Mildmay Community Nursery

Mildmay Community Nursery 19 - 23 Mildmay Park, Islington, London, N1 4NA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/08/2013 13/12/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 1 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are happy and settled in the stimulating and safe environment where they are cared for by enthusiastic staff that support them all to achieve and do well.  Staff develop caring and supportive relationships with children and their parents.  Staff develop good relationships with other professionals in order to support children and their families.  The nursery is well led and managed, with effective systems in place to continually raise standards and meets the needs of children, parents and staff.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The nursery does not always keep parents routinely informed about the progress their children make.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff and children and observed activities both indoors and outside in the garden.  The inspector held meetings with the nursery manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability and a range of other relevant documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Information about the setting

Mildmay Community Nursery Limited originally registered in 1986 and re-registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register. The nursery operates from a two-storey building attached to Mildmay Library which is situated in the London Borough of Islington. All children share access to playrooms and secure enclosed outdoor play areas. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 48 weeks of the year. There are currently 40 children on roll within the early years age range and they attend for a variety of days. The nursery gets funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. The nursery supports a number of children who are learning English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level

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Information about the setting

3 or above. One member of staff holds Early Years Professional Status.

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

 further develop ways for parents to keep informed on a regular basis about their children's learning and development.

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who attend

Children enjoy a calm and caring atmosphere, where they are busy and engaged in a range of purposeful activities that support them in acquiring new skills for their future learning. They clearly enjoy attending the nursery, as they enter happily and settle quickly. They eagerly choose what they want to do from the varied range of interesting and stimulating experiences provided. Staff have a secure knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The child-initiated and adult-led activities are well balanced to encourage children to be active learners. Resources are well utilised and used imaginatively. They are effectively organised and stored at low level to encourage the children to make independent choices.

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who attend

Staff continue to review and develop planning, observation and assessment systems in order to meet the needs of individual children and be led by their interests. Staff have implemented the required progress check for children who aged between two and three years. They involve parents in the children's learning and invite them to consultations. However, staff do not always inform parents about their children's progress on a regular basis so they can work together to support each child's next steps for learning. Staff have high expectations for the children in their care and plan suitably challenging and developmentally appropriate play experiences.

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who attend

Staff strongly promote children's communication and language as they interact with children positively and ask challenging questions to develop their thinking. During snack time, they offer children a 'selection' of snacks and explain what this means. The nursery is adjoined to the library and staff use this resource well for story times, borrowing additional books to support children's literacy skills and promoting their love of books. The nursery is rich in print and there are many notices and labels in a variety of languages to help children understand that words carry meaning. The writing area provides an opportunity for children to practise early literacy skills as seen in the alphabet display they have written. A display entitled 'children looking at print' demonstrates how they have looked at different types and have begun to write themselves to develop skills for their future learning at school. Staff promptly respond to babies' communication to show them

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who attend

they value their efforts. They effectively use techniques, such as modelling language and repetition to develop young children's early communication and language skills further.

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who attend

Children's imagination is encouraged well. Staff regularly change and develop the role play area, for example, into a travel agents or shoe shop to help children learn more about the world around them. Staff organise exciting opportunities for children to develop their creative skills, including visiting an art exhibition at Dalston House to see different artists' work. Children are able to express themselves through various media, such as paint and collage materials and using boxes to make a television. Much of their artwork and creations are displayed within the nursery, which gives them a sense of pride and contributes to their self-esteem.

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who attend

Children develop a good understanding of the world. Specialist visitors provide an opportunity for them to experience and learn about various reptiles, such as bearded dragons, snakes and a meerkat. A recent topic on India promotes children's knowledge of other cultures and social diversity. For example, staff support the children to construct a model of the Taj Mahal, to taste different Indian foods and to design and print henna patterns. Babies use treasure baskets to explore and investigate their senses using a variety of resources, with staff on hand to guide and support them.

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who attend

Staff offer good support for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and to children who speak English as an additional language. The staff are proactive in liaising with parents and other professionals to help children reach their potential. For example, staff gather and learn key words from parents in children's first language to help them settle and develop their language skills. They use photographs and a visual timetable to support the inclusion of children with any speech and language difficulties or those children that speak English as an additional language. These practices contribute to all children feeling included and supported for when they move on to their next setting.

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

Children are cared for in an exceptionally warm and welcoming environment, with a high priority given to their safety and well-being. The nursery has a positive and caring atmosphere, where staff and families get to know each other very well. Children are very happy and settled in the nursery and many staff are highly skilled and sensitive in helping children form secure emotional attachments. This provides children with a strong base for their developing independence and exploration. A very effective key person system supports children in developing a sense of belonging and secure attachments away from their parents. The settling-in process is effectively managed and tailored according to each child's individual needs. As a result, new children settle quickly and staff develop caring and supportive relationships with children and their parents.

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

Staff are very proactive in relation to improvement, for example, following an issue in the nursery, staff focused on developing friendships. This was very successful and photographs show children playing cooperatively in pairs and small friendship groups. Babies recognise their friends and staff encourage children to form firm friendships from a very young age to support their personal, social and emotional development. For example, when a young child chooses a musical instrument, a member of staff suggests they might like to get one for another child, which they do and happily hand over to their other child. Children are responded to very promptly and sensitively so they feel secure and content. For example, when a baby becomes restless waiting for lunch, a member of staff quickly picks them up and gives them a cuddle before they get upset. Staff have recently introduced home visits for new children, which is an opportunity to share and gather

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

information from parents and get a valuable insight into each child. Individual coat pegs with photographs, a birthday chart and various languages around the nursery all help children to develop a sense of belonging. Younger babies and their parents are encouraged to attend 'stay and play' sessions to familiarise themselves with the nursery as much as possible.

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

Children develop an excellent understanding of their own health and safety. Staff discuss any potential hazards with them, for instance, when they have builders working in the garden. A healthy eating topic supports children and parents' understanding. Children benefit from eating a wide range of nutritious snacks and meals and they brush their teeth after lunch so they learn good health routines. The cook gets involved with the children in food tasting and making homemade pizzas and raisin cookies.

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

Children have excellent opportunities for active physical play and daily fresh air and exercise. The staff have addressed the recommendation from the last inspection and expanded the outdoor opportunities. Due to feedback from parents and their own identified areas for improvement, the nursery has successfully sought funding to improve the outdoor area to create a suitable surface, a sensory area, a digging area and a plot for growing vegetables. Children were consulted on their ideas for this area and they were taken into consideration for the final plans, showing their input was valued. Staff are very interactive with children in the garden, showing them how to climb and jump safely, and are creative in the opportunities they provide. For example, they use crates and a ladder to construct and challenge children's physical skills. Staff regularly visit nearby parks in small groups to give children different experiences and children bring in their own bicycles

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

and scooters and share them with others. Young babies are supported well to become mobile and develop physical skills using age-appropriate equipment.

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

Children behave very well and staff are good role models who use excellent strategies to help children learn about behaviour boundaries. Children help set the rules and have written and put them up on display so there are visual reminders. Staff remind young children about using 'gentle hands' and encourage positive behaviour through consistent strategies. Staff are also organising a behaviour management talk for parents, to share their strategies, and to ensure everyone is working together for the best outcomes for children.

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provision

The managers and staff team have a good understanding of their responsibilities to meet the Statutory Requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage and they do it well. There have been some management changes to the staff team since the last inspection and they all work well together to provide a good quality service for children, parents and carers. Effective recruitment, vetting and induction systems ensure staff are suitable to work with children and clearly understand their roles and responsibilities. Ongoing professional development is encouraged and all staff undertake regular training to improve their skills. Children are protected through close supervision and good ratios, effective staff deployment and their good use of clear policies and procedures, which contribute to the children's safety and welfare. Staff have attended safeguarding training, understand their role in protecting children, and there is a designated member of staff responsible for

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provision

safeguarding issues to help keep children safe. There are effective processes in place to ensure the premises are safe, secure and well maintained. All required documentation is in place, and there are good procedures in place to maintain confidentiality to protect children's welfare.

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provision

The nursery demonstrates a strong capacity to maintain continuous improvement. The manager of the nursery is enthusiastic and driven to provide a high-quality service to children and their families. The parent management committee has a strong involvement in running the nursery and making important decisions for the benefit of the children and nursery. Managers and staff have a positive and proactive attitude to continuous improvement and are receptive to new ideas to improve outcomes for children. Staff use regular meetings to discuss 'where we see ourselves, short and long term' and they have made a number of improvements since the last inspection. They have fully addressed the previous recommendation relating to outdoor physical activities to improve the quality of the provision for children. The manager reflects well on the nursery's practice and involves staff, parents and children in this process, valuing their input.

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provision

The nursery has strong partnerships with parents and keeps them well informed about their children's learning and day-to-day personal care routines. Information is effectively shared through a variety of ways, including newsletters, feedback charts, regular conversations, and emails. Clear policies and procedures are in place and shared with parents and carers. Parents have opportunities to be actively involved in their child's learning right from the start. They are invited to share information about their child during home visits, can take resources home and there are activity sheets for them to carry out at home to extend their children's learning. Parents speak positively about the nursery and the work of the staff. They say the staff are 'amazing', that it is like a family with very caring staff and that children learn in a very 'hands on' way. They comment that any feedback to staff is responded to well, with the manager being very approachable. The

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provision

nursery has good partnerships with other professionals and supporting agencies, such as the local children's centres, speech and language therapists and the inclusion team. This enables them to support families and children and ensure everyone is fully included in the nursery.

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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 EY427176 Local authority Islington Inspection number 921338

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 29 Number of children on roll 40 Name of provider Mildmay Community Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 13/12/2011 Telephone number 0207 3545205

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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

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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