Kids - Joy Nursery

Kids - Joy Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): 2690662 Address: 5-9 Peall Road, London, England, CR0 3EX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 12/10/2022 Registers: EYR Registered person: Buckman, Nina

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that adequately protects children from harm. Leaders do not consistently ensure that all necessary pre-employment checks are completed before staff begin working in the setting. In particular, full employment histories and sufficiently detailed references, including reasons for leaving previous roles, are not consistently obtained or scrutinised. This means there are occasions when staff have begun working with children before all required checks have been fully completed. However, leaders have put some measures in place to reduce the risk, such as ensuring these staff are not left unsupervised with children.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Despite this weakness, staff and leaders demonstrate an understanding of other safeguarding responsibilities and procedures. Staff know how to recognise and report concerns, including completing safeguarding records and escalating issues to the designated safeguarding lead and external agencies. Leaders emphasise the importance of timely action and accurate recording. In practice, staff supervise children effectively, follow risk assessments and implement routines such as headcounts, secure entry systems, and monitoring of accidents and incidents.

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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 enjoy engaging in a wide range of experiences and make steady progress from their starting points across the setting. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported to take part in activities through tailored adult support, repetition and adapted resources. Over time, they build confidence in joining in with group activities, communicating their needs and regulating their emotions.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children become more independent in their daily routines. They manage self-care tasks such as washing hands, serving food and selecting resources with growing confidence. They begin to make choices about what they want to do, returning to favourite activities and sustaining their attention for longer periods.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop a positive attitude towards stories and books. They listen with interest during shared reading, often returning to familiar stories and joining in with repeated phrases and actions. Books are available throughout the setting, and children handle them with care, sometimes choosing them independently during play.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders organise daily routines and expectations so children generally understand what is required of them throughout the day. They monitor attendance and follow up when children are absent, while also working with families to support consistent start times, which helps children arrive ready to take part.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff build close relationships with children by getting down to their level, responding to their interests and offering reassurance when needed. This helps children feel secure and confident to explore and join in. Staff guide children to share resources, wait for their turn and join in with others. Staff offer children support where needed so they can take part successfully. When children find it difficult to manage their feelings, staff use simple, consistent approaches to help them. Staff support children to use timers to assist them with turn-taking. They show children breathing techniques and use visual prompts to help them understand what is happening, how they are feeling and what they can do next. These approaches create a calm and respectful environment where children learn how to treat others kindly.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The setting monitors behaviour closely using incident records and ongoing observation. Staff record behavioural incidents to identify any emerging patterns or triggers, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and use this information to inform support strategies. These records are reviewed regularly by leaders and key staff to consider what is working well and where approaches need to be adjusted.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff talk with children as they play, introducing new words in meaningful moments, such as when exploring textures as they plant seeds. Staff repeat and model language so children hear it used in different situations and begin to use it themselves. Staff encourage children to explain what they are doing and respond to simple questions that help them think more deeply.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children count objects in simple games. For example, they count the number of dots on a dice to see who has the highest score. Staff use ongoing assessment of what children can do to adjust support in the moment. When children are not accurate with numbers, staff model and repeat alongside them. They help them match quantities to numerals and check their counting. Children use equipment that encourages them to stretch, balance and control their movements. Staff stay close by and offer demonstrations where needed, for example showing how best to hold equipment or steady themselves. Children repeat these movements, gaining confidence as they try again, and gradually improve their coordination over time.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders support staff to use what they see children doing during play to decide what to do next and change activities so children can stay interested and keep building on their skills. On occasion, however, staff choose the next steps in learning that do not fully match the planned order of learning, which means children's learning does not always follow the intended step-by-step curriculum.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders identify children's needs through ongoing observation, assessment and close communication with parents. When needs have been established, they put timely support in place. Staff adapt activities to reflect children's interests to promote engagement and extend concentration. They provide targeted support through small-group work, repetition of language and modelling, while using calm, consistent approaches to help children regulate their emotions and take part in activities.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders plan and review support over time, updating plans to reflect children's changing needs. They work with external professionals and maintain regular communication with families to ensure consistency. They closely monitor children who require additional support or who are known to children's social care. They ensure children receive appropriate emotional support and consistent oversight to help them remain settled, safe and engaged.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders ensure staff receive training to support the identification of needs and implementation of appropriate strategies. This includes supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and using effective interaction approaches. This helps to promote consistency in practice across the setting. Leaders use additional funding to enhance resources and improve the environment, including developing reading areas and providing materials to support early literacy. This leads to increased engagement and a calmer learning environment. As a result, children make steady progress from their starting points, developing communication skills, increasing independence in routines and becoming more confident and involved in their learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders do not keep themselves fully up to date with current nutritional guidance. Although the menu is generally balanced, some meals do not fully reflect current expectations for healthy eating and learning healthy lifestyles. This means children sometimes eat meals that do not include fresh fruit or vegetables, which does not fully support the development of healthy eating habits over time. Despite this, staff maintain consistent care practices that support children's health and wellbeing effectively in day-to-day routines. They gather information from parents about dietary needs and use clear systems, such as coloured plates and close supervision, to keep children with allergies safe. Staff adapt feeding approaches for younger children, supporting their progression from puréed to more textured foods in line with their development and in partnership with parents. They promote some healthy habits through discussions about food and oral health, reinforce these messages

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

with parents, and manage sleep routines carefully by carrying out regular checks and providing calm, low-stimulation environments.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Staff build secure relationships with children that support their emotional wellbeing. They respond sensitively when children arrive upset, offering reassurance and helping them settle into play. Staff support children to manage their feelings through consistent routines and interactions, helping them become more confident and engaged over time. However, staff

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Urgent improvement

do not consistently promote children's independence. During daily routines and free play, they sometimes step in too quickly to complete tasks rather than giving children enough time to try for themselves. This limits children's opportunities to practise and develop their independence.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Oversight of checks carried out before staff begin working with children is not consistently secure. In some cases, not all required references are fully in place before staff start work, and some references do not contain sufficient detail about previous roles. This means leaders do not always have full assurance about staff suitability before they begin working in the setting. Leaders do not always maintain fully up-to-date knowledge of current nutritional guidance. This weakens leaders' oversight of the quality of food provision and the extent to which it fully supports children's health and wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders keep in regular contact with parents through daily conversations, feedback sheets and informal updates. Parents say they have positive relationships with staff and that their children are happy, settled and making progress in their learning. Staff development is supported through regular meetings, supervision and observation of practice. Leaders use these to identify training needs and improve consistency. They also take staff wellbeing into account through supervision and flexible support, helping staff manage workload and continue meeting children's needs.

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

Leaders do not always ensure that checks carried out before staff start working with children are fully complete. In some cases, not all references are in place before staff begin work, and some references do not provide sufficient detail about previous roles. This means leaders cannot always be fully confident that all required checks have been completed before staff start working with children. Leaders do not keep themselves fully up to date with the latest rules and guidance for food in early years settings. This means children do not always receive meals that consistently match current healthy eating expectations.

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

Despite this, children build secure relationships with staff and confidently seek reassurance when needed. On arrival, children who become upset are supported by familiar adults and

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Inspector:

Jenny Selvakumaran quickly settle into play. Children cooperate with others during shared play experiences, such as negotiating roles in pretend play, working together to complete simple construction tasks, and joining group experiences where they listen to instructions and respond to adult-led prompts. They begin to understand expectations in group situations, such as waiting for a turn during shared activities and responding to adult guidance when interacting with peers.

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Inspector:

Children show curiosity and enjoyment across a wide range of experiences. They listen attentively to stories read by adults and respond with interest, particularly during familiar or repeated texts. Children explore creative materials such as paint, collage and malleable resources, expressing ideas through mark making and creative choices. They engage in imaginative role play, such as acting out familiar experiences in the home corner and using props to extend their ideas. Children also explore sound and rhythm using a range of musical instruments, including instruments from different cultures, responding with movement and rhythm as they experiment with sound. Children are confident, engaged learners who actively explore, communicate and participate across the setting.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

ensure leaders understand their statutory responsibilities and strengthen oversight of governance, particularly in relation to obtaining references before staff are employed 08/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure all food provided to children is healthy, balanced and prepared appropriately 08/05/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, parents and children 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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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 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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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

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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