Clementswood Nursery

ClementsWood Neighbourhood Nursery 46 Grosvenor Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1LE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/02/2014 21/05/2012

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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

 The staff have a suitable understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how to observe, assess and plan for children's next steps.  The staff and manager work well in partnership with parents, to promote continuity of children's care routines, learning and development.  Older children enjoy exciting imaginative play, as staff provide additional resources and use sound questioning techniques to help children extend their learning.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not always manage children's behaviour consistently using age appropriate techniques.  Staff do not fully support younger children to learn through play and exploration, as they do not always provide sufficient resources or allow children time to complete their chosen activities.  Despite having food hygiene and handling training, not all staff implement the required procedures consistently.

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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 and staff playing together indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked safeguarding policies and procedures and risk assessment documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of staff qualifications and on-going suitability to be working with children.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's learning journals, observation and assessment records.

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Information about the setting

ClementsWood Neighbourhood Nursery registered in 2003. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery has been incorporated as a private limited company, Just Fun Ltd. It is situated in a residential area of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge. The nursery operates from three rooms in a converted house.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30 am to 6 pm, for 52 weeks of the year. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 32 children attending within the early years age range. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education to children aged three and four years. It also supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs seven members of staff, of whom four hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 ensure that staff working with younger children implement behaviour management policies consistently, taking into account children's ages and stages of development

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must:

 improve the quality of teaching to ensure younger children are able to learn and make connections through play by providing suitable and sufficient resources and allowing children time to engage and explore at their own pace

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must:

 promote children's good health and well-being through consistent hygiene practices, with particular regard to food handling

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who attend

Overall, most staff have a suitable understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how to support children's learning and development. Staff gather information from parents when children start to find out their starting points and current interests. This, along with regular observations, means that staff are able to monitor children's progress towards the early learning goals. Staff assess children's progress, which enables them to plan appropriate activities and experiences to support children's next steps. Staff have an understanding of the importance of completing the progress check for children aged two years. They share these records with the parents, which helps to support children to make consistent progress in relation to their age.

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who attend

Teaching across the nursery is variable. Staff working with younger children do not always allow children time to fully explore and engage in free play. For example, children happily draw on chalk boards with chunky chalks, but staff try to move the children away to another activity. Children make their feelings clear and so staff sit back down and allow children to finish in their own time. Consequently, staff are not always allowing children sufficient time and space to complete an activity of their choosing. In addition, staff do not ensure that there is sufficient 'messy' or tactile play materials, such as flour in trays to enable children to fully explore and investigate.

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who attend

In contrast, staff who work with the older children are able to sensitively join in with their play, providing support to help extend children's ideas and learning. For example, staff join in with children's imaginary play as they pretend to be their favourite television characters. Children enjoy leading the game, talking staff through what they are doing and instructing staff as to what they need to do. Staff respond to children's direction, which enhances the game and provides lots of opportunities for children to use their sound language skills imaginatively. Staff further extend this play through providing resources, such as items from dressing up boxes, which excites and enables children to pretend they really are fire fighters. Children decide that they need a fire engine, which prompts staff to go and find some large boxes. Once inside the boxes, the children set off to 'fight fires' and rescue 'cats from trees'. This helps to support children's imaginative,

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who attend

social and communication development through interesting and stimulating play.

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who attend

Staff help children to develop an interest in books and stories as they read to children. The younger children indicate to staff through pointing that they would like a story. Staff sit down with the children and read to them. They engage children in the book by pointing out different animals or characters from the story. Older children also enjoy stories being read to them. Staff use sound questioning techniques to ask children what they think will happen next and encourage them to repeat familiar phrases from well known stories. Children also choose books by themselves, which they sit down in the book area to look at. They 'read' the stories using the pictures and narrate their own version of the books. This helps children to develop an interest in books, which helps to support their literacy development.

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who attend

Children enjoy playing in the small outdoor play area, all year round. There is a covered area, which means that children can play outside even in inclement weather. However, they clearly enjoy the wet weather, splashing and jumping in the puddles. Children use paintbrushes and more water to 'paint' play houses and fences. This helps to promote children's health and wellbeing, and practise early writing skills.

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

Children have secure relationships with staff. Each child has a special person, who provides reassurance and comfort when children feel uncertain. These relationships are built up during settling-in sessions, which the parents attend. This helps children to form attachments with staff from the security of their parents and become familiar with their new surroundings. Consequently, children arrive happy and are ready to learn through play, which supports their personal, social and emotional development. Daily verbal feedback means that parents know what their children have done during the day and allows them to continue the support at home. For example, staff and parents work together to help children learn to use the toilet or potty.

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

Overall, staff are able to manage children's behaviour suitably. All staff are aware of the behaviour management policy and know who to turn to for advice, should they need guidance in managing children's unwanted behaviour. The older children respond quickly to staff's instructions or reminders, which means that they are learning how to manage their own behaviour. Staff talk to children about why certain behaviour is unacceptable, using age appropriate techniques and gentle reminders. For example, they ask children were they can run and why running indoors is not acceptable. Children respond that running is for outdoors and that they may hurt one of their friends. However, staff working with younger children do not always implement the policy to consistently manage children's behaviour. This is because staff do not manage children's behaviour according to their age and stage of development. For example, they ask children to say sorry before

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

they are old enough to understand what saying sorry means. In addition, they frequently tell children 'no' without explanation. This means that the younger children are not always able to learn how to manage their own behaviour.

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

Children are able to lead healthy lifestyles, as they have healthy, balanced and nutritious meals and snacks. Parents provide details about their children's dietary needs on child record forms, which the staff pass onto the nursery's cook. This enables her to provide meals and snacks, which meet children's needs and adhere to parents cultural beliefs or preferences. Staff caring for the older children help them to learn the necessary skills they will need when they move onto school. They encourage the children to serve themselves and pour their own drinks. Consequently, children develop hand and eye co-ordination and the physical skills to transfer food from serving dishes to their own plate. All staff ensure that children wash their hands prior to eating and wipe the tables down with anti-bacterial solution. However, despite ensuring that children and the equipment are clean, and having relevant food hygiene and handling training, staff do not always follow the appropriate

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

procedures. For example, staff use their hands to brush their hair away from their faces and then use the same hands to hold and cut children's food. This does not fully promote children's good health and well-being.

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

The staff have links with the local primary schools, which children will eventually attend. The manager attends regular 'cluster' meetings, which bring together childcare professionals and teachers. These meetings provide opportunities for teachers to share what they would like children to be able to do independently once they start school. For example, teachers ask that children are able to take themselves to the toilet and put on their own coats. This means that the staff can help children to be as independent as possible in their own self-care. They encourage children to manage their own personal hygiene routines and help them to learn to put on their own coats, shoes and gloves. Therefore, children will be able to manage once they start school and this helps them to move with confidence onto the next stage of their learning.

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provision

The inspection was brought forward following a visit from Ofsted to monitor the provider to ensure they meet requirements relating to safeguarding policy and practice, staff qualifications and staff ratios. In addition, we needed to check that systems for risk assessment, safety and behaviour management are effective. The inspection found that all staff have undergone safeguarding training. This means that they have a suitable understanding of what they should do if they have any concerns about children in their care. Documentation is available to staff should they need to record any accidents of existing injuries. The safeguarding policy includes all required elements. Thorough risk assessments ensure that staff are identifying and minimising possible hazards to children. Repairs to the broken stair rail have been completed, which means that children can move between the floors of the nursery safely. In addition, daily visual checks are working to

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provision

ensure that all areas of the nursery, including the baby room and nappy changing areas are safe and clean.

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provision

More than half the staff hold relevant childcare qualifications. There have been some staffing changes recently, including the departure of the deputy manager. Consequently, the manager is in the process of recruiting new staff. She has a new deputy manager, which means that there is a suitable qualified and experienced person to be in charge in her absence. The manager has some bank staff, who work as and when required. This enables the manager to ensure that she is meeting the required ratios at all times. The deputy manager is responsible for monitoring the quality of the staff's observations, assessment and planning to ensure that children are able to make progress in relation to their starting point. This means that she is able to identify and support staff that are less confident in observing and assessing children's progress. Consequently, children are generally making consistent progress in relation to their starting points.

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provision

However, the inspection found that strategies to manage children's behaviour for the youngest children does not reflect their age and stage of development. The provider does not meet all the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This relates to handling food, inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and behaviour management. In addition, the provider does not meet the requirements of the Childcare Register. However, there is no significant impact on children's well-being.

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provision

The staff have suitable partnerships with the parents. Daily verbal feedback ensures that parents are kept up to date with how their children have been during the day and any achievements they may have had. Parents are able to see their children's learning journals when they want and have opportunities to discuss their children's learning and development progress at parent evenings. This helps staff to work alongside the parents to support children's learning at home and at nursery. Informative notice boards around the nursery enable parents to see information about the educational programmes and how to contact the regulator Ofsted, if necessary.

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provision

The manager has robust recruitment procedures in place. She ensures that all new staff completes the necessary checks to ensure their suitability to be working with children. In addition, references, proof of qualifications and trial sessions help to ensure that new staff are competent and suitable. Regular supervisions and appraisals provide opportunities for staff to discuss aspects of their own professional development or any concerns they may have about children in their care. Staff are encouraged to further their professional development through attending additional training courses, which helps to promote positive outcomes for children. For example, some staff are about to attend training to promote enabling environments. The manager reflects on the nursery's educational programmes and the provision for children. She uses supervisions and staff meetings to seek the staff's views on the nursery's strengths and weaknesses. These discussions,

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provision

along with the views of the parents and children help to formulate action plans to maintain continuous improvement.

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provision

There are a number of external partnerships with childcare professionals, which helps to support staff should they have children in their care 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

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (applies to compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (applies to voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

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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 EY263449 Local authority Redbridge Inspection number 952961 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 38 Number of children on roll 32 Name of provider Just Fun Ltd Date of previous inspection 21/05/2012 Telephone number 0208 478 3121

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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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