North Stars Nursery

North Stars Nursery 73 North Way, Kingsbury, London, NW9 0RA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/10/2014 03/03/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2

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This provision is good

 Staff interact well with children; they teach them effectively and stimulate their interests in play. Therefore, children progress well in all areas of development.  Detailed self-evaluation has meant the nursery has addressed all their previous weaknesses. Therefore, there has been good improvement which benefits the children.  The use of challenging and interesting resources, both inside and outside, ensure children are eager to play and develop.  Effective relationships with parents help staff to meet the needs of the children, as there are good levels of communication channels.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are missed opportunities to extend children's knowledge of mathematics, to enable them understand basic concepts, such as subtraction, addition and simple calculation.

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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 examined a range of documentation including, staff records, children's assessment records and the nursery's policies.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playrooms including staff and children's interactions.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

North Stars Nursery registered in 2001 and operates from three ground floor rooms at the side of the provider's house. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is situated in a residential area in Kingsbury, within the London Borough of Brent. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is open each weekday with morning sessions from 9am to 12pm, and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 4pm. The nursery also offers full- time sessions from 9am to 4pm and operates for 43 weeks of the year. The nursery currently supports children who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for three- and four-year- old children. There are currently 13 children in the early years age group on roll. The nursery employs five members of staff, including the manager, who all hold appropriate

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

 strengthen opportunities for children during both adult-led and child-initiated learning experiences, to develop further their understanding of basic mathematical concepts.

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who attend

Staff provide children with a good range of learning opportunities across all the seven areas of development. As a result, children develop and make effective progress from their initial learning points upon entry to the nursery. Staff undertake on-entry observations and assessments which they share with parents. These also identify any gaps in development, so that staff can ensure all children are helped to progress according to their age and stage of development. Staff sit and engage well with children as they play. For example, they discussed with children Halloween pictures from inside the magazines that staff had brought in. They then began to talk about spiders, as staff extended the discussion and learning, following children's interests.

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who attend

Staff use effective teaching techniques as they, question, encourage, and explore ideas and model language. Therefore, children develop good communication and language skills and build confidence in expressing themselves, as well as speaking and listening to each other. Staff sat with children and helped them to make play dough. Children were eager to mix all the ingredients of salt, water, flour, oil and food colouring. Children took turns to mix the ingredients and staff used some mathematical language. This means children begin to learn about early mathematics. However, there were missed opportunities to extend learning by teaching children about basic addition and subtraction during every day play. Children expressed their ideas as they moulded and made shapes with the play dough; they learnt to socialise with each other and learnt the rules of waiting and taking turns.

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who attend

Staff offer children writing resources and encourage them to make a shopping list of the foods they want to purchase at the shops. As a result, children are engaged in imaginative play, they recalled the food they are familiar with and used play baskets and food in their role play. This helps children to understand the world they live in. Staff read to children, using large books so all the children can see the pictures. Children are involved in the story. Staff offer props to encourage them to take part by discussing what is happening and what is coming next in the story.

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who attend

Staff provide good opportunities for physical play, outside. Children climb, run, jump and ride toys, they learn to manoeuvre and coordinate toys well. Staff talk to children about the festival of Diwali. They provide different coloured rice and beans. Children explore the materials and make their own rangoli patterns. This means, children handle different natural resources and use these to create and express their own creations. Staff provide children with portable computer tablets, compact discs and other programmable toys. As a result, children learn about technology and how things work; they demonstrate they are confident with using everyday technology.

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

Staff have established good relationships with the children. Therefore, all children are settled, happy and they continually build their confidence and self-esteem. The key-person system works effectively, as staff work closely with parents to settle their child and meet the needs of the child. Staff are good role models; they speak to the children, parents and each other respectfully. Children behave well because staff teach them behaviour rules. Children listen, share and take turns during play and they treat each other well. Staff teach children about diversity and help them to have a positive attitude towards diversity. Staff achieved this through the provision of resources they provide that reflect differences and by celebrating different festivals. Staff are representative of the children's cultural backgrounds; therefore, children are able to speak in both English and their home language to staff. This also helps new children to settle in well.

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

Staff talk to children about the importance of healthy lifestyles during mealtimes. Children bring in their own snacks and packed lunch from home if they stay for more than one session. Their food is stored in their lunch boxes so is kept cool and in hygienic conditions. Staff handling food are trained to do so and no food is cooked on site. Staff provide daily outdoor play, so that children gain from fresh air and exercise. Staff encourage and teach children to manage their own personal needs, for example, hand washing before snacks after using the toilet. Staff use effective nappy changing routines to meet the needs of the children. Areas used to change children's nappies are suitable; staff wear aprons and gloves and children have privacy. The provider has a pet dog, which she is keeps offsite. Overall, staff demonstrate they are effective in meeting the care needs of children. The setting is well-resourced. All resources are suitable and of high quality within all three

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

playrooms and the garden. As a result, children learn and progress in all areas of learning and show they are emotionally well prepared for school.

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provision

Leadership and management of the nursery is effective, which benefits children. The provider and deputy are always present and with the children during opening hours. There are no students at present and students are never left alone with children. The provider understands her responsibilities for delivering the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements. She monitors children's progress robustly so that she knows what stage of development each child is at and the plans for their next steps. As a result, children progress well and any gaps in development are identified, so that these can be closed, which ensures every child progresses.

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provision

Staff have a good understanding of the setting's safeguarding policy. Therefore, they can identify concerns and report these to the appropriate agencies to safeguard children. Detailed risk assessments carried out by staff ensure all areas of the nursery; garden and planned outings are checked for hazards so that children are safe. Staff are trained to handle food and drink and the setting has been visited by the environmental health agency to ensure it is suitable to provide any foods and drinks to children. The provider carries out regular supervisions with staff and monitors their practice daily, offering guidance and training. As a result, all staff including senior staff understand their roles and responsibilities and carry these out effectively. Robust recruitment procedures mean that qualified, vetted and suitable staff are employed to work at the setting. All of which safeguards children and helps them to achieve.

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provision

Since the last inspection, the provider has put many steps in place to drive improvement robustly. For example, she has appointed a new staff team, established robust vetting procedures and regularly shares the nursery's self-evaluation document with staff and parents. Furthermore, she has amended all policies, introduced a daily dairy and safeguarding log book, which she checks daily. She implements weekly staff briefing sessions to discuss and plan for all of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements. All staff have attended safeguarding and special educational needs and/or disabilities training. She has introduced more free-flow routine, so that children can move between all three playrooms and the garden freely. All play resources are audited and checked so they are at a good standard and challenging to children. She has developed the outside play area so children are able to experience the same level of learning and challenge as inside.

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provision

The staff have established effective partnerships with parents. For example, staff provide detailed information, such as parents packs, newsletters, parental questionnaires, home links dairies and offer regular meetings with their child's key persons. Parents are also invited to attend parent's workshops. Therefore, parents are fully informed about their child's progress and invited to work with staff to continue the learning at home. There are good systems in place to work with external agencies; staff know the importance of forming links to support children's individual needs.

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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 137828 Local authority Brent Inspection number 993788 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 13 Name of provider North Stars Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 03/03/2014 Telephone number 020 89056449

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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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