Treehouse Nursery Schools Limited

Treehouse Nursery Schools Limited 35 Woodbine Place, Wanstead, London, E11 2RH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/09/2014 15/01/2013

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 A suitable key-person system helps children to form attachments and this promotes their well-being in the nursery setting.  Staff have a clear understanding of safeguarding children and the procedures to follow if they were concerned about a child.  The outdoor area is well resourced, enabling children to enjoy the freedom to run around, release their energy and engage in a wide range of activities.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff undertake observations of children but they do not use this information consistently to assess children's next steps for learning and monitor the progress.  The pre-school room does not offer a full range of interesting activities to support children's interests and provide sufficient challenge.  The attendance register is not always accurate and completed immediately on a child's arrival.  Children are not shown how to handle books with care; as a result, many books are in a poor condition.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector spent the majority of inspection time observing the children in seven playrooms and garden as they played.  The inspector sampled children's information and development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the provider, coordinators and staff during the visit. Safeguarding was discussed with the staff and a sample of the policies viewed.  The inspector held discussions with the parents concerning the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector and pre-school coordinator completed a joint observation together of the pre-school environment.

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Information about the setting

Treehouse Nursery Schools Limited registered in 1996 and is one of three provisions owned by a private provider. It operates from a converted school building in Wanstead in the London Borough of Redbridge. The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.30pm all year round. There are eight playrooms available and children share access to an enclosed garden for outdoor play. There are currently 122 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years. The nursery employs 30 childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or above; two staff hold Qualified Teacher Status.

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must:

 improve staffs' knowledge of assessing children's development to enable them to clearly identify, monitor and plan for children's next steps in all areas of learning

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must:

 ensure that the daily record of children attending is accurately maintained at all times

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must:

 ensure that every play room is set out with good quality resources to provide a wide range of interesting and challenging experiences that meet the needs of children attending to enable child-initiated play

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

 support children in developing their awareness of how to use and handle books with care and attention.

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who attend

Overall, children enjoy a range of activities and experiences, most of which engage them effectively and support them to make steady progress in their learning and development. However, the quality and availability of resources is variable across the nursery and in particular the pre-school room, which lacks sufficient and challenging materials to fully engage children. This results in some children not sustaining their concentration for very long and then wandering around. In addition, the quality of teaching is variable; some staff are not fully aware that the activities on offer are mundane and lack challenge. For example, there is a lack of accessible creative materials for children to independently use such as glue sticks and good-quality writing implements. Consequently, this affects children being able to express their imaginations and develop their creativity. All staff across the nursery enjoy singing and story times with their groups of children and this

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who attend

supports children communication and language well. Children join in with singing having a good repertoire of many well-known tunes. They also enjoy story times and sit for some time listening to their favourite stories. These activities support children communication and literacy skills. However, a number of the books are ripped with pages missing. Staff do not encourage children to value these resources and take care of them, therefore, not fully supporting their readiness for school.

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who attend

Children in the younger age rooms enjoy exploring a range of activities. They enjoy exploring the play dough where they are developing their fine hand movements as they prod, squeeze and roll the play dough. Children begin to learn about matching colours and size as they explore the different sized bear figures and sit for some time lining these up and matching them to the coloured cards. Staff give young babies valuable opportunities to practise their emerging walking skills, as they pull themselves to stand and cruise around the furniture.

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who attend

Staff complete regular observations on the children and have begun to use these observations to plan for individual learning needs. However, there is limited use of assessment to show clearly each child's developmental stage and for staff to carefully monitor the progress made. A basic system for assessing the progress of two-year-old children is in place and shared with parents.

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who attend

Children have access to the outdoor environment during the day, which they thoroughly enjoy. The garden is well resourced and children enjoy riding the tricycles or cars and digging in the sand pit. They run around to release their energy as they climb on the large wooden tree house and balance on the rope ladder. In addition, children also encounter animals in a designated pet corner where they can watch the canaries and fish in the pond. This supports children's understanding of the natural world and caring for others.

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who attend

Parents have regular opportunities to talk to the key worker to discuss their child's progress. They are encouraged to share what they know about their child when they start and take part in filling out weekend books, which are then used by the children to share their news with their friends at circle times.

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

Children and parents are given a warm welcome by staff on arrival. A key-person system is in place to support children to build relationships with their special member of staff, in order to promote their emotional security. Staff follow babies' routines from home to help them feel secure and content. As a result, children's emotional well-being is fostered, supporting the transitions they make through the nursery. Overall, children's personal social and emotional development is cared for. Children have formed some good friendships and they play well together. Children show kindness and understand about taking turns. However, due to the lack of resources in pre-school, this leaves children often having to wait their turn, which does to promote group play. Staff use positive strategies to deal with any minor issues and children receive praise and encouragement, which supports their self-confidence and esteem.

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

Staff record and understand children's specific health, dietary needs and allergies. Children learn about healthy lifestyles and follow good hygiene practices as they take responsibility for washing their hands appropriately throughout the day. Staff provide children with a healthy and nutritious cooked meal prepared by the nursery chef. Older children show confident in using their independence skills and serve their own meals, making choices about how much they would like to eat.

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

Children play in a safe and secure environment. Staff conduct daily checks on the premises and effective risk assessments procedures are in place to identify any hazards in the environment. This includes taking appropriate action of contacting a pest control company when a mouse was seen at the front of the premises. Staff are vigilant and supervise the children well. Gentle reminders from staff help children to understand about keeping themselves safe as they play and use a variety of equipment. The nursery has effective security in place and any visitors need to use the intercom system to gain access to the premises. In addition, close circuit television is in place within all rooms.

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provision

The provider and staff understand most of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Suitable recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to check the suitability of all adults employed by the provider. An attendance register is maintained for staff and children. This demonstrates that adult-to-child ratios are met throughout the day, including times when children are sleeping. However, staff do not always ensure that children are signed in immediately on arrival and there are periods of time when the numbers of children present are inaccurately recorded. This compromises children's overall safety in the event of an emergency occurring. Staff know and understand their responsibilities for safeguarding. They have received safeguarding training as a whole team. Staff know the child protection procedures to follow if they were concerned about a child. Currently, five staff hold paediatric first-aid qualifications. As the

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provision

nursery has a number of playrooms over an extensive area, each room has a telephone where they can summon for assistance in an emergency.

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provision

The provider has a sound understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The local authority advisors regularly visit the nursery and closely monitor the development of staff with the provider. The nursery is currently being supported in developing their knowledge of observing and assessing children development. Staff receive suitable support from the lead room coordinators and complete group supervisions to identify staff training needs. Staff hold relevant childcare qualifications from level 2 and above and are keen to continually update their professional development. All staff regularly participate in various training sessions held with the local authority. This demonstrates the staff team are willing to continually develop the service.

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provision

The staff places value in ensuring that parents develop a sense of belonging to the nursery and can contribute to the well-being of their children. Staff provide parents with a range of information to ensure they are informed about how the provision operates. They keep parents informed about their child's progress, achievements and daily experiences. Parents are welcomed into the nursery when they drop off their child in the morning and when they collect them later on. Comments from parents indicate they are happy with the service provided. The nursery have built up relationships with local schools and other professionals, which supports children's continuity of care and transitions soundly.

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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 128519 Local authority Redbridge Inspection number 988363 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 132 Number of children on roll 122 Name of provider Tree house Nursery School Limited Date of previous inspection 15/01/2013 Telephone number 020 8532 2535

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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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