The Marmalade Cat

The Marmalade Cat 1 Altenburg Gardens, London, SW11 1JH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 3 May 2016 27 January 2011

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff use their expert knowledge to promote children's early literacy and mathematics extremely effectively. Many children aged three and four years demonstrate skills in these areas beyond the expectations of their age. For example, they recognise words and numbers by sight and write phonetically plausible words as they compose sentences.  The staff use innovative ways to provide excellent support for children who are learning English as an additional language and also for less confident communicators. For example, they create their own games and resources tailored for individual children and meticulously plan opportunities to help children gain targeted listening and speaking skills.  The staff use a range of highly successful strategies to engage the parents fully in their children's learning. For example, parents join staff in training workshops where they learn how their children develop and how to extend their learning at home.

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This provision is outstanding

 Managers offer the staff highly targeted professional development activities to ensure teaching is consistently outstanding. For example, they have used their deep understanding of the curriculum to help staff rigorously adjust their teaching to match the different levels of development of children.  Managers and staff make children's well-being the highest priority. Children develop strong emotional attachments to staff.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 continue to develop the strategies used to compare the progress made by different groups of children, in order to help maintain the excellent progress made throughout the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's play and staff interaction with the children, and viewed the toys, resources and equipment.  The inspector held discussions with the management, staff and children.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager and principal.  The inspector checked evidence of safeguarding practices, staff recruitment procedures, staff professional development and the evaluation process. The inspector looked at the children's records and discussed how staff assess children's progress.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

Safeguarding is effective. The manager ensures that staff have a comprehensive understanding of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child. The managers evaluate the provision and children's progress precisely to improve outcomes and teaching. For example, they have strengthened the educational programme since the previous inspection to enhance children's progress in mathematics. They are exploring more ways to strengthen their analysis of different groups of children. The manager provides many sharply focused development opportunities for staff. For example, they observe each other's practice and meet daily to reflect and improve.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

The well-qualified staff are very skilled at planning activities that build on children's prior knowledge and effectively enhance their learning. For example, children name different well-known artists and explain the different techniques they use. Children experiment with using brushes in different ways as they paint, intentionally mirroring the artists' styles. Children then continue to explore the effect of paint diluted in water, playing at the water tray. Staff demonstrate excellent questioning skills to stimulate children's critical thinking. For example, staff used many questions that began with 'how' and 'what' as two-year-old children considered how much water they needed to add to their bread dough. Staff used more complicated questioning as older children identifed the possible outcomes of their choices as they built with blocks, planning their play, for example.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

The welfare and the emotional and physical well-being of children are central to staff practice. Staff make excellent use of opportunities to promote children's understanding of safety. For example, younger children practice how to cross roads in the safety of the hall, before they actually do so. Staff implement a range of innovative strategies to promote emotional well-being. For example, children regularly explore their emotions and behaviour as they play with puppets. Children's behaviour is exceptional and confidence is high. Staff help children to make excellent connections with each other and the wider community. For example, children enjoy making and sharing books about themselves, their families and the significant events in their lives, which help them learn about the lives of others.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children leave the nursery extremely well prepared for the next step in their education, such as school. They are highly motivated, articulate and develop very strong friendships. Older children self-assess and reflect on their own progress. Children make substantial gains from their starting points, exceeding developmental expectations in many aspects.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY267483 Local authority Wandsworth Inspection number 826657 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 84 Name of provider Rosalind Jane Hyslop Date of previous inspection 27 January 2011 Telephone number 0207 228 1957

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Setting details

The Marmalade Cat is a day nursery registered in 2004. The nursery operates from a road close to Clapham Common, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The nursery is open each day from 8.45am to 4pm during term time. Holiday activities are provided during a period in the summer holiday. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years. There are eight members of staff, including the manager, who all hold appropriate early years qualifications. The manager and principal have both attained Early Years Professional Status. A further member of staff holds a master's degree in early childhood studies. The nursery reflects the Montessori philosophy of education.

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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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