Matchbox Nursery Aberfeldy

Matchbox Nursery Aberfeldy

Unique reference number (URN): 2744942 Address: 12 Aberfeldy Square, London, E14 0XA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 03/08/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: Matchbox Day Nursery Limited

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children generally make appropriate progress from their starting points across the areas of learning. Staff support children's communication and language well through stories, songs and responsive talk in their play. Children confidently share ideas and name shapes. Some children use descriptive vocabulary outdoors and join in conversations at mealtimes. Children with medical needs participate safely. Children develop increasing confidence and early mathematical language. Disadvantaged children benefit from enhanced adult interactions that support turn-taking and communication.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop some early independence through routines, such as tidying, scraping plates and participating in hygiene routines. However, at times, children rely on adult direction during transitions and large-group routines. Children engage in regular physical play outdoors, but older children do not consistently extend their physical skills progressively. These factors limit the consistency of children's achievement.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children behave positively and show that they feel secure with staff. Staff build warm relationships and notice children's needs quickly. They use calm and respectful approaches to support children to regulate their emotions. Children learn to collaborate through shared play, including role play and construction. Staff help children to reflect on the impact of their actions when disagreements occur. Children respond well to clear reminders about safety, such as not to run indoors, and they take responsibility during tidy-up routines.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders promote a welcoming culture and work with parents and carers to support children's regular attendance. Parents report that children are happy to attend and that staff communicate promptly if a child does not arrive as expected. This strengthens routines for families and supports children's wellbeing.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

During large-group transitions and group times, staff do not consistently reinforce their expectations. Some children become unsettled, distracted or disengaged. Staff sometimes need to raise their voices to be heard. When staff reduce group size, younger children settle more quickly and engage more positively. This does not support children consistently to regulate their behaviour more independently and sustain attention during group routines.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing sit at the centre of daily practice. Staff meet children's care needs sensitively and maintain effective hygiene routines. Staff record nappy changes and care routines and share information with parents and carers. This supports continuity between home and the setting. Children wash their hands before meals, and staff support them to wash their faces and brush their teeth after lunch, promoting children's understanding of healthy routines. Staff supervise children closely at mealtimes and ensure that babies eat and drink safely. Children with allergies and medical needs receive careful and consistent support through clear care planning and staff awareness.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children benefit from secure attachments and reassurance from their key persons. Staff comfort babies and unsettled children, including through books and calm interactions. They respond quickly when children need emotional support. Sleep arrangements meet children's needs. Staff supervise children sleeping in a designated area, carry out regular checks and record sleep routines.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children increasingly manage aspects of their self-care, such as putting belongings away and scraping plates. However, staff do not consistently enable children to manage parts of routines independently, such as accessing water or organising themselves during transitions. This does not further enhance children's confidence, emotional security and wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders provide a broad curriculum that meets the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage, Staff implement the curriculum through warm and responsive interactions and a rich range of play-based experiences. They build children's communication and language throughout the day. Staff read expressively, sing frequently and extend children's vocabulary during their play. For example, children describe outdoor sensory play as 'gloopy' and 'sticky'. Staff use purposeful questioning to support early mathematics. They encourage children to count objects, match quantities to numbers and use comparative language, such as taller and shorter.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff prioritise children's personal, social and emotional development. They model kindness and help children to repair friendships after minor conflicts. Staff also promote children's physical development through indoor soft play, puzzles, construction and outdoor riding and balancing. Staff use assessment information and knowledge of children's interests to tailor their teaching, including for babies and for children who need additional support to build their confidence, mobility or language.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teaching helps children to learn and enjoy a wide range of experiences. However, staff do not embed children's independence consistently across routines. Also, some group activities sometimes begin before children are calm and ready to engage. This does not increase consistency and maximise the impact of teaching across the day.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders create an inclusive culture where they value and recognise children's uniqueness. Staff know children well and use information from parents and carers, observations and assessment to identify children's starting points and any barriers to learning or wellbeing. Staff tailor support for babies, younger toddlers and older children in the mixed-age rooms, ensuring that resources and spaces remain accessible and safe for all ages. Staff support children with medical needs carefully. For example, they manage allergies through clear care planning and regular review, ensuring that medication remains securely stored and monitored. Disadvantaged children benefit from targeted use of early years pupil premium funding. Leaders use this to strengthen staff practice through training that improves the quality of interactions and shared thinking. Staff use this training to support children's language, turn-

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Inclusion Expected standard

taking and confidence in small-group play. Leaders and staff work with families and, when needed, external agencies to review support and sustain children's progress over time. Parents value the setting's communication and the key-person approach, which helps families to feel included and confident.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Children generally take part confidently alongside their peers. However, staff plan some group routines that involve large numbers of children. This causes some younger and less- confident children to become unsettled or less engaged. This does not strengthen children's inclusion and participation during busy points in the day.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders understand the setting's context and maintain clear oversight of the quality of education, care and safeguarding. Leaders' self-evaluation draws on staff reflection, parent and carers' feedback and review of children's progress. Staff discuss children's learning regularly and adapt planning to reflect children's interests and needs. However, leaders have not consistently focused their support for staff on improving the organisation of groups and transitions, embedding consistent expectations and strengthening children's independence.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders prioritise staff wellbeing and professional development. Staff describe supportive supervision sessions, regular meetings and effective coaching from room leaders. This typically helps to maintain consistency in day-to-day practice. Leaders use training strategically, including using early years pupil premium funding, to strengthen staff's interaction skills.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders work in the best interests of children, including those who are disadvantaged, with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are known (or previously known) to children's social care or have medical needs. Leaders monitor children's attendance. They follow up promptly when children do not attend as expected, strengthening safeguarding and family support.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of how their decisions impact children's daily experiences. They have established systems that enable them to identify what is working well and where greater consistency is needed. This enables leaders to sustain effective practice and focus improvement activity on strengthening the quality and impact of education and care for all children.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children arrive to a calm and welcoming environment. Staff greet children warmly, including using greetings in children's different home languages, such as Russian and Thai. Children confidently place their belongings on photo-labelled pegs. They settle quickly and demonstrate that they feel a sense of belonging. Across the mixed-age rooms, children build secure and nurturing relationships with staff. Babies and toddlers snuggle in close for stories, while older children confidently talk with staff and their friends about their play and experiences.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children enjoy a wide range of learning opportunities that reflect their interests and stages of development. They explore books in a cosy area, sing familiar nursery rhymes and join in imaginative role play, including caring for baby dolls. Children investigate shapes through mark making, proudly naming oval, square and rectangle. They use numbered logs and small-world resources to count, match and develop early mathematical language. Babies explore treasure baskets and sensory bottles, copying actions and words such as 'shake'. Staff build children's language by responding to their ideas, for example when children hold shells to their ears and talk about water.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children stay safe and are well cared for. Staff supervise them closely, carry out hygiene routines sensitively and share information about their care with parents and carers. Children wash their hands before meals, scrape plates afterwards and brush teeth after lunch. Outdoors, children choose bicycles, balancing equipment and construction resources. Younger children practise pushing and balancing, while older children ride confidently and take turns. Staff explain routines clearly, such as wearing coats when it is cold. This helps children to understand how to keep themselves well.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children achieve appropriately from their starting points, including those who are disadvantaged or with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children flourish in a warm and inclusive environment.

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Next steps

Leaders should support staff to strengthen children's independence through more consistent practice. Leaders should support staff to review the organisation of group activities and transitions, to engage all children more consistently. Leaders should strengthen outdoor provision by ensuring it offers opportunities for children to extend their physical skills, particularly for older children, so that all children develop greater physical confidence.

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Matchbox Day Nursery Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children and parents and carers during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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