Stepping Stones Community Nursery

Stepping Stones Community Nursery Ground Floor, Melbury House, Richborne Terrace, London, SW8 1BA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14 September 2017 28 January 2015

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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 Good 2

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This provision is good

 Staff manage children's behaviour well. For instance, they are calm, fair and consistent in their approach. Children behave well.  Staff provide an interesting variety of activities based on all areas of learning. Staff plan well and use regular assessments of children to determine their next steps for learning. Children are suitably challenged and make good progress.  Staff value the partnerships they have with parents. For instance, they give them regular updates on children's progress in different ways, such as through regular meetings, reports and daily conversations.  Staff are supervised well and their support and training needs are reliably identified. For instance, staff attended a course on managing behaviour which led to more successful ways to do this.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff have not fully developed ways for children to understand and use technology.  Staff do not consistently make the most of opportunities for children to enhance their independence skills, particularly at snack times and mealtimes.

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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

 make the most of opportunities for children to learn to do things for themselves, to support their personal development further  develop more ways for children to learn about and use technology to support their understanding of the world further.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager of a group activity.  The inspector observed the interaction between staff and children, and spoke with children when appropriate.  The inspector tracked the progress of several children.  The inspector looked at some documentation and held a discussion with the manager.  The inspector considered the views of staff, parents and children during the inspection.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The manager monitors the nursery well. For example, she spends a lot of time working in the group rooms directly observing and feeding back to staff to help them find ways to improve their practice. The manager has a good overview of children's progress and readily puts plans into action to offer additional support to children who need it. The manager evaluates the nursery regularly and has identified ways to make practice stronger. She has met previous recommendations and children now have good personal care routines. Safeguarding is effective. Staff have a clear knowledge and understanding of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child's welfare. The manager takes children's safety very seriously. She ensure that all staff are thoroughly checked before employment and helps to minimise accidents by carrying out checks covering all areas of the nursery.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff successfully teach children good early literacy skills. For example, they sing songs and read stories in both Spanish and English, and children have good rates of fluency in both languages. Staff read stories about opposites and children understand and use terms, such as 'hot' and 'cold', correctly. Staff make the most of opportunities to support children's early mathematical skills, for example, counting objects as they play and teaching them the names of shapes as they complete puzzles. Staff provide children with exciting creative activities. For instance, children use all their senses as they explore different textures, materials and colours of natural objects. Children enjoy a broad range of physical challenges in the outdoor area where they crawl, climb, jump and balance.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children thrive well in this lovely, caring and nurturing environment. Staff have close relationships with the children and highly value each child as an individual. Staff interact very positively with children, smiling and speaking in gentle, warm tones. Children settle well and feel secure and confident. They are motivated to learn. Staff teach children how to behave with care and caution in their environment. For instance, they discuss road safety with children and carry out regular fire drills were children know how to leave the premises efficiently in emergencies. Staff support children's social skills well. For example, children say 'please' and 'thank you' and treat each other with respect and kindness. Staff teach children healthy habits, such as by providing well-balanced meals and daily opportunities for good physical challenges.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children learn about others from different backgrounds and respect them. They are articulate and confident communicators. Children have good concentration skills and engage well with tasks. They explore space and balance as they build with different construction sets. Children learn valuable skills for their future learning and move on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY398669 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 1085906 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 1 - 3 Total number of places 14 Number of children on roll 8 Name of registered person Stepping Stones Community Nursery

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 28 January 2015 Telephone number 0207 820 3800

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reference number

Stepping Stones Community Nursery opened in 2009. It is located in Vauxhall in the London Borough of Lambeth. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm, all year round, except on public bank holidays. There are four staff members, including the manager. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications, including one member of staff who holds qualified teacher status. The nursery accepts funding for free early years education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It is a bilingual nursery.

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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

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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