Starjumps Nursery, Creche and Out of School Provision

Starjumps Nursery, Creche and Out of School Provision Furzefield Centre, Mutton Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, EN6 3BW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11 April 2018 24 April 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:

 The quality of observations and assessments of children's learning is not consistent. Not all children are given enough challenge to make good progress in their learning.  The manager does not have a clear overview of the progress that individuals and different groups of children are making, to identify any variations and strengthen their progress and achievement.  Staff deployment is not always successfully tailored to meet the needs of individual children, particularly for babies during mealtimes.

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It has the following strengths

 Overall, staff interact warmly and sensitively with the children. This supports children's confidence in developing their communication and language skills.  Effective partnerships have been established with parents, other early years professionals and outside agencies to ensure that children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities get the additional support they need.  Parents speak positively about staff and have regular discussions about their child's care routines and their time at the nursery with the staff.

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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

 improve how well staff use observational assessments to accurately identify where children are in their development and to plan more precisely for the next steps in their individual learning, so that they make good progress 16/06/2018

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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

 evaluate the progress made by individual and different groups of children and use the information gained to ensure that gaps in learning are quickly closed  strengthen staff deployment, particularly between routines, to ensure that they make purposeful interactions with babies and are able to respond to their individual needs, and enhance their learning and development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager at appropriate times during the inspection and in a scheduled meeting.  The inspector observed children's activities and staff teaching indoors and outdoors.  The inspector looked at documentation, including a sample of children's records, and staff planning and assessment records. She also checked evidence of the suitability of staff to work with children.  The inspector took account of the views of children, staff and parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the nursery manager.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Procedures for staff recruitment are suitable. Effective ratios are maintained, ensuring that children are safe as they play. Staff are trained well in child protection procedures and are confident about how to report concerns. They have regular supervision meetings with the manager to discuss and arrange further training opportunities. The manager is beginning to use self-evaluation, and the views of staff and parents, to appropriately determine the priorities for improvement. The manager is not effectively monitoring progress to ensure that individuals, or specific groups of children, have enough challenge to make sustained progress and ensure that any gaps in learning close rapidly. Nonetheless, support from the local advisory service and an audit of areas for development, have resulted in some positive changes to the systems for planning. The manager has successfully identified

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff have a generally sound understanding of how children learn. They obtain adequate information from parents when children join the nursery, so they can plan activities linked to children's interests. However, the quality of assessments is variable and staff do not always have high expectations of what children need to learn next. Despite this, children generally enjoy their time at the nursery and find things to play with that interest them. Staff support babies and children who speak English as an additional language and communicate effectively with them. For example, they model vocabulary clearly and use visual gestures alongside speech, helping the children to understand. Older children enjoy taking part in activities where they sound out letters, using props, as they read their favourite stories. Staff support their literacy development well.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

In the main, children happily enter the nursery and the key-person system is, generally, effective in supporting children's emotional development. However, staff do not support babies as well during mealtimes, to encourage them to continue developing skills in their learning. Children have daily opportunities for exercise and energetic play in the outdoor area. For example, toddlers carefully ride wheeled toys on marked-out chalk lines. This helps to promote children's good health and supports their physical well-being. Staff are fair and effectively manage children's behaviour. Children have good manners and show kindness to their friends.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Not all children make the progress they are capable of due to weaknesses in monitoring and planning for their learning. However, they develop some skills in preparation for starting school. For example, older children enjoy retelling their favourite story as they act it out imaginatively, while babies enjoy reading books and pressing buttons that light up. Children gain a range of social skills, which helps them to make relationships, so they play well with others.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY402500 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 1094123 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 - 3 Total number of places 44 Number of children on roll 56 Name of registered person Hertsmere Leisure

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 24 April 2015 Telephone number 01707850555

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reference number

Starjumps Nursery, Creche and Out of School Provision registered in 2010. The nursery operates in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. The nursery employs seven members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds a qualification at level 6, two are qualified at level 3 and four ae qualified at level 2. There is also one member of staff who works in the office. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, from 8am until 6pm, all year round, apart from two weeks at Christmas and bank holidays. It provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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

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

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