CMA Nursery

CMA Nursery 26 Lampard Grove, London, N16 6XB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/01/2014 30/06/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 3 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

 Security procedures do not prevent unauthorised persons entering the premises unchallenged or children from leaving unsupervised. Staff's knowledge of safeguarding, and the nursery's safeguarding policy, are not adequate. This compromises children's safety and their welfare.  The weaknesses in the range of resources, planning of indoor and outdoor activities, the learning environment and the quality of teaching limits children's individual learning.  The deputy manager is not suitable to take charge in the manager's absences. He does not work in the nursery, so is not familiar with the children, the requirements or documentation.  Children do not have sufficient opportunities to learn and reach a good standard of English and staff do not assess children's skills in English to prepare children for their future learning.  Key persons do not meet to share information about all children's progress and

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This provision is inadequate

development. This means that all children's individual needs are not being met.  The behaviour policy is not implemented effectively. As a result, incidences of children's inappropriate behaviour are not adequately managed through consistent boundaries.  Children do not have free access to fresh drinking water so they do not become thirsty. Self-evaluation does not identify breaches in requirements or effectively monitor staff practice.  The manager and staff have limited knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage, which results in weaknesses in the educational programmes, limiting children's learning experiences.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff work with parents to help children settle and share information about children's learning.

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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 all rooms and in the outside area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a selection of policies, procedures and information provided by the nursery.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed a selection of children's observation and assessment files with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with and spoke to several parents to discuss their experiences of the nursery.

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Information about the setting

CMA Nursery is in Stamford Hill, in the London Borough of Hackney. It registered in 2005 and is run by CMA Trust Ltd. The nursery is for boys only and operates from three classrooms. All staff and children speak Yiddish as their first language. The nursery serves the local Orthodox Jewish Community (who follow the Viznitz sect) and operates Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 8.45am until 3.15pm and on Friday from 8.45am until 12.30pm. The setting closes on Jewish holidays. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and there are currently 55 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery employs 17 staff, of which 13 hold an appropriate early years qualification.

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enforcement action:

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to:

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enforcement action:

ensure that the safeguarding policy meets the requirements of the Local Safeguarding Children's Board and that it includes an explanation of the action to be taken in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff

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enforcement action:

ensure that all staff understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues, and are able to identify signs of possible abuse and neglect at the earliest opportunity, responding in a timely and appropriate way

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enforcement action:

devise and implement an effective behaviour management policy and procedures to support children's development.

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must:

 take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised persons entering the premises and children leaving unsupervised, and have an agreed procedure for checking the identity of visitors

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must:

 ensure children have regular access to carefully planned learning opportunities that provide suitable challenge and interest, both indoors and outside, and that meet their individual needs across the seven areas of learning

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must:

 ensure that children have sufficient opportunities to learn and reach a good standard in the English language during the Early Years Foundation Stage, and when assessing children's communication, language and literacy skills, staff must assess children's skills in English

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must:

 improve the key person system, particularly in relation to sharing information between the key persons, to ensure that every child's learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities

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must:

 ensure fresh drinking water is available and accessible to children at all times

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must:

 plan and guide children's activities, through an appropriate range of resources across the areas of learning, reflecting on the different ways children learn, how they play and explore and become active learners, enabling them to create and thinking critically  improve the educational programme for expressive arts and design to give children opportunities to explore and imaginatively use an appropriate range of different media and materials

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must:

 improve the educational programme for understanding the world by ensuring that children develop knowledge of cultures other than their own and learn about similarities and differences between their families and others.

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who attend

The nursery staff and management have a weak understanding of the requirements for the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and are not delivering or implementing the Early Years Foundation Stage adequately. The nursery gives priority to the teachings of the Jewish faith. This means children learn about festivals and have a weekly focus from the Torah. Children pray three times a day and learn to write in Hebrew. They speak Yiddish only, later learning English at age 7 in the attached school. English is not taught and children's ability in written and spoken English is not assessed. This means the setting is not adequately meeting the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Furthermore, although the nursery takes some steps towards meeting the needs of the range of children who attend, the weaknesses identified in safeguarding and protecting

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who attend

children affect children's care and learning experiences.

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who attend

Furthermore, the setting does not deliver all areas of the curriculum as required. There are limited opportunities for children to use expressive arts and design, for example through role play. Much emphasis is placed on handwriting and children spend time drawing or filling in photocopied sheets. They do not have access to paint, junk modelling or natural materials. In addition, children do not receive opportunities to learn about cultures other than their own or consider how families differ to build an understanding of the world. This was a recommendation at the previous inspection and has not been addressed. Children build towers of cubes and act out imaginative games using chairs as props. However, their play is limited due to the lack of appropriate resources to provide adequate challenge, indoors or outside. Staff do introduce some small world play by re-enacting stories from the Torah using figures at circle time.

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who attend

Staff frequently use whole class teaching techniques, rather than a mix of child-initiated and adult-directed learning. Children participate in a fruit cutting activity using plastic knives and a selection of fruit and vegetables. However, as the whole class is all doing this at the same time, staff struggle to deal with anyone who needs individual attention. Staff give children plastic pots to decorate with stickers, with no extension for more able children. Children are not challenged by this activity and some complete it very quickly with nothing else to do. Staff write children's names on their pots, missing the opportunity for children to attempt to write their own name to develop their early writing skills. Planning and assessment is acceptable and a new tracking system is in place. Children do make some progress but not across all seven areas of learning, as there are gaps in the educational programme. Planning does distinguish activities for more and less able

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who attend

children, but this is not implemented during the frequent whole class teaching tasks. Consequently, children's learning styles and abilities are not being recognised or addressed to enable all children to make adequate progress. Assessment is not cohesive, with male staff using a different system to the female staff and not all assessments are recorded in English. Although this dual system does help staff to share some aspects of children's learning with their parents, it does not provide a consistent and accurate picture of children's achievements or their individual progress.

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who attend

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive a satisfactory level of support with one-to-one assistance through an individual education plan. However, this is not offered consistently, as this level of support only takes place during the afternoon sessions. This means that not all staff are effectively supporting these children to meet their individual care and learning needs. Other professionals work alongside the nursery and parents are positive regarding the progress children make. Partnership with parents is a strength of the nursery. Parents comment on being very happy with the education in religious instruction and on skills, such as writing and counting.

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

Children arrive happily at the nursery and children who attend in the afternoon are building close relationships with the staff. For example, the children hold hands with the staff and share hugs when needed. The nursery has two staff teams, with male staff working in the mornings and female staff in the afternoons. There is a key person system in place. Each child has one key person in the morning and one in the afternoon. However, these staff communicate via the nursery manager due to their genders not being able to mix. This means information is not shared effectively to help the key persons adapt each child's learning experiences to meet their individual needs.

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

Children have a snack mid-morning of milk and pretzels but do not have the opportunity to help themselves to drinks during the day. This means children do not have access to fresh drinking water at all times to prevent them from becoming thirsty. This is a breach of requirements and does not promote children's good health. Lunch is Kosher and cooked on site and served in the attached primary school.

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

Children have opportunities to play outside in the playground. They enjoy climbing, sliding and using the tricycles. However, the doors to the outside area are shut during the day, with limited time permitted for outside play. This means children who learn better outdoors are not being recognised and supported to do so. This undermines these children's progress. As a result of the restriction, some children resort to physical play inside the nursery and were observed climbing on furniture. Staff do not always notice these incidents and when they do, children are not given firm or consistent boundaries so children learn to manage their own behaviour. In addition, although there is a behaviour management policy and procedure in place, staff are not following this to promote children's personal, social and emotional development or enable children to manage their personal feelings.

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

The setting is taking steps to improve the learning environment, for example by creating a third classroom from a corridor to allow more space for children. The setting has ordered new resources and storage to provide a more child-centred environment so that children can access equipment independently. However, the overall lack of challenging resources means children's progress is not as good as it could be.

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

Parents comment that the settling in process is flexible, with children staying for short periods and building up to a full day. The setting prepares children for move from the nursery to the school by visiting the school part of the building. In addition, school staff come into the nursery to meet children before their move.

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provision

Security of the nursery through the outdoor playground entrance gate is inadequate as unauthorised persons can enter the premises unchallenged. Although there was a member of staff in the vicinity of the gate, and the gate had a security system, this was not in operation as the gate was open. Therefore, this did not restrict the entry of unvetted adults or prevent children from leaving the premises unsupervised. This is a breach of requirements and means children's safety, welfare and well-being are compromised and children are put at risk. Staff attend training in safeguarding children, which is adapted for the Jewish faith. However, although staff have attended training to gain some knowledge of safeguarding procedures, the extent of this is not clear due to the communication difficulties at the inspection relating to gender. The designated lead person for safeguarding children is the manager. Although she attended safeguarding training in

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provision

2011, she cannot demonstrate she has the knowledge and understanding of the indicators that would cause concern for this role. In addition, there is no evidence to show that she has completed the required approved child protection training course for this lead role. This means children are not adequately protected. Ofsted will issue enforcement action which the provider must take in order to improve.

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provision

The nursery has a safeguarding policy, which covers the use of mobile phones. It states that mobiles are allowed in the nursery and these may be kept in staff pockets or in the office during the day. The manager states the staff mobiles have been adapted to meet Kosher guidelines, so disabling the camera and internet facilities.

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provision

The manager takes some steps towards monitoring some members of staff in their practice, but this is not consistent for all staff due to the communication boundaries. She has worked to implement some changes since the last inspection and continues to aspire to make positive changes to the nursery. She is supported by the local authority and a development plan is in place. However, the recommendation from the previous inspection relating to children learning about other cultures has not been addressed. This demonstrates the setting does not effectively maintain continuous improvement. In addition, management and staff have a weak understanding of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage so are unable to deliver and implement it adequately to meet children's individual care and learning needs.

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provision

There are suitable systems to identify children may need additional support. The manager works closely with parents and other professionals to support these children and to help plan for their individual development. Tracking is in place to identify gaps in children's learning and profiles are kept for each child. However, the inconsistencies in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities due to the day-to-day staffing arrangements means children are not always getting constant levels of individual support.

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provision

Staff attend training in first aid to enable them to treat children's minor accidents. The manager oversees two teams of staff and acts as communicator between them. The manager supervises the female staff offering feedback on practice and peer support. The deputy manages the male staff. However, although the deputy holds an appropriate qualification for the role, he works in the school with the older children and is therefore not as familiar with the younger children. In addition, he is not able to locate the relevant documents for inspection. This means the chosen deputy is not suitable to cover the manager's absences, as required, which is a breach of requirements.

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provision

The manager and staff deliver a curriculum based on the teachings of the Torah. the manager shows creativity when planning activities to link these in a meaningful way. For example, children are celebrating Tu B'Shavat (the New Year for Trees) and spend time at an activity preparing a fruit salad, discussing how fruit grows on trees. This is linked with newsletters which go home to parents, sharing photographs of the activities.

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provision

There is a system to evaluate practice at the nursery. This includes an improvement plan written by the local early years advisor who is supporting the nursery in some aspects. However, the system is not robust enough, as it does not identify where there are key weaknesses in practice. These weaknesses result in a number of breaches of legal requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager is aware of some of the shortcomings of the nursery; for example she acknowledged the lack of information technology equipment and has bought hand held voice recorders for children to play with. However, she has a very limited knowledge of how to implement change. In addition, the deputy manager has no understanding of the requirements, which impacts on his capability to cover the manager's absences. This demonstrates there is a poor capacity to improve overall.

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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 EY314096 Local authority Hackney Inspection number 815020 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 3 - 5 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 55 Name of provider C.M.A. Community Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 30/06/2010 Telephone number 020 8806 0017

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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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