Square One Nursery School

Inspection of Square One Nursery School Lady North Hall, Ravenna Road, Putney SW15 6AW

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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 Good

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The provision is good

Children play in a welcoming and inclusive environment. They access a wide range of toys and resources, which keep them motivated to play. For example, children enjoy exploring the various dressing-up clothes, shoes and hats in the role-play area. They also become deeply involved as they take 'orders' for their café and explore the value of money during play. Children develop good levels of creativity and imagination. Being together with different age groups has a positive impact on children. For instance, it enables them to develop their language and social skills well. Children enjoy listening to stories. They take delight in joining in with repeated refrains and making age-appropriate comments.

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The provision is good

Children have positive attitudes to learning. They respond well to staff's high expectations. Children develop a strong range of physical skills. For example, they are confident to run, balance and use ride-on toys, while negotiating challenges safely. Children are happy and feel secure at this nursery. They form close attachments with staff, supporting their emotional well-being. Children receive gentle reminders from staff to help them to behave well. They gain the necessary knowledge and skills that they need to progress onto the next stage of their education.

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need to do better?

n Square One Nursery School continues to provide children with good-quality education and care. This is partly because the manager is passionate about her work and has a strong commitment to continuous improvement. She gathers feedback from parents, staff and other professionals to help evaluate practice effectively. Since the last inspection, the manager has explored how to use words in children's home languages to foster a stronger connection to their community and culture. n Staff make precise use of observations and assessments to identify and address gaps in children's learning quickly, such as where they have speech delay. As a result, children, including those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress from their starting points. n Staff plan a broad and balanced curriculum to provide children with wider learning experiences. They offer extra-curricular activities, such as gymnastics

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need to do better?

and music sessions, which complement children's all-round learning. This term, staff are working to promote older children's mathematical skills, in readiness for school. They incorporate mathematics into activities to build on children's knowledge of numbers, shapes and sizes. As a result, children develop and extend their counting and problem-solving skills. n Staff are happy and feel well supported in their work with the children. They have recently refreshed their knowledge of how to manage children's behaviour

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need to do better?

9 February 2023 more effectively. This has had a positive impact on children's emotional well- being. The manager acknowledges that individual staff will benefit from wider training in order to raise the quality of education to the highest level. n Children move between the age-appropriate and interesting activities confidently. However, some daily routines are not planned well enough, such as transitions between activities and tasks. This means that, sometimes, children's ideas and interests are not supported as effectively as possible. n Staff teach children about respect, kindness and good manners. For example, at mealtimes, staff use polite words, such as 'please', 'thank you' and 'excuse me'. As a result, children's behaviour is good. Staff also encourage children to do as many manageable tasks as possible for themselves. This supports children's increasing independence skills. n Children learn basic words and phrases in other languages, such as French and

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need to do better?

Spanish. They enjoy counting and recalling what they have learned. For instance, children remember how to say 'hello' in both languages. This raises their awareness of similarities and differences between people. n Partnership with parents is good. Staff involve parents in the process of assessing their children's learning from the beginning. They keep parents fully informed about their children's activities and experiences to ensure a consistent approach. Parents speak highly of the manager and staff. They praise staff's caring and nurturing approach, which has a positive impact on their children.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager and staff have an up-to-date understanding of child protection matters and know how to report any concerns they may have. This includes how to identify any signs of extremist views and behaviour. The manager follows rigorous vetting and recruitment procedures to assess staff's suitability to work with children. The nursery is safe and secure. Staff risk assess the premises to identify and remove potential hazards to children. They supervise children well, indoors and outdoors, to help keep them safe. Staff teach children how to take appropriate risks in their play, such as when using ride-on toys outdoors.

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should:

n provide individual staff with focused professional development and carefully reflect on the impact that training has on the quality of education n manage the daily routines more effectively to fully support children's ideas and interests.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 123098 Local authority Wandsworth Inspection number 10264800 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

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

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inspection

Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 28 Name of registered person Square One Nursery School Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 020 8788 1546 Date of previous inspection 27 June 2017

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Information about this early years setting

Square One Nursery School registered in 1992 and is located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The nursery school is open Monday to Friday, during term time only. The hours of opening are from 8.45am to 3pm, except on Fridays when the nursery is open until 12.15pm. The nursery receives funding to provide free early years education for children aged two, three and four years. There are five members of staff, including the manager, all of whom hold early years childcare qualifications from level 2 to level 4. The nursery blends the Montessori philosophy of education with learning through play.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the nursery 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 nursery. n The manager showed the inspector the areas of the premises used by children. She told the inspector how staff plan and implement the early years curriculum. n The inspector conducted a joint observation of an activity with the manager. n Children engaged with the inspector at appropriate times during the inspection. n The inspector held discussions with staff and the manager about how they meet children's care and learning needs. She checked the required records and documents, including staff's training certificates.

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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

9 February 2023 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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