Cherubins Day Nursery Ltd

Cherubins Day Nursery 48 Palace Road, LONDON, SW2 3NJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/01/2014 09/12/2008

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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 become very confident and independent. This is because they have a good settling in period and they play in an environment where staff encourage children to make choices in their play.  Children are effectively safeguarded because staff have a comprehensive understanding of the nursery's safeguarding policy and where to obtain professional advice if they have concerns about a chid's welfare.  All staff have opportunities to develop their skills through organised training sessions at the nursery as well as using outside agencies.

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It is not yet good because

 Teaching is not consistently good across the setting and some staff do not make the best use of toys and resources to challenge children's thinking or learning.  Not all staff are consistently robust in their effective deployment of staff as well as risk assessments of the resources children use to ensure children's wellbeing and safety.  The staff's methods of displaying daily routines, planning and monitoring and tracking children's progress is not consistent throughout the nursery which means it is difficult to for staff and parents to see a clear overview of children's progress as well as identifying any gaps in their 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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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children in all seven rooms and children in the early years afterschool club.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the deputy manager of the setting.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the provider, manager, staff and parents as they arrived with their children and later when they came to collect them.

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Inspection activities

 A range of documents was inspected including observations, planning and tracking of children's progress.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of staff suitability, training cetificates, policies, procedures and the nursery's self-evaluation documents.

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Information about the setting

Cherubins Day Nursery is a privately owned nursery and out-of-school care provision. It opened in 2004 and re-registered in 2008 and operates from nine separate rooms according to age, and includes a purpose-built garden room which is used for the out-of- school club. The nursery operates from a detached grade II listed building situated on a residential road in Streatham Hill, in the London borough of Lambeth. The hours of opening are Monday to Friday for 51 weeks a year from 7.30am to 7pm. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 98 children aged from birth to under five years on roll and six older children attend the out-of-school provision. The nursery currently supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities along with a number of children who speak English as an additional language. Children come from the local and surrounding areas. The nursery employs 35 staff, of whom all but one hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives support from the local authority Early Years team.

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must:

 ensure the information with regard to daily routines and activities in the toddler room are clearly on display for parents to view

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must:

 improve the methods of risk assessments in all children's rooms to include the effectiveness of staff deployment in monitoring children's play activities to ensure the resources and activities are safe

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must:

 raise staff's awareness of the best use of toys and resources in the children's rooms to provide children with good quality learning experiences that enables staff to plan age appropriate challenge in children's play.

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

 create consistent methods of tracking children to enable staff and parents to see, at a glance, children's progress in all areas of learning and emerging gaps in their progress.

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who attend

Most children are making sound progress in their learning and development because staff have an understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage . They carry out planning, which generally takes into account children's interests and how to promote their next steps. Staff monitor their key children and most are able to identify children's overall progress. However, the quality of teaching is variable in each age group and the tracking of children's learning is not consistent in each playroom. Also, while some staff understand the reasons behind planned activities and introduce exciting projects such as exploring space, other staff are unsure of the benefits to children's learning. For example, toddlers sit at tables with glue pots and wait whilst staff cut card and material to stick on to the card. When questioned what the benefits of the activity are to children staff are unable to explain what children are learning. Toddlers also do not understand the purpose of glue

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who attend

and start to put it in their mouths. This demonstrates that activities do not always match children's needs and not all staff appropriately challenge children when engaging in learning opportunities.

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who attend

Older children make good progress in their learning because enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff provide good interaction and support. For example, children help themselves to scissors, silver paper and competently start to build their spacecraft projects. They look at books and use writing materials to practise making notes, learning to recognise letters and numbers. Children also show confidence working on computer programmes and staff guide them to analyse and solve problems. Babies benefit from very spacious rooms where they are able to create patterns with chalks on the floor. Children benefit from story and singing times, which promote their communication and language skills.

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who attend

Parents and carers feel positively involved in their children's learning. This is because staff provide a welcoming settling in period where key staff get to know each child's family. Parents complete detailed information about their child's abilities and staff use this as a starting point for children's learning. Regular newsletters, parent evenings as well as opportunities for parents and children to take books home to read, encourages children's learning at home.

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

Children settle quickly and develop confidence due to the effectiveness of the key person system. Staff know their children well because they employ effective strategies to help children to settle. This includes three settling in periods prior to starting where staff assess children's needs and extend this period if children require more time. Consequently, children form warm relationships with staff and show they are happy and enjoying their time at the setting. Children enjoy fresh air as part of their daily routines, which supports their good health. A wide variety of outdoor activities in an interesting garden encourages children to climb and ride on mobile resources, and challenge their physical skills. Children also benefit from a good range of role-play resources in the outdoor kitchen. They also visit the nature area where they tend plants and dig for mini beasts. Inside, children confidently serve themselves drinks and enjoy nutritious meals that the cook prepares on

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

site, paying particular notice of children's dietary needs. Children eat well and they develop positive etiquette and social skills.

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

Children learn about safety through projects and visits from local police. Staff also carry out daily risk assessments of each room to ensure the environment is clean and equipment is suitable. However, not all staff are effective in their ability to assess risks to keep children safe. This is particularly evident in toddler rooms. Children put things in their mouths such as glue and pencils and staff do not intervene or explain the correct use of these resources to make them aware of safety. Children behave well, particularly preschool children who are continually busy, helping each other and sharing their toys. Babies have good one to one attention, which makes them feel very safe and secure. Toddlers are adapting generally well to playing with other children. Staff explain the reasons for sharing toys, which aids children's developing social experience.

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

Preschool children who transfer to school are ready. This is because staff are instrumental in encouraging their independence. This is in particular regard to children seeing to their personal hygiene needs and their ability to dress themselves. Staff have good links with local schools and complete final assessments for the teachers of the children's next nursery or reception class.

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provision

Management and staff have a suitable understanding of how to keep children safe from harm. The inspection took place following notification of concerns with regard to the safety of the premises and the provider's safeguarding practice with respect to evaluating accidents and linking these to risk assessments. The inspection found that the security systems are robust with checking systems at the front gate and reception. Closed circuit television installed throughout the building also helps managers to observe safety and monitor staff practice. The designated officers know the local safeguarding procedures and their accountability for liaison with Ofsted and local statutory agencies. Staff attend relevant training and are confident in identifying or reporting any possible concerns signs of abuse or neglect at the earliest opportunity. Managers follow up all child protection concerns by attending meetings with the local authority. Consequently, the protection of

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provision

children is secure at the nursery. Children learn about safety by taking part in regular fire evacuation and there are systems to regularly check fire detection and control equipment to keep children safe. Managers have recently introduced an analysis of accidents, which has raised staff awareness of accidents and incidents in the nursery. Although there has been a marked reduction in accidents in the setting because of this initiative, the inspection found that in some areas staff practice is not sufficiently robust.

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provision

The nursery system for recruitment is sound which includes ensuring the Disclosure and Barring Service vet all staff. Suitable induction programmes and on going support is available which means all staff understand their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children and protect their welfare.

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provision

The managers ensure staff follow the learning goals and they overview the curriculum for children. Staff set themes for the activities and planning ensures diversity in activities to reflect the cultural differences of the children who attend. Staff work together as teams within their rooms to plan activities for the different age groups of children in their respective rooms. Managers have started to monitor staff effectiveness through observation and supervision. However, this is still in the process of developing and at present, the quality of teaching is not consistent. In addition, the monitoring and tracking of all children's progress is not sufficiently rigorous to ensure all children meet their learning potential.

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provision

The setting managers and staff evaluate their nursery provision through regular meetings to establish their strengths and areas for development. This is having a positive effect on the improvement plan of the nursery. Children and parents also contribute their ideas with regard to new initiatives such as developing the garden area. Children enjoy looking through catalogues to pick their favourite items for the garden. As a result, the garden and outside play areas are exciting and challenging for children.

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provision

An effective partnership with parents is working well. Many parents confirm their satisfaction that the nursery provides a welcoming environment where their children's key staff provide care and support in children's learning. Parents comment on how confident and independent their children become since joining the nursery. Parents also welcome the regular newsletter and parent meetings, which keep them up to date on their children's progress. However, in the toddler room there is a lack of clarity of information on display for parents with regard to daily routines and activities for the children, which inhibits parents ability to continue learning at home.

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provision

The nursery managers work well with the local authority, which helps them to improve the quality of their provision. They also have strong partnerships with other agencies that provide support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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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 EY379922 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 946112 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 83 Number of children on roll 83 Name of provider Cherubins Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 09/12/2008 Telephone number 0208 6713256

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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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