A Star Kids Nursery Ltd

A Star Kids Nursery 1 Rosewood Avenue, HORNCHURCH, Essex, RM12 5LH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/03/2014 04/09/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 3 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

 Management fail to ensure a suitable experienced and qualified member of staff is appointed who can deputise in managements' absence and as a result children's welfare is compromised.  The planning of group activities is poor and noise levels distracting, which hinders children's concentration.  Staff generally promote children's communication and language skills in everyday routines. However, staff do not always use the correct words for objects to help develop children's vocabulary.  Staff do not consistently promote children's self-care skills at mealtimes so that they learn independence skills.

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It has the following strengths

 Overall, children are settled and they benefit from being able to access all areas and play with a range of toys and activities to support their learning.  Children benefit from daily outdoor play with their friends to help them develop a healthy lifestyle.

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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, indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed the setting's development plan, participated in joint observations and talked with parents.

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Information about the setting

A Star Kids Nursery is one of two settings owned by a private individual. It registered in 2012 and operates from a purpose built building in Elm Park, in the London Borough of Havering. Children use five rooms and have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery's pre-school hours are 9am until 3pm. The after school provision opens 7am until 8.30am and 4pm until 6pm term time only. There are currently 43 children on roll from two years to under five years in the early years age group. Children attend a variety of sessions. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three. The nursery support children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Information about the setting

The setting employs five members of staff. Three members of staff are working toward a higher childcare qualification. The manager and the deputy manager both hold Early Years Professional Status, and the manager also has a BA (Hons) in Early Childhood.

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must:

 ensure an experienced and suitable person is appointed to deputise in managements' absence

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must:

 develop the organisation of group-time sessions to effectively meet children's individual needs, level of understanding and abilities, to ensure all children learn at their own pace, and noise levels do not hinder children's learning.

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

 improve the quality of teaching so that children learn the correct pronunciation of words to support their communication and language skills

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

 extend opportunities so that children pour their own drinks at mealtimes to promote their self-care skills.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate a generally satisfactory understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage to support children's learning. However, staff do not plan focused group activities to meet the needs of all children's level of understanding and abilities. This is because less able children are encouraged to learn skills such as counting up to twenty and beyond, and as a result show little interest in the activity. The activity is too long to sustain all children's interest, and as a result it is not meaningful. Towards the end of the activity children are engaged at looking at sorting toys but demonstrate a lack of interest in the counting activity. Additionally, while children take part in story and singing time in two separate groups, noise levels are raised, which means staff are reading stories while the other group are singing and it is difficult for children hear. This impacts on children's progress in learning.

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who attend

Staff work closely with parents so that information about children's starting points is obtained. They undertake an initial assessment six weeks after children start the setting, so that they have a secure baseline of what children can do and know. Staff undertake regular observations to enable them to track children's progress and learning. They plan a book and story of the week and it is clearly displayed so that parents can extend children's learning at home. During circle time activities, staff use this as an opportunity for children to describe the weather, enabling children to develop a sound understanding of seasons. In preparation for Mother's Day children benefit from growing daffodils from bulbs, which helps them learn about growth and the environment. Additionally, through focused activities children observe toy mini beasts using a magnifying glass and microscope. This supports children's understanding of using technology equipment. Others enjoy playing on

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who attend

the computer with their friends, and confidently navigate around to access various programmes.

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who attend

Staff make good use of opportunities, for example when children are playing with toy mini beasts, to encourage them to count the legs on the spider, and make connections with big and small. More able children generally show an interest in numbers because while playing they hold up four, and then two fingers asking adults "how many fingers do I have"? Older children inform adults that they are four, and when they are five will be going to 'big school'. This means that more able children demonstrate a secure understanding of using numbers that are meaningful to them to calculate. Children benefit from dressing up in a lion costume to support their imagination, and inform staff 'they are going to the jungle'. Others make creations while playing with construction toys and describe their creations as a fire rocket to put out the fire. Staff support children's communication and language skills through everyday routines and use sign language as another method of communication,

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who attend

which children use with ease. However, staff do not always use the correct words for objects to support children in developing their vocabulary. Older children take pleasure sharing events that are special to them by openly sharing their experiences, for example about their birthdays and when discussing staff's jewellery.

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

Staff do not always meet children's individual needs well because not all staff are clear about their roles and responsibility. This is because there is no suitably qualified person to oversee the provision when the manager and deputy are absent. This compromises children's well-being and is a breach of a legal requirement.

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

Children have developed positive attachments with staff. Children leave their carers with ease demonstrating they are generally comfortable in their surroundings. Staff undertake assessments for those children who are aged two years old and share information with parents so that they are able to contribute to children's next steps in learning and development.

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

Children show affection toward their friends during circle- time sessions and when interacting in activities. Staff encourage children to express their emotions through reading stories. As a result of this, children talk about having a happy or cross face, using various facial expressions. Staff provide a children with access to all areas during the daily routine, which promotes children's independence to choose what they would like to play with and support their own learning and interests. Staff encourage children to think about their own personal safety through gentle reminders that they should walk indoors. Children happily sing 'twinkle twinkle traffic lights', which reinforces their understanding of road safety.

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

Children behave well, and at the beginning of the day staff remind children of the golden rules. More able children willingly help staff to put away toys. Staff use egg timers so that children learn to take turns and share with their friends. In addition while waiting to play on the computer, children learn how to take turns and share. Children take part in daily outdoor play to support their physical development. They enjoy rolling a tyre and use wheeled toys with increasing skill as they navigate around the outdoor play area. Staff plan suitable indoor activities that help children use a range of movements, for example singing 'head, shoulder, knees and toes'. Staff ensure that they are deployed appropriately in the outdoor area so that they can support less confident children. For example, staff hold on to children's hands as they jump off a small step onto a rubber mat. Children learn about healthy eating as they read stories and visit local shops to obtain fruit. This helps to

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

develop children's understanding of foods that are good for them. Fresh drinking water is available during the day, and children help themselves. However, there are missed opportunities to engage children in meal time preparation to strengthen their independence skills.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward following a concern received about staff's qualifications and suitability to deputise in the manager's absence. The inspection found that systems in place to ensure a clear management structure are weak. The provider has not made sure there is always a suitable person to manage the nursery on site, who holds a level 3 qualification. This is a breach of a legal requirement resulting in a notice to improve. Despite this, staff demonstrate a satisfactory understanding of child protection issues and procedures, and know what to do if they have concerns about a child in their care. Risk assessments are carried out, and staff supervise children indoors and outdoors. This supports children's safety.

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provision

Staff demonstrate they have made improvements to practice after previous actions and recommendations to support children's learning. This is because children receive healthy meals and are able to make healthy choices. Children serve themselves and make choices about what they would like to eat but lack the opportunity to further their independence, for example by being more involved in preparing for mealtimes. Staff ask children appropriate, open-ended questions to enable children to think and express their ideas. However, staff do not always support children's communication and language skills by demonstrating the use of words correctly, for example they use phrases such as 'choo choo train' which do not strengthen children's vocabulary.

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provision

The provider ensures suitable checks are undertaken to assess staff's suitability in promoting children's safety. Staff attend training to support their knowledge and practice, and this promotes positive outcomes for children. Management support staff through individual supervision, appraisal and observations to support their continual professional development. A development plan is in place to support a culture of reflective practice but this has not gone far enough in assessing and acting on weaknesses at the provision. This has impacted on children's listening skills and emerging vocabulary, particularly during group times. Since the last inspection, processes are now in place so that children have access to both the indoor and outdoor areas, outdoor toys are at children's level so that they are able to make choices about their play and new flooring has been fitted in the computer room.

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provision

Staff promote secure partnerships with parents and others. Regular meetings are held to discuss and share children's profiles. Parents are kept informed of events, information about the Early Years Foundation Stage and organisational issues through newsletters. Parents' views are valued, and as a result, changes have been made to children's snacks to provide healthy finger foods. Staff work in partnership with parents to support children with additional needs and where required, three-way partnerships are established to support children's learning and development.

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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 Met

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

 ensure the manager has a qualification at a minimum of level 3 in a relevant area of work (compulsory 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 EY444537 Local authority Havering Inspection number 955211 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 43 Name of provider Nisha Sobhanan Date of previous inspection 04/09/2013 Telephone number 01708 471151

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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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