Elephant & Castle Day Nursery

Elephant & Castle Day Nursery 15 Hampton Street, London, SE17 3AN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10 November 2016 12 December 2013

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This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1

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This provision is good

 The management team is well organised and has a suitable understanding of the early years requirements. It works together with the provider to maintain good standards throughout the provision.  Partnerships with parents are well established. Staff effectively engage parents in their children's learning. For example, parents contribute to initial and ongoing assessments of children's development. Parents express how happy they are with the care provided and feel that staff are friendly and approachable.  Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff know the children well and use children's individual interests and preferred ways of learning to plan activities, which support the next stages in their development.  Children are highly confident and work together extremely well. They learn how to keep themselves and each other safe. For example, during a supervised construction activity with real tools and materials, children were keen to remind each other how to

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Occasionally, some daily routines do not take into account the attention spans of younger children and babies, which lead to some children losing focus at times.

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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

 review routines and group activities for younger children and babies, to increase their engagement and enjoyment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector toured the nursery premises.  The inspector observed staff interaction with children during a range of routines and activities, and carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector spoke to the children and assessed their experiences within the nursery.  The inspector held discussions with the nursery managers, staff and parents, and took their views into account.  The inspector looked at a sample of documentation.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The enthusiastic management team consistently monitors children's learning and reflects on all areas of practice. It actively seeks the opinions of staff, children and parents when making changes to the provision. This supports continuous improvement. Staff supervision is effective and staff make good use of available training opportunities to develop their knowledge and improve their teaching practice. For example, training on supporting children's mathematical skills has enabled staff to integrate numbers, shapes and measurements into daily routines and activities for children, to further enhance their learning. Safeguarding is effective. Staff implement rigorous policies and procedures to support children's welfare and protect them from harm.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff regularly observe children and monitor their development precisely, to find what they need to learn next. Staff understand that children learn in different ways, therefore they ensure, for instance, that early literacy activities are presented in a range of ways to suit each child's needs. Children are highly motivated and actively involved during their self-led play. For example, older children used lolly sticks to create puppets as they recalled and retold a favourite story, while babies explored the shapes and textures of natural materials in a 'treasure basket'.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Children's self-esteem is enhanced highly successfully by the praise and encouragement they receive from their key person and other staff. Staff act as extremely positive role models and children behave exceptionally well. Staff reinforce children's understanding of healthy lifestyles superbly. For example, they engage children in regular discussions about the benefits of eating healthily. Children enjoy being physically active, for example as they joined in with action songs and danced in time to the music playing on the interactive whiteboard. The environment is extremely well organised, so that all children, including babies, have excellent opportunities to explore and learn independently. They show extremely high levels of curiosity, imagination and concentration during their play. Children gain an excellent understanding of diversity within their local community, for example, through their regular outings to the local market, library, shops and parks.

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Outcomes for children are good

All children make good progress from their starting points and gain the skills that they require in readiness for school. For example, older children demonstrate excellent self-help skills; they manage personal care practices independently, serve their own lunch and help clear their plates away once they have finished their food. All children develop a positive sense of themselves and learn to respect differences in others.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY372669 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 1062162 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 0 - 4 Total number of places 80 Number of children on roll 65 Name of registered person Elephant & Castle Day Nursery Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 12 December 2013 Telephone number 02072 774 488

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reference number

Elephant & Castle Day Nursery was re-registered in 2009 due to a change of company name. It is one of two settings owned by the same provider. It is situated in the London Borough of Southwark. The nursery is open every weekday from 8am to 6pm, closing for bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years old. The nursery employs 24 staff to work with the children; of these, 22 hold relevant childcare qualifications between level 2 and level 7.

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reference number

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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reference number

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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reference number

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reference number

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reference number

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