St Olave's Nursery

St Olave's Nursery Church Walk, Streatham Vale, LONDON, SW16 5JH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/08/2014 12/04/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff teach children about the importance of cleanliness. Children have a good understanding of how to prevent the spread of germs.  Staff have caring relationships with children which supports children's well-being.  Staff work well to keep children safe. They carry out regular fire drills so that children know what to do in an emergency.  Staff keep parents informed of their children's progress and parents have good opportunities to take part in their children's learning.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not consistently link planning, for children between two and three years of age, with their next steps for learning.  Staff do not always provide a wide range of physically challenging experiences for children under two years of age.  Staff have not fully developed opportunities for children to learn about and to use technology.  Staff do not evaluate the nursery thoroughly to identify accurate goals for improvement.

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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 and staff in the indoor and outdoor environments.  The inspector tracked the progress of several children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation and held a discussion with management.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to staff, parents and children and took their views into consideration.

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Information about the setting

St Olave's Day Nursery opened in 1999 and was re-registered in 2010. It operates from a church hall and has use of two fully enclosed outdoor areas. It is situated in Streatham Vale within the London borough of Merton. The nursery is open from 7.45am. to 6pm, Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year, with one week's closure at Christmas and closure on public bank holidays. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 19 children in the early years range on roll. There are five members of staff who work at the nursery, including the manager. Of these, three have relevant childcare qualifications. This includes one staff member who holds qualified teacher status; two members of staff who hold level 3 qualifications; and two members of staff who are unqualified. One member of staff is working towards early years qualifications. The nursery receives funding for free

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Information about the setting

early years education for children aged three and four years.

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must:

 develop planning further so that it links definitively with children's next steps for learning, particularly for children between two and three years of age

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must:

 develop further opportunities for children to develop physical skills in the outdoor area, particularly for children under two years of age.

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

 provide further ways for children to learn and to use technology

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

 develop evaluation of the nursery further so that accurate goals for improvement are identified.

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who attend

Overall, children's needs are met sufficiently and they make sound progress. Staff plan a range of activities which broadly meet the needs and interests of children and generally cover the areas of learning. Staff build up good knowledge of children's abilities because they observe them regularly. In some cases, staff link this knowledge firmly to planning which results in children's needs being met more fully. However, this practice is not consistent, particularly in relation to children aged two to three years. Planning is not consistently linked to young individual children's next steps, which means they are not always offered appropriate levels of challenge in their learning. For example, staff taught children about the origins of rice and referred to tropical countries, climates and rice fields which two-year-olds were not able to understand. Nonetheless, staff provide some structure to children's learning through adult-led activities. This is balanced by children

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who attend

creating their own play by selecting their own resources.

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who attend

Staff follow children's interests readily. Children showed interest in mini beasts and staff took the children on a snail hunt in the garden. Staff taught children about their snail habitats and looked under damp logs which supported children's understanding of the world. Staff have secure knowledge of the areas of learning and answered children's questions about butterflies and what they like to eat. Although there is a computer in the nursery, this is not well used and children have few other opportunities to learn about and use technology. Staff promote children's early literacy skills by teaching children to recognise their names on cards when they arrive at the nursery. They help children to learn to count as they play. For instance, as children gathered snails in the garden staff asked children to count how many there are. Staff teach children mathematical language, such as 'lighter, heavier' when children compare weights of rice container in a tray. Staff

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who attend

encourage children to learn to take turns in speaking and listening during group discussions. Overall, children learn essential skills for later use in school.

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who attend

Babies explore their environment freely from a wide range of accessible resources. Staff encourage babies to practise making marks using chalk on wall boards. This supports babies' small muscle control. Staff teach babies new words to describe a range of textures in 'treasure baskets'. This supports their early language skills. They sing songs with babies who follow the actions and learn names of different body parts.

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who attend

Overall, children practise a range of physical skills on a variety of equipment in the outdoor area. They climb up ladders and go down slides. Children negotiate space skilfully on push bikes. Staff teach children to throw and catch balls. However, outdoor resources for babies are not fully developed which means that their physical experiences are limited. Children learn where food comes from as they plant and grow strawberries and tomatoes. Staff teach children about the effects of the wind as children move around holding streamers.

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who attend

Staff keep parents informed of their children's progress through daily interaction and regular meetings. Staff give parents daily written information on children's daily care and learning activities. Parents have good opportunities to take part in children's learning by sharing their observations of their children with staff. Staff use this information to influence planning.

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

Children form strong relationships with each other and with staff in this homely, caring nursery. Staff provide activities that children enjoy because they link them to children's interests. This helps children to settle readily. Staff find out about babies' home routines and build this into the nursery routine so that babies are undisturbed by changes in care patterns. This supports babies' well-being and helps them to settle effectively.

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

The nursery is organised well to encourage children's free choice and independence from a range of accessible resources. Staff teach children well about the importance of cleanliness. Children say 'germs are not for spreading' as they wash their hands independently at appropriate times throughout the day. They put on their outer clothing themselves; younger children are assisted by staff. Staff encourage children's independence. They enable children to select their own food from communal bowls and encourage children to help set the tables for lunch. Staff teach children how to behave safely. They talk to children about road safety so that they know how to behave while walking outdoors. Children know to walk indoors and to sit down when eating to avoid accidents. Staff support babies' comfort by changing nappies in clean, cosy areas.

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

Staff teach children how to live a healthy life. They take them out into the garden each day for fresh air and physical play. Staff provide nutritious, balanced meals which cater for special dietary needs. This helps to ensure that children eat suitable food.

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

Children behave well because staff are very positive in the way they manage children's behaviour. They praise children for specific ways that they behave and this results in children being motivated to behave well. Staff support children who move to school by inviting local teachers into the nursery to get to know children. This builds familiarity and helps children to settle well. Babies are prepared effectively for the move to the main playroom when they turn two years of age. They spend lunch times eating with older children and spend time in the play room to get familiar with new routines.

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

Staff teach children to understand cultural diversity by celebrating and discussing special events, such as Eid. Children make special craft items and listen to stories about the event.

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provision

The management team has a sound understanding of its roles and responsibilities in relation to the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Management ensures that all staff are trained in safeguarding. This has led to staff having a good awareness of the procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child, which helps to keep children safe. Staff carry out regular fire drills which supports children's safety further. Management helps prevent intruder access by having an electronic entry phone system and a visitors' book.

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provision

Management has some insight into the quality of staff practice because it observes staff and checks assessment files weekly. Management meets with staff to discuss and plan activities for children and this enables management to review plans. However, planning for children aged two to three years is not as successful in helping children move forward in their learning. Staff provide support to children operating below expected levels because they track their progress to identify children's developmental levels. The management team supervises staff regularly to provide support and advice where needed. The manager carries out yearly appraisals which help to identify staff training needs. For instance, staff attended a course on behaviour management which led to staff using more effective strategies in managing children's behaviour.

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provision

Staff work effectively with others to support children's learning. They work closely with parents and keep them up to date on their children's progress. Staff provide sound opportunities for parents to take part in children's learning. They work effectively with the early years department of the local authority who provides advice and support.

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provision

Although management has identified clear goals for improvement of the nursery, these do not always accurately identify areas for improvement. For instance, some of the issues raised during this inspection were not seen as goals for improvement. This is because management does not evaluate the nursery well enough to have keen awareness of the nursery's strengths and weaknesses. The nursery operates satisfactorily and has sufficient capacity to improve outcomes for children.

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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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 EY418218 Local authority Merton Inspection number 816494 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 19 Name of provider St Olaves Educational Centre Ltd Date of previous inspection 12/04/2011 Telephone number 02086790222

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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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