Magic Roundabout Nurseries Ltd

Magic Roundabout Nurseries Limited Roberts Hall, 161 Wadham Road, London, E17 4HU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/12/2014 26/03/2014

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early years provision

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

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This provision is inadequate

 Children are not effectively safeguarded. For example, the provider does not follow robust procedures to ensure that safeguarding incidents are managed in an appropriate manner.  Children’s health, safety and well-being is not effectively prioritised. The provider does not ensure the legal requirements in relation to providing a safe, healthy and suitable environment are consistently met.  Staff are not always effectively deployed to meet the needs of all children. On occasions, children are out of sight and hearing of staff, which compromises their safety.  Staff do not give children clear messages about how to behave or explain why some behaviour is unsafe. Consequently, children’s behaviour is poor.  The quality of teaching is too variable. Staff do not undertake regular assessments of what children know and can do and do not make effective use of the environment to provide enjoyable and challenging experiences.

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It has the following strengths

 Parents share positive feedback about the nursery as they say that their children are happy to attend and staff keep them informed about their child's day.

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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 inspectors observed children's play in all group rooms and outside in the garden areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspectors sampled a range of records and documentation relating to safeguarding and welfare and learning and development.  The inspectors spoke to a number of parents and took account of their views.

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Inspection activities

 The inspectors spoke to staff and held meetings with the manager and the nominated provider's secretary of the company.

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Information about the setting

Magic Roundabout Day Nursery registered in 1994 and is situated in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The nursery operates from a purpose-built building, which is situated behind a row of shops in a semi-residential area on the Walthamstow and Chingford border. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register. The nursery provides full and part time day care to children in the early years age range, from age three months to under five years. The setting operates each weekday between 7.30am to 7pm for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 59 children on roll. The setting is in receipt of funding for free early education for children age three and four years. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children learning English as an additional language. A total of 20 staff are employed to work with the children. Four staff hold early years degrees, while the majority of all other staff hold

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

We will issue a welfare requirements notice requiring the provider to:

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

ensure that procedures, to safeguard children are effectively implemented. This refers specifically to the procedures that must be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

ensure that all staff understand the safeguarding policy and procedures and have an up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues, including the procedure that must be followed in the event of an allegation against staff

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

ensure that staffing arrangements meet the needs of all children and promote their safety. Providers must ensure that children are adequately supervised and decide how to deploy staff to effectively meet children’s needs. Children must always be within sight or hearing of staff

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

ensure that the managing of children’s behaviour policy and procedure is implemented, this refers specifically to children being supported and encouraged to understand the consequences of their behaviour on others

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

ensure the effective implementation of the health and safety policy, which covers identifying, reporting and dealing with hazards and faulty equipment so the premises and equipment comply with requirements of health and safety legislation

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

ensure that the outdoor space is fit for purpose. The ground levels, play surfaces, furniture, equipment and toys, must be safe and clean for children to use ensure that all reasonable steps are taken so children are not exposed to risks.

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must:

 ensure that the systems for staff supervision are effective and timely in providing support, coaching and training for all staff to promote continuous improvement

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must:

 ensure staff respond and take appropriate action if children are ill or infectious and take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection

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must:

 ensure there are suitable hygienic changing facilities for changing any children who are in nappies

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must:

 maintain records and obtain and share information with parents to help ensure the needs of all children are met. This is with particular regard to children who have specific health needs

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must:

 ensure that confidential information and records about staff and children are held securely and are only accessible and available to those who have a right or professional need to see them. Providers must ensure they meet their responsibilities under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998

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must:

 ensure that consistent and regular observations of children's learning are used to monitor their progress; and show where the children are within their learning, while also highlighting any gaps in learning that need to be addressed

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must:

 ensure that all staff have a good knowledge and understanding of how children learn

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must:

 ensure that the quality of teaching is consistent so that all children receive high quality learning experiences that help them to achieve successfully in all areas of learning.

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who attend

Staff do not effectively plan for children’s individual learning to ensure that they receive a broad range of challenging activities both inside and outside to support the seven areas of learning. The monitoring of children’s development is inconsistent. Not all staff make regular observations of children’s play and use this to plan appropriate challenges to extend their learning. This means staff do not have a clear overview of where children are at in their learning and development, whether they are making progress and where they need help to improve. Staff complete the statutory progress check for two-year-old children and share this with parents. However, this assessment is not updated regularly enough to monitor the progress children make.

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who attend

The quality of teaching across the nursery is variable. In the baby room the staff provide positive interactions with the babies as they encourage them to become independent. They provide easily accessible resources to help babies to explore. Staff consistently talk to babies and engage their interests through singing and creative experiences. However, the monitoring of babies ongoing development is weak. Some babies have been attending for over two months and there are just a few observations noting the activities they enjoy. The recorded next steps for babies, where these are present, do not focus on the prime areas of learning. Young children in the pre-toddler room are developing their communication and independence skills well. Staff spend time talking with children and encouraging them to explore their environment which results in young children becoming active learners. They make steady progress in their physical development as the resources

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who attend

inside provide them with ample challenges to develop their co-ordination and physical skills. Young children are confident to climb on small apparatus and explore in the small ball pool.

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who attend

The quality of teaching in the main toddler room is of poor quality overall. Staff do not effectively engage with children to support their learning. For example, they do not spend time supporting children’s language development by asking open questions to encourage them to think. As a result, some children in this room have limited communication skills. Staff plan some interesting activities, which children are keen to engage in. However, the organisation of activities is weak because the grouping of children is too large. For example, eight toddlers eagerly surround a table to make play dough with flour, water and food colouring. However, it is the more confident children who participate. The less confident children do not engage due to the size of the group and the member of staff does not encourage them to join in. The less confident children in this room spend a lot of time on their own with little adult interaction.

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who attend

Children in the toddler room are not supported to develop good listening or concentration skills. During a story and singing session all 17 toddlers are brought together in the one room and some children become upset. Instead of dealing with the children who are upset staff continue to sing songs over the crying children. This results in children becoming restless and eventually they disengage. The deployment of staff in this room is not effective as staff spend more time supervising children rather than engaging them in sustained conversations, play and learning, which limits the progress they make.

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who attend

Pre-school children are developing some basic skills to support their move on to school. They develop their independence skills as they manage their own self-care with growing confidence. Some pre-school children write their name, but others cannot find their name cards to support them with writing their names. Staff do not resource the environment well enough to support children’s purposeful play and learning. For example, pre-school children are eager to play with the role play shop but there is no money in the till to support their play. When children bring this to the attention of staff, there is a suggestion that they could make some money but this stops children’s engagement in the activity. Consequently there are missed opportunities for children to engage in sustained play.

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who attend

Staff support children who are learning English as an additional language. They work with parents to find out the key words children use at home and some staff use these when communicating with children.

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

The key person system helps babies and pre-toddlers to form secure attachments. However, the key person system is not as effective in the toddler room as children do not always develop secure relationships with a familiar adult. Children's health and emotional needs are not consistently met across the nursery because staff are not vigilant in knowing where children are at all times. Children are not always within sight and hearing of staff, for example children were observed to be on their own unsupervised lying on the cold wet ground in the outside playhouse.

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

Staff do not effectively meet the needs of children who are ill or infectious. When children become unwell staff contact parents but do not make children comfortable while they wait for their parents to arrive. Children remain in the rooms close to their peers and are not encouraged to use a tissue or hold their hand over their mouth to prevent infections spreading. Staff do not always work in partnership with parents to support children’s ongoing health needs. This is because they do not chase parents for updated information when children’s health needs change. This does not effectively support the management of children’s individual health requirements in the setting.

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

Staff lack knowledge and understanding of effective strategies to use to manage children’s behaviour. Children’s behaviour is not consistently managed. Although staff are calm when dealing with challenging situations, they do not teach children about boundaries and acceptable behaviour. Consequently, children behave in inappropriate ways and on occasions are observed causing harm to their peers. For example, children were observed pushing their peers causing them to fall over. A member of staff does intervene and requests that the child apologises. However, children are not informed of why their behaviour is unacceptable and could be dangerous. This does not teach children about consequences of their actions or how to manage their feelings and to understand appropriate behaviour. This does not help older children to be emotionally ready for school by helping them to understand how to behave in safe ways. Children do develop

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

independence skills as they serve themselves at lunchtime.

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

The nursery environment is very spacious with adequate resources to support children’s learning. However, there are several health and safety risks present in the environment which compromises children’s safety and well-being. For example, there is a lack of toilet paper in the bathrooms, there are broken tiles around the children’s sinks and the baby changing mats are dirty. Staff continue to change children on changing mats even though they have grown and their legs dangle over the edge of the surface. These poor facilities do not promote children’s good health and well-being or respect children’s individual comfort. In addition, the carpet in the toddler sleep room is frayed and is lifting, which poses a trip hazard for young children. At sleep-time plastic bags that are big enough to go over children’s heads are stored under their sleep mats posing a significant risk to children. Outside children access broken and unclean equipment such as, hoops with loose

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

ribbons which pose a risk of strangulation and children sit on a damp and dirty rug as they look at books. The surface is uneven and has many holes. Although staff do their best to place equipment over the holes to prevent children falling and tripping, these become uncovered as children play with the equipment. Leaders and managers do not ensure these risks to children are minimised.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward by Ofsted as a result of multiple concerns. These include; the hygiene and cleanliness of the nursery; the portions of food served to children; the quality of interaction for children; the learning opportunities; staff’s ability to manage children’s behaviour; the safe supervision of children; staff ratios; security of the premises; children being appropriately addressed in cold weather when playing outside and partnership with parents.

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provision

Leaders and managers demonstrate an appropriate knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Both the manager and deputy manager are new in post and have already identified the weaknesses in the setting. However, their ability to address weaknesses and raise improvement in the setting is not happening fast enough. This results in a number of statutory requirements not being met.

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provision

Staff do not demonstrate a confident knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. They are able to discuss the different types of child abuse and how this might impact on children’s behaviour. Staff understand the procedure to follow if they have a concern about a child however, they do not know the procedure to follow if there was an allegation against a member of staff. They do not know the role of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and referred to managers undertaking investigations when an allegation is made against a member of staff. Leaders and managers have not always followed their own safeguarding procedures in ensuring that referrals to the LADO are made when they have received concerns. This lack of knowledge means that whistle- blowing procedures in the nursery are not robust.

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provision

There are appropriate procedures in place for recruiting and vetting staff. A Disclosure and Barring Service check is carried out on all staff before they start work. This helps to ensure that all staff working in the setting are suitable. The deployment of staff however, is not effective and children’s safety is compromised. Although there are adequate staff on site to meet the minimum requirements, the layout of the setting and children’s individual needs are not sufficiently taken into account when calculating the number of staff required. For example, in the pre-school rooms there are three adjoining rooms and the outside play area that needs to be staffed. At times there are only two members of staff supervising all these areas. In addition, as there are no toilets in this area, when children need to use the bathroom a member of staff stands by the door and either waits for the children to return from the toilet in the toddler area or asks a member of staff from the

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provision

toddler area to supervise the children. This means that a member of staff is taken away from supporting children as they play which impacts on their learning and supervision by staff.

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provision

Leaders and managers have appropriate policies and procedures in place to support the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, however, the confidential management of both staff and children’s records within the nursery is inadequate. The provider does not demonstrate an awareness of their responsibilities under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998. This is because children’s information is not always stored securely, for example, inspectors found that private information was filed incorrectly into the wrong child’s folder. Staff files also contain private information relating to a different member of staff.

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provision

Children receive appropriate amounts of food and drink, and dress appropriately for outdoor play. Leaders and managers are improving their communication with parents. Parents told inspectors that their children are happy and want to attend. Parents share positive comments about the staff team and how they find out about their child’s day.

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provision

Since the last inspection there has been little focus given to staff training, development, and supervision. This is not effective in supporting staff to promote better educational outcomes for children. Self-evaluation and continuous improvement has too little impact on improving the quality of provision for children overall. The newly formed management team are beginning to involve staff in self-evaluation by gathering their views to see what is working well and what needs to improve. They are in the process of implementing systems to monitor the educational programmes that are offered to children. Leaders and managers show a commitment to addressing the weaknesses but improvements are not happening quickly enough.

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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 156213 Local authority Waltham Forest Inspection number 999613 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 120 Number of children on roll 59 Name of provider Magic Roundabout Nurseries Limited Date of previous inspection 26/03/2014 Telephone number 0208 523 5551

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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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