Waterways Nursery and After School Club

Waterways Nursery and After School Club

Unique reference number (URN): EY489013 Address: Southwood Road, LONDON, SE28 8EZ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 14/05/2015 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Greenwich Leisure 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 Strong standard

Children make excellent progress across all areas of learning from their individual starting points. They communicate confidently with adults and peers using an increasingly rich vocabulary during play and daily routines. Children show a strong enjoyment of books and eagerly participate in shared reading experiences. They demonstrate a keen interest in non- fiction texts about mini beasts and successfully apply what they learn as they explore, discuss and investigate insects and their habitats during play.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children display high levels of independence throughout the day. At mealtimes, they confidently self-serve food and drinks, use utensils safely and help to tidy away. These experiences effectively promote their confidence, resilience and self-care skills, preparing them well for the next stage in their learning.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children develop strong physical skills and benefit from rich opportunities to explore outdoors. They balance expertly, negotiate space safely and develop good coordination and control as they climb, ride and use a range of equipment with confidence.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children demonstrate secure early mathematical understanding as they count, compare quantities and solve problems during play. They use blocks creatively to construct detailed and complex structures, showing high levels of concentration, perseverance and imagination in their learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Dedicated and strong leaders create a highly inclusive and nurturing environment where children feel safe, secure and valued. Kind, patient and attentive staff build warm relationships with children and maintain high expectations for their achievements and behaviour. Children learn to form positive relationships, share, take turns and get along well with their peers. As a result, they behave well, show kindness and respect towards one another and demonstrate confidence throughout the setting.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Daily routines are exceptionally well organised and consistently followed, helping children know what to expect throughout the day. These well-established routines successfully promote children's emotional security and independence. Children confidently serve themselves at mealtimes, eat independently and take pride in caring for their environment by tidying away resources.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Key persons know children extremely well and provide highly effective support to help them recognise, manage and express their feelings appropriately. Staff use planned activities, discussions and visual resources to encourage children to talk about emotions, develop empathy and understand the feelings of others. The sensory room provides a calm and safe space where children regulate their emotions and receive additional support when needed. Staff work extremely closely with parents to promote regular attendance, ensuring children benefit fully from the consistent experiences and rich learning opportunities provided.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders place children's welfare and wellbeing at the centre of the provision and create a warm, caring environment where all children feel exceptionally secure, content and confident. Key people build close and trusting relationships with children and know their individual needs precisely. As a result, children form strong attachments, seek reassurance confidently and demonstrate high levels of emotional security and belonging.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff place a strong emphasis on helping children recognise, understand and manage their feelings and emotions. Through sensitive interactions, discussions and planned activities, children are supported to express themselves positively and develop resilience and confidence. This contributes to consistently positive outcomes for children's welfare and wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders are highly ambitious for all children and particularly for those with barriers to learning. Staff work closely with parents and external professionals to ensure children and families receive excellent levels of care, guidance and support that positively impacts on children's development and welfare.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children benefit from excellent opportunities for physical development and outdoor play. They enjoy fresh air daily, including experiences within the highly stimulating forest school area, which successfully promotes physical skills, exploration and wellbeing. Nutritious meals and snacks support children's health effectively. High priority is also given to oral hygiene through supervised daily toothbrushing routines and ongoing support for parents to promote good oral health practices at home.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders implement an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum that supports children's learning successfully across all areas of development. They maintain excellent oversight of the curriculum and ensure teaching consistently meets the needs and interests of all children. A strong emphasis is placed on children's personal, social and emotional development, helping them build confidence, resilience and positive relationships from an early age.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff plan rich and engaging outdoor learning experiences that promote children's physical development, curiosity and understanding of the world. Children enthusiastically take part in activities linked to growth and nature. Older children proudly talk about the strawberries and potatoes they have grown, while younger children show fascination as they water plants and observe changes over time. These meaningful experiences help children develop care, responsibility and early investigative skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Communication and language development are prioritised exceptionally well. Staff use strategies such as 'bucket time' sessions to encourage younger children to explore ideas, strengthen attention skills and develop their thinking. Staff skilfully extend children's vocabulary through conversations and play. Resources and activities stem from children's interests, including opportunities to build complex models and structures that promote creativity and mathematical understanding. Children confidently count, compare quantities, recognise shapes and solve simple problems during play.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teaching is adapted highly effectively to meet children's individual needs. Staff use smaller group activities to provide targeted support and ensure all children remain fully engaged in learning. Assessment systems are used exceptionally well to identify gaps quickly and adapt teaching accordingly. Staff enthusiastically join in children's play experiences, including exploring the mud kitchen and acting out imaginative role-play scenarios, which further enrich children's learning and enjoyment.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff create an exceptionally inclusive environment where every child is valued, respected and supported to achieve their full potential. They work closely with parents and other professionals to identify and reduce barriers to learning, ensuring all children make strong progress from their starting points. Partnerships with families are highly effective and contribute significantly to children's ongoing development and achievements.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Robust systems are in place to accurately identify and assess children's individual needs. Leaders maintain strong oversight of children's progress and ensure staff monitor development closely so that swift and effective interventions are implemented at the earliest opportunity. As a result, children receive highly targeted support that successfully meets their individual needs. Staff place a strong emphasis on promoting children's communication and language skills. They use visual prompts, gestures and sign language effectively to help children understand routines, express themselves and communicate confidently. This support is strengthened further through close partnership working with parents. Staff teach families weekly signs and strategies that can be used consistently at home to reinforce children's learning and communication development.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Additional funding is used exceptionally well to enhance outcomes for children. Leaders carefully target resources to support communication and language development and provide individual support where needed. This ensures children receive the precise help they require to thrive in a highly supportive and inclusive environment.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders and managers demonstrate an ambitious vision for the setting and are highly committed to meeting the needs of the local community. They work exceptionally well with parents, external agencies and other professionals to remove barriers to learning and ensure all children receive consistently high-quality care and education. As a result, children make excellent progress from their starting points and are extremely well prepared for future learning.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders implement highly effective systems for self-evaluation and continuously reflect on practice to identify areas for further improvement. This has led to significant developments in outdoor learning opportunities, providing children with rich experiences that promote curiosity, exploration and physical development. Leaders have clear and ambitious plans in place to further enhance the outdoor provision. The experienced and established staff team provides children with consistency and security. Many staff have worked at the setting for a considerable length of time and speak highly of the strong support they receive from leaders. Staff wellbeing is prioritised effectively and leaders create a culture where staff feel respected, valued and motivated.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Professional development is given high priority. Staff access a wide range of training opportunities that strengthen their knowledge and teaching skills including training on the effective use of forest school experiences to inspire children's curiosity and exploration. Leaders are highly reflective following any incidents and take swift action to review and strengthen risk assessments, ensuring children's safety and welfare remain paramount at all times.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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

Children flourish within this highly inclusive setting where every child is valued and supported to achieve their full potential. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those facing disadvantage or barriers to learning, benefit from carefully tailored support and a highly ambitious curriculum that provides rich and meaningful learning opportunities.

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

Children are extremely happy, confident and demonstrate that they feel emotionally secure in the care of nurturing and attentive staff. Younger children readily seek reassurance, cuddles and comfort from familiar adults, while older children confidently engage in meaningful conversations with staff and their friends. Staff are consistently kind, enthusiastic and caring, creating warm relationships that help children feel safe and secure.

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

Children's interests strongly influence the curriculum. For example, children enthusiastically explore mini beasts in the outdoor area and become deeply engaged in building complex structures using construction resources. Songs and stories are central to daily routines, supporting children's communication and language development. Children show great enjoyment when listening to stories and squeal with excitement during favourite books such as 'Shark in the Park'. A strong focus on early literacy is further promoted through the lending library and story packs which encourage parents to continue children's growing love of books at home.

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

Children's health and wellbeing are given high priority. They benefit greatly from regular outdoor learning experiences including time spent in the calm and tranquil forest school environment. Frequent outings, including visits to swimming baths, help children develop confidence, resilience and physical skills. The recent enhanced focus on outdoor learning has had a significant positive impact on children's wellbeing, confidence and enjoyment.

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Next steps

Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, those responsible for safeguarding and special educational needs, parents and carers and children during the inspection.

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Greenwich Leisure Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 17:00

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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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2 to 4

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

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

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