Cherubins Day Nursery Ltd

Cherubins Day Nursery - Lewisham Branch Ladywell Lodge, Slagrove Place, London, SE13 7HT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/05/2014 22/04/2013

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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

 Babies and children show that they feel safe and secure because experienced staff are allocated to caring for them and support children's moves between rooms well.  The nursery effectively promotes children's learning and children make good progress from their starting points. Staff have a firm understanding of children's learning and development needs and successfully plan activities to extend their knowledge and skills.  Children are well-protected as staff fully understand and effectively meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Partnerships with parents and other professionals are strong. Parents are supported to share information about children's learning at home to support their children's progress.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 While the indoor environment reflects all the areas of learning, there are fewer resources outside to fully extend children's early writing skills and knowledge of the natural world.  Children do not always have enough opportunities to fully enhance their understanding of the world.

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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 playrooms and outdoor area.  The inspector spoke with the owner, manager, staff and children.  The inspector took account of parents' views by speaking with them on the day.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled policies and procedures, staff suitability records, risk assessments, children's development records and other relevant documentation.

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Information about the setting

Cherubins Day Nursery registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is one of two privately owned nurseries. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a large converted training centre building in the Ladywell area of the London Borough of Lewisham. There are enclosed areas available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 19 members of childcare staff, of whom 18 hold appropriate early years qualifications, including three at level 6, 13 at level 3, and two at level 2. The nursery also employs a cook and receptionist.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 49 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery supports children who are learning to speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 extend children's all-round learning experiences outside, for example by providing them with regular access to resources to make marks and a range of natural materials

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

 enhance children's understanding of the world, for example by extending the range of resources that promote positive images of people to increase children's knowledge of similarities and differences between themselves and others.

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who attend

All staff have a secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how to promote children's learning and development. They have high expectations of the children in their care and provide interesting and exciting activities that effectively support their learning and progress. The quality of teaching is good across the nursery and staff take every opportunity to extend children's learning through the activities the children choose. There is a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led play based activities that provide effective challenge and stimulation. Staff closely monitor children's progress through focused observations and assessments, and use the information gathered to accurately identify the next steps in their learning. This knowledge, together with staff's understanding of children's interests, likes and dislikes, gained from parents at the beginning, supports careful planning to promote individual children's development. As a

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who attend

result of successful planning and enthusiastic and playful teaching, children are motivated and eager to learn.

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who attend

Children's communication and language skills improve as staff engage them in conversation and ask open-ended questions to encourage speaking and thinking. Children develop confidence in speaking in a group as they show others and talk about toys they have brought from home. Children who are learning to speak English as an additional language are well supported in the nursery. Staff learn and display key words in children's home languages to aid communication and to promote understanding of the diversity of language. Staff support babies and children to develop their physical skills in the outdoor areas of the nursery as they use a wide variety of apparatus for climbing and movement. All areas of learning are represented in the outdoor environment, but children do not always have access to sufficient writing and drawing equipment, or digging and planting, on a continual basis to fully enhance these aspects of their learning. This slightly limits

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who attend

their opportunities to develop their skills in these areas. Children are supported by playful staff to use their imagination in role play, for example as they go for an imaginary train ride.

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who attend

Children learn to understand the world as they watch as caterpillars turn into butterflies in their indoor butterfly farm. They learn new vocabulary, with words such as chrysalis and cocoon. Outdoors they explore the mud kitchen and are fascinated when they find a spider hanging from a web. Children with additional needs receive the support they need as staff work closely with parents and other professionals to secure interventions that ensure any gaps in their learning are closing. Parents are involved in the initial assessments of children's learning to identify their starting points. They receive regular reports from their children's key persons and they share examples of learning from home to provide continuity. Parents are encouraged to comment on their children's regular reviews and share the progress check for two-year-old children at the appropriate time. Staff support children who are moving between rooms and assess their development to

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who attend

ensure they are ready. Staff ensure that older children are ready for school by helping them to develop the confidence the skills they will need.

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

Babies and children enjoy their time at the nursery. The well-embedded key-person system ensures that they feel secure and settled. They form strong positive relationships with adults and children and secure attachments help them to feel safe. Children's behaviour demonstrates that they feel safe in the nursery. Staff frequently praise children for their smallest achievements which helps to promote self-esteem and encourages positive behaviour. Staff provide a welcoming, safe and stimulating environment where children are free to explore and use their imagination. Play resources are of good quality, and are easily accessible to all children, indoors and outdoors. Children learn to share and take turns and be considerate to others. Staff take children on outings and on visits to their local communities where they meet a variety of people. However, resources in the nursery showing positive images of people in society are not sufficient enough to

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

strengthen children's learning about differences.

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

Children are supported to manage their own personal care needs appropriate to their age. They learn to put on their own coats and shoes and this demonstrates their growing independence. Healthy eating is promoted by the provision of fruit and vegetables for snacks and nutritious hot food for lunch. Babies learn to feed themselves and older children are encouraged to serve their own food. Children with special dietary requirements or allergies are well cared for as the staff and the cook are vigilant when preparing and serving food to ensure that no child receives any food that is not permitted. Children's personalised placemats ensure that they receive food that is safe and appropriate to their needs. Staff engage with children at mealtimes teaching them social skills and good manners. Staff are good role models and they lead by example. Children have plenty of opportunities to run around in the fresh air and strengthen their muscles.

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

They develop confidence as staff praise them when they learn to master the steps on a slide.

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

Children feel safe and secure in the nursery. They are safe because staff carry out stringent risk assessments of the environment indoors and in the outside play areas. Children learn to keep themselves safe as they listen carefully to instructions and hold the handrail tightly as they walk down the stairs in a line. Children are safe in the outdoors environment as staff supervise them well. All visitors to the nursery must sign in and out and closed circuit television monitors the entrances and nursery rooms to ensure that all children are kept safe and secure. External doors are kept locked and are only opened by a receptionist using an electronic system and internal doors can only be opened by staff with a code. These security measures help to ensure children's safety at all times. Staff carry out regular fire drill practices to ensure that all children and adults know what to do should an emergency occur. Staff have high expectations of children to be confident,

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

capable and independent and emotionally ready for the next stage in their learning.

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provision

Leadership in the nursery is strong and staff receive the support they need. They have a clear understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are fully aware of and implement the policies and procedures of the nursery and undertake regular training to ensure their knowledge is updated. There is a clear safeguarding policy which includes procedures restricting the use of mobile phones and cameras in the nursery. All staff have a secure understanding of safeguarding procedures and know what to do if they have concerns about a child's well-being. All adults working with children are subject to appropriate background checks to ensure that they are suitable to work with children. All the necessary documentation for the safe and efficient management of the nursery is in place. The environment and all activities and outings are effectively risk assessed and any hazards identified in the environment are swiftly corrected to ensure

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provision

that children remain safe at all times. Recruitment procedures are robust and new staff receive a full and rigorous induction and are supervised throughout their probationary period. Effective monitoring of the educational programmes and successful tracking of individual children's development enables staff to identify any gaps in their learning, and to seek appropriate intervention and professional advice. The management team closely monitor staff practice. Staff are encouraged to reflect on their own practice and monitor the practice of others. This results in a strongly motivated staff team, who are committed to providing a high-quality experience for all children. Ongoing professional development is discussed regularly and staff are encouraged to pursue training to enhance their practice. Children's progress is closely analysed by the key persons and monitored by the management team to ensure all

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provision

children achieve to the best of their ability.

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provision

Staff work closely with parents and provide frequent reports on children's progress. Parents speak highly of the nursery and say they are delighted with the service provided. They particularly like the new system of emailing small pieces of information daily, such as changes to the menu, so that they can keep up to date with all the aspects of their children's care. Staff support parents to continue their children's learning at home and welcome their contribution within the nursery. Self-evaluation takes account of the views of parents, staff and children. The manager uses well-known rating scales to analyse strengths and weaknesses in the nursery environment. The management team have a strong drive and commitment for improvement and have many ideas and thoughts on how they would like the nursery to develop. Staff strive to build relationships with local schools so that visits can be arranged to help support those children who will attend school in the

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provision

autumn. They provide transitions meetings for parents to support them in making the right choice for their children. The nursery provides parents with their children's records of progress to pass on to schools to ensure continuity in their learning.

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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 EY431002 Local authority Lewisham Inspection number 966353 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 105 Number of children on roll 54 Name of provider Cherubins Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 22/04/2013 Telephone number 02086713256

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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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