The Hall School Baby Unit

The Hall School Baby Unit The Grange, Rickmansworth Road, NORTHWOOD, Middlesex, HA6 2RB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/11/2013 27/04/2010

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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

 There is a strong focus on supporting children as they develop their communication and language skills. Skilled staff ask thought provoking questions and provide good opportunities for babies to learn new words.  Staff plan exciting activities that are based on children's interests. This is particularly evident in relation to use their imaginative and creative development.  Staff members respond to children well, which enables them to fully support their individual needs and desires. Children develop close bonds with the staff and each other.  Staff meet children's care needs well when they are new to the nursery or are moving to a new room. Staff provide sensitive support to help children to develop strong bonds with them. As a result children are reassured and quickly settle.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff on occasion, do not explain the importance of tidying up after play, to maximise children's understanding of why certain actions keep themselves and others safe.  Staff do not always use praise purposefully. As a result, children do not fully understand what they have achieved.

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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 to the head teacher, senior management staff and children.  The inspector observed activities and equipment in all rooms and the outside area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including staff files and children's development records.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a long discussion with the head teacher, the manager and the senior management.

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Information about the setting

The Hall School Baby Unit is a privately run setting which was registered in 2009. It operates within the premises of Hall School, which is an independent school in Northwood in the London Borough of Hillingdon. Access to the premises is via steps and the Baby Unit is located on the first floor. There is a main room for babies under two, and a use of an art and ICT room. There is access to outdoor play facilities. The setting opens each weekday from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm during term time only and children may attend full or part-time sessions. Children move on to the nursery class within The Hall School which is not included in this registration. There are currently 13children on roll in the early years age range. The unit supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.There are five members of staff working directly with the children. There is only one member of staff who is still at level 2 (she will complete her Level 3 Course in July).

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Information about the setting

All the other staff have at least level 3. The headteacher has a B.Ed Hons as well as the NPQH.The deputy has a B.E Hons with P.G.C.E.and The Early Years Manager has a B.A. Hons and EYPS.

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

 explain why children should tidy up after themselves, so they can enhance their knowledge of how to keep themselves and others safe

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

 use praise more purposefully so that children can understand what they have achieved.

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who attend

Staff all have good knowledge of how children learn. They use this knowledge to plan challenging activities which are based on children's interests and on their previous observations of children as they play. Staff know children very well and use this knowledge to extend children's learning very successfully. For example, staff plan creative activities that give children opportunities to talk about the photographs of the different types of homes children live in. Staff understand that these activities provide opportunities for new children to settle well, and for children to learn about each other and the world around them. Planning is precise and staff successfully arrange group activities which allow children and babies to benefit equally.

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who attend

During the settling in period, parents complete an 'All about me' information form about their child's like, dislikes and current levels of attainment. Staff make initial observations of the child's first sessions at the nursery and use this information to support their planning for children's next steps in their learning. Staff continue to encourage parents to share their observations of children at home and staff add these to the children's learning journals. These are shared with the parents frequently and staff have daily discussions and record achievements in a book that is sent home daily. The staff demonstrate a thorough understanding of the progress check that they must complete for two year old children. This enables them to accurately assess two-year-olds' development and provide relevant information to aid their progress. In addition, staff are well qualified and trained to keep up to date with new changes to the educational programmes. As a result, staff

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who attend

fully inform parents about their child's progress.

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who attend

Staff gain a thorough understanding of children's personalities and they plan for children's needs on a flexible basis. Staff offer simple instructions during daily routines, which enables children to have an understanding of what is happening next. Staff are effective in helping young children develop their need to think critically. All staff support children in their play. They ask thought provoking questions and children respond with enthusiasm. Conversations are varied, from the weather or what food children are eating at snack and lunch time. All children benefit from this language rich environment. Staff skilfully describe what they and the children are doing so that children can learn new words. Babies respond to praise and begin to follow gentle instructions when learning how to use different resources. For example, staff sensitively instruct children how to thread different size and shape keys on a ring. As a result, children learn to problem solve from an early

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who attend

Staff provide wide opportunities for children to develop their imaginative language in their play. Staff listen to children and introduce new words as they play in the home corner, and choose from the wide range of resources to develop their imaginations. Younger children are excited as they demonstrate the new words they have been learning. They point to different items and respond to praise when they say the right words. Staff extend this knowledge by adding a few more descriptive words to provide challenge and progress children's development of language and communication.

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who attend

Staff provide a cosy and attractive area where children can enjoy reading books and being read to. Staff discuss aspects of the story and ask good open ended questions which prompt young children to recall one or two words from their favourite story book. Staff display print from favourite stories and picture of family members to create a cosy area for children. Children enjoy story times and staff are enthusiastic and relate events in stories to routine events in the nursery so that children can think about matters which are important to them.

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who attend

Staff support children's personal, social and emotional development well. They spend time with babies who are new to the nursery so that the babies begin to make emotional bonds with them. Other staff in the room work together well to allow this one to one time as they understand the importance of building these close relationships. Staff support older children as they move into different rooms. They work together effectively to provide continuity of care for children as they move between different areas. This means that children quickly develop confidence to explore their new environment. This further supports their readiness for school.

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who attend

Staff support children's physical development in all areas. Children enjoy daily physical play in the outside area where they ride bikes, have fun coming down small slides and using large, more challenging climbing frames to practice climbing the steps and sliding down a large slide. All children go outside every day. Staff support babies' play as parents provide spare shoes, so that they can explore the outside area if they are not yet walking confidently. This means that babies enjoy safe and stimulating outside experiences as they begin to explore their environment. Staff support babies very well as they also develop confident physical skills inside and practise climbing a small staircase to reach a first floor class room.

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who attend

Children are keen to practise their writing skills. They make marks on paper and begin to understand about writing for a purpose from a very young age, as staff encourage them to write their names on their pictures. Children also contribute to signs and labels in the rooms. Staff provide young children with different sized paint brushes as they create pictures of their own homes. This gives children a sense of pride in their emerging writing skills as these marks and signs form part of their environment and are celebrated by staff.

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who attend

Young children become thoroughly engrossed in exploring musical instruments selected from basket. They push, pull, turn and shake a range of instruments and sway to music that is softly playing in the background. As children play with puzzles and construction toys, staff seize plenty of opportunities to use simple number language and encourage children to count and compare size. Staff seize plenty of opportunities such as these to extend children play experiences which supports their creative skills and develops their understanding of mathematics

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

Staff match children with an appropriate key person before they attend the nursery. This provides each child with a consistent key person enabling them to develop close bonds and attachments quickly, which supports them to settle to nursery life. Children develop and maintain close friendships with each other and staff. This supports their social skills. Staff encourage children to be considerate to others as they support them in sharing their toys and resources. For instance, they are asked to wait a little while longer for their turn on the bikes and then when children offer to swap, staff encourage them to offer words of thanks. Staff are good role models and talk in a respectful and calm manner. As a result, young children behave positively from an early age.

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

Staff offer kind and gentle words of praise and encouragement, which support children's self-esteem and they develop good levels of confidence. However, staff do not always explain what they are praising children for, so that children thoroughly understand the consequences of their behaviour. Babies demonstrate that they feel secure at the setting with their key person and have a strong sense of belonging. This confidence and emotional security support children as they move onto the next stage in their learning, including moves to school. In the main, children develop a good awareness of their own personal safety and that of others through the positive messages from staff. For example, staff encourage and explain to babies and young children to take one step at a time and hold the stair rail when climbing the stairs. In addition, staff and children practise the fire drill regularly and staff give encouragement when children help to tidy up after play. However, on occasion, staff

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

do not maximise opportunities to explain the importance of clearing away to avoid accidents, especially as some babies are learning to walk.

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

Resources are of good quality and are displayed in low lying units and boxes so young children can access them when they wish. This supports children's independence as they are able to select resources and create their own play experiences. The staffing team complete full written risk assessments, which includes daily assessments of each area within the nursery. This means that children play in safe areas. The setting has effective systems for administering medication and dealing with and recording accidents. They obtain written parental permission to give medication to children. In addition two staff members and the parents sign after they administer the medication to children. This ensures that children receive the correct dose at the correct time and an accurate record is maintained, promoting children's safety and well-being.

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

Mealtimes are sociable and calm and staff support the differing age groups effectively. Children chat about their day and staff offer praise to children for eating well. Older children attempt to put on their lids of their own drinks to support their growing independence. Healthy options are discussed with children as they share their preferences and discuss what they eat at home. Meals for the week are shared with parents, so they are aware of what their children will eat on that day. All of these aspects support children's awareness of the need to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

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

Staff support children's moves into their next stages of learning. For example, the children within the nursery are gently settled into new rooms, with their key person, for some activities during the day. In addition, nursery staff visit the older rooms in the school with children and have begun to offer parents the opportunity where they can attend sessions in the holiday scheme. This helps moves to be smoothly managed so children can settle quickly and be ready for their move to their next stage in learning.

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provision

The nursery staff team has a strong understanding of their responsibilities for meeting the learning and development and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The safeguarding and welfare requirements are fully understood by the Head teacher and senior management. They use clear and well documented policies and procedures to monitor, review and support staff as they improve practice. The head teacher and senior management and staff are fully aware of the safeguarding policy and ensure that staff account for all children at all times. In addition, the provider has arranged for all staff to refresh their knowledge and understanding of safeguarding children. Staff rigorously implement the procedures and are fully aware of the importance to do so. They supervise children at all times, which helps to ensure their safety.

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provision

The setting have a robust set of safeguarding policies and Staff are aware of safeguarding procedures and confidently describe the procedures to follow if they have concern about a child in their care. The Head teacher, senior management and staff show a thorough understanding of the procedure that they would follow if an allegation was made against any of staff team. They are aware of the signs and what they would look for, if they had any concerns and all staff understand how and who to report to. The staff team are also trained to identify any inappropriate behaviour of members of staff towards children and understand the procedures they would follow if they were required to report any concerns. The manager organises in-house training to support staff's awareness of child protection issues and the procedures that they must follow. The policy includes the use of cameras and mobile phones in the setting. Therefore, management and staff demonstrate a very

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provision

secure knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements.

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provision

Recruitment procedures are robust and vetting checks ensure that only those who are cleared as suitable to work with children do so. The provider makes further checks on staff suitability by requesting references from previous employers, checking staff qualifications with the appropriate authorities and asking staff to complete questionnaires and declarations on their continuing suitability. Induction procedures are effective and mean that staff have good knowledge of required policies and procedures. For example, the management ensures that all staff are aware of the fire evacuation drills. There are very clear procedures and policies to be followed if staff need to take any medication, and there is a no tolerance policy for the use of other substances which may affect their ability to care for children. The head teacher and senior staff are fully aware of notifying Ofsted of required information, and have systems in place to ensure all staff are aware of

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provision

notifying the appropriate agencies should they have any concerns about staff or children.

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provision

Systems to monitor the delivery of the educational programmes are consistent and precise. They demonstrate that all staff have a firm understanding of all children's progress and can identify any children who may need further support or challenge and attention, so that the gaps in learning are closing. Strong practice amongst all the staff team, demonstrates that they are all well trained and understand how children develop and learn. The management is strongly focussed on developing the staff's knowledge so that further improvements can be made, and outcomes for children are positive.

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provision

The manager monitors staff performance in a range of ways. All staff receive annual appraisals with the provider, which are supported by supervision sessions with the manager. This supports the performance management of the team and enables planning for further training needs. Staff attend regular staff meetings, enabling staff to discuss practice issues and re-visit policies and procedures. These are effectively followed up in review meetings which take place throughout the year. The manager and provider use a range of ways to evaluate their provision. A detailed development plan highlights areas for improvement; the provider and manager sets specific actions for all staff to ensure that the improvements are carried out. This shows a strong commitment to continuous improvement. The nursery works with outside agencies when necessary to support children's developing needs. Staff have forged strong partnerships with others, such as the early years advisor

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provision

and local schools to support children's individual needs. Staff develop close relationships with parents and get to know them well. They talk with them daily and share information about the children's day. New parents are greeted warmly and are given detailed information when they begin. Parents are well involved in their children's learning, as they are able to meet with staff to discuss their child's progress. Parents are welcomed into the nursery to help, and they feel this is of real benefit and gives them plenty of opportunities to contribute to their children's learning. This supports continuity of care and learning for their children.

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 EY381624 Local authority Hillingdon Inspection number 939833 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 1 - 5 Total number of places 14 Number of children on roll 13 Name of provider Suzanne Margaret Goodwin and Laura Goodwin- Freeman Partnership Date of previous inspection 27/04/2010 Telephone number 01923 822807

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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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