Little Cherubs Nursery School

Inspection of Little Cherubs Nursery School Carmelite Parish Centre, Pitt Street, London W8 4JH

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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 Outstanding

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The provision is good

Staff have warm, happy relationships with children. They value each child highly as an individual. Staff interact positively with children. For example, they smile and use a warm tone of voice. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and manage this successfully. Staff share group rules with children and use praise to promote positive behaviour. Children behave well and show they feel safe in the setting.

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The provision is good

The curriculum is interesting and wide-ranging. Children gain a good range of skills in preparation for school. They deeply engage in a rich, stimulating range of experiences. Children's knowledge and skills build over time through high-quality, consistent teaching, overall. For example, during morning discussion time, children demonstrate a keen understanding of the date, seasons and the weather. They say, 'It's spring and I can see blossoms falling from trees,' and 'Yesterday, it was the 21st, so today is the 22nd of March.' Children have excellent concentration skills and persevere with challenging tasks. For instance, they make their own mini pizzas and work through each stage meticulously, kneading and rolling the dough. They make round shapes in the dough and then say, 'I will put passata on the top of my pizza.' Children apply a variety of toppings, and staff teach them the names of different types of food, such as pepperoni.

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need to do better?

n Overall, staff provide thoughtful, well-organised activities that build well on children's learning. They make effective links to children's interests, which enables children to engage deeply with tasks. All children make very good progress. n Staff help children to gain excellent communication, language and literacy skills. They sing a vast range of action songs and rhymes with children, where they learn new words. Staff question children effectively. They play challenging word games with them. For example, children confidently say the letter sounds of animal names such as pig, cat and dog. Older children write and recognise their own names and read simple words. n Children have exceptional counting skills. Older children count beyond 20 and are able to do simple addition and subtraction. They know the names of different shapes, including three-dimensional shapes. n Staff support children's understanding of the natural world. For example,

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need to do better?

children name animals that are endangered species and understand the purpose of recycling. Staff teach them about other subjects, such as different continents and the solar system. n Staff help children to learn about and respect differences between themselves and others. For instance, staff teach children about different cultures, traditions

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need to do better?

22 March 2022 and religions. They use a wide variety of resources to support children's understanding, including musical instruments from around the world, dolls, puzzles and dual-language books. n Staff present good challenges to children to support their developing literacy skills. For instance, during a group word game, children take turns to give clues about a hidden object by revealing the initial letter of the name of the object. Children do this confidently and unaided. n Children have very good physical skills. For example, they steer wheeled toys carefully and navigate space skilfully. Children run and jump freely in open spaces, and some are learning to skip and hop. They climb across frames and balance on scooters with great skill. n Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. They develop robust plans with relevant targets for each child. Staff regularly

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need to do better?

review these plans to ensure that children are supported effectively. n The manager provides staff with good levels of support. For example, she manages their workload well by giving each member of staff time out of the nursery to think about activities and to complete assessments. The manager meets up with each member of staff to offer support and discuss their training needs. Staff have attended several courses, including a course on selective mutism which led to greater awareness and understanding in this area. n Staff provide children with healthy menus and snacks. They promote good oral hygiene with them. Staff ensure that children have good daily physical challenges. However, staff have not fully embedded ways for children to learn about the benefits of eating well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have a good knowledge of the possible signs that might indicate that a child is at risk of abuse. They have a good understanding of the procedures to follow to report any concerns to protect children from harm. Staff have a robust approach to identify if a child could be at risk of being exposed to extreme views. They understand how to report their concerns to the relevant agencies to keep children safe. Staff attend regular training to keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date. The manager carries out comprehensive background checks on staff to ensure they are suitable for their roles. This helps to ensure that children are safe.

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should:

n develop more ways to help children to gain an understanding of the benefits of their healthy routines, such as eating nutritious food.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY345735 Local authority Kensington and Chelsea Inspection number 10128450 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 21 Name of registered person R M Colvin Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 07810712241 Date of previous inspection 7 March 2014

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Information about this early years setting

Little Cherubs Nursery School registered in 2006. It is located in Kensington, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The nursery is open from Monday to Thursday, 8.50am to 3pm, during term time only. It is closed on public bank holidays. There are seven staff, including the manager, five of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery accepts funding for free early years education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery follows the Montessori approach to early education.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector went on a learning walk around the nursery with the manager to learn more about the intention of the curriculum. n The inspector carried out a joint observation of a group activity with the manager. n Interactions between staff and children were observed and the inspector spoke with children, when appropriate. n The inspector tracked the progress of several children. n Some documentation was checked and the inspector held a discussion with the manager. n The views of staff and parents were considered during the inspection.

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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

22 March 2022 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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