Holland Park Pre-Prep & Nursery

Holland Park Pre-Prep School & Day Nursery 5 &9 Holland Road, London, W14 8HJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/10/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 Overall, children have access to a wide range of resources, enabling them to make independent choices about their play.  Children are provided with healthy and well-balanced meals prepared daily by the nursery chef.  Systems for monitoring and evaluating practice have been established and are beginning to identify and support improvements to benefit the children.

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It is not yet good because

 The registered provider has not informed Ofsted of the new manager. This is a breach of the Early Years Foundation Stage welfare requirements.  Staff do not ensure that planning of activities are suitable for the age and stage of all children's development. This results in some activities being too challenging and not achievable for the younger children.  Staff do not fully understand the importance of the key-person system to tailor the support some children need when they first arrive.

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspectors held discussions with the registered provider throughout the visit, including discussing safeguarding and sampling a range of policies.  The inspectors discussed the nursery with a sample of parents.

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Inspection activities

 One inspector and the deputy manager completed a joint observation and discussed their observations of staff practice.

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Inspector

Jennifer Devine and Deborah Found Bloodworth

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Information about the setting

Holland Park day nursery registered in 1990 and operates from Holland Park Pre- Preparatory School in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.30pm for 51 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 39 children in the early years age group on roll. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two-, three-, and four-years-old. The nursery employs 19 members of staff, of whom, 15 staff hold relevant childcare qualifications, four of these staff hold qualified teacher status and one member of staff holds a qualification at level 6. The unqualified staff are currently apprentices who are studying to gain a qualification. The nursery is broadly based on the Montessori educational approach.

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must:

 Ensure the planning takes into consideration each child's individual needs, interests and stage of development and use this information to plan age appropriate experiences to support each child's next steps of learning.

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

 Strengthen the key-person system to ensure staff fully support children's care, particularly in the settling-in process when children arrive at nursery.

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who attend

Overall, staff have a sound understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. They mostly use their knowledge to plan a suitable range of experiences for the children. However, the quality of teaching is variable across the nursery rooms, meaning the progress children make is unsteady.

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who attend

Children in the toddler room have direct access to the outdoor play area and overall make good use of this time outside. They enjoyed playing and digging in the sand, learning about the differences in the wet and dry sand properties. They particularly showed an interest in caring for the hens and guinea pigs in the garden. This supports children's understanding of the natural world and caring for others. This room is equipped with many Montessori resources, however, staff lack understanding of the Montessori approach and do not use these resources effectively. For example, they choose the Montessori equipment and sat children down at these activities, rather than allowing them to choose independently. In addition, they do not make sure this room is set up with age- appropriate toys to make this learning environment welcoming and inviting. Staff plan focused learning times into the day, however, some of these planned activities are too

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who attend

advanced and as a result, children lose interest and do not engage fully.

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who attend

In the pre-school room, children arrived and immediately started learning as they choose their play from a wide variety of resources. They enjoyed many early writing activities, such as stamping, cutting with scissors, using the whiteboard and black boards with the chalks. In addition, there is a cosy reading area with books and beanbags to encourage children's literacy development. Children also freely choose further resources, such as imaginative play in the home corner or building with the construction blocks. They also enjoyed exploring the water play on the small balcony.

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who attend

Staff in the baby room show a sound awareness of sitting with the babies and provide lots of interaction to support their emerging communication. This room is well staffed and helps to ensure babies are given lots of individual attention. Staff are caring and attentive to the younger children's needs. Babies are encouraged to move around and investigate and staff are close by to offer reassurance and cuddles as needed. Staff are aware of providing exciting experiences to develop young babies senses and early development. They enjoyed taking part in making play dough together. This supported them in developing their senses as they felt the texture of the flour and the differences when the water was added.

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who attend

Overall, staff are aware of observing children's learning and development. Each child has a scrap book where staff record their observations and track their progress. Although they record the children's next steps in the scrap books, staff do not successfully link this with their planning. As a result, individual children's needs are not clearly identifiable to ensure that the activities are suitable, fun and engaging. Consequently, some newer children are not completely settled.

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who attend

Children who speak English as an additional language are supported soundly as a number of staff speak additional languages and they use key routine words to help children settle. There are suitable systems to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Parents have regular opportunities to talk to the staff to discuss their children's achievements and progress.

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

The nursery has a key-person system in place and most children are seen to have built-up secure relationships with the staff. Baby room and pre-school staff know their key children very well. However, this is inconsistent in the toddler room and results in some children arriving and being upset. This is largely due to the staff team in this room not being clear about each child's interests. They do not make sure the room is set up well with interesting activities to encourage and entice these children to want to stay and explore. Later on in the morning, when more free-play activities are accessible, these children become more settled.

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

Staff foster children's personal, social and emotional development soundly. The pre-school children in particular, have formed some good friendships and play well together. They show kindness and understand about taking turns. Staff manage children's behaviour well and use positive strategies to deal with any minor issues that may occur.

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

Staff understand about children's specific health, dietary needs and allergies and keep records of this information. Children learn about healthy lifestyles and follow good hygiene practices as they take responsibility for washing their hands appropriately throughout the day. The nursery chef prepares a healthy and nutritious cooked meal. Mealtimes are suitably managed, as staff sit with small groups of children. Older children serve themselves and even the youngest children are beginning to use cutlery successfully. Children tuck into their food and thoroughly enjoy what they eat. The older children in the pre-prep school join the younger children for mealtimes. They set good examples and support the younger children to develop good table manners. Mealtimes are overall calm and social occasions and this underpins all children's enjoyment of their food.

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

The nursery is comfortable and children move freely and safely in their environment because staff take appropriate steps to ensure that hazards are kept to a minimum. 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 entrance is secure with the front door locked. Staff are also aware of checking any visitors identification before gaining access to the premises. In addition, close circuit television is in place within all rooms and at the entrance.

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provision

The registered provider and manager understand most of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, since the last inspection, there has been two new managers appointed and the registered provider has not notified Ofsted of these new managers. This is a breach of the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is also a breach of the requirements for the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. However, this has no significant impact on children's welfare as rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to check the suitability of all adults employed by the setting. Comprehensive risk assessments cover all aspects of the premises. Staff know and understand their responsibilities for safeguarding and understand the procedures of reporting any concerns.

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provision

The registered provider and manager have a sound understanding their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are committed to monitoring the nursery and staff. Self-evaluation processes are in place and overall reflect where improvements are needed. For example, a number of staff are new to the setting and the management team are aware they need to embed some procedures so that there is consistent practice across the nursery. New recording methods for observations and assessments have been recently introduced and staff are developing their understanding of how to use this effectively. Staff receive suitable support, as there are sound systems for supervision, which identify training needs and areas to develop.

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provision

Staff deployment is effective to promote and support sound practice throughout the nursery. The staff to child ratios is consistently met across the nursery and a clear attendance register is maintained to see clearly how many children and staff are present. This ensures that the children are well supervised and safe. The registered provider recognises that there has been a high turnover of staff recently. This has been largely due to promotion or career changes.

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provision

Overall, relationships with parents are sound. A regular exchange takes place verbally at the beginning and end of the day. Parents receive a range of information to ensure they remain informed about their child's progress, achievements and daily experiences. Overall, parental comments received at inspection indicate they are pleased with the service provided. The nursery share good relationships with their pre-prep school and this supports children continuity of care when they move onto reception.

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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

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

 Ensure that Ofsted are informed of the appointment of a new manager of childcare on non-domestic premises (compulsory part of the childcare register).  Ensure that Ofsted are informed of the appointment of a new manager on non- domestic premises(voluntary 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. 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 EY298494 Local authority Kensington & Chelsea Inspection number 918874 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Kitty Caroline Anne Mason Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 020 7602 9066

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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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