Elephant & Castle Day Nursery

Elephant & Castle Day Nursery 15 Hampton Street, LONDON, SE17 3AN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/07/2013 18/02/2010

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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

 Staff make good use of resources to engage children's interests and support their individual needs. As a result, children enjoy their time at the nursery and make good progress in their learning.  Children behave well as staff consistently support positive behaviour and set clear boundaries according to children's age and stage of development.  The nursery staff provide a good balance between adult-led and child-initiated activities. Therefore, children try things out for themselves, but also receive encouragement and support when needed.  The provider invests in the nursery and management has clear plans for continuous improvements. This means that they are committed to offering a quality provision for children and families.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Resources for writing are confined to designated areas. This means that children are not always able help themselves to writing materials when they are deeply involved in play.  Although management and staff share useful information with parents about their children's learning, they have not ensured that all parents are aware of improvements and changes to the provision.

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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 the interactions between staff and children across all age groups.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager of the provision.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the management team including the registered provider.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a variety of policies, safety records and a sample of children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of views of several parents spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The Elephant and Castle Day Nursery is one of two settings owned by the same provider. The nursery has been running under the same provider for 12 years and was re-registered in 2009 due to a change of company name. It operates from a purpose built unit that is located in a side road near the Elephant and Castle shopping centre in the London Borough of Southwark. Children are cared for in three main areas and they are divided according to age although they play together at the beginning and end of the day. Children have access to three interlinked outdoor play areas which are securely fenced. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is open every weekday from 8am to 6pm all year round, closing only for Bank Holidays and for one week at Christmas. There are currently 57 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides

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Information about the setting

funded early education for three and four year old children. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 27 childcare staff, of these 24 hold appropriate early years qualifications, including one at level 6, one with Early Years Professional Status, 17 at level 3 and four at level 2.

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

 extend children's literacy skills by providing a wider range of writing materials, in various play areas, for children to practise writing for a variety of purposes

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

 strengthen partnerships with parents and carers by ensuring that they are involved in plans for future improvements.

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who attend

Children make consistent progress at this stimulating nursery as staff plan positive learning experiences, which help each child progress towards the early learning goals. Staff get to know each child well when they first start attending, by finding out important information about their background, personality and development. They continue this good practice by making useful observations and taking photographs of each child's learning experiences to plan for the next steps. Staff share information with parents during informal discussions and planned meetings. Therefore, the nursery team has a good approach to enhancing continuity in children's learning and progress.

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who attend

Staff support children's early development well, by focusing on the key skills and capacities children need to develop and learn effectively. Staff join in when babies explore sensory play such as spaghetti hoops placed in a large tray. Babies delight in squeezing them through their fingers and clapping their hands together, deeply involved in the sensory experience. Staff consistently support babies' emerging language and communication skills throughout the daily routine. For example, they talk to babies about what they are doing, introduce new words and sing songs. Consequently, babies hear how sentences are structured and words are pronounced as they babble and confidently attempt to say new words. Staff encourage toddlers to share their ideas and thoughts, by focusing on what interests them and praising their efforts. Where children are learning to speak English as an additional language, staff focus strongly on their communication and

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who attend

language skills so that they progress rapidly towards expected levels of progress. Staff focus on what interests older children and help them to think further by asking them lots of challenging questions to encourage them to share their ideas and thoughts. For example, while eating strawberries staff ask children what the different colours mean and children think and explain that strawberries change colour as they ripen and are only good to eat and tasty when they are red.

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who attend

Staff display signs, word and pictures around to encourage children to develop an interest in print, letters and words. Children make the most of the literacy table, younger children make marks enthusiastically and older children produce recognisable drawings and letters. Staff praise children and display their work around the room to motivate them. However, they do not always seize opportunities to encourage children to practise writing spontaneously in other areas around the nursery such as during role- play. Staff provide a good range of books across all age groups for children to help themselves to and read stories as part of the daily routine. Older children particularly enjoy stories as staff motivate them to join in, using props and puppets. As a result, children enthusiastically recall storylines and act out characters. Staff make the most of everyday opportunities to teach children about mathematics, such as during stories, when they draw children's

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who attend

attention to size comparisons and counting. These learning experiences help children to develop skills in readiness for starting school.

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

The nursery is very well organised and has a welcoming and positive atmosphere. Children form trusting relationships with staff, because staff get to know their care needs during the settling in period. They do this through a robust 'key person' system, which helps them to get to know each child's individual routines, likes and stages of development. The settling in process is repeated as children progress from one age group to another. Furthermore, staff help children to feel positive about moving on to school as they read stories and hold discussions about the changes they will soon experience. Therefore, staff provide good support to help children feel emotionally prepared for periods of change in their life.

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

Staff are attentive to babies' needs and support them with lots of cuddles and gentle communication. Staff have consistent and hygienic procedures for changing nappies and attending to their care needs. They arrange the baby room so that babies have plenty of space to explore, crawl and walk around, to foster babies' physical skills.

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

Staff are attentive to all children's care needs, for example, they notice when children are feeling hot and tired and teach them the importance of drinking water, cooling down and relaxing during hot weather. This helps children to understand the importance of keeping safe and well. Children know to wash their hands before eating as staff reinforce the importance of hygiene during discussions. The nursery offers a healthy menu with a variety of morning, lunch and afternoon meals and snacks that are nutritionally balanced. For example, children enjoy foods ranging from pasta dishes to soups and fresh fruit, all freshly prepared. Staff have good systems in place which take into account all children's individual dietary and medical needs. Children enjoy physical activities both indoors and outdoors and in all weathers. They use a variety of equipment such as slides, climbing frames and balls to develop their physical skills.

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

Children behave extremely well, share, and collaborate with each other during their play. The staff team provide a good balance of support, while also enabling children to try things out for themselves. This is effective in developing children's growing sense of confidence and independence.

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provision

The nursery is well managed by a strong leadership team who are very well organised. They implement clear policies, which they share with practitioners, visitors and parents. Consequently, the nursery runs smoothly and everyone is clear about procedures. Management and staff have a clear understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They diligently consider all aspects of the nursery premises and routines to maintain a safe and secure environment. For example, the premises have recently undergone refurbishments, and management arranges for work to be done at weekends and evenings to avoid any risk to children. Staff carry out robust risk assessments to check that all areas are clean and safe. Staff have a secure understanding of child protection issues and what to do if they have a concern about a child. Management carry out robust recruitment and induction procedures

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provision

in order to maintain a strong team who are clear in their roles. Managers spend time in each of the nursery rooms to observe staff and monitor their performance. Managers organise supervision meetings, staff meetings and a good range of training courses. This positive support means that staff have many opportunities for their professional development and know how to support children's learning. The registered provider, along with the whole nursery team, have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements. Management review the planning and observations to check that children progress towards the early learning goals and identify any gaps in their learning. They have clear systems in place to seek support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery team compile transfer documents for when children move on to school in order to share relevant information with teachers. These good partnerships

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provision

enhance continuity in children's care and learning. The management team is extremely reflective and evaluates the provision well to identify anything that they could improve. All recommendations from previous inspections are in place. As a result, planning and assessment has improved and children benefit from quality learning experiences based on their individual progress and needs. Management has clear plans for the future to develop the provision through enhancements and improvements to the building. Management has not fully engaged with all parents about nursery improvement plans, resulting in some parents not being informed of plans for the future of the provision and how this is being managed. However, parents are very complimentary about the provision, some describing how they recommend the nursery to friends and family, due to the high levels of care their children receive. Parents attend regular meetings with key persons to discuss their

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provision

child's developmental progress and share learning priorities. Therefore, partnerships with parents are generally strong, which supports continuity in children's care and 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 EY372669 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 925267 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 80 Number of children on roll 57 Name of provider Elephant & Castle Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 18/02/2010 Telephone number 02072 774 488

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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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