Dicky Birds Pre School Nurseries Ltd – Durham Road

Dicky Birds Nurseries 12-14 Durham Road, LONDON, SW20 0TW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/04/2014 04/02/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children achieve exceptionally well because the environment is highly conducive to learning. Staff provide rich, varied and imaginative experiences to inspire children to be active and inquisitive learners.  Partnerships with parents are exemplary. The setting fully values the role of parents and provides numerous opportunities for parents to be involved with their child's learning and development.  Assessment arrangements are rigorous and monitor children's progress exceptionally well from their starting points.  Leadership and management are exceptionally strong in this nursery. Managers monitor staff performance very closely and weaknesses are addressed to improve outcomes for all children.

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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 in the four playrooms and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the area manager throughout the visit. Safeguarding was discussed and a sample of the policies viewed.  The inspector sampled children's information and development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector and registered provider discussed an observation of the pre-school room.

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Information about the setting

Dicky Birds Pre-School Nursery registered in 2013 and is one of seven privately owned provisions. It operates from converted residential premises in Raynes Park, in the London Borough of Merton. Children have the use of several play rooms on the ground and first floors of the three storey building. There is an enclosed area for outdoor play for all the children. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.30pm for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 142 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery is funded to provide free early education for two, three and four year old children. The nursery supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language. The nursery employs 30 staff, of these, 20 hold relevant childcare qualifications. The manager and operations manager have Early Years Professional Status. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register

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Information about the setting

and compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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

 enhance the key person system to include a buddy key person to support new children if the designated person is unavailable.

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who attend

The staff team have an excellent understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and have great knowledge of how children learn. As a result they provide a highly stimulating and exciting environment which they are aware helps children to make excellent progress. Staff have developed effective planning methods which takes into account each child's needs and interests exceptionally well. Observation and assessment methods are well developed and clearly identify children's achievements and their next steps of learning.

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who attend

Staff set up the play rooms in the morning and ensure there is a broad range of interesting activities which promote all areas of learning. Children arrive and, after saying good bye to their parent or carer, explore the environment and settle down extremely well with their choice of play. They can also choose other activities, as many resources are easily accessible and this supports children's emerging independence.

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who attend

Inspirational and innovative teaching motivates children and this is particularly evident in staff's passion to provide many science based activities. For example recently the pre- school children observed decaying fruit, and were supported to describe the changes they noticed. They used their senses to explore the fruit and then went on the draw their interpretations of the fruit. This helps children develop positive attitudes towards exploration and investigation.

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who attend

Staff support children's communication and language effectively, asking open ended questions to make the children think and extend their vocabulary. A group of children enjoy exploring in the sand and are fully supported to make predictions, experiment and talk about what is happening as they fill up the buckets and empty them to make sand castles. Each room has a dedicated cosy book area in which staff ensure good quality books are available. Staff spend quality time with individual children or in small groups looking at and reading stories. For example in the baby room young babies interact and are engrossed in listening to the staff as they talk about the pictures. This also supports the babies if they feel fractious, and calms them down as they snuggle in to their key carer to look at a book together. Staff organise a book for a fortnight which they focus on with their groups and build up their interests. This is also shared in the parents' weekly

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who attend

newsletters to enable parents to engage in conversations with their children about the book. Children confidently use mathematical language during free play and focused activities. They count at every opportunity and enjoy sorting and comparing objects. Children develop strong mathematical skills through activities and daily routines.

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who attend

Staff are very caring and attentive to the younger children's needs. Babies and toddlers are encouraged to move around and investigate and staff are close by to offer reassurance and cuddles as needed. Staff are very aware of providing exciting experiences to develop young babies senses and early development. There is an excellent supply of natural materials such as treasure baskets for babies to explore and investigate. Toddlers thoroughly enjoy the freedom of moving around their room and enjoy transferring sand from one area and mixing it together with other natural materials. The exceptional planning in the younger age rooms ensures all aspects of learning are covered, but giving particular attention to the prime areas of learning.

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who attend

Children have regular daily access to the garden and although this is done on rota basis, as the garden is relatively small, all children enjoy quality time spent outside. It is extremely well resourced with outdoor equipment and children enjoy riding the tricycles, playing football or balancing on the beams. They also enjoy learning about the natural environment and take part in many digging and planting activities that enhance their exploration and develop their senses of the world around them.

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who attend

Children who speak English as an additional language are supported extremely well as staff obtain key words to help children settle. In addition there are plentiful signs and displays around the nursery depicting the languages used. There are very effective systems to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The special educational needs coordinator organises additional support for children and makes very good use of small group sessions to encourage particular skills for individual children. Therefore, all children are helped to reach their full potential.

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who attend

The nursery school has developed some extremely positive links with a number of schools to ensure the children's move to school goes smoothly. Staff effectively promote the children's readiness for school, developing their self-care and listening skills successfully. As a result, children are gaining the skills and attitudes they need to be ready for school or their next stage of learning.

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

Children share warm relationships with each other and the approachable and friendly staff. They receive lots of reassurance as they separate from their main carers and settle in. This helps them to feel confident and secure. New children are introduced to the nursery through a gradual settling in process. This starts initially by the children coming for play dates over two months together with their parent/carer and after this time they begin settling in with their key person. On the whole, the key person system is well established however occasionally some children may begin settling without their key person because of staff holidays. This has a very minor impact because these children have formed relationships with other staff during the play dates.

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

Children's personal social and emotional development is fostered extremely well; children have formed some very good friendships and play extremely well together. Staff plan activities and games to give children opportunities to develop effective learning skills such as turn taking, listening and developing their vocabulary for communication. Staff promote and role model kind and caring attitudes which results in a calm and loving environment and teaches children to develop firm relationships with each other. Children's behaviour is handled exceptionally well and they respond very well to praise and encouragement. Children have a very good understanding of sharing toys and regularly help each other overcome difficulties.

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

Children's specific health, dietary needs and allergies are recorded and understood by staff. A sticker system is used to remind the staff of children with allergies or dietary needs. Children learn about healthy lifestyles and follow very good hygiene practices as they take responsibility for washing their hands appropriately throughout the day. Children are provided with a healthy and nutritious cooked meal during the day. Children's independence with their self-help skills are developing extremely well as they serve their own lunch and pour their drinks of water.

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

Safety is highly prioritised. Staff carry out comprehensive risk assessments to ensure that all areas and equipment are fit for use. Staff highlight potential hazards to parents such as being careful about what is in their handbags or pockets when coming into nursery, to make sure nothing is left that a child could pick up and put into their mouths. Children also learn how to keep themselves safe. They know how to respond swiftly during a fire drill as these are regularly practised and discussed. This is particularly important as some rooms are located on the first floor. Children show a strong sense of ownership for the nursery and consequently treat their surroundings and each other with respect. They take part in 'tidy-up time', putting away toys with little prompting.

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provision

This inspection took place following the manager notifying Ofsted of a significant event occurring within the nursery. This means the provider was meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. At inspection it was found that the management team had fully investigated this incident and were the meeting the requirements at the time of the incident. As part of their investigation they reviewed their comprehensive risk assessment processes. Although they found that they could have not have foreseen this incident occurring they have added additional measures to strengthen the risk assessment process to prevent a re-occurrence.

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provision

There is a very strong management team and all staff benefit from extremely clear leadership across the nursery. Managers are fully aware of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and ensure that all requirements are fully met. This results in a very safe, secure and supportive nursery, for all children. Clear and robust recruitment procedures are in place, which ensures all adults working with the children are suitably checked. Staff are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities and understand the procedures to follow if they were concerned about a child. The nursery provides regular comprehensive training for all staff on safeguarding and this ensures they are confident in all aspects of keeping children safe and fully secure during their time at nursery.

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provision

Comprehensive risk assessments are in place, reviewed regularly and updated as required. Access to the premises is closely monitored and parents only gain access via use of finger recognition technology. Any visitors are required to use the buzzer system and their identification is thoroughly checked before being allowed into the nursery. This protects children. Staff are deployed highly effectively within the nursery to ensure children's safety is paramount and that the ratio of adult to child is always met and usually exceeded. All required documentation is in place to support the efficient running of the nursery.

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provision

The company have a highly effective management structure, which enables senior managers to monitor, advise and support the team. The area manager has a strong desire for maintaining quality in all aspects of care and education. Staff are well supported by thorough systems for supervision and annual appraisals to identify training needs. Staff meetings are held regularly and staff input is welcomed and valued. Policies and procedures are always on the meeting agenda and this enables the staff team to regularly review and discuss issues so that they are confident with their knowledge. Staff are keen to continually update their professional development and this has a positive impact on the nursery. Room leaders demonstrate strong leadership abilities and are effective role models to less experienced staff ensuring that children's individual needs are met at all times. A key strength of this nursery is the management culture of reflective practice. This

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provision

is embedded into staff's thinking and the staff in each room have identified areas for development. These reflection documents are accessible for parents to read and make comments. In addition the nursery demonstrates an excellent capacity to maintain continuous improvements. The staff team immediately took on board the previous recommendations from a recent inspection and have successfully implemented these ideas.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are flourishing. Staff place great value in ensuring that parents develop a sense of belonging to the nursery and can contribute to the well-being of their children. They are made to feel very welcome in the nursery and are encouraged to share information about their child to ensure continuity of care. Parents are provided with a comprehensive range of information to ensure they are well informed about how the nursery operates and they are kept fully informed about their child's progress, achievements and daily experiences. Weekly newsletters provide a wealth of useful information and give ideas of how parents can get involved in their child's learning. There is also the opportunity for parents to email questions and this is included in the news column headed 'Dear Aunty Jane'. These articles provide useful advice to parents on issues such as sleeping. Parents speak fondly about the nursery and the staff team.

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provision

Comments from parents indicate they are very happy with the service provided.

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provision

Partnerships with external agencies are well established. The special educational needs coordinator successfully supports staff in identifying the needs of children who require additional help and helps to plan a programme to help the children make good progress. The nursery has built up excellent relationships with local schools which supports children's continuity of care and transfer to school. Schools have taken part in parents' evenings to enable them to provide valuable information and have discussions with prospective parents.

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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 EY465156 Local authority Merton Inspection number 967353 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 80 Number of children on roll 142 Name of provider Dicky Birds Pre School Nurseries Limited Date of previous inspection 04/02/2014 Telephone number 02089425779

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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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