Lemongrove Nursery

Lemongrove Day Nursery 2 Hook Farm Road, BROMLEY, BR2 9SX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/01/2014 25/06/2009

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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

 The manager monitors staff practice well to ensure that teaching is consistent throughout the nursery. This care ensures all children make good progress in their learning and development.  Children enjoy good relationships with staff, which means they behave well and develop their self-confidence.  Staff establish strong partnership with parents that ensure all are kept fully informed of their children's interests and achievements through daily communication and in a variety of other ways.  Staff have a full understanding of the nursery's child protection policies and procedures, which means they safeguard children in their care effectively.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not provide enough opportunities for children to try out their early writing skills in the outdoor area.  Staff provide few opportunities for children to explore technology.

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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 observed activities in each room and in the outside area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the manager, provider and staff at appropriate times throughout the observations.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at planning documents, children's records and a selection of policies and procedures, including staff qualifications and staff suitability checks.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Lemongrove Day Nursery was registered in 2009. It is a privately owned nursery situated in a residential area of Bromley in the London Borough of Bromley. It has recently been extended and the nursery is now made up of three playrooms with associated toilets, an office and a kitchen. There is currently one outdoor play area with a second area nearly completed.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register to care for a maximum of 33 children in the early years age group. Children attend from the local area and for a variety of sessions. The nursery is funded to provide free early education to children aged three and four years. The day nursery is open between 8am and 6pm each day for 50 weeks a year. There is currently a team of 15 staff either employed full-time, part-time or as temporary cover for permanent staff on maternity leave. The nursery also has a cook. All hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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

 extend opportunities for children to explore technology in their everyday play to enhance their understanding of the world and prepare them for school

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

 extend the programme for children's literacy to encourage children to practice their early writing skills more often, such as through providing a range of suitable resources and materials in the outdoor area.

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who attend

Children are supported by knowledgeable staff who understand how to effectively engage children in learning through play. They work closely with parents to find out what children are interested in and use the information to plan activities and help children make progress in all areas of their learning and their development. For example, a trip to the park with the youngest ones to feed the ducks was followed up with stories and talk about ducks.

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who attend

Staff observe the children at play and record their achievements ensuring that the child's next steps are incorporated in subsequent planning. This approach means that staff build on what children already know and can do, so learning is progressive. Staff track children's progress every half term and this is used to identify if children need extra support. This information is also shared with parents and ideas about how to help their children's learning are discussed, such as playing number games and puzzles at home to support progress in number recognition. The progress checks for two-year-old children are also shared with parents.

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who attend

High staff ratios allow staff to spend time with individuals and small groups of children that ensure children become good at sharing resources and communicating in a social situation. For example, staff use a play activity using pretend food to have a 'picnic' in the outdoor area in which they encourage sharing. This outdoor play session also gives the children opportunity to develop different physical skills through using a range of equipment, for example balancing, throwing and catching. However, staff miss the opportunity to encourage children to use their early writing skills when playing outside, which is particularly important for children who prefer to learn in outdoor environments. Staff support language development through using skilled questioning techniques such as 'What are you going to build?' that encourage children's thinking and use of language. They support the acquisition of new vocabulary too, such as the word 'volcano' when

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who attend

sharing a book. Staff are good at listening to what the children have to say and giving them time to develop responses.

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who attend

Staff teach children early mathematical skills when engaging them with different activities, such as counting how many cups of sand are needed to make the sand wheel move. They provide are a range of opportunities for children to develop early writing skills inside, such as making marks in the Baby Room when the youngest ones made tyre tracks in the sand with the toy cars.

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who attend

Children of all ages enjoy developing pre-reading skills through sharing books individually in the Baby Room, and in a group situation in the Pre-school Room. All the older children were engaged in this adult-led session and joined in with parts of the story they knew and answered questions about the story. This participation not only demonstrates children's ability to listen but prepares them well for the next step in their learning, including school.

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

The nursery has been designed with all safety features in place including non-slip covering on the outside decking and an effective entry system. These features mean that children play in a safe environment which they explore freely. Resources are of good quality and staff organise these so that the children can freely choose toys for themselves. This helps children to become independent learners in preparation for their eventual move to school. However, there are limited resources to aid their learning about technology to support their understanding of the wider world. The Pre-School Room leader is currently gathering feedback from parents and children to help in designing the new room lay-out and organising new resources and displays. This demonstrates how the staff take account of children's preferences and respond to their ideas, so that the environment is child-centred.

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

Children enjoy good relationships with staff who give them plenty of encouragement and support. This helps children know what staff expect of them and boosts their self-esteem. Staff know the individual children and their families well. They build strong partnerships with parents through an effective key person system. This system enables children's individual needs to be met. During inspection, an anxious child was closely comforted by the key person until confident with the presence of visitors. The system is especially effective when children move to the next room because the key person accompanies the child in the new room for a number of sessions before the child moves permanently. All rooms have very clear daily routines, often supported by a 'tidy-up song' or other prompt, such as the ringing of a bell, to get the children's attention. This system helps children to settle and know what is coming next, so helping them feel secure.

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

Children learn to behave well because of how the staff behave towards each other and how they intervene if the children have a dispute. The children are very responsive to the staff's calm, quiet instructions and the use of specific vocabulary such as 'Use your kind hands,' resulting in a very harmonious environment that is conducive to learning.

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

Children learn to keep themselves safe by using tools, such as suitable scissors and knives during meal times. Through good role modelling children are aware of potential dangers; for example, at inspection when some food was spilt, it was promptly swept up by a member of staff to avoid an accident. This also demonstrates how well staff keep alert to potential hazards in the children's environment.

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

Children's good health is maintained because staff teach them how to manage their personal hygiene responsibly. They know they need to wash their hands before having a meal. Independence is encouraged at meal times when children serve their food. Mealtimes are a social occasion and staff sit with the children to eat a wide range of healthy meals and snacks prepared by the nursery cook. This approach helps the children learn about the importance of certain types of food, explaining that you need to 'eat broccoli and carrots to make you healthy'.

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provision

The owner, who is also the manager, is aware of her responsibility to meet the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The deputy-manager is currently on maternity leave and another member of staff temporarily deputising in her absence. There are a number of other staff changes but there are good recruitment systems in place for checking staff suitability before they start work, which include requesting references from previous employers. Induction is helped by adopting a 'buddy system,' which means that staff are confident and can work effectively with the children from their very first day. Staff understand who they need to tell if they have concerns about a child, and can implement the nursery's safeguarding policies and procedures. Regular risk assessments underpin the children's safety, both in the nursery and on the regular outings that are undertaken to the nursery's allotment. There is a

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provision

simple but effective system displaying how many children are in each room and the time the adjustments are made throughout the day. All these systems and procedures demonstrate how the provider safeguards children's well-being. The manager has worked with the early years team from the local authority to arrange outside agency support for children with additional needs and there is evidence of individual education plans. From experience the manager feels confident that the nursery can meet the needs of children with additional needs.

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provision

The manager has regular supervision sessions with staff to monitor planning and any concerns about children. These ensure that the practice in each room is consistently good and that any issues can be discussed and resolved. Training opportunities are also discussed to ensure that all staff are given continuous professional development; for example, two members of staff have expressed an interest in starting an early years degree. This helps drive continuous improvement to the nursery provision.

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provision

Self-evaluation is used well and actions have been set by management to improve the provision. This ensures that all staff are able to continue to develop their practice with a positive outcome for all the children who attend Lemongrove Day 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 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 EY384857 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 829914 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 33 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider Lemongrove Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 25/06/2009 Telephone number 02084 665 597

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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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