Snowflakes Day Nursery & Montessori

Snowflakes Day Nursery & Montessori Snowflakes Day Nursery & Montessori, 100 Carlyle Avenue, SOUTHALL, Middlesex, UB1 2BL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/11/2013 04/05/2010

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 Children's emotional development is well supported, which makes them feel safe and secure.  The organisation of the environment enables children to make independent choices about what they want to play with and to help when it comes to tidy up time.  Staff support children's health through the use of appropriate hygiene practices to reduce risks of cross infection, and through the provision of a range of healthy food.  The nursery works well in partnership with parents to support the care of children.

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It is not yet good because

 The staff do not fully implement the educational programmes to consistently provide a good range of activities that match the developmental needs and interests of the children, to support and challenge their learning.  The organisation of meal times does not enable children to develop good independence skills as part of the daily routine.  The organisation of children in large groups does not consistently provide them the opportunity to spend quality time with their key person to meet their specific developmental needs.  The nursery does not effectively use self-evaluation to clearly pinpoint weaknesses in practice, to identify where further improvement is required to improve outcomes for children.

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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 children during activities both indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the manager and staff and gained the views of the parents by speaking to them.  The inspector did a joint observation with the manager during circle time.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's developmental records, policies and procedures relating to safeguarding and the complaints record.

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Information about the setting

Snowflakes Day Nursery & Montessori is one of two privately owned nurseries. It registered in 2002 and operates from a prefabricated modular building, which is separated into a large playroom and an additional baby room, leading off the main play area. The nursery is located in Southall, in the London Borough of Ealing. The nursery is open each weekday from 8 am to 6 pm for 50 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 32 children on roll. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs five members of staff to work with the children. Four staff hold a National Vocational Qualification at level 3. In addition, a further member of staff is employed to cook the meals. The nursery follows traditional and

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must:

 improve the educational programmes using observations to support planning and incorporate all areas of learning through meaningful activities and experiences to promote each child's stage of development

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must:

 improve the organisation of larger group time activities to ensure that children have regular opportunities to spend quality time with their key person, to enable them to support learning that matches children's individual needs and interests

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must:

 improve the systems for self-evaluation to identify specific areas for development to foster a culture of continuous improvement to meet the needs of all children.

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

 strengthen opportunities for children to develop their independence during practical routine activities such as meal times.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate that they know children well and gain information from the process of observation to identify areas where children need further developmental support. They use information shared by parents in the 'all about me form', along with initial observations, to identify children's starting points. However, staff do not consistently use the observations to guide the planning of the activities to support children to be interested and to make progress. As a result, some of the activities provided lack challenge for individual children. For example, plastic sea creatures are placed on a table, to link with the topic under the sea but staff do not provide water for children to play with the sea creatures in. Therefore the activity is mundane and lacks excitement, resulting in very few children approaching the table or remaining engaged in the activity.

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who attend

Children take part in large group activities such as circle time with children of mixed ages. Staff provide some visual aids in the form of sea creatures and ask questions, such as 'what colour is this, how many legs does it have?' to stimulate children's thinking and use of language. However, these activities are not always purposeful learning experiences for children because staff do not think about the timing of such activities or how long children have already been sitting. The children move from sitting down at snack time to sitting down again for circle time. In addition, some children may not be as confident in larger groups to contribute. As a result some children lose interest quickly and disengage from the activity.

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who attend

Children engage in art and craft activities as they make a fish tank using a paper plate they have painted the day before. However, there is little challenge or adaptation of the activity for children of different ages and stages of development to fully meet their needs. For example, staff pre-cut fish shapes ready for children to stick directly onto the plate. Consequently, children do not consistently learn from the experiences provided by practising their own cutting skills.

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who attend

Staff track children's development, which enables them to identify where they need further help and support. They also complete the required progress checks for two-year- olds, which helps them to summarise children's development in the prime areas of learning, a process which they share with parents.

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who attend

Children enjoy exploring in the sand pit, younger babies enjoy the sensory feeling of the dry sand slipping through their fingers, which they repeat again and again. Older children develop large muscle skills as they dig in wet sand using tools to fill pots. Staff support children's communication and language skills as they speak to them about what they are doing, for example, 'you are putting the sand in the cup'. As a result, this helps children link actions to words. Children enjoy having one-to-one stories where staff use pictures to convey the meaning of mathematical concepts, including counting ducks and talking about which one is the smallest. Staff promote children's physical development and they have fun in the outdoor area, which has been refurbished since the last inspection. The children balance on beams, squeal with excitement in the ball pool and confidently ride bicycles as they learn to control their balance and movement.

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

Children demonstrate they feel safe and develop an emotional bond with the staff who care for them. Although some children arrive at nursery and they are upset staff comfort them and give cuddles, enabling them to settle well. Children take part in large group activities but do not always have dedicated time with their key person. Consequently, this prevents them from really getting to know them and enabling the staff to focus on the support their key children require. Children are gaining awareness of how to keep safe, through planned activities and discussion during the daily routines. Younger children sit in chairs with harnesses for their safety, while older children learn to come down the slide safely.

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

Children are regularly encouraged to help themselves to drinking water, to keep them refreshed and they enjoy healthy snacks and meals. Staff set out bowls and cutlery for children's meals and there is little use of this part of the daily routine to help children learn, for example, by using a wider range of cutlery or helping to set the table. As a result, this does not fully support the children in their independence skills for when they move on to school. There are suitable procedures in place to prevent cross infection, for example, children wash their hands after being in the garden and bedding is stored in individual bags. Such practices help staff promote children's health and general well-being.

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

Children generally behave well, however, on occasions the activities provided for children are not challenging or developmentally appropriate. As a result, they lose interest and move away from the activity or do not fully engage. Staff deal with behaviour management suitably to help children learn about expectations. Children are learning to share and take turns and they are encouraged to take care of their toys and their environment. They eagerly get involved with tidy up time, putting things back in the clearly labelled boxes. There is a suitable range of age appropriate resources within the nursery which are sufficiently organised to support children's learning through play. Most resources are stored in boxes with labels making it easier for children to find where things go and to make choices as to what they would like to play with.

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

Babies spend time in the older children's room, for example, when they all meet together for meal times and other activities. This enables them to be familiar with the play area used when they get older and move in to a different room. Overall children are emotionally prepared for when they transfer rooms within the nursery or when they move on to another nursery or school.

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provision

The leadership and management of the nursery have a satisfactory understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. There are robust procedures in place for the recruitment of staff, to ensure they are suitable to work with children. Suitable systems for supervision and appraisals are in place, which enable the manager to identify further training staff need to help improve practice. Staff are confident in their knowledge and understanding of the systems in place for safeguarding children. For example, they confirm they know the safeguarding procedures in place for whistle blowing, regarding any concerns about adults' behaviour, and the use of cameras and mobile phones. Staff make sound use of risk assessments as they regularly check the building and all the areas the children access. They appropriately identify any hazards, which enables them to put precautionary measures in place to protect children's welfare. There are effective systems

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provision

in place for dealing with accidents, and staff complete fire drills on a regular basis. Consequently children are protected and kept safe.

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provision

The nursery has devised an action plan to highlight some areas for development to drive improvement in the quality of the nursery provision and outcomes for children. In addition, the provider evaluates the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, to see where they can make further improvements. However, the procedures in place for staff to evaluate practice are not rigorous enough. As a result they do not pinpoint key areas for improvement which will have the greatest impact on children's learning and development. The staff work with the local authority development workers who help them to identify further areas for development. The provider has recently employed a new manager, who is becoming established with the nursery, and getting to know the children and their parents. The management are currently working to establish their new baby area and plan to develop a garden space that will be for the under two's only to support their differing

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provision

Partnership with parents is secure, enabling parents to confidently share information about their child and how they have been, with staff on arrival. When the parents come to pick children up staff feedback on how their day has been including sleep, nappy and meal times. Some parents and carers who do not speak English as their first language, are updated by staff who speak their home language, which helps promote their inclusion. Parents are invited to come in to speak to their key person about their child's development. The nursery also uses a system to ask parents to find out and record what children do when they are not at nursery through the 'wow cards'. This helps staff link children's learning together to they make progress. When parents place their child, they receive a summary of the policies and procedure in place, which helps to inform them about how the nursery operates and cares for their children. Staff gain information about

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provision

their child's cultural background, which enables them to plan activities to support the festivals that are special to different families. There is a notice board displayed with further information for parents in the foyer. Parents comment they are happy with the nursery; they like the friendly staff who speak politely to the children and parents and the fact their child is happy to come and play with the different toys.

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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 EY393991 Local authority Ealing Inspection number 938497 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 35 Name of provider Snowflakes Day Nursery & Montessori Ltd Date of previous inspection 04/05/2010 Telephone number 02085 716378

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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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