Old Kent Road Nursery and Preschool

Inspection of Old Kent Road Nursery and Preschool 616 Old Kent Road, London SE15 1JB

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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

Children arrive happily and settle quickly at activities with their friends. Staff have a nurturing approach, building strong bonds with children that help them feel safe and secure. Children enjoy reassuring cuddles from staff and praise for their efforts and achievements. Children behave well and make choices during play. They actively follow established daily routines and instructions from staff. For example, they calmly line up to go inside, help to put away toys and tidy up after mealtimes. This enhances children's learning independence and personal skills, which helps prepare them to move on to the next stage of their education.

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The provision is good

Children benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum during indoor and outside play. The curriculum is well sequenced and incorporates children's learning needs and interests. For example, the home corner is changed into a doctor's surgery to reflect many children's interests following the addition of new babies in their families. This successfully enables children to play imaginatively and re-enact real- life experiences.

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The provision is good

Children develop effective communication and language skills. Staff actively use Makaton signs and picture cards to aid communication. They bring stories to life as they enthusiastically read or tell stories. Children listen intently, eagerly join in with key words and anticipate the story narrative. They use movements and actions as they keenly sing familiar songs. This successfully enhances children's vocabulary. Subsequently, older children clearly show their embedded love of books. They sit together happily reciting storylines and show each other the pictures in their books.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and managers work closely with staff, offering support through induction, regular supervision and a broad range of ongoing training. However, systems are not fully established to monitor the effectiveness of induction and training completed by staff so that more targeted support can be offered. For example, although staff understand the provider's procedures and routines, some staff are less secure in their knowledge and practice. n Older children actively develop their knowledge and understanding of the world while participating in exciting activities, such as experiments that imitate volcano lava. They smell the ingredients and excitedly talk about what happens when they add the ingredients together. However, staff could do more to help children fully understand the activity, for example by using props, books or visual images to consolidate their learning further. n Effective systems are in place to help identify and support children with special

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need to do better?

educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals. They ensure children's individual needs are fully considered,

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need to do better?

10 July 2025 especially during transition times when children move to other group rooms or to school. As a result, children benefit from an inclusive learning environment and make good progress from their starting points. n Children's social skills are fully enhanced during mealtimes. Staff's inclusive approach ensures all children are supported effectively, including children with additional needs. Staff skilfully support meaningful conversations as children discuss the foods they like, promoting healthy eating habits. Staff extend children's early mathematical skills as they encourage them to count the different vegetables on their plates and compare the big and small amounts of food. Well-established routines result in children respectfully taking turns to serve their food and clear away when they have finished. This successfully promotes their personal independence. n Children develop effective physical skills during outside play. They confidently

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need to do better?

use a range of wheeled toys and climbing equipment, showing good coordination. Older children manipulate pots and pans as they enjoy mixing mud and herbs in the mud kitchen. Younger children manipulate a range of materials that help them learn about different textures and have fun catching bubbles. n Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents comment that staff give daily feedback and use the app to share information about their children's day and progress in their learning. This ensures information-sharing with parents is effective. Parents explain that staff have helped their children to settle well and learn about expectations of their behaviour. Their children say new words and sing songs that they have learned at nursery. Consequently, all children, including those who are learning English as an additional language, are developing their communication and language skills well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n use staff induction and supervision more precisely to monitor and embed staff training into their practice n support staff further to plan well-sequenced activities, including ways that help children consolidate their learning further.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY477300 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 10392444 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 55 Number of children on roll 65 Name of registered person The London Early Years Foundation

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reference number

Telephone number 020 76393030 Date of previous inspection 22 August 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Old Kent Road Nursery and Preschool registered in 2014. The nursery is in the Peckham area of the London Borough of Southwark. It operates from 8am to 6.30pm on Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year, except for bank holidays. There is a team of 21 staff, 19 of whom work with children. Of these, 11 staff hold relevant qualifications between level 3 and qualified teacher status. The nursery offers the government-funded places for childcare.

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Inspection activities

n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together to discuss the curriculum offered and how the setting is organised. n The inspector sampled a range of required documentation, including children's records, staff's vetting and recruitment checks and their qualifications. n The inspector held discussions with staff, parents and the children and took account of their views. n The manager and the inspector completed a joint observation of staff during an activity and assessed the impact of teaching on children's learning.

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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

10 July 2025 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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