Smartstarts Day Nursery

Smartstarts Day Nursery Little Ilford Centre, Church Road, London, E12 6HA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/08/2013 22/09/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children have tremendous fun as they actively engage in and explore an exciting range of freely chosen play experiences. They make excellent progress in relation to their starting points.  The nursery's very strong partnerships with parents contribute to the successful outcomes for all children, including those with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language.  Staff follow stringent procedures which give the highest priority to the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children. In addition staff effectively support children's growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe and healthy.  On-going monitoring and self-reflection is robust and includes the views of parents and children. This very effectively highlights any areas for continued improvement.

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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 looked at required documentation, including accident and complaint records, sampled policies, procedures and children's progress records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the registered providers and management team about the provision and the self-evaluation processes.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff, in all rooms and outside, interacting with children and held discussions with them.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents via questionnaires, references and through discussion.

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Information about the setting

Smartstarts Day Nursery registered in 2006. It operates from the Little Ilford Centre, in a residential area, close to local shops, park and transport in Manor Park in the London borough of Newham. Children are based in one of four playrooms according to their age and stage of development. The playrooms are located on the ground and first floor. The nursery takes children from the local community and surrounding areas. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. It is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday all year round. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 81 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is in

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Information about the setting

receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year- olds. There are 17 members of staff, most of whom are qualified to National Vocational Qualification Level 3 or above. One member of staff has achieved Early Years Professional Status and another two members of staff have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Years and Childcare.

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

 build further on the staff's already very good understanding of how to promote children's communication and language skills so that they can extend children's learning even further.

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who attend

Staff have an excellent understanding of how children learn through play and provide a varied range of interactive resources and activities that stimulate children's interest. As a result children show a real enthusiasm to learn. Parents are actively encouraged to contribute to their child's initial assessment. Staff use observation and assessment systems which focus clearly on children's interests, what they have achieved and what they need to do next. Each child has a 'Special Book' containing photographs, examples of their work and written observations of their time at nursery. Staff are adept at recognising where there are gaps in children's learning or where they might benefit from some additional support. Staff successfully weave individual planning for their key children into the daily programme. Planning evolves from children's interests and embraces all areas of learning in the outdoor and indoor environments. As a result, children of all ages and

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who attend

abilities make excellent progress in their learning and development in relation to their starting points.

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who attend

Staff place a high priority on developing children's communication and language skills and are keen to explore initiatives to support children further. Staff use lively voices, sing songs and rhymes and mimic familiar words, encouraging babies' early speech. Staff skilfully interact with children and extend their learning as they play. Older children express themselves well. Animated conversations take place between the children and staff during activities. Children listen well in small groups and are able to understand and follow simple instructions. Children of all ages explore and investigate the properties of materials such as pasta, dough, shaving foam and cornflour. This helps to develop younger children's dexterity in preparation for writing. Staff demonstrate how sounds and letters link and the older children competently form letters and are keen to label their own work. Children demonstrate increasing competence in using simple technology.

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who attend

Children's mathematical learning is fostered extremely well and they show a keen interest in shape, pattern, size and numbers during their play. Children organise their own games and have tremendous fun playing 'What's the time Mr Wolf?' Children tend plants, carefully monitor their growth and observe the wildlife it attracts into the garden using magnifiers. Children express themselves through movement and dance. They explore their creativity and can help themselves to a wide variety of materials to make their art work truly unique. Children use recycled boxes and tubes to design and build models. Children enjoy time spent in the wonderful sensory room, exploring lights and sounds and both natural and man-made resources. Children's enthusiasm is expertly harnessed by staff who engage children in learning about different aspects of science through practical experiences. For example, children enjoy baking activities; they observe water freezing

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who attend

and melting and see how liquids and solids react when put together. Consequently, children gain the skills they will need for the move onto school.

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who attend

The systems to engage parents in their children's learning at the nursery and in consolidating their child's learning at home are outstanding. Parents are encouraged to share their observations of child's achievements at home. Planning is displayed and information sent home, so parents are kept very well informed about the activities their children have taken part in. Suggestions for extension activities are provided and staff exchange a wealth of information with parents concerning their child's progress.

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

All families are warmly welcomed by staff. Children show they feel safe and secure. The strong key person system, built around effective settling-in arrangements, strengthens relationships with the children and their families and supports continuity between nursery and home life. Staff show an excellent knowledge of each child's backgrounds and this enables them to respond particularly well to children's individual needs. Children separate from their parents with ease and this shows trusting relationships have developed. Staff are deployed very well throughout the nursery and respond to children's care and learning needs highly effectively.

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

Children know their work and efforts are valued as staff take care to display the children's artwork at a level where they can proudly show their parents. Low level storage systems, clearly labelled with print and pictures, enable all children to make independent choices about their play and to take responsibility when tidying up. Staff follow clear cleaning routines that ensure the premises and play resources are kept scrupulously clean at all times and prevent the risk of cross infection.

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

Staff embrace opportunities within the daily routine to promote independence in children. For example, children take great pride as they progress from nappies to using the toilet and as they learn to wash and dry their own faces and hands. Fun and interactive activities such as brushing toy dinosaurs' teeth reinforce the importance of oral hygiene. Meal times are highly social occasions. Staff sit with children in small groups and promote lively conversations about what the children have been doing both in nursery and at home. Babies are encouraged to feed themselves under the watchful eye of staff while older children serve their own meals and help to clear away afterwards. Staff skilfully use play opportunities to help children learn about the benefits of healthy eating. For example, while playing shops staff pose questions about what the body needs for growth. As children carefully mould play food from dough staff talk about what food helps our

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

muscles and bones to become strong. Children are encouraged to be physically active and have tremendous fun in the outdoor area all year round.

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

Staff are fully aware of their responsibilities in keeping children safe. They remain vigilant, while still allowing the children to be challenged by taking well-managed risks in their play. Trips to the local park offer opportunities to explore more challenging climbing equipment and enable children to practise their road safety skills on route. Staff plan outings based on children's interests and capture their experiences on camera so parents can enjoy them too. Following a trip to the fire station children produce wonderful drawings and paintings and have lively conversations which clearly show they gained a greater understanding of people who help us and of their own safety. Staff show a very secure understanding of how to positively respond to children's different behaviour. Staff use explanation and alternative suggestions to help children to understand why certain behaviour is unacceptable. Children learn about boundaries, and how to share with their friends, in a

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

way that they understand. Consequently, children's behaviour is very good.

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

Children are sensitively supported by their key member of staff when the time comes for them to move to a new room within the nursery. Much consideration is given to preparing children for the move to school. Staff produce detailed reports to share information with schools. Staff read stories and initiate school role play to familiarise and reassure children of the changes ahead.

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provision

The dedicated leadership and management team have a very clear direction in the running of the nursery. They demonstrate an exemplary knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. All the required records, relating to the safety and welfare of children, are in place, maintained well and stored confidentially. Clear policies and procedures are reviewed and updated regularly and underpin the outstanding care and learning practices throughout the nursery.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children's well-being are highly effective. Robust recruitment and selection procedures are in place to ensure children are cared for by suitable, highly qualified and experienced staff. Managers implement a thorough induction programme that provides excellent support for all staff and sets out the very high expectations and standards. The performance of all staff is closely monitored through regular supervision, peer observation, appraisals and team meetings. Staff feel appreciated and are well supported through training and professional development which is on-going and targeted to both the staff's needs and to those of the children attending. Ultimately this enhances the excellent quality of teaching and learning.

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provision

A comprehensive safeguarding policy is understood by all staff and shared with parents. This includes information on whistle blowing and the restricted use of mobile phones and cameras in the nursery. All staff are confident about their role and responsibilities in protecting children. Excellent working partnerships with external agencies help to secure appropriate interventions for children and support for families. Records show risk assessment and health and safety checks are rigorous and staff are conscientious and vigilant in ensuring the safety and supervision of children. Highly effective organisation and deployment of staff ensure ratios are maintained. In addition to the robust security systems CCTV is in use to monitor the whole nursery.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are outstanding. An abundance of informative notices, displays, newsletters, policies and procedures are readily available. This helps ensure parents are aware of how the nursery operates and know how to raise any concerns. Photographs and information about staff are displayed so that parents are fully aware of who is responsible for caring for their child. Parents are extremely complimentary about the care and education their children receive. Highly effective partnerships with other professionals promote the inclusion of all children. As a result, children needing additional support are provided with targeted plans to help them reach their full potential.

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provision

Monitoring of all aspects of practice to inform continuous improvement is rigorous and involves all those concerned, leading to outstanding practice overall. Parent feedback is highly valued and any concerns are responded to swiftly. Staff track individual children's progress to ensure any gaps in their learning are identified early. Leadership and management successfully monitor and review the educational programme and work with the local authority to evaluate their provision and to continually drive improvement 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 EY341501 Local authority Newham Inspection number 923884 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 70 Number of children on roll 81 Name of provider Kids R Us Limited Date of previous inspection 22/09/2010 Telephone number 02084 782 700

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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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