The Willow Children's Centre

The Willow Children's Centre Barnhill Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 9YP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/06/2014 14/05/2013

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Staff are kind and considerate towards the children. As a result the children and staff form strong supportive relationships.  Staff promote effective partnerships with parents. This helps them to know children well and to provide respectful and consistent care.  Effective planning means the children take part in activities that are fun and challenging. This means they make good progress in learning.  Staff have created a warm welcoming environment for the children, which helps them to feel valued and respected.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Resources in the role-play areas do not reflect children's family lives and communities, hindering children's knowledge of how others in live.  Children have few opportunities to see different languages and scripts in the environment.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's play and staff interaction, both inside and outside.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to parents, staff and children and held regular discussions with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined documentation, including a representative sample of children's records, development plans and staff records.

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Information about the setting

The Willow Children's Centre opened in 2006 and it is run by the London Borough of Brent. The nursery operates from the ground floor of the centre. Children have access to a baby room, toddler room, pre-school room and a secure outdoor play area. The centre is open each week day from 8am to 6pm all year round. It is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 127 children in the early years age group on roll who attend for a variety of sessions. The centre provides support for children who have identified special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. There are 22 members of staff employed, all of whom have appropriate early years qualifications. The manager and four of the team have Early Years foundation degree qualifications.

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

 enhance children's real life experiences by using resources that are real and natural in the role play area

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

 develop children's understanding of different languages and scripts.

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who attend

Children thrive in this busy happy nursery. Caring and enthusiastic staff use good teaching techniques. These have a positive impact on children's learning and development, so that all children make good progress. Children clearly enjoy learning through play. The staff have a good understanding of the Early Years foundation stage and their role in ensuring it is successfully implemented in the nursery. Staff effectively identify children's starting points, and observation, assessment and planning is effective. This means they plan fun challenging activities for the children. Parents provide staff with important information about their child when they start in the nursery. As a result, staff have a good awareness of the children in their care. The learning environment offers a range of materials and resources that enhance their learning experiences. For example, children independently select from open shelving and low level boxes, making choices about their own play. Much

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who attend

of the play and learning experiences are child led. For example, after one child hurt their finger the home corner became a hospital. Children used first aid resources to help their friends feel better. Children use their imagination as they made calls to the doctor to make appointments. Staff are effectively deployed and support children who choose to play both indoors and outside.

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who attend

Children confidently talk to each other during their play. They talk about people that are special to them as they make cards. The children select from a varied range of creative resources using their imagination to make their cards. Children have good opportunities to learn about sounds and rhymes through singing songs together. They join in enthusiastically with songs and actions, laughing as they sing the songs slowly and quickly. They begin to understand about numbers as they play matching games and count backwards as their rocket takes off. Staff help children to develop skills of independence for example, by encouraging children to put on their own coats and shoe. This means children are prepared for their next stage of learning and their move to big school. In addition the staff talk to the children about their new school. Photographs in the nursery of schools to be attended support children as they prepare for their next steps.

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who attend

Children are encouraged to use descriptive language as they select items out of a bag. They all laugh when a child pulls a spoon out, knowing they use a spoon to eat their dinner. Staff make good use of displays, creating a visual environment that is appealing and beneficial to the children's learning. For example, they use labels with words in English, and pictures that encourage children to think about words, and how they carry information. However, there are fewer labels in other languages to further enhance children understanding. Children take the lead after a favourite story and make a robot. They work as a team to develop the robot, paint it and work out why the robot falls down, showing they can solve problems. Staff place emphasis on care of the nursery environment, and children respond well. They enjoy taking on small tasks, happily helping to lay the table for lunch and tidy toys away at the end of a session. Although children

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who attend

enjoy using the role play area, the resources do not reflect things used in real homes. This means that children do not experience images and resources to deepen their understanding of different lifestyles.

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who attend

Staff record children's achievements frequently, often through photographs, using informative learning journals that are readily available to both children and parents. Staff consistently look at ways of bringing the learning journals alive and have updated the systems to record children's achievements. They now record a narrative addressed to the child talking about the next steps and how they and parents can support their learning.Staff understand their role in completing the assessment of progress for those children who reach two years old.

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

The management team and staff have worked hard to create an environment that is safe and secure for the children. Recent changes in routines have ensured the further safety of children and staff are very clear in their roles and responsibilities. For example, staff make sure they know where the children are and that ratios are maintained. Staff in the setting have developed secure attachments to the children. The children confidently move around the setting and make choices from the resources and toys available to them. The key person system further supports children to feel safe and secure. Staff caring for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities offer high levels of support. This is a particular strength of the nursery and both parents and other professionals speak highly of the staff in the setting.

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

Staff use good levels of positive praise for children's efforts and achievements. For example, they have created a 'wow wall' where staff make comments about the children such as 'I was caring today' This helps to promote children's self-confidence and positive self-esteem. Children behave well and need very little intervention. When it is needed staff offer suitable alternatives and help children to understand how others are feeling. Babies are very well supported in the nursery. The kind caring staff who work directly with babies offer good levels of thoughtfulness and consideration towards them. They provide cuddles when children are upset and address their individual needs well. Babies are delighted to sing songs with staff and squeal with delight when staff blow bubbles. Babies use their arms to stretch as they try to burst the bubbles. Low level furniture means staff can successfully support babies to enjoy meal times. Babies routines are known and respected

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

by staff, which adds to children's feelings of security.

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

Staff effectively support children to develop a healthy lifestyle. For example, the children access a well-resourced garden where they develop their physical skills and health. The children have fun in the garden climbing, balancing, and using the space to explore. Children use their muscles to roll and knead the dough they have made. They use a cutter to make shapes in the dough, talking about the cakes they have made. The staff remind the children of the importance of washing their hands, before lunch time, teaching them how to be independent. Meal times are a social occasion where children and staff talk about their activities and the food they are eating. For example, they teach the children how eating vegetables helps to keep them healthy. Children have good opportunities to develop an understanding of their own safety. Staff remind children about not running in the setting and not climbing on the tables. Furthermore the children understand about fire

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

drills and how to safely evacuate the building.

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provision

The management team demonstrate a clear drive to make improvements, and good organisational skills, resulting in the efficient running of the setting. The management team, staff and the local authority have worked very hard to successfully meet the actions set at the last inspection. This has resulted in many changes in the nursery which in turn benefit the children. Staff show a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and implement it successfully. Staff are valued members of the team and as a result, morale is high. Effective performance management means that staff are supported well in improving their skills, knowledge and practice. There are good systems in place to monitor the educational programmes and development that children make. The needs of individual children are known and respected by staff. A strong partnership with parents ensures the care provided by staff is consistent and that the individual care and learning needs of all

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provision

children are met to a high standard. Parents speak highly of the staff and in particular their kindness and thoughtfulness. Arrangements for safeguarding children's well-being are well established and effective. The management team use robust procedures to appoint staff who are suitable to work with children. The management team demonstrate a clear understanding of their role in nursery resulting in the efficient running of the setting. For example, they understand their role in keeping Ofsted and other agencies informed of any safeguarding issues in the nursery. In addition, they demonstrate how to take decisive action to ensure all staff remain suitable to work with children. The implementation of clear policies and procedures contributes to the on-going safety and welfare of the children. There is also a thorough safeguarding policy in place to support practice. Through discussion, staff demonstrate a

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provision

clear understanding of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child in their care. The management assess what they offer the children and their families and accurately identify areas for improvement. Good attention to staff development results from regular appraisals and an expectation that staff attend courses regularly and gain additional qualifications.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are well established. There is much information available for parents in the form of notice boards and displays. There is a good two-way flow of information through discussions at drop off and pick up times. This provides valuable information for staff to be able to meet the changing needs of the parents and children.

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provision

Staff have a good understanding of their role in working with outside agencies to identify any children where their progress is less than expected. In addition, staff have developed a strong partnership with local schools, which means children and parents feel valued when they move to a new provision.

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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 EY335023 Local authority Brent Inspection number 959006 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 98 Number of children on roll 96 Name of provider London Borough of Brent Date of previous inspection 14/05/2013 Telephone number 02089376560

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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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