Alphabet Lanes Nursery & Pre School

Inspection of Alphabet Lanes Nursery & Pre School St. Lukes's Chambers, Knights Hill, LONDON SE27 0HS

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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 are safe and happy in this friendly and welcoming nursery. They have secure attachments with staff, who are caring, nurturing and kind. Children who are new settle quickly and form good friendships with their peers. Staff use their understanding of children's interests and learning needs well to plan and deliver an ambitious curriculum. For example, children eagerly join in with the wide range of activities and resources on offer. They are creative and enjoy exploring materials, such as sand. Children test out their own thoughts and ideas as they play. For instance, they explore moulding the sand in different ways and investigate construction materials, which they use to build a range of structures. All children make good progress in their learning and development.

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The provision is good

Children are well behaved and polite. They know what is expected of them and follow routines well. Staff regularly praise children's efforts and achievements. This helps to raise their self-esteem and develop their confidence to try new experiences. All children learn to manage their self-care needs, which older children confidently master. For instance, they competently dress themselves for outdoor play. Children make independent choices and decisions as they play. They play well together, sharing toys and resources.

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need to do better?

n All staff show enthusiasm and commitment to their role. They are attentive and interact very well with children. This high-quality interaction promotes children's play and learning effectively. n Children develop useful skills for the future, including the transition to school. They learn how to make marks and to identify their name on their coat peg, and they consistently join in with conversations with staff and their peers. Staff plan exciting activities, which children thoroughly enjoy. For example, they delight in jumping and hopping into hoops. n Staff support children's communication and language well. They sing nursery rhymes with the children, ask questions and allow time for children to respond. Staff listen to the children and use lots of repetition to support their speaking. They repeat words that children do not pronounce clearly so they can hear them correctly. Staff take the time to get to know some words in children's home

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need to do better?

language and use these to aid communication. Older children listen to stories. However, at times, staff read very quickly. This does not support children who are learning to speak English as an additional language (EAL) effectively. On these occasions, staff do not ensure that children hear the words being read or have a system in place to support their understanding. As such, some children become disengaged and stop listening. n Staff learn about the festivals children celebrate at home and plan activities

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need to do better?

14 December 2023 around these themes. This allows children to learn about each other's customs and values. Staff celebrate each child and are respectful. They provide opportunities for children to understand the use of 'kind hands', which supports their behaviour. n Staff make effective use of settling-in arrangements and build strong relationships with parents and children. They promote strong communication with parents and other professionals. This helps staff to understand the children and support them to meet each child's needs. Key persons share what the children are learning with their parents and advise how to help them at home. Parents highly praise the staff and manager for the good support provided. They comment that their children have 'made good progress since starting' at the nursery. n Overall, staff promote children's health well. The environment is clean and suitable. Staff remind children to wash their hands before eating. Children have

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need to do better?

daily access to the outdoors, where they can exercise. However, staff do not ensure that parents are consistently supported to understand the importance of providing a healthy packed lunch for children. n The manager ensures that staff are well supported through supervision and appraisal meetings. She works closely with the local authority and other training providers, who provide support and training to strengthen staff's knowledge and skills. However, the monitoring of staff practice is not fully embedded into the nursery to help staff improve the quality of teaching to the highest level.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. They know how to identify signs of abuse or neglect and know the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child in their care. The manager ensures that staff receive regular training, and safeguarding is an agenda item at every staff team meeting. This means that all staff are kept fully up to date with current guidance and legislation. All staff undergo robust recruitment and vetting procedures to assess their suitability. Staff carry out thorough risk assessments to ensure that any hazards are removed, to keep everyone safe. Staff are deployed effectively, and they ensure that children are well supervised.

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should:

n help staff to consider the needs of all children during group times, such as story time, to further support children who are learning to speak EAL n review information shared with parents about healthy eating to promote children's good health consistently

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should:

14 December 2023 n strengthen the monitoring of staff practice to help promote consistently high- quality teaching.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY454218 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 10311820 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 30 Number of children on roll 17 Name of registered person Alphabet Lanes Nursery & Pre-school Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 02086703100 Date of previous inspection 11 April 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Alphabet Lanes Nursery & Pre School registered in 2012. It is located it the London Borough of Lambeth. The nursery is open from 7.30am until 6pm, Monday to Friday, throughout the year. There are seven members of staff, including the cook. Four staff hold appropriate childcare qualifications. Of these, the provider holds early years professional status, two staff hold qualifications at level 3 and one holds a qualification at level 2. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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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 manager led the inspector on a learning walk of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. n The inspector observed the interactions of staff and children during a range of activities. n The manager and the inspector conducted a joint observation and evaluated the effectiveness of the teaching taking place. n The inspector spoke to staff, children and parents during the inspection. n The inspector reviewed a range of relevant documentation.

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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

14 December 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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