A Perfect Start

A Perfect Start Nursery St. James Church Centre, Stanley Avenue, WEMBLEY, Middlesex, HA0 4JB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/09/2013 02/02/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Generally, children are happy and well settled in the nursery, and have developed positive relationships with the staff.  There are suitable procedures in place for recruitment and vetting, and staff are suitably qualified for their roles and are generally deployed well.  Staff demonstrate a sound understanding of their roles, with regards to observations and assessments and they generally use this well to highlight children's achievements and plan the next steps in their learning.  Sound partnerships have been established between the nursery, parents and schools that the children are preparing to move to. This supports children's overall well-being.  The registered provider demonstrates a willingness to improve practice, she supports staff development through regular appraisals and there is a suitable training programme in place.

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It is not yet good because

 The risk assessments do not identify all potential hazards to children's safety or ensure appropriate action is taken to minimise or remove these.  The learning environment in the upstairs room, does not offer a very wide range of resources for the older and more capable children to fully extend their learning.  Staff do not always challenge children's thinking skills or extend their vocabulary by using skilled questioning techniques.  Resources to promote the communication development of children who learn English as an additional language are not used effectively by staff in all areas of the nursery.

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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

 As the nursery were operating temporarily from a room upstairs, observation were carried out in the temporary play area.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the registered provider.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of parent's views, spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at relevant documentation, including records relating to children and staff .  The inspector held discussions with the staff, manager and registered provider.

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Information about the setting

A Perfect Start Nursery originally registered in 2009, then re-registered due to a change of ownership in 2011. The nursery is run by a private provider. It operates from the St James Church Centre, in Wembley within the London Borough of Brent. Children use a large hall to play and on occasion, when this hall is required by other users, they move to a smaller room upstairs in the centre. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 40 children in the early years age range on roll, attending a variety of sessions. The nursery supports children with special education needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare register. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The

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Information about the setting

nursery employs nine members of staff to work with children. All hold a relevant early years qualification and two member of staff are working towards completing a Foundation degree in Working with Children and Young People.

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must:

 ensure risk assessments cover anything with which a child may come into contact with specific reference to: the pool table in the room upstairs, assessing risks in adult-led activities and the temperature of food served to children.

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

 extend the range of resources and activities aimed specifically at the older children, when using the upstairs room, in order to provide them with further challenge

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

 develop staff's questioning skills so that they build on children's learning by encouraging them to think more frequently and widen children's vocabularies, giving them time to respond

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

 enhance the ways that staff support those children who learn English as an additional language in all areas of the nursery, for example by providing resources that reflect their backgrounds

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who attend

Overall, children are making satisfactory progress in their learning and most are reaching expected levels of development for their ages. The setting has a good range of resources, however on the day of the inspection the learning environment was not suitably planned to meet the needs of all the children. This was because the resources provided in the upper room, used on the day of the inspection, were different from those available when children use the main hall. Those provided upstairs offer less challenge for the older and more able children.

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who attend

The writing area provides opportunities for children to engage in basic mark making, however, there are limited examples of children's writing, and few opportunities for children to use writing in other areas. Children enjoy being imaginative as they explore and act out their own ideas when playing in the home corner and with tools and workbench. However, the resources provided are quite basic and do not challenge older and more able children well.

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who attend

There are systems in place to support children who learn English as an additional language. However, these are not always implemented well, for example, staff do not always use words in children's home languages, or visual prompts to enable them to feel fully included. Children have regular opportunities to engage in outdoor play. The outdoor environment is suitably resourced and provides a safe place for children to engage in physical activity. However, on the day of the inspection, access to the outdoor area was restricted and children played on the front lawn instead. Although children did not come to any harm, the risk assessments did not identify the potential risks in the activity that was planned.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate a sound understanding of their roles in supporting children's learning. They regularly observe them, highlight their achievements and identify their stages of learning. They are preparing to complete the progress check for children aged two years as they gather evidence in prime areas of learning. However, some staff do not use questions well, to fully challenge children's thinking skills.

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

Children are generally happy and content in their environment and in the care of the staff. Most enjoy positive interactions with staff, which help them feel settled and secure and the key person system generally supports this.

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

Children are beginning to develop healthy practices. They are encouraged to wash their hands as part of the daily routine, before sitting to eat and after they have been to the toilet. They have access to drinking water throughout the day and they meals and snacks are freshly prepared. There is some opportunity for children to develop their self-help skills; they serve themselves at lunchtime and at snack time, they are encouraged to select and cut their fruit. These skills support them as they move to school.

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

Behaviour is mostly positive as children play well together and respond appropriately to staff requests. Staff act as positive role models and they support children's awareness of safe play through gentle reminders as children engage in play. However, staff do not always risk assess the adult-led activities appropriately which means that they do not minimise all possible hazards to children.

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

There are sound systems in place for supporting children's moves to school. The setting have developed close relationships with a number of schools that children move to. Staff work with them to support children as they prepare to move to school.

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provision

Overall the setting is appropriately managed and safeguarding and welfare requirements are generally met. Overall, arrangements to protect children are robust and recruitment and vetting systems check staff's suitability for their roles. There are induction procedures in place to support staff in developing their understanding of the setting and evidence to demonstrate that all staff has completed this. In further discussions with staff they demonstrate that they have a sound understanding of the policies and procedures that underpin their practice.

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provision

The inspection was brought forward due to concerns received by Ofsted regarding staff's inappropriate handling of a child. The concerns were investigated and the setting were required to take action to improve procedures to manage behaviour, organisation and general information and record matters. The provider took appropriate action to ensure that staff have a clear understanding of their roles with regards to safeguarding and managing children's behaviour. During the inspection, staff demonstrated that they have a sound understanding of safeguarding issues, including reporting any concerns about member of staff and the manager. They also demonstrate that they have a sound understanding of the behaviour management procedures, including recording maintaining records of any physical intervention.

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provision

Resources are in good condition and suitably maintained and regular risk assessments are carried out both for the indoor and outdoor environment as well as for outings. However, appropriate action to reduce potential risks to children is not always taken. For example, although staff identified that the large snooker table in the upstairs room as a potential hazard to children, no action was taken to reduce this. In addition, the planned activity in the outdoor area was not appropriately risk assessed, potentially compromising children's safety. However, children are appropriately supervised as they play, which means that staff do act to promote their safety and well-being.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are generally sound. Parents speak positively about the setting and staff and there are suitable systems in place to keep them regularly updated about their children and daily events. They are encouraged to share their comments about the setting and to become involved in their children's learning by sharing their observations of their children and to take books home to read with their children.

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provision

The setting demonstrates a reasonable capacity to improve. The registered person acknowledges the areas identified for improvement and demonstrates a willingness to address them. There are systems of self-evaluation and performance management in place, which the provider is using to identify areas for future improvement.

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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 all areas used by children are appropriately risk assessed and that the necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (compulsory part of the childcare register)  ensure all areas used by children are appropriately risk assessed and that the necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (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 EY423939 Local authority Brent Inspection number 932594 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 8 - 22 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 40 Name of provider Redhot Dragon Ltd Date of previous inspection 02/02/2012 Telephone number 02089026231

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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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