Ford Road Children's Centre

Ford Road Children's Centre Ford Road Children's Centre, Ford Road, Dagenham, RM10 9JS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/05/2014 21/01/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff provide an exciting and well-resourced outside learning environment for all children. Activities successfully cover all areas of learning and children enjoy exploring the environment with a mix of natural and manufactured resources.  Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of how children learn and effectively use this knowledge, in a range of ways, to support all children's communication development.  Staff are caring and meet children's emotional needs well when they move rooms or there is a change to the key member of staff looking after them.  Staff in the baby room are attentive and gentle carers. They provide commentaries of routines and play activities so that babies can develop an understanding of key words to extend their communication skills.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The pre-school book area is not as attractive as others in the nursery and this does not fully encourage older children to sit and look at books for pleasure.  The use of staff's observations of each other's practice is not yet fully embedded to help extend staff's teaching skills.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children as they played and took part in routines in all areas of the nursery.  The inspector spoke with children, managers, staff and parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documents including children's development records, policies, suitability checks and staff files.

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Information about the setting

Ford Road Nursery registered in 2007. It is part of the London Early Years Foundation group. Children use three large playrooms and have access to a fully enclosed outdoor area for each age group of children. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The provision is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 105 children aged six months to under five years on roll. There are 17 members of staff, of these 16 hold relevant childcare qualifications, including two who hold Early Years Professional Status. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language.

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

 build on the use of staff's observations of each other's practice to share and further develop more effective teaching styles across the nursery

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

 extend the programme for literacy for pre-school children, for example, by creating an attractive, cosy book area for children to enjoy books, with an adult or by themselves.

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who attend

Overall, staff are confident with their teaching methods in the nursery and, as a result, children make good progress in their learning. Staff plan a wide range of learning experiences for children. These are based on staff's observations of children and their interests. Staff understand how children learn and they use this knowledge well. They provide stimulating activities that give children plenty of opportunities to develop their communication skills and foster children's imagination and curiosity. Staff in the toddler and baby rooms skilfully engage children's interest as they explore treasure bags filled with a range of natural resources and textures. Staff describe the items they find so that children can learn new words and associate actions with the items they find. Children can choose from books in a range of languages in all rooms. However, the organisation of the book area in the pre-school room is not as enticing as in other rooms and, therefore, does

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who attend

not fully invite children to choose books for pleasure.

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who attend

The nursery is well-resourced with good quality toys and equipment which challenge children as they play. Staff provide a stimulating range of activities in the outside area for all children to play with. Children spend long periods of time outside and this means that those children who prefer to do their learning outside can do so as. Older children observe a frog and staff place this in a large container so they can observe it more clearly. They count the frog's legs and eyes and talk about what it likes to eat. Staff use this opportunity to teach children about caring for living creatures as they decide to let it go back to its natural habitat where it feels safe. This also extends children's knowledge of the world. Children enjoy learning in all areas outside. Older children delight in racing tyres as they push them down a hill, laughing as they run to retrieve them with their friends. Younger children make mud pies and enjoy their water play activities as they

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who attend

explore different containers. All these activities enhance children's overall development as they explore their environment.

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who attend

Staff are flexible when planning activities and their effective observations of children mean that they can capture children's interests. For example, attentive staff observe babies' interest in a laptop computer and provide additional resources for them to play with. Staff in the toddler room observe children's interest in textures as they use powdered paint and then plan activities for children to explore different textures with a range of materials.

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who attend

Staff in the baby room are caring and gentle. They continually talk to the babies so that they can learn about routines and develop an understanding of their own feelings and emotions. This approach supports babies' emotional well-being when they are feeling tired, as well as supporting their emerging language skills.

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who attend

Staff support children who are learning English as an additional language by using key words in children's home languages. Staff speak a range of languages and can, therefore, support children as they settle in by speaking some children's home languages. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities enjoy well-planned one-to-one and group sessions which cater for their individual needs.

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

Staff manage children's moves within the nursery very well. Parents comment that staff take time to carefully consider children's needs when they move rooms or if staff are moved to different rooms, for example, due to an organisational change. Children form close bonds with staff and contentedly sit with staff as they take part in circle times and activities. Staff in the baby room use soothing songs and words to help children prepare for sleep routines. This means that they are comfortable and relaxed as they settle down to sleep.

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

Children are confident in the environment. In all rooms children independently choose what they would like to play with and this demonstrates their positive well-being. Staff help children learn to behave well. For example, during group sessions staff remind older children about the rules and boundaries of the nursery. Children demonstrate their understanding as, during a cooking activity, they say they are taking turns. This shows they are aware of turn taking and sharing. Staff support younger children's positive behaviour as they explain why some behaviour is not appropriate. Staff deal calmly with these minor incidents and their consistent approach to managing children's behaviour means that children are learning the difference between right and wrong.

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

Staff provide many opportunities for children to develop their independence skills. Staff encourage them to manage small tasks for themselves, according to their ages and abilities. For example, babies are learning to feed themselves and older children confidently put their boots and coats on when they go outside to play. Staff help children's emerging writing skills and introduce mathematical language and concepts into play. For example, children chat about whether their mud containers are full or empty and older children write their names on their paintings. These skills prepare children successfully for the move to school.

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

Nutritious meals support children's awareness of healthy practices. Children understand hygiene routines and they help themselves to drinking water in all rooms. The daily fresh air in the outside areas or when on trips within the local community further supports children's good health. Children have space to run, play and climb outside. This gives them good opportunities to develop awareness of healthy lifestyles through regular exercise and fun activities.

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provision

There are good arrangements for safeguarding children within the nursery. Staff have a strong understanding of safeguarding practices and policies. For example, they are confident when describing the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child in their care. They also fully understand procedures for ensuring that all children leave the nursery with a known adult. Recruitment procedures are robust and the checks carried out on staff ensure that only those who are cleared as suitable to work with children do so.

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provision

The manager has a good knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The management team works well together to monitor children's development and plan for improvements to practice when needed. There are effective systems in place to review children's development folders to ensure that staff are making observations in all areas of learning.

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provision

Staff training needs are identified during regular supervision meetings. Whole staff meetings are good opportunities for staff to discuss any training they have attended and staff discuss safeguarding at all staff meetings. The lead member of staff for the Every Child a Talker programme has trained all staff on the methods she has learned. This means that all staff are now more knowledgeable on how to actively promote children's language development. She observes staff as they chat to children and identifies positive aspects and areas for improvement. These observations help develop staff practice and improve how staff promote children's communication. Management and staff complete observations of each other's practice. However, these are not yet used to help improve teaching skills and share effective practice to further staff's professional development. The manager has completed a detailed self-evaluation form and a separate development

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provision

plan. These highlight areas for development and the manager works with the local authority advisor to successfully plan for improvements. The manager involves staff in improvements in the nursery, giving different staff opportunities to develop particular areas. For example, one member of staff has taken the lead on the development of the outside areas and the children have greatly benefited from the enthusiasm she has for this project and the changes she has made.

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provision

There are good partnerships with parents. Parents are generally highly complimentary of the nursery. They enjoy regular feedback from staff about their children and this means that they feel fully informed about their children's time at the nursery. Staff plan a range of events to involve parents and families. They attend Mother's Day events and regular camp fire singing sessions help to develop a welcoming atmosphere.

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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 EY366663 Local authority Barking & Dagenham Inspection number 966370 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 57 Number of children on roll 105 Name of provider The London Early Years Foundation Date of previous inspection 21/01/2009 Telephone number 0208 724 1382

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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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