Early Steps Day Nursery

Early Steps Day Nursery St. Wilfrid Catholic Church, 97 Lorrimore Road, London, SE17 3LZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25 November 2015 23 July 2015

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 Staff do not always use their knowledge of how children learn, to teach effectively and to consistently support individual children's progress.  Occasionally, staff are busy with routine activities and do not engage effectively with children to extend their play and learning experiences.  The organisation of art activities does not always fully promote children's curiosity to develop their imagination and express their ideas.

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It has the following strengths

 Partnerships with parents are strong. For example, the provider and children's key persons ensure that communications with parents are ongoing and they encourage parents to contribute to children's learning.  Staff consistently support children to behave well and to take into account the needs of others as they play with each other. Children develop social skills, for instance, as they learn to take turns while playing with the bikes outside.  The provider has worked in close partnership with the local authority early years team to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. They have made suitable progress towards the actions set in the previous inspection and successfully meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

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Due Date

 monitor and develop staff practice so the quality of teaching is consistently good to improve learning opportunities for all age groups of children. 25/01/2016

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Due Date

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

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Due Date

 strengthen opportunities for children to use their imagination freely during art activities  promote staff engagement with children to extend their play and learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children and their interactions with staff.  The inspector carried out meetings with the provider/manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents, children and staff.  The inspector viewed a sample of documents, including children's developmental records.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the provider.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

The provider monitors staff performance and provides opportunities for trained and qualified staff to share their skills with other members of the team. However, this is not always fully effective; the quality of teaching is varied and they do not meet some of the learning and development requirements. Nevertheless, this does not have a significant impact as the provider monitors children's overall progress to identify concerns in individual children's development. She works in partnerships with professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to support disabled children and those with special educational needs. The provider attends meetings and shares information with staff to ensure a smooth process for children who move to school. Safeguarding is effective. Staff know how to protect children in their care and ensure their safety and well-being.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff observe and plan for individual children's learning but do not always implement them well enough to stimulate children's learning and ensure their steady progress. For instance, as children made snowmen with art materials, staff did not question them effectively to challenge and extend their learning further. Also children did not have access to a wide range of resources to use their own ideas fully and strengthen their creativity. Nevertheless, children demonstrate curiosity to explore. Staff help children to understand differences as they read to older children; for instance, they discussed the colour of the eyes. Young babies learn about the effect of their actions, for example, as they explore musical instruments and listen to the sounds.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Children enjoy the fresh air and develop a healthy lifestyle, for example, as they run around and kick a ball to each other. However, staff sometimes engage in routine tasks and miss opportunities to interact with children and extend their learning, for example, when children play outside. Children develop confidence in their own abilities. Staff provide suitable equipment to meet individual children's needs, such as a small slide for young children to explore. Staff promote children's independence at mealtimes. For instance, children serve the food and help themselves to a drink when they are thirsty. Staff provide nutritious and freshly prepared food and promote children's understanding of the importance of healthy eating.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

All children, including those learning English as an additional language, settle well and form secure relationships with staff. This has a positive impact on their learning and development, and overall they develop key skills for future learning. However, weaknesses in the quality of teaching mean that they do not always make the best possible progress.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY460674 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 1023047 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 1 - 8 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 23 Name of provider Miata Educational Services Date of previous inspection 23 July 2015 Telephone number 02077012800

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Setting details

Early Steps Day Nursery registered in 2013. It is located in Kennington, London. There are nine members of staff; three hold qualifications at level 6 and three at level 3. The manager holds a degree in childhood education. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education sessions for children aged two, three and four years.

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Setting details

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

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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, safeguarding and child protection.

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Setting details

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Setting details

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Setting details

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