eat vegetables. Babies are held close by a staff member when they are bottle-fed despite there being no adult chairs in the playroom to enable this to be done comfortably. Snack-time is neither well organised nor used successfully to promote learning. For example, older children are not able to cut the

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

banana independently or serve themselves. Staff do not consistently use this time to explore mathematical understanding or discuss healthy eating. Furthermore, children and babies are left waiting while more fruit is prepared. Some children become bored and leave the table. Toddlers explore their finger food at snack time and staff explain that they are encouraging them to feed themselves. However, this is not consistent. At lunchtime they are fed by staff without being given the opportunity to practise using a spoon.

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provision

The nursery is not meeting a number of specific legal requirements of both the Early Years Register and the Childcare Register. Children are not sufficiently safeguarded. Staff and managers do not have sufficient knowledge of safeguarding issues and how to proceed if there are concerns. The recruitment procedure is not robust enough to demonstrate that staff are vetted and suitable for the role. For example, there is no documentation to show that references are taken up and that enough staff are qualified to meet requirements. The management team have limited experience in running a setting and are not sufficiently clear of their roles and responsibilities. Informal induction is carried out but does not include sufficient information to ensure all staff have a secure understanding of safeguarding issues and the procedures. Records are not maintained accurately which means that children's safety is compromised. For example, not all children are signed in on

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provision

the attendance record to provide details for emergency evacuation. In addition, it does not provide a past record to demonstrate that ratios are maintained. It is not clear who is accountable and how many staff are present as the staff attendance record is not completed by the majority of the staff. Furthermore, the visitors' record is not completed routinely. Managers ensure that ratios are met during lunchtimes and staff only leave the premises if these are met. However, the lack of a dedicated staff room as required means that staff use the playroom during their breaks whilst most children sleep. They use their mobile phones during their own time. However, this occurs in areas used by children, contrary to the mobile phone policy. Furthermore, visitors to the setting are not made aware of the mobile phone policy in order to protect children's welfare.

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provision

The provider has begun to provide care for babies and toddlers under two years old. However, they have not organised the environment to effectively meet their needs. For example, they have not allocated a dedicated space as required for babies to play and explore safely. The provider carries out risk assessments although areas that need to be checked on a regular basis are not identified. A very basic system for a daily safety checklist is in place, but this is not always undertaken. As a result, hazards are overlooked. For example, babies are able to reach small toys suitable for older children, that are a choking hazard for younger children. In addition, babies pull a dolls' cot down on top of themselves, as they reach up because it is stored on top of low-level shelving. The main door is secure and is monitored by staff. Although children did not play outside on the day of the inspection, managers report that children take part in outdoor play most days

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provision

depending on the weather. Strategies are in place to maintain children's safety on outings, such as the use of high visibility jackets.

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provision

There are no systems in place for staff supervision or appraisal and staff meetings are very informal. As a result, staff lack direction and support from managers. There is no system in place to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the setting for ongoing development. Although the setting has received guidance from the local authority, identified weaknesses are not targeted promptly enough to ensure better outcomes for children.

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provision

The staff have a friendly relationship with the parents and provide them with a daily contact book which primarily contains welfare information about their children. Generally, children are handed over at the door each morning therefore parents do not routinely go into the playroom. The nursery operates as a bi-lingual nursery giving children who speak Portuguese the opportunity to communicate in their home language as well as using English. Community languages are on display in the entrance lobby to welcome families to the setting. The manager is also the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator but is new to the role and is awaiting training. Nevertheless, she has approached a local outreach facility to forge links in order to seek guidance and support.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that children are kept safe from harm (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  implement the procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  develop an effective system to ensure that any person caring for or in regular contact with children has suitable skills and experience, is of integrity and good character and is physically and mentally fit for the work (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purposes of the childcare are safe and suitable (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  maintain a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that children are kept safe from harm (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  implement the procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  develop an effective system to ensure that any person caring for or in regular contact with children has suitable skills and experience, is of integrity and good character and is physically and mentally fit for the work (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purposes of the childcare are safe and suitable (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  maintain a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 EY449600 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 905991 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 13 Name of provider Strawberry Academy Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 02076222299

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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

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’.

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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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