Oak Tree Day Nursery

Inspection of Oak Tree Day Nursery 46 Bromley Road, London, Kent SE6 2TP

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is good

Children arrive happy to attend nursery. They are warmly greeted by the staff team and demonstrate they feel safe and secure. Children settle in quickly and are eager to explore the fun and exciting activities on offer. Babies enjoy cuddles, and staff give reassurance, when needed. Staff respond quickly to babies' individual needs and recognise when they are hungry or tired. The uniqueness of all children is valued. Children understand rules and learn to look after the resources. They are polite and use good manners. Children are regularly praised for their positive interactions and are encouraged to think about behavioural expectations in the nursery.

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The provision is good

Staff know the children extremely well. They confidently talk about their interests and progress in detail. They observe children during play and plan what they need to learn next. Children are encouraged to make choices, explore and experiment in their play. They are given opportunities to increase their independence and to develop a positive attitude to learning. For example, young children show good concentration as they match farm animals and learn the noises they make. Older children build sandcastles with moats. They work together and learn to problem solve when the castle collapses. Staff watch and skilfully engage by asking questions and supporting children to extend their imagination skills further.

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need to do better?

n Staff gather relevant information from parents when children start at the nursery. They use this, alongside their own observations, to plan activities to build on children's existing knowledge and skills. Assessments are used well to help address any possible gaps in children's learning. All children make good progress from their starting points. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). n The manager has high expectations for all children and strives to ensure the nursery provides high-quality learning. She supervises staff and has identified strengths and areas for improvement. The manager acknowledges that due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and to key staff leaving, monitoring of staff practice, including managing their workloads, has not continued as planned. n Overall, partnerships with parents are good. Parents state that their children are happy, settle well and build strong relationships with the staff. They enjoy

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need to do better?

attending nursery and make good progress. The nursery is inclusive and supports individual children's needs well. Regular updates on children's progress are shared with parents, including ideas for home learning. However, this is inconsistent across the nursery, and parents say that more-detailed communication would be beneficial. n Staff support children to increase their understanding of living a healthy lifestyle.

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need to do better?

24 August 2021 They try new foods and understand the importance of eating fruit and vegetables. Older children squeeze oranges in the juicer to taste, and they discuss drinking juice with no added sugar. Children access the water station for drinks in the garden. They tell their friends that it is important to stay hydrated. n Staff place a high priority on children's communication and language skills. They introduce new vocabulary and model language. Staff ask questions, engage in conversations and enthusiastically share stories and sing rhymes. Staff support children who speak English as an additional language effectively to participate fully and to enjoy their time at the nursery. n Staff skilfully promote mathematical language and concepts into daily practice. They ask questions to increase children's knowledge and to challenge children's skills. Young children join in with number songs and count with adults as they

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need to do better?

press buttons on pop-up toys. Toddlers learn the concept of time as they wait to start races and name colours. Older children learn concepts of 'whole' and 'half' as they cut oranges. They demonstrate 'full' and 'empty' as they fill different containers and use positional language when they use the swings. n Children benefit from fresh air and exercise in the nursery's well-planned garden. Young children increase their balance as they race around the track on bicycles and learn to walk on stilts. Older children learn to use the swings independently and to enjoy the challenge as they master climbing the rope ladder. Children extend their knowledge about the natural environment as they collect apples and stones and discuss the different features.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Robust vetting procedures and systems are in place to ensure all staff are suitable to work with children. The manager and the staff keep their safeguarding training up to date. They know the signs and the symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. Staff know the correct procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child's welfare. Children are supervised closely, and staff always maintain correct ratios. Staff support children to manage risks as they play outside and use knives to cut fruit. Daily checks are completed to identify hazards and to reduce risks in the nursery environment.

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should:

n monitor staff practice with greater precision and support them to manage their workload effectively n strengthen partnerships with parents to ensure detailed feedback and ideas for home learning are consistent across the nursery.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY555574 Local authority Lewisham Inspection number 10174953 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 51 Name of registered person The Beeches Nursery Group Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 02084252368 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Oak Tree Day Nursery registered in February 2018 and is part of the Beech group. The nursery is situated in Catford in the London Borough of Lewisham. The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of these, 11 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, 51 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the nursery received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the provider. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk around the nursery. They discussed how the curriculum is organised and planned. n The inspector and the manager observed and discussed the quality of teaching during a planned activity. n Parents spoke to the inspector and shared their views of the setting. These were considered. n The inspector spoke to staff and to children during the inspection about their activities and different roles. n A variety of documents, including qualifications, suitability checks, policies and records, was reviewed. The inspector discussed leadership and management with the manager and provided feedback.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

24 August 2021 regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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