The Early Years Nursery

The Early Years Nursery Plaistow Park, Greengate Street, London, E13 0AS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/02/2014 07/08/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Recruitment and vetting procedures are weak. The provider has not completed Disclosure and Barring Service checks for some staff or obtained appropriate references. Records of staff suitability are not always available for inspection. These breaches of legal requirements compromise the safeguarding of children.  The key person system does not appropriately support children's personal, social and emotional development. This does not meet children's individual needs, particularly when children are learning English as an additional language, or when babies are in the pre-school room with the older children.  Staffing arrangements and their awareness of hazards are poor. Staff in the pre-school room do not provide a safe and clean environment for children as they do not monitor any ongoing risks to children.  Staff do not provide a suitable range of activities for all children when they arrive in the

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This provision is inadequate

morning. In addition, staff do not always support the development of children's self- care skills in a way which promotes their self-esteem.  The manager does not effectively monitor staff performance. As a result, there are inconsistencies in staff practice and performance which affect the care of children.

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It has the following strengths

 The staff in the baby room have a sound knowledge of how children learn and plan well to support their development.

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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 carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector spoke to children, parents, staff and managers.  The inspector observed children as they played in all rooms and the outside area.  The inspector observed meal and snack times.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documents, including children's development folders and staff records.

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Information about the setting

The Early Years Nursery is one of five nurseries owned by Foundations for Learning. It registered in 2003 and operates from a converted barn-style building in Plaistow in the London Borough of Newham. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor area. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm all year round. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 85 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery has a number of children attending with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who are learning English as an additional language on roll. The nursery employs 18 members of staff. Of these, 16 hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early years education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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enforcement action:

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

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enforcement action:

obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks in respect of every person aged 16 and over who works directly with children

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enforcement action:

review recruitment procedures to ensure that appropriate checks are made to ensure the suitability and integrity of staff, this includes references, Disclosure and Barring Service reference number, the date the disclosure was obtained and the details of who obtained it

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must:

 ensure staffing arrangements to ensure that they supervise children appropriately to meet the needs of all children and ensure their safety

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must:

 meet all children's learning needs when they arrive in the morning by planning appropriate activities and making resources available

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must:

 ensure that all children make good progress from their starting points by planning and monitoring systems to ensure consistency; plan and provide a varied range of activities for children to develop their skills in technology; and improve planning for large group story times to ensure that all children are engaged in the story

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must:

 ensure that all records are easily accessible and available for inspection

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must:

 review the key-person system to ensure that children's emotional and developmental needs are met, including the accurate planning of activities and assessment of all children's development, particularly those children who are learning English as an additional language and babies

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must:

 review staff training and monitoring arrangements to ensure that they fully understand how to provide a safe, clean, stimulating and challenging environment for all children at all times of the day

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must:

 improve staff understanding of how to assess risks to children on an ongoing basis, and be more pro-active when responding to risks and hazards which occur during the day, particularly relating to children's health and safety

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must:

 improve staff understanding of how to support children to manage their personal needs, including going to the toilet independently, while maintaining their privacy during routines.

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who attend

Staff knowledge of how children learn and the seven areas of learning is not consistent in the nursery. Staff in the baby room demonstrate a sound knowledge of how babies learn and they observe children well. They plan activities to help children develop their communication skills and babies to explore a range of resources in the safe environment of their room. However, staff knowledge of how to provide activities to develop older children's knowledge in technology is weak which means staff do not promote children's understanding of the world adequately.

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who attend

The children all start their day in the pre-school room, where they have their breakfast together. Breakfast time is quite well organised; however, staff do not prepare the environment for children so that they can play with resources when they have finished eating. Children who arrive and do not need breakfast have few choices for play activities as equipment is not set up. Areas are untidy and do not invite play. As a result, children have little focus at this time and are not engaged in enjoyable play. Staff do not cater well for babies and younger children at this time. Their choices are also limited and, although staff talk to them, they cannot play with age-appropriate toys. Babies have limited opportunities to move around the pre-school room as older children are boisterous in their play.

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who attend

Planning and monitoring of children's progress is inconsistent. Planning for some children is effective and staff monitor those children well. However, this is not the case for all children. Staff do not make effective use of their assessment records or make appropriate observations of children's progress from their starting points. Staff fail to recognise areas where some children need additional support in their learning as plans for their learning are not effective . Progress checks for two-year-old children are completed and cover all requirements.

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who attend

The key-person system does not always support children's individual learning. This is due to changes in the staff team or to the way the system is managed. Staff at the nursery can speak a range of languages; however, this knowledge is not always used to best effect to help children learning English as an additional language to make good progress.

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who attend

Children in the pre-school and toddler rooms enjoy song times with energetic movements. Toddlers are enthusiastic as they jump around to familiar songs and pre-school children join in enthusiastically with actions. Staff plan story time in the pre-school with a large group of children. However, due to the size of the group, some children do not benefit from the session as they cannot see or hear properly and are, therefore, not engaged in the story.

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

Staff do not always meet children's hygiene or care needs in the pre-school room. They fail to clear up promptly when a child has been ill, and this means that the health of other children is at risk as they play and take part in routines. Staff do not adequately comfort children who have been ill and, therefore, do not meet their emotional needs. At other times, staff are not aware of events around them. Children walk through spilled food as staff do not clear up, and they do not react straightaway when children have disagreements and are clearly upset. This lack of action by staff means that lunchtime becomes disordered at times and this does not support children's learning or their well- being.

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

Nonetheless, staff encourage children to try different fruits at snack time, and children make fruit salads to develop their awareness of healthy foods. Staff talk about healthy diets and use descriptive language to encourage children to try the fruits. Parents comment that children's appetites for healthy foods are developing well as a result of staff encouraging their healthy eating.

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

Care for babies when they are in their room meets their needs. There is a relaxed atmosphere and babies enjoy close contact with staff when they are settling for a sleep. Toddlers make good relationships with new key persons as they become familiar with key staff, routines and new activities in the room.

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

All children enjoy play in the outside area every day. They choose from a range of activities to support not only their physical skills, but other skills too. For example, children can choose to develop creative skills with construction toys and drawing in the outside area. This daily fresh air helps to support children's healthy lifestyles.

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

Staff explain how they support children as they move from room to room within the nursery. Children spend time with their key person in their new room so that they become familiar with routines and staff. Staff complete settling-in reports when children start at the nursery, and these observations are shared with parents so that parents are fully aware of changes to children's routines.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward as a result of complaints made to Ofsted. This information raised concerns relating to child supervision, ratios, staff deployment and managing children's behaviour. It also raised concerns about some aspects of children's learning and development. Further information received by Ofsted raised concerns relating to children's accidents and injuries.

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provision

The inspection found that there are a number of breaches of the requirements of the Statutory Framework of the Early Years Foundation Stage . Although there are sufficient staff to meet ratios and they are suitably deployed around the setting, staff are not always supervising children adequately or aware of events happening around them. This puts children at risk of accidents or cross contamination as hygiene requirements are not met, particularly if children become ill and after children's meals and snack times. These are breaches of the Statutory Framework of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Generally, children's behaviour is suitable and managed appropriately. Staff support children to learn about taking turns and remind them of the rules in nursery. Staff complete accident forms when children have minor accidents and parents say that staff give them information about the accident and any treatment given. Incidents if there is concern about a child are

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provision

well documented and reports are made to the relevant outside agencies. As a result of the inspection findings, the provider is required to take further action relating to child supervision. This is because they are not meeting this aspect of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. In addition, the provider is not meeting the associated requirements of the Childcare Register.

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provision

Staff follow a risk assessment process; however, they demonstrate a poor understanding of how to assess risks to children for themselves , particularly on an ongoing basis throughout the day. This means they are not pro-active when responding to risks and hazards that arise, for example, spillages. Staff have a suitable knowledge of procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child. This helps to protect children from harm. The safeguarding policy is robust and covers all requirements. However, staff do not always promote children's privacy when supporting them with their developing self-care skills, such as toileting. The provider failed to notify Ofsted about changes to opening times and this is a breach of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. However, Ofsted will not take action regarding this non-notification.

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provision

Recruitment procedures are not robust. Some staff do not have suitability checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service and references are not always obtained when new staff start. This compromises children's safety and their welfare. Although the manager advises that staff who have not been cleared to work with children do not carry out children's personal care routines, staff in the rooms are not aware of their colleagues' suitability status . This compromises the effective safeguarding of children. Furthermore, records for those staff who do have suitability checks in place are not fully available for inspection. These are further breaches of requirements and compromise children's safety, welfare and well-being.

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provision

The manager is new to the role and has yet to put effective monitoring systems in place. As a result, there are no regular checks on children's development folders and therefore children's progress is hindered where staff are not carrying out effective observations. The manager says that all children's progress is monitored with tracking sheets; however, this is not the case for all children and further highlights the lack of efficient monitoring of staff performance and children's development. In addition, staff do not prepare the environment for children for when they arrive in the morning with suitably challenging resources and activities for their age and stage of development. This undermines children's learning.

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provision

Parents generally comment that they receive regular feedback about children's time at the nursery. Staff use time at the beginning and end of the day to talk with parents and carers about how children are settling in. This means that some parents feel fully informed about this aspect of their child's care. Parents have expressed concern about the recent changes in staff and the impact this has had on their children as they have changed key persons a number of times in a short space of time. This demonstrates the organisation of the key person system does not support children's learning and emotional needs.

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provision

The manager has identified some areas for improvement. She is involving parents in strategies to support the management of children's behaviour so that this aspect of children's care is shared. Parents comment that recent changes to the toddler room have been positive, and children enjoy the new layout of the room with more structured play.

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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 all children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  maintain effective systems to ensure any person caring for, or in regular contact with, children is suitable to work with children, which must include an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check and is of integrity and good character (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that risk assessments are undertaken immediately where the need for an assessment arises, and measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purposes of childcare are safe and suitable for children (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  maintain effective systems to ensure any person caring for, or in regular contact with, children is suitable to work with children, which must include an enhanced

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

Disclosure and Barring Service check and is of integrity and good character (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purposes of childcare are safe and suitable for children (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that risk assessments are undertaken immediately where the need for an assessment arises, and measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure all children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (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 EY273240 Local authority Newham Inspection number 952472 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 77 Number of children on roll 85 Name of provider The Foundations for Learning Partnership Limited Date of previous inspection 07/08/2013 Telephone number 020 8472 8700

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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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