North Stars Nursery

North Stars Nursery 73 North Way, Kingsbury, London, NW9 0RA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/03/2014 05/03/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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 nursery has strengthened their key person system which helps children form secure attachments and promotes their well-being. As a result they are happy in the nursery.  Partnerships with parents are secure and there are strong links with other agencies which helps staff meet children's individual needs. Staff inform parents about their children's progress and they are supported in extending their children's learning at home.  The provider has forged links with local schools to help children be ready for their next stage in learning.  The quality of teaching is not consistently good in order to extend children's learning. In addition, the educational programmes are routinely driven and at times hinder children in initiating play and learning actively.  The system for monitoring the effectiveness of practice and procedures is not strong.  The provider is not maintaining records that show a robust recruitment procedure

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This provision requires improvement

effectively and ensuring that staff training, for example, regarding safeguarding issues, are tailored for the staff's specific roles.

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It is not yet good because

 The quality of teaching is not consistently good in order to extend children's learning. In addition, the educational programmes are routinely driven and at times hinder children in initiating play and learning actively.  The system for monitoring the effectiveness of practice and procedures is not strong.  The provider is not maintaining records that show a robust recruitment procedure effectively and ensuring that staff training, for example, regarding safeguarding issues, are tailored for the staff's specific roles.

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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 activities and routines in the playrooms and the outside area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with the provider/manager of a teaching activity.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the provider/manager and talked with some staff and children during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents through discussion with some of them on the day of the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed samples of the available documentation, such as the safeguarding policy, staff files and children's records.

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Information about the setting

North Stars Nursery registered in 2001 and operates from three ground floor rooms at the side of the provider's house. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is situated in a residential area in Kingsbury, within the London Borough of Brent.

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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. It is open each weekday from 8.30am to 3.30pm for 43 weeks of the year. The nursery currently supports children who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for three- and four-year-olds.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 32 children in the early years age group on roll. The nursery employs six members of staff, including the manager, who all hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 ensure training is relevant to the roles and responsibilities of senior staff members with particular regard to safeguarding

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must:

 strengthen the information recorded about vetting procedures to evidence a robust recruitment process

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must:

 improve the system for monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of policies and procedures in practice.

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

 develop the quality of teaching to ensure that it is consistently good in order to extend children's learning

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

 review the routine in order to encourage more active learning and to provide further opportunities for child-initiated play both indoors and outdoors.

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who attend

Children enjoy a range activities and experiences, covering all areas of learning. As a result, they are making sound progress towards the early learning goals. Staff plan activities based on their observations of their key children. However, staff do not always organise the activities effectively in order to extend children's learning through play. Overall, there are appropriate systems in place to record and assess children's individual progress in learning. Staff gain information from parents to establish their children's starting points in learning which helps them plan their next steps appropriately.

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who attend

There is an emphasis on literacy and the manager is keen for children to learn how to formulate letters and displays their work around the nursery. However, staff miss opportunities to encourage children to use these skills in practice, for example, to label their own art work. The provider reports that all children attending the setting are learning English as an additional language. Staff provide opportunities for children to learn English as well as respecting their home languages. They know key words in children's home languages to help promote inclusion, although visible text is limited to greetings. Staff members join children in their play, talking with them to foster their developing language skills. Children enjoy listening to their favourite stories and staff ask questions about the pictures, encouraging children to predict what will happen next. Children relish the opportunity to roar loudly like the monster in the story. Staff encourage children to sing

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who attend

songs and join in the simple actions both indoors and outside.

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who attend

Children are encouraged to count during play and are able to see numbers within the environment. They sort toys into colours when building structures with bricks. Staff organise ring games to encourage children to play alongside others and learn about body parts. They act out familiar roles as they pretend to make tea and coffee with the plastic crockery set out on the floor. They have opportunities to express their ideas through arts and crafts such as painting, drawing and collage. They also use brushes and water to make marks and patterns on the fence. Children play with small world animals making animal sounds to enhance their play. They are interested in nature and are keen to care for plants. They actively ask for a watering can to fill and water the plants which are growing the other side of the garden fence. They show their knowledge of nature when chatting to staff about different weather conditions. Staff encourage children to develop

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who attend

appropriate skills that support their readiness for school, for instance, by developing their understanding of English.

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

Children are enjoying their time at the nursery. They arrive happy and quickly engage in play. They are developing friendship groups and staff organise games to encourage this. In addition, they aim to support children learning English as an additional language by co- ordinating the sessions they attend to be with others who speak the same community languages. This enables children to use their home language in play as well as learning English. The staff team speak some community languages and use these at times to help children communicate. In addition, key persons learn words that help children have a sense of belonging when settling and help staff identify children's needs. The daily routine is very structured, which does not always support the ways that individual children learn. For example, children's play is interrupted and those that learn best outdoors do not consistently have good opportunities to do so.

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

The children are cared for in three rooms and there is an adjacent outdoor area with covered spaces enabling children to go outside for a short period in all weathers. There is a range of age-appropriate resources that cover all areas of learning. Many of these are stored at low level to enable children to access them freely. Children are confident to ask adults to get them toys they cannot reach themselves, showing they feel comfortable in their environment. There are pictorial labels to help children identify where toys go when they tidy up, enabling them to learn to take care of the nursery and equipment.

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

Children learn the importance of good hygiene as staff remind them to wash their hands before snacks and after going to the toilet. Parents provide their own children's snacks and lunch and children have access to drinking water at all times. The manager gives parents information about the nursery's healthy eating policy. Staff sit and eat their packed lunch with the small number of children who attend all day. They chat to the children, which supports their learning as it develops their communication and social skills.

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

Overall children behave well and are learning to share although this is sometimes more challenging for young children because, for example, there is only one ball available when playing in the garden. Some staff give explanations in order to support children's understanding of why the behaviour is not acceptable, whereas other staff just use the term 'play nicely'. Staff gently support children to understand about feelings and talk about things that make them sad. Children learn how to keep themselves safe as some staff talk to them about safety during play and they practise emergency evacuation.

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

Children have daily opportunities for outdoor play as staff schedule a set time into the routine whatever the weather. This provides children with physical play as well as other activities in the fresh air. Children balance on low level curved beams and wooden bricks and are given support by staff members. They whizz around the garden negotiating space as they play a game of chase with their friends. They join in ring games such as the 'okey cokey' which encourages them to bend and move their bodies alongside other children.

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provision

Since the last inspection the provider has worked very closely with the local authority development workers to meet the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and improve outcomes for children. Staff have addressed the actions set although the provider is still improving some areas further as there is not consistency in all staff's practice and teaching. The manager has noted this in her priorities for improvement. There have been changes to the staff team and a new deputy is in post. The manager describes an adequate recruitment procedure that she has in place although she does not have evidence to hand for each and every staff member to demonstrate the robustness of this as part of her safeguarding procedures. For example, she has misplaced some of the staff's written references. She has evidence that all permanent staff hold a Disclosure and Barring Service check as required and students are not left alone with the

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provision

children, helping to ensure children's welfare is protected. The manager has basic systems in place to supervise staff and is developing the system for appraisals to monitor staff performance and drive improvement. She has identified weaknesses in staff practice and has devolved responsibility for some of the roles to help improve the quality of the provision for children. All staff have undertaken paediatric first aid to enable them to treat children appropriately in the event of an accident.

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provision

Staff demonstrate that they are aware of how to identify and report concerns in order to satisfactorily safeguard children. Managers have recently attended safeguarding training; however the course is at a basic level. As a result they are less secure in how to proceed in some instances to protect children's well-being. They have a suitable safeguarding policy in place which means that they can follow appropriate procedures if they have any concerns about a child's welfare. Daily risk assessments are in place and staff practise fire evacuation procedures on a regular basis, so that children are aware of what to do in the event of an emergency.

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provision

The provider has a suitable understanding of her responsibilities for meeting the learning and development requirements. She recognises the need to have effective systems in place to monitor practice such as the assessment and tracking processes. However, since the last inspection the provider has primarily relied on the local authority to carry out this task and has not embedded her own systems. The manager has updated her self- evaluation and developed an action plan to target ways to improve the weaknesses identified at the last inspection.

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provision

There is an appropriate key person system in place which has strengthened the partnership with parents. Parents regularly view their children's 'learning journals' which contain samples of their child's work, such as arts and crafts, and narrative information about activities they have undertaken. The parents receive verbal feedback from their key person and have the opportunity to meet with them regularly to discuss their child's learning and development and general care. Newsletters give parents information about events in the nursery. In addition, the provider 'texts' parents and enables settling children to speak with their parents by telephone to comfort them. Parents are invited into the nursery to support children's learning, for example, by reading stories. Staff give parents ideas on ways to support their children's learning further at home. They look at ways of engaging a translator to aid their communication with non-English speaking parents to

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provision

support children's well-being and learning. The provider seeks the views of parents through questionnaires. Those parents spoken to on the day of inspection are happy with the care and support that their children receive. They like the curriculum their children receive and can see improvements in their communication and social skills as well as their literacy and counting ability. Parents receive summaries of their children's progress, for example, when children are aged two as required, and a report at the end of each academic year. Staff work in partnership with other professionals who visit the nursery. They share information with support workers and focus on identified targets in order to support children's individual needs and promote their progress. In addition, the provider has strong links with a local school that a number of children will move on to in order to prepare them for their next stage in learning.

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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 137828 Local authority Brent Inspection number 911303 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 32 Name of provider North Stars Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 05/03/2013 Telephone number 020 89056449

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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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