Elm Park Nursery

Elm Park Nursery Elm Park Nursery School, 90 Clarence Avenue, LONDON, SW4 8JR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/09/2014 10/10/2013

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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

 Children are happy and settled because staff interact warmly with them and build good relationships with each child.  Staff assess children's progress comprehensively and use this information effectively to inform planning so that children's needs are met well.  Staff encourage children's independence strongly and this provides good preparation for school.  Staff provide a wide variety of stimulating learning opportunities for children which enables them to make good progress.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although writing materials are provided, children do not fully engage with early writing because opportunities for them to do so in play situations are not well developed.  Older children do not fully engage with stories because staff do not use range of ways to tell stories, such as through the use of story props.

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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 compulsory part 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 carried out a joint observation with the manager of an adult-led activity.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

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

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Information about the setting

Elm Park Nursery is privately owned. The nursery is a combined private nursery school and day nursery. It opened in 1991 and re-registered in 2012. It is located in a large converted house, with car parking to the front. There is a large enclosed garden for children's use, with a smaller area for babies. The nursery is situated in Clapham, in the London Borough of Lambeth. There are currently 90 children on roll. The nursery operates each weekday from 8am to 6pm all year round. It is closed for public holidays and breaks at Christmas/New Year (one week), Easter (one week) and August (two weeks). Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The nursery supports children who learn English as an additional language. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years. A total of 25 teaching staff

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Information about the setting

including the manager are employed at the nursery. All the staff hold a relevant early years qualification. The proprietor holds Qualified Teacher Status and the manager holds Early Years Professional Status. Four of the staff hold Montessori qualifications and the nursery uses some Montessori teaching methods. Two staff hold qualifications at level 2 and 17 staff hold qualifications at level 3.

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

 develop further ways to engage children with stories to support their early literacy skills, such as by using story props

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

 provide further opportunities for children to practise their early writing skills in play situations.

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who attend

Children's needs are met well. Staff make plans which cover areas of learning effectively and this results in a wide range of stimulating activities geared to meet children's needs. Staff use a Montessori approach to supporting children's learning which encourages children's independence as they freely select resources of their choice and at their ability levels. The staff balance these with some structured learning opportunities through adult- led activities based on learning through play. Children make strong progress because staff regularly assess them and use this information consistently in planning so that children are suitably challenged. Children's learning is enriched by specialist teachers, such as swimming instructors who provide lessons to support children's physical development. Staff evaluate a range of evidence, including regular observations and work samples, to form children's next steps for learning, which feeds through to planning. They note and

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who attend

reflect on children's interests in the planning which results in children engaging well in play. For example, children showed interest in the changing seasons and staff took them out for a walk to collect autumn leaves to increase their understanding of the natural world around them. Staff are always responsive to children's ideas and follow this through by extending their play and asking questions. For example, a staff member noticed when a child decided to fold paper several times and provided the child with different sized paper to practise small muscle control. She asked the child questions about their design which supports the child's language development.

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who attend

Children move freely between age related group rooms which works well and offers children a wider variety of resources to use in their learning through play. Staff provide good learning opportunities for children. They support children's communication and language skills well by playing object identification games and by singing nursery rhymes and songs. Staff teach children to recognise their names on cards when they arrive each morning and this helps children to develop their early literacy skills. Staff also teach children letters and sounds which results in children's good phonic knowledge. Staff provide a writing table for children to use to develop their literacy and physical skills. However, this is not well used and opportunities for children to use writing in play situations are under developed. Older children show some interest in stories but this is very short lived. Staff do not use a wide range of strategies to engage children in stories,

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who attend

such as regular use of story props to enhance their literacy skills. Children use play fishing rods to hook magnetic fish and count the number they have caught. This supports children's hand and eye coordination and counting skills. Staff use everyday opportunities to secure children's counting skills, such as by asking children how many cups are needed at meal times. Staff provide children with good resources to support their small muscle control. For instance, children use tongs to pick up small pieces of play fruit and place them in containers. Overall, children learn good skills for later use in school.

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who attend

Staff provide good opportunities for younger children to explore their creativity. They make hedgehog pictures using handprints in paint. They make scarecrows from papier- mache and staff explain the role of the scarecrow in fields. Staff teach children animal names by playing games with cards and books where children match the picture card to the correct animal in books. This helps children to learn new words and supports their understanding of the world.

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who attend

Outdoor provision is stimulating and staff provide a wide range of structured learning opportunities. Younger children climb across frames, learn to balance and move in different ways by using apparatus suited to their development. Older children have more challenging activities, such as using a trim trail to balance carefully and climb skilfully across frames. Staff teach children to throw and catch bean bags which supports children's physical coordination skills. Staff provide other learning activities for children in the outdoor area. For instance, children learn how to join items and design by using construction sets. Staff teach children about the life cycle of plants by planting and growing seeds and children learn where food comes from. Staff support children who learn English as an additional language well. Some staff speak several languages and all staff learn key words in children's home languages so that they

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who attend

understand when children communicate and can promote equal opportunities. Staff use a range of visual resources, such as pictures of objects to help children to learn the English words for different objects.

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who attend

Staff work well with parents. They keep them well informed about their child's progress through daily interaction and have periodic meetings to review their progress and learning journals. There are good opportunities for parent to take part in children's learning. For example, a parent who is a Brazilian drummer visits the nursery to share his skills with the children.

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

Children settle well in this warm, caring nursery. Staff greet children with smiles when they arrive in the morning and know children well. They find out about children's interests and skills when they first start at the nursery and use this information efficiently to provide activities which children enjoy. Younger children settle readily because staff find out about their home care routines and incorporate these into nursery practice. The nursery is bright, welcoming and encourages children's independence and free choice from low level, labelled, wide ranging and accessible resources.

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

Staff manage children's behaviour well. They have clear expectations of behaviour which they share with the children, and remind them of during group discussion times. This reinforces positive behaviour and supports children's personal, social and emotional development. Staff use praise to encourage children to behave in positive ways and help children to think about the impact of their behaviour on others. This helps children to learn to be responsible for their behaviour. Staff teach children about cultural diversity by celebrating and discussing special events, such as Chinese new year.

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

Staff teach children how to be safe. They talk to children about why it is important to walk indoors, to walk carefully around floor mats used by children as they play, to avoid accidents. Staff carry out regular fire drills and this teaches children how to behave in an emergency situation.

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

Staff teach children healthy habits. They provide fruit snacks which children select and serve for themselves. Staff provide nutritious meals which cater for children's special dietary needs and this helps to ensure that children eat suitable food. Staff take children outdoors each day for fresh air and physical exercise in the well-equipped outdoor area. They support children's independence and good personal hygiene routines. For instance, children wash their hands at appropriate times and use the bathroom independently. Staff encourage children to learn to dress themselves and support younger children as needed. Staff change nappies in comfortable and hygienic conditions which helps to prevent cross infection.

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

Staff have good links with local schools to support children who move to school. Teachers visit the nursery to get to know children and this builds up relationships which helps children to settle readily. Staff spend time with children in new group rooms in the nursery before children move groups. This helps children to get to know new routines and environments.

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provision

Staff work well to help ensure children's safety. There are 10 staff qualified in paediatric first aid who are deployed effectively in the nursery. All staff have good knowledge of who are the first aid qualified staff because this is covered during induction, in order for staff to know who to go to in emergency situations. Management vets staff thoroughly to help ensure staff's suitability for their roles and this protects children further. Children are protected from intruder access because entry to the nursery is secure through an electronic intercom and the use of a visitors' book. All floors in the nursery have coded access which helps to keep children safe. Staff carry out regular risk assessments covering all areas of the nursery and this helps to keep children protected from harm. All staff have received safeguarding training and know procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child's welfare. This helps to keep children protected from harm. The

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provision

management team has good awareness of the requirements of the framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and their roles and responsibilities in relation to this to meet children's needs.

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provision

Monitoring of the nursery provision is good. The management team spends time in group rooms observing staff and provides feedback to enhance staff's practice. The manager carries out random sampling of learning journals and termly audits to ensure staff maintain quality standards. A tracking system is in place to help staff to identify and support children who operate below expected levels of development.

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provision

Management supervises staff regularly and this helps to identify any areas of underperformance so that they can offer appropriate support to drive improvement in practice. Management carries out staff appraisals to identify training needs of staff. This has resulted in staff attending a variety of courses. For instance, staff attended a course on working with babies and this led to wider understanding of how the use of different textures and displays support babies' learning.

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provision

Staff work well with others involved in the children's lives. They work well with local schools to support children who move to school and have good links with the local children's centre. Staff direct parents to a range of their services and staff from the centre offer training to nursery staff to help meet children's needs.

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provision

Management has clear insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the nursery. The management team evaluates all aspects of the nursery provision and has set clear priorities for improvement. For instance, it plans to continue to build on professional development opportunities for staff to enhance their knowledge and skills. Staff have met recommendations from previous inspections, such as providing older children with more opportunities to be independent. The nursery has good 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

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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 EY455615 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 963521 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 118 Number of children on roll 90 Name of provider Elm Park Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 10/10/2013 Telephone number 0208 6781990

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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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