St. Michael's Nursery

St.Michaels Nursery St.Michaels and All Angels Church, Knatchbull Road, London, NW10 8JX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/10/2013 02/02/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The manager has a poor understanding of having robust recruitment procedures to ensure the suitability of staff and does not ensure that staff working with children under two years are suitably qualified.  Although a key person system is in place, it is not embedded into practice and staff lack understanding of the key persons' role in supporting children to settle.  Staff do not ensure they plan effectively to support all seven areas of learning and do not provide sufficient interesting activities to fully engage all children. Observations and assessments are not kept uptodate and are ineffective in supporting children's future progress.  The management team are ineffective in monitoring the nursery provision and do not have secure systems in place to manage staff performance.  Children's welfare is not promoted adequately because staff have ineffective hygiene routines in place and do not promote the importance of hand washing for all children.

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It has the following strengths

 Singing sessions are well planned and children enjoy this time where they join in with their favourite songs using musical instruments.  The outdoor environment has been successfully developed and enables children to enjoy a wide range of activities.

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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 spent the majority of inspection time observing the children in the nursery as they played.  The inspector sampled children's information and development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the manager throughout the visit. Safeguarding was discussed and a sample of the policies viewed.  The inspector discussed the nursery with a sample of parents.  The inspector and manager conducted a joint observation in the large room.

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Information about the setting

St Michael's Nursery registered in 1992. It is one of three nurseries run by a private provider and operates from two large rooms within St Michaels and All Angels Church in Stonebridge in the London Borough of Brent. It is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.30pm, all year round. There are currently 36 children on roll. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are eight members of staff, of whom seven hold appropriate early years qualifications, including two staff who hold Early Years Foundation degrees.

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must:

 ensure that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring service check is obtained for all staff and keep records of the vetting procedures that have been completed for new staff

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must:

 ensure that at least one member of staff holds a full and relevant level 3 qualification and is suitably experienced to care for children under two

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must:

 improve the key person system, so that key persons are available to support the children for whom they take special responsibility, especially when settling new children

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must:

 improve the observation and assessment methods so that staff can accurately observe and assess children to understand their level of achievement and then plan challenging learning experiences for each child across all areas of learning

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must:

 put into place appropriate arrangements for the supervision of staff who have contact with children and families; ensure this fosters a culture of mutual support, teamwork and continuous improvement which encourages the confidential discussion of sensitive issues

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must:

 improve the systems for ensuring the good health of children, in particular ensuring that staff have a secure understanding of the importance of effective hygiene and hand washing methods.

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who attend

Staff's knowledge about the learning and development requirements is limited. Consequently children are not making sufficient progress across all areas of learning. This is because staff do not use consistent or organised methods for observing and assessing children's progress. Children's developmental folders are not up to date and lack information about each child's next steps for learning. Therefore planning is not effective in meeting children's individual learning needs or interests.

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who attend

The staff set up the playrooms with toys and resources and change these throughout the day. However, they do not ensure that the activities are interesting for children to explore or ensure that all areas of learning are given equal consideration. This is particularly evident in the larger room where all children spend some of their time, particularly children aged between two and three years. For example, dolls and soft toys are emptied out on a mat, some of the dolls have limbs missing, some are not dressed and no effort is made to make this resource exciting for children. Likewise, toy animals are emptied out on a mat; these are left in a pile, which results in children not using these toys to the full effect. Although later on children take part in a focused discussion about the animals, this is poorly organised as it is planned with all ages of children. Consequently the younger or quieter children have limited opportunities to take part with the children who confidently

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who attend

know the answers. Older children are attracted to the under twos area where there is a wider selection of toys available and ones which they are interested in. Children enjoy a planned singing time. They actively take part as they choose their musical instruments and learn about rhythm as they bang the drums or shake the tambourine in time with their singing.

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who attend

The varying age groups are separated for some time during the day and the pre-school age children take part in a well organised cooking session. The children help to make coleslaw and the staff member leading this activity is confident and asks open-ended questions to make children think. Children's language and literacy skills are adequately supported as they enjoy looking at books and staff support their interest soundly. However, staff leave the very large books out for children to look at alone. The books are too big for young children to handle carefully and use without support; consequently these get ripped and torn.

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who attend

Children have use of the garden during the day, taking it in turns and enjoying this time outside. This provides children with opportunities to develop their physical skills. They enjoy riding around on the tricycles and negotiate the pathways proficiently. Children also enjoy using the climbing frame, where they skilfully climb the steps and manage this apparatus with confidence. They also enjoy digging and planting activities and learn about how to care for plants and the vegetables they have grown.

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who attend

Parents can request to meet with staff to discuss children's achievements and progress. Displays around the nursery show words in many languages, therefore helping to support children who are learning to speak English as an additional language. There are also satisfactory systems to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities if required. Staff have developed their knowledge of working in partnership with other agencies, making links with local schools to help support the transition process.

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

The nursery has a key worker system in place and overall this works satisfactorily. Most children share warm relationships with each other and the friendly staff. They receive reassurance as they separate from their main carers and settle in. This helps children to feel confident and secure and develop close relationships. However this practice is not embedded to include clear guidance for new children settling. This is due the manager taking charge of the settling in process, rather than allowing the key person to take this responsibility immediately. Consequently, when the manager is busy she is unable to provide the time new children need resulting in them being upset. In addition, the manager does not fully understand how to work with parents during the settling in time, as she allows parents to leave without saying goodbye. This practice does not support children to feel secure and comfortable.

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

Children's specific health, dietary needs and allergies are recorded and known by staff to enable them to meet each child's dietary needs. Children are provided with a healthy and nutritious cooked meal by the nursery cook and eat snacks of fresh fruit. They also access drinks of fresh water from the water cooler so they do not get thirsty. However, staff lack an understanding of the importance of good hygiene practices and this compromises children's overall good health. Although older children take themselves to the bathroom and know to wash their hands, younger children who are being toilet trained and using potties are not encouraged to use wipes afterwards. Furthermore, staff are not vigilant in cleaning their hands after helping each child with their toileting skills to help prevent cross infection.

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

Children are beginning to build up friendships as they play and learn to take turns and share. They are often heard to say to each other 'sharing is caring' which is the nursery's motto for kindness. Staff manage children's behaviour soundly; they use positive strategies to deal with any minor issues. Children receive lots of positive praise and encouragement, which supports their self-confidence and esteem.

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

The nursery is comfortable and has ample space for children to move around in. The nursery entrance is secure having a buzzer system to alert staff. As a temporary measure, the main entrance is closed due to work being carried out in the car park and access is gained via the church. This entrance is kept open for a period of time in the morning for parents to drop off and then reopened later on in the day for pick ups. During this time a member of staff monitors this entrance to check for any unwanted visitors. Daily risk assessments are conducted by staff every morning to ensure the premises remain safe and secure. These procedures help to keep children safe.

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provision

This inspection took place following concerns around a recent incident where a child had brought a razor blade into nursery and had injured another child. Following this incident the safety of children has been reviewed and satisfactory measures have been put in place to prevent a reoccurrence. For example, parents have been asked to be vigilant about what their child brings into nursery and staff also check this when children arrive. In addition there were concerns around the quality of the developmental records parents receive. Evidence gathered at inspection demonstrates that these records are not up to date to support children's progress adequately.

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provision

The manager lacks understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Recruitment procedures are inadequate as the manager does not ensure appropriate references are obtained before a new member of staff starts work. In addition, the recording systems for evidencing that all staff who work at the nursery have had suitability checks carried out are incomplete. These failings compromise children's safety and welfare. Furthermore, the manager does not ensure that at least one member of staff working with children under two years holds an appropriate level 3 qualification, as required.

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provision

Although the majority of staff are qualified, there are many inconsistencies in staff's understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. In particular, staff do not plan adequately to meet the individual needs and interests of the children and they have not developed robust systems to monitor children's progress. Consequently, children are not provided with suitable challenges across the seven areas of learning. In addition, although a key person system is in place this is ineffective as the manager and staff do not understand this role in helping to settle new children.

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provision

There are ineffective monitoring systems in place to support staff development. This is because staff supervision is infrequent and lacks rigour for keeping an accurate record of staff weaknesses in order to support future development. There is no up-to-date self- evaluation system in place and a previous recommendation regarding the observations and assessments has not been satisfactorily addressed. This demonstrates that the management team lack the ability to make the necessary improvements.

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provision

Staff have a sound understanding of the safeguarding policy and know what action to take if they were concerned about a child. A number of staff have an appropriate first aid qualification which means that they are able to respond to children's needs quickly. However, children's overall health is compromised due to staff's poor understanding about the importance of good hygiene methods.

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provision

Relationships with parents and carers are satisfactory. Communication is through daily verbal feedback. Parents speak positively about the service. Their comments indicate they know their children are happy, that staff are friendly and approachable, and a number of parents have used the nursery with previous children and therefore would not go anywhere else. The manager holds parents' meetings where they are given useful information about how to support their children's development. However, as children's records are not adequately maintained parents are unable to read current developmental records if they wish to.

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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 137846 Local authority Brent Inspection number 934125

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 1 - 5 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 36 Name of provider Learning Tree Nursery Limited T/A St Michaels Nursery Date of previous inspection 02/02/2011 Telephone number 020 8965 3810 or 8965 7443

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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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