Bright Horizons Balham Day Nursery and Preschool

Balham Day Nursery 36 Radbourne Road, Balham, London, SW12 0EF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/06/2013 05/10/2010

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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

 Children behave well because staff manage their behaviour effectively. Staff use praise to encourage positive behaviour.  Staff have good knowledge of how to keep children protected from harm and know procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child.  Staff keep parents well-informed of their child's progress and parents have good opportunities to contribute to their child's learning.  Management have good awareness of the strengths and areas for development of the provision and have set challenging goals to improve the provision.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are no visual timetables to support children's understanding of nursery routines.  Staff do not make the most of opportunities to promote children's early writing and mathematics skills in pretend play.

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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 carried out a joint observation with the manager of an adult-led group activity.  The inspector observed interaction between staff and children.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents, children and staff and took their views into consideration.  The inspector tracked the progress of several children.

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Information about the setting

Asquith Nurseries - Balham is one of a chain of nurseries run by Asquith Nurseries Limited. It opened in 2004 and operates from three rooms in former school premises, which have been refurbished to accommodate the nursery. It is situated in a residential area on the borders of the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Wandsworth. The nursery is open each week day from 7.30am to 6:30pm for 51 weeks per year, with a week's closure at Christmas and closure on public bank holidays. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 81 children are in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for early education for children aged three and four years. The nursery supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery employs 36 permanent staff; of these 20 staff hold appropriate early years qualifications

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Information about the setting

at level 3; six staff hold level 2; five staff hold other qualifications and four staff are unqualified. The manager holds Early Years Professional Status. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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

 extend opportunities for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language to understand nursery routines, for example by displaying visual timetables

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

 provide more opportunities for children to develop early writing and mathematics opportunities for children in meaningful contexts, such as in pretend play.

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who attend

Staff provide a wide variety of stimulating activities for children in this bright and organised nursery. They have good knowledge of how children learn and develop. Staff base their plans on all areas of learning and on children's interests. This means that children engage well in rich learning experiences and make good progress. Children enjoy a balance between child-initiated activities and adult-led activities, allowing them freedom to create their own play. Children learn the sounds of letters by playing games. For example, they pick a letter from a tub and say the sound it makes. Staff extend children's thinking by asking them to think of a word beginning with the same sound. Children recognise and write their names by using name cards to write their names on their work. Children take on different roles as they engage in pretend play. They practise their language skills as they create imaginary

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who attend

stories together. However, staff do not always take advantage of the opportunities for early writing and mathematics in pretend play. Staff support children to use the interactive whiteboard to play various educational games that promote different areas of learning effectively. Staff use everyday opportunities to help children to count, for example as they play with beads, staff encourage children to count each one in order. Overall, these experiences help children to develop useful skills for later use in school.

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who attend

Staff teach children about food technology by making biscuits. They explore the texture of the food mix and staff teach children new vocabulary as they work through the process. Children learn to take turns and concentrate as they take part in the cooking session. Children enjoy listening to their favourite stories, read by staff in lively tones. They interact well with the story by asking questions and by making comments. Babies enjoy watching colourful patterns in coloured water bottles and learn about different sounds by handling a variety of musical instruments. They initiate a game involving building up and knocking down bricks, and staff follow their lead. Babies learn about repeating actions and about cause and effect.

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who attend

Children have use of a large and interesting garden area. They enjoy the challenge of climbing on frames and ride skilfully on wheeled toys. They manoeuvre well across obstacle courses and staff help children as they learn to skip. Staff make the most of the learning opportunities in the garden by planting and growing seeds with the children. This helps children to understand how plants grow and where food comes from. Children find numbers in trays and practise writing them on chalkboards in the garden. They investigate the features of insects by moving logs to find them and use magnifying glasses to observe them closely. Staff support children's learning by teaching them the names of different insects and talking with them about where they live.

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who attend

Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively. They work closely with community health professionals involved in children's lives to provide advice and support on care and learning. Staff help children who learn English as an additional language to communicate by learning key words in a child's home language. However, there are no visual timetables, using photographs or pictures to help all children to become familiar with the nursery routine.

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who attend

Staff have good knowledge of children's skills because they observe them regularly. They use this information to plan for children's individual needs well. Staff maintain collections of children's work in photographic and original formats so that they can determine where children are in terms of their development. This helps staff to plan children's next steps for learning. Progress checks are completed for children aged between two and three years and staff provide written summaries on children's abilities, next steps for learning, and ways that parents can support their child.

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who attend

Staff keep parents informed of their child's progress through regular meetings and through everyday contact. Parents have good opportunities to be involved in their child's learning because staff suggest activities they can do at home to support their child. Parents also share their observations of their child with staff and this is used by staff to inform planning.

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

Children relate well to staff and have strong relationships with them. They approach staff readily and are happy, secure, interested learners. Staff help children to settle by finding out about their skills and interests in order to meet children's individual needs. Staff provide flexible routines to meet the individual needs of babies.

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

The environment is bright, well resourced and organised effectively. Children behave in safe ways because staff teach them how to be safe in the nursery. For example, they talk to the children about the need to walk indoors and to handle tools and materials safely. Children play independently because they can access a range of resources without assistance. They have good self-care skills and wash their hands at appropriate times; younger children are helped by staff. Staff ensure children are comfortable and change babies' nappies regularly and whenever required. They do so in clean, bright, private and comfortable areas and record changes for parents' information.

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

Children develop healthy habits because they eat nutritious meals and snacks and drink fresh water each day. Staff cater for special dietary needs. Children practise a range of physical skills and take fresh air each day in the nursery garden.

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

The inspection was brought forward because of past concerns around the way children's behaviour was managed. The inspection found that staff manage children's behaviour very well. They agree ground rules with the children and display these in pictures and words to reinforce positive behaviour. Staff talk to children in gentle tones and use praise effectively to encourage positive behaviour. As a result, children behave well. Staff give sound support to children who move to school . They visit local schools with pre-school children so that they can meet staff and get used to new environments. Staff have begun to invite local school staff to the nursery to get to know children and this is developing further. Staff spend time in new group rooms with children who move rooms at the nursery. This helps them to settle well.

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

Staff provide creative activities for children to make items in celebration of special cultural or religious events. They talk to children about these occasions and this helps children to understand about difference.

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provision

Staff keep children protected from harm because they have good knowledge of procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child. They carry out daily risk assessments covering all aspects of the provision and this helps to keep children safe. Staff are vetted thoroughly for their roles and this protects children further. Management are aware of the need to inform Ofsted of any significant events, and implement safeguarding procedures effectively.

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provision

Management supervise staff regularly and this helps them to spot any issues related to performance. They have good systems in place to provide targeted support to staff to improve performance. Yearly appraisals take place to identify training needs and staff have attended a variety of courses. For instance, staff attended a course on building relationships with children and this led to improved relationships between key persons and their group of children.

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provision

Management have good methods to assess the consistency of quality in planning and assessment. They review all planning and assessment records every week and this helps them to spot any gaps in learning. Staff resolve any gaps in learning by devising plans to support children's development. Management visit group rooms regularly to observe staff practice, which feeds into supervision of staff so that any issues can be addressed. Staff observe each other to learn from each other's practice.

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provision

Partnership work with other professionals involved in children's care and learning is effective. For instance, the nursery has good links with community health professionals to provide advice and support on children's learning and development. The nursery is developing links with local schools to support children who move to school. Partnership with parents is effective. Parents have good opportunities to contribute to their child's learning and are kept informed of their progress by staff.

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provision

Staff and management have a good awareness of their attributes and limitations and identify clear priorities for development. For example, they plan to develop better links with schools to support children who move to school. Previous recommendations have been met, for example, the environment is now rich in print and supports children's early reading and writing skills. The setting has good capacity to improve its provision and future outcomes for children.

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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 EY286661 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 914221

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 65 Number of children on roll 87 Name of provider Asquith Court Nurseries Limited Date of previous inspection 05/10/2010 Telephone number 020 8673 1405

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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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