Pimlico Nursery

Pimlico Creche Westminster Adult Education Service, Lupus Street, Pimlico, London, SW1V 3AT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/10/2014 13/11/2013

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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 are highly qualified and have a very good understanding of how children learn and develop. They provide enabling interactions and a well-planned environment. As a result children enjoy learning and make good progress.  Partnerships with parents and other early years providers are strong and work effectively. This makes a good contribution to meeting all children's needs.  Arrangements for safeguarding children are well established, and clear policies and procedures are implemented consistently to ensure children are well protected.  The management promotes staff development and places emphasis on creating a culture of reflective practice and self-evaluation, which results in positive outcomes for children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Occasionally, large group activities do not take into account children's varying levels of interest to make the best of the learning opportunities.  Mealtimes are not always organised to fully promote relaxed, sociable times, where children can further extend their language skills through relevant conversations.

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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 had a tour of the premises with the manager.  The inspector took account of the views of the parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's activities inside and outside and carried out a joint observation with the provider.  The inspector sampled key documentation and children's records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a leadership and management meeting with the provider and deputy manager.

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Information about the setting

Pimlico Creche registered in 2013 and is operated by Westminster Adult Education Service. The creche is located in a room within the adult education centre and provides care for children whose parents are attending classes at the adult education centre, and from the local community. The premises is located in Pimlico, in the London Borough of Westminster, near to local transport links, shops schools and parks. There is access to an enclosed outdoor space for children's outdoor play. The creche is open from 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, during term time. Children can attend a variety of sessions. The creche is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The creche employs a team of seven staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. Of these, four staff members, including the manager, hold early years degrees and three staff members have National Vocational

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Information about the setting

Qualifications at level 3. The creche supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language.

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

 adapt large group activities to promote learning at all levels, taking into account the abilities and concentration levels of children of differing ages

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

 review the organisation of mealtimes, so that children can participate in enabling conversations about their experiences with their friends and enjoy their meals as a social occasion.

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who attend

Staff are highly qualified and have a very good understanding of how children learn and develop. They provide enabling interactions in a well-planned and rich environment. As a result, children enjoy learning and make good progress. Staff pay careful attention to children's interests and needs through their daily observations. They use this information to meet the children's needs and extend their learning. For example, as children settle, staff ensure favourite toys are available as they arrive. They have high expectations of all children and adapt their practice in order to provide a good balance of support and challenge based on their assessments of each child. For example, children participate in making snack. Young children learn to use children's knives to chop bananas with decreasing adult support, and older children are encouraged to use the drink station independently. The quality of teaching is consistently good in the inside and outside environment. There

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who attend

is a good range of new equipment, materials and toys, which promote learning across the educational programmes. Staff use resources and space effectively and offer enabling interactions to children throughout the provision. For instance, staff sing to toddlers as they jump on the small trampoline, counting the number of jumps children make. This helps extend their understanding of mathematics and one-to-one correspondence. There is a focus on supporting children's early writing skills and staff ensure children have access to clipboards, pens, pencils, card and other mark-making materials in every area of the crche. Staff also plan activities to ensure children's personal, social and emotional development is well supported. For example, through circle time, staff encourage children to talk about and express their feelings. However, in large group activities the ages and stage of development of children varies. Occasionally, these activities are too long for

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who attend

younger children and they lose interest. Nonetheless, many activities work well. Staff help to promote children's communication skills during daily routines and activities as they use sign language and constantly talk to the children. Staff interact positively with babies, introducing sounds and modeling words to build on children's vocabulary.

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who attend

Young children thoroughly enjoy playing imaginatively with their key person and pretending to have a phone conversation using a play phone. Young children have great fun exploring sounds as they push buttons on an electronic toy. Children become confident communicators as they chat with their friends and staff as they play. During small group activities they listen well to each other and put forward their ideas. All children have access to a good range of books and enjoy story and singing time. Staff monitor children's language development and work well in partnerships with parents and other professionals in order to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, staff follow recommendations from other professionals to create individual learning plans. This means, early intervention systems ensure there are strong links with other professionals and provide children with targeted support to meet specific

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who attend

The successful assessment and tracking systems help staff to identify any gaps in children's learning. This enables key persons to organise specific activities to support children's learning and development. Parents receive regular updates from the staff about their child's progress and are encouraged to become involved in their learning through home-link books and the learning journals. Staff organise formal meetings to go through children's development records with the parents. They discuss the next steps of the child and how parents can further support their child's learning at home. Staff have effective systems to complete the required progress check for two-year-old children, working closely with parents to include them in the process. This strong partnership helps parents feel involved in their child's learning.

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

An effective key-person system means that children form secure attachments and their emotional well-being is consistently supported. Staff help children to become confident and independent, and children show they feel safe and secure in their relationships as they take risks in their learning. For example, children eat independently and pour their own drinks; when water is spilled, staff respond calmly and involve the children in clearing up. This also helps promote children's self-esteem and prepare children for the next stages in their learning. Children are cuddled and comforted if upset and spend quality one-to- one time with their key person engaging in activities. This enables children to become secure in the environment and the routines, which consequently has a significant impact on their learning and development. The key-person role also ensures that staff use information gathered from parents during the settling-in process to support children's care

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

routines. This means children are well looked after and enjoy their time in the crche.

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

The staff offer a good mixture of planned and free-flow play indoors and outdoors. Resources across the areas of learning are extensive and made easily accessible to the children, giving each child plenty of opportunities to explore learning. As a result, children show good levels of involvement in their activities. Staff are good role models and successfully help children manage their behaviour. They use soft voices when instructing the children during activities and gently remind children of important rules. For example, they encourage children to be gentle with each other, to share and to hold on to the handrail when walking up or down stairs. As a result, children learn about safety, play well together and are fully engaged in their activities.

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

Staff promote good hygiene practices; they remind children to wash their hands at appropriate times and use visual cards to help children become independent. They follow the crche's health and safety policies and use aprons when preparing food for the children. Children bring snacks and a packed lunch from home, and staff work with parents to promote healthy eating. This means children have fresh fruits and vegetables for snack and water is available at all times. Mealtimes also provide opportunities for children to enhance their independent skills as they help themselves to food and pour drinks. However, at times the mealtimes are not organised to maximise learning. For example, not all children have lunch at the crche; some sit and have a snack waiting to be collected while others have their packed lunch. Staff sit with the children but, at times, place too much emphasis on care routines. This sometimes prevents these times from

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

being relaxed, social occasions, where children sit together to enjoy their food, conversations and each other's company.

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

Staff offer a wide range of opportunities for children to develop physical skills, which include climbing, running, jumping and riding wheeled toys. Children have regular access to fresh air and enjoy high-energy activities. This contributes positively to developing healthy lifestyles.

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

Staff consistently prioritise the safety of the children. They conduct rigorous risk assessments of the premises and of outings, and supervise children's play effectively. Staff talk to children about safety. They involve children in fire evacuation drills and organise special events, such as a visit from a fire engine. This helps children know what to do in case of an emergency. Staff have a very good understanding of child protection issues and attend training in order to update their knowledge of this area. Therefore, they are well prepared to deal with any potential risks and concerns. Additionally, all staff attend paediatric first-aid training and three staff also received Epipen training. This ensures that there is always a member of staff available to deal with any accidents or medical emergencies.

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provision

The provider and the staff have a strong understanding of the learning and development requirements; this ensures the educational programmes meet the needs of all children. The key-person role is well established and ensures that the strong assessment systems are used consistently to track progress. Therefore, the management of the crche is able to accurately identify learning needs and gaps in their provision. Strong early intervention strategies promote good partnerships with parents and other professionals. This ensures all children, including those with special educational needs and those children who speak English as an additional language access all the support they need to make progress. Therefore, most children develop at expected levels and educational gaps are rapidly closing.

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provision

The provider has a very clear understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. The staff are vigilant, consistently supervise of children and use widespread security systems to keep children safe and protected from harm. The provider follows a robust recruitment process, ensuring all staff undergo rigorous suitability checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks, and attend all required training to ensure children are kept safe in the crche. Induction and supervision procedures are completed consistently with the staff team. As a result, staff are confident in their roles, have a strong understanding of their policies and procedures, and their ongoing suitability is effectively monitored. Risk assessment procedures are robust and include daily safety checks of the different areas of the crche to ensure children are able to play safely.

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provision

The management monitors the impact of staff's practice effectively, promotes staff development and makes emphasis in creating a culture of reflective practice and self- evaluation, which results in positive outcomes for children. They lead staff meetings, carry out room observations, and look at children's development records regularly. This allows them to have a good overview of how children's needs are being met and create action plans to address any needs for training and support. For example, the manager recently worked closely with the staff in the baby area to enhance babies' access to sensory play. Staff are supported in achieving further qualifications, for example, some are completing an early years degree. Detailed and consistent self-evaluation is undertaken through action plans and informal discussions with staff and parents. This helps prioritise areas for development, such as plans to continue to enhance the settling in and the planning to

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provision

provide children with richer learning. The provider links closely with the local authority early years team to help her to focus on the further development of the provision. As a result, the self-evaluation in the crche is effective in identifying key areas for development to drive continuous improvement.

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provision

Staff establish links with feeder schools and organise visits. They make picture books based on their visits to help to prepare older children to get ready for their move on to school. Parents seen at the inspection speak positively of the staff team and comment that they are able to communicate with key persons on a daily basis, and access children's learning journals when they drop off and collect their children. They are provided with opportunities to attend formal meetings with the key person to discuss their children's learning and development. Consequently, they feel well informed about their children's learning.

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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 EY463123 Local authority Westminster Inspection number 962933 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 18 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Westminster Adult Education Service Date of previous inspection 13/11/2013 Telephone number 02076418164

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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