Alpha Kids Day Nursery

Alpha Kids Day Nursery 39 Lea Bridge Road, LONDON, E5 9QB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/10/2014 07/10/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Children's care and learning needs are not promoted effectively. This is due to the poor deployment of staff and the inappropriate grouping of younger children.  Staff do not provide children with high quality learning experiences in the indoor and outdoor learning environments.  Children's behaviour is not managed consistently. As a result, they are not developing a clear understanding of rules and boundaries, which affects their developing skills for the future.  The educational programme for communication and language for children who are learning to speak English as an additional language is weak. As a result, some of these children are not making sufficient progress in their language development.  The quality of the observations and assessments amongst the staff team is variable, which means not all children's learning is supported effectively.  The provider was unable to demonstrate that they have valid public liability insurance.

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It has the following strengths

 The care needs of the babies are suitably met.  Staff have developed positive relationships with parents.

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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 observed staff and children during activities in the indoor and outdoor learning environments.  The inspector spoke to the manager, some parents and staff.  The inspector sampled a range of documents, relating to children and staff.  The inspector carried out two joint observations with the provider.  The inspector engaged in discussions with the provider.

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Information about the setting

Alpha Kids Day Nursery registered in 2013. The setting operates from a purpose-built building and is situated in Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney. The nursery serves the needs of the local families. All children share open-plan playrooms, located at ground floor level, and a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open from 7.30am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 30 children aged from one year to under five years on roll. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery receives funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four years. Staff care for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who are learning to speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs six staff, including the provider, of whom three hold a qualification at level 3. One member of staff has attained Early Years Practice level 4 and

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Information about the setting

the provider has Qualified Teacher status.

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must:

 ensure the educational programmes in the indoor and outdoor learning environments cover all areas of learning, and ensure that staff gain sufficient knowledge and understanding of how to promote children's all-round learning and development to offer good levels of challenge for children of different ages and abilities

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must:

 develop observation and assessment systems that enable staff to ensure all children's levels of achievement are consistently identified; use staff's findings to shape children's future learning experiences that are tailored to meet their individual needs; and ensure staff use the information obtained to provide accurate assessments of the progress children are making

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must:

 ensure that staff accurately identify all children who have communication difficulties, and make sure the programme for communication and language for these children provides sufficient opportunities for them to learn and reach a good standard of English

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must:

 ensure staff manage children's behaviour effectively and in an appropriate manner for their individual stage of development

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must:

 implement more effective contingency plans with regard to staffing arrangements and the deployment of staff to ensure children's care and learning needs are consistently met at all times

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must:

 obtain valid public liability insurance

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must:

 provide effective coaching and monitoring of staff practice to identify areas for improvement in their personal effectiveness and promote their professional development.

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who attend

The educational programmes do not adequately cover the seven areas of learning and the range of resources is limited. Staff knowledge and understanding of how to enable children to learn and develop is weak. As a result, staff are not providing children with sufficient challenge to extend their learning, particularly for the older or more able children. The baby room is suitably equipped with a range of sensory and audio resources. This enables babies to show increasing confidence as they move around and explore their environment. On the day of the inspection, they showed great enjoyment as they listened to and copied staff as they sang action songs. However, the provision of resources in the pre-school room does not enable staff to offer good levels of challenge to children to enable them to extend their learning. Children have access to basic construction resources and materials for making marks, and they enjoy playing with the small world animals.

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who attend

However, while staff make some effort to join in their play and support their learning, the quality of their engagements are weak due to their lack of knowledge and understanding. For example, staff's questioning techniques did not encourage children's thinking skills. In addition, when children did share their ideas, staff did not pick up on these or extend them further. Overall, staff do not support all children's communication and language sufficiently throughout the nursery. While staff have identified speech and language concerns with some children, others who have communication difficulties have not been identified. As a result, not all children receive appropriate support to enable them to make sufficient progress in their language development. This is particularly the case for those children who are learning English as an additional language. This undermines their progress towards the early learning goals and hinders their future learning.

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who attend

Observation, assessment and planning are not consistent throughout the nursery. The provider has identified this weakness through the monitoring systems and identified targeted action to improve. However, in the meantime, not all children are receiving appropriate support to enable them to make suitable progress. Partnership with parents is generally sound to help meet children's individual care needs. Staff keep them informed about their child's day and encourage them to share information about their child from home to help support children's learning.

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

While some children are happy and settled in their environment, there are number of children who have difficulty in settling. The poor deployment of staff and the ineffective grouping of younger children heightens this. As a result, children's ability to form positive and secure relationships with familiar staff is hindered. There is a key-person system in place, although this is not wholly effective for all children. Babies generally enjoy the close interactions with familiar staff, who spend time on their level engaged in their play. However, some young children are moved frequently between the rooms. This has a detrimental effect on the continuity of care that they receive. In addition, on the day of the inspection, younger children in the pre-school room were mainly cared by staff who were not familiar with their learning needs. Consequently, little learning took place.

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

Although there are basic resources available for children, much of the children's play lacked purpose and direction. At times, this resulted in displays of negative behaviour, which staff did not always manage appropriately. For example, some of the older children took toys from the younger children and staff did not always challenge this or deal with the situation. This was because staff were not deployed effectively as they were too busy trying to maintain and keep up with the daily routines. As a result, the behaviour of older children affected the enjoyment and experiences of the younger children. This demonstrates that staff are not supporting all children to gain appropriate social skills that will equip them well for the future.

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

Staff promote children's physical health through the daily routines. Children are encouraged to wash their hands independently throughout the day, as necessary, and meals and snacks are sufficiently nutritious. Children have regularly opportunities to engage in outdoor activities, although the outdoor learning environment is not well planned to provide a range of experiences across the areas of learning. There is some opportunity for the older children to develop their self-help skills. For example, they attempt to serve themselves at lunch time and pour their own drinks throughout the day.

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provision

Overall, the nursery is not managed consistently well and the quality of teaching and care is not good enough to meet children's needs. The provider demonstrates some knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, practice within the nursery does not reflect this. Consequently, children's experiences are not consistently supported to enhance their overall learning and well-being.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are in place and implemented appropriately. All staff have undergone the required suitability checks and completed an induction, which includes appropriate safeguarding training. As a result, all staff demonstrate a sound understanding of their roles in child protection. They are aware of signs and symptoms that may cause them to have concerns about children's well-being. Staff maintain records of accidents and existing injuries and they know the procedures for reporting concerns about other members of staff.

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provision

The environment is suitably maintained and equipment and resources in good condition. Staff carry out regular risk assessments and are aware of their role in implementing health and safety procedures. However, the provider was unable to demonstrate that she has obtained appropriate public liability insurance.

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provision

The provider has some contingency plans in place to help cover staff absences and maintain ratios. However, the weaknesses in the deployment of staff and grouping of children, particularly while the main staff are absent, impacts on staff's ability to maintain quality and meet children's care and learning needs. Consequently, some children found it difficult to settle and spent periods throughout the day crying and showing signs of distress.

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provision

The provider does not monitor staff practice and identify and address weaknesses in practice sufficiently. She is beginning to take an active role in the supervision and support of staff, and has identified some training needs. In addition, the local authority has been working with the provider to support them in addressing the previously identified weaknesses set as a welfare requirements notice and actions to improve at the previous inspection. However, although improvements have been made in some of these areas, the improvements are still not enough to increase the quality of the provision from the previous inadequate judgement. Furthermore, while taking some steps to address some of the previous actions, the provider has not maintained practice in other areas, which have had a negative impact on children's overall care and learning.

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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 EY443998 Local authority Hackney Inspection number 963478 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 30 Name of provider Alpha Kids Day Nursery Partnership Date of previous inspection 07/10/2013 Telephone number 02079989411

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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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