Under the Willow Nursery

Under the Willow Nursery Croxted Road, Dulwich, LONDON, SE21 8NW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/01/2014 16/04/2013

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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

 Children make good progress from their initial starting points because of the wide- ranging opportunities available to them and the valuable support from staff.  The manager evaluates all risks to the children well and puts measures into place to reduce these. As a result, children are safe in the nursery.  Staff provide interesting and stimulating activities and good access between the indoor and outdoor environments. This enables children to choose where they wish to play and encourages their decision-making skills.  Children enjoy strong relationships with staff at the nursery. Therefore, they are happy and keen to learn and rapidly grow in self-assurance.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although some resources are in place to teach children about technology, staff do not use these consistently to enhance this area of children's development.  Staff do not consistently organise some mealtimes effectively. This means children become restless as they wait to eat and have fewer opportunities to develop their independence and physical skills at such times.

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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 the main playrooms and the garden.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, learning journeys, planning documents, the development plans, and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked staff's disqualification and barring checks, and safeguarding policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Under the Willow Nursery registered in 2012. It operates from a purpose built building in Dulwich, London. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6.30pm. The nursery is open all year round except for a week at Christmas and on public holidays. The building is on one level with no restrictions to access. There are two main play rooms for children under and over two years. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. The nursery receives funding for nursery education for children aged three and four years. Staff care for children who learn English as an additional language. There are currently 50 children on roll.

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Information about the setting

There is a team of 20 staff including the provider and a cook. The manager and staff hold relevant childcare qualifications, including two staff who hold Qualified Teacher Status. One staff member holds an early years degree and all other staff hold qualifications at level 2 or 3. There are three staff working towards a qualification.

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

 strengthen routines at mealtimes to reduce times children are waiting for food and to increase opportunities for children to serve themselves to improve their physical development

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

 provide greater planned opportunities, and resources, for children to develop their understanding of the world through the use of technology on a daily basis.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good. As a result, children are progressing well towards the early learning goals. Planning is effective in helping children make good progress in their learning and development. Staff use the children's next steps in learning, their interests and views from the parents, to plan effectively. Staff track the children's progress using appropriate guidance. This is used successfully to identify whether children require any support or extra challenge in their learning experience.

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who attend

Staff invite parents into the nursery to discuss their children's progress and what they have been doing at home. This provides good continuity of care and learning for the children. Staff share detailed progress reports and the required progress checks for two- year-old children with the parents. This enables parents to see the progress their children have made.

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who attend

Staff promote children's language development well. They record the children's home languages and use key words from the parents to support the children's learning of English as an additional language. Staff ask children useful questions and use descriptive words, which promotes their language development well. It also helps the children to think about what they are doing and respond appropriately. Children have access to some resources to promote their knowledge and understanding of technology. They use computers to enhance their coordination through moving the cursers around the screen and listen to instructions. However, staff do not use these resources consistently, which means they miss opportunities to further promote children's learning in this particular area.

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who attend

Staff support children well as they move between base rooms and carry out these transfers according to the children's individual needs. This ensures they settle well and can continue to make good progress with their learning and development. Staff effectively promote children's physical development as they play in the well-resourced indoor and outside environments. Staff work closely with the younger children to ensure they are able to explore the outside play areas and to enhance their physical development. Staff promote children's independence skills and their physical development, for example, as they encourage them to put on their shoes when they go to play outside.

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

Children are happy and settled in the nursery. They have secure bonds with the staff, which builds their self esteem and their confidence. Children enjoy snuggling up to the staff for cuddles, reassurance and support, for example. Staff teach children about healthy lifestyles through daily opportunities for exercise. Children need little reminding of the importance of hand washing and are skilled in turning the tap on in the bathroom to wash their hands after messy activities and before they have snack. Staff teach children how to keep safe, for example, as they carry out fire drills with them on a regular basis. These procedures teach children to be aware of what to do in an emergency.

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

All staff are consistent in their approach to behaviour management and deal with children's behaviour very well. They take time to talk to children about the importance of sharing and working together. Staff also teach the children the importance of respecting each other and taking turns to listen to their friends when they are asking questions. Given the children's ages and stages of development, they behave well.

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

Children play in a clean nursery where staff work well to protect them from cross infection through good hygiene procedures. Staff ensure children wear appropriate clothing when playing outside and follow effective procedures for nappy changing and making sure children's privacy is maintained when doing this. These measures promote children's well- being effectively. Mealtimes are social occasions where staff sit with the children and talk about the food they are having. Staff help younger children in learning to feed themselves and praise them for their efforts. Children thrive with the healthy and nutritious meals that are on offer and children have plenty of food to have second helpings. However, the organisation around the mealtimes tends to leave children waiting for excess periods of time which can lead to them becoming restless. Meals are prepared to meet the children's individual needs, although the older currently do not serve themselves their own meals. As

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

a result, there are missed opportunities to enhance the children's physical development and their independence skills.

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

Staff demonstrate an extremely positive approach towards inclusion. They work closely in partnership with parents to fully meet the individual needs of all children. Staff show a comprehensive understanding of each child's unique needs and have detailed information on child record forms of individual requirements. A variety of resources and displays around the base rooms depict positive images of diversity, including those of culture, gender and disability. Children celebrate a variety of festivals and cultural celebrations throughout the year and these are reflective of children's cultural backgrounds. This allows children to learn about different customs and celebrations of their friends and the wider world in which they live.

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provision

Leadership and management of the setting are strong. The provider, manager and staff work closely with the parents to bring about the best possible outcomes for all the children. The provider maintains documentation to a good standard and all records required for the safe and efficient management of the setting are readily available. Staff implement a comprehensive range of written policies and procedures well. The setting has effective measures to promote children's ongoing safety in the nursery, as well as on outings. Risk assessments are thorough and clearly identify hazards and any action taken to minimise these to keep children safe. Risk assessments are regularly updated to reflect changes in staff practice clearly underpinning the nursery's safety procedures.

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provision

Robust recruitment procedures are in place to check the suitability of all staff. Staff have regular appraisals to assess their work and to look at further training opportunities. Management deals with underperformance appropriately. Staff attend regular training, through the local authority, to enhance practice and promote children's learning and welfare. The manager has a clear understanding of the learning and development requirements. The manager works closely with the provider and other agencies to enhance the provision and to look at areas that can be improved. Staff plan and provide a good range of experiences for children in all areas of learning and staff monitor their progress well. As a result, children make good progress in their learning.

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provision

Self-evaluation is strong and clearly shows the nursery's key strengths and the areas they are currently working on. The parents share their views on the nursery and the manager gathers the views of the children to shape practice and make improvements. As a result, the service is highly responsive to its users. All staff have a strong understanding of child protection and how to safeguard the children in their care. All safeguarding requirements are met effectively. All staff know and consistently implement the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. Robust risk assessments are in place for both the premises and for all outings the children undertake. Staff supervise children well across all areas of the setting. The manager and the provider maintain the correct ratios in the setting and deploy staff well to keep the children safe and to promote their learning and development.

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provision

Staff work closely in partnership with the parents. Parents regularly share with the staff what they have been doing at home, which staff use very successfully to enhance the children's individual needs. Staff complete detailed developmental reviews on the children so parents can see the progress they are making.

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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 EY453559 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 946540 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 34 Number of children on roll 50 Name of provider Under the Willow Ltd Date of previous inspection 16/04/2013 Telephone number 0208 761 7972

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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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