Chrysalis at the Church

Chrysalis at the Church

Unique reference number (URN): 2824837 Address: Epping Methodist Church, 119 High Street, Epping, CM16 4BD Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 29/01/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Chrysalis at the Church 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 sustained and meaningful progress. Babies show rapidly developing communication as they learn early sign language. Toddlers show developing dexterity and develop muscles as they manipulate dough. Children develop their sensory skills as they explore paint and water play.

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Achievement Strong standard

Older children use scales to weigh potatoes and show mastery as they peel vegetables. Children use mirrors to identify facial features and design self-portraits from dough and natural materials such as twigs. They confidently greet the French teacher and remember French words as they sing along and carry out actions to songs.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make excellent progress relative to their needs. Adaptations support communication, physical development and emotional security. Children learning English as an additional language benefit from repeated vocabulary, sign language and French woven through play.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children show curiosity, independence and resilience. They explore natural materials and investigate life cycles. Children engage in community learning as they learn about people who help them and the jobs they do. Children's progress is consistently secure and sustained. They build knowledge securely and demonstrate confidence across all areas of learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders set high expectations for children's behaviour. Staff consistently remind children about rules and expectations. They apply these fairly and explain them in ways that children can remember. Consequently, children behave well and show consistently positive attitudes to their play and learning. Attendance is excellent and children are keen and eager to start their day as soon as they arrive.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children follow well-established routines. They know when to wash hands and tidy away for lunch. Children show very positive manners throughout the day. Routines promote children's independence as they peel bananas and pour drinks for snack.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children are deeply settled and engage fully in their play because staff organise transitions very well. They explore sensory trays and natural materials with their peers. Children collaborate during block play and show kindness as they care for a toy bunny. Staff use praise effectively to reinforce expectations.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children show curiosity and confidence as they explore the thoughtfully and carefully prepared environments. They show excellent concentration during play such as when they organise and sort porcelain shoe figurines into lines. Children develop positive attitudes to learning, highly secure social skills and confidence in managing routines. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are enabled to explore the environments through well-considered adaptations that mean they can access all available learning opportunities.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children are consistently safe because staff are vigilant, confident and proactive. Leaders' effective oversight ensures that safeguarding practice is sustained. Children's welfare is promoted very well. Staff follow safer sleep guidance and explain how they monitor high-risk children such as those with asthma or premature babies. They securely understand the importance of respiration checks and safe positioning. Dedicated sleep rooms support calm routines that enable children to relax and sleep peacefully.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children enjoy healthy meals and snacks. Staff wash hands with children to model hygiene and support independence. Children expertly peel bananas, pour drinks and choose fruit. Staff check food safety and manage allergens carefully to ensure children only have the foods they are allowed. As a result, children develop excellent hygiene practices and healthy lifestyles.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children feel safe and valued. Staff cuddle poorly children, take temperatures and offer reassurance. They respond swiftly and sensitively to emotional needs. Children show confidence as they explore environments and engage with staff. They explore family albums with staff, pointing out their family members with big smiles. This helps children feel secure, cared for and safe.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Risk assessments are regularly updated and feeding plans amended as needed. Parents say they feel reassured, informed and confident in staff expertise. This builds trust and ensures children's safety and wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Curriculum and teaching are ambitious, coherent and consistently effective. Staff use authentic materials that spark exploration and curiosity for children. Staff provide an enriching range of experiences, such as baking, yoga and French sessions. Staff build on previous experiences, such as visiting gardens where children have planted flowers, helping children connect new learning to familiar contexts.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Communication and language underpin the curriculum. Staff use rich vocabulary, descriptive language and mathematical concepts consistently. As a result, children repeat words, join in songs and remain highly engaged. Storytelling is a strength. Staff use props to bring stories to life and help children develop a love of reading. Staff use descriptive language such as 'heavy', 'light', 'big' and 'small' as children explore natural materials, helping them build early mathematical understanding.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teaching is warm and responsive. Staff follow children's lead, such as building houses for a toy bunny and developing role play scenarios when children say the bunny is sick. Staff support problem-solving and collaboration. Environments are thoughtfully prepared to support individual learning styles and play fascinations. Staff describe the textures of pinecones and encourage children to investigate how much different items weigh, which deepens children's understanding of the world. Teaching is consistently effective and embedded across rooms. As a result, children develop curiosity, confidence and secure foundations for future learning.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Inclusion is a significant strength. Children with complex needs receive highly individualised support. Staff use individual support plans, care plans and multi-agency guidance to ensure children's needs are met precisely. They work closely with community nurses, area special educational needs coordinators and specialist teachers. Staff complete specific training that ensures they can expertly meet children's needs. Staff attend training in British Sign Language (BSL), that enables them to respond confidently to children's communication needs.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Children with medical needs are supported very well. Staff recognise medical signs immediately and are skilled in taking swift, appropriate action. Children with communication delays benefit from BSL and all children learn the sign of the month. Children learning English as an additional language hear French, English and sign language woven through daily routines, helping them communicate confidently.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Children with physical needs receive adaptations such as specialist chairs, one-to-one support and targeted settling sessions. Staff understand a range of additional needs and adjust environments accordingly. This means that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make sustained progress because adaptations are skilful, systematic and responsive. Parents who spoke with the inspector are highly positive, and children experience consistently high-quality inclusion.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leadership is reflective, organised and ambitious. Leaders are highly committed to their provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and demonstrate expertise. They attend forums and maintain effective links with the local authority, ensuring practice remains current and responsive. Leaders have established highly-effective partnerships with parents and professionals. They work closely with parents to fully understand children's unique capabilities and needs. In addition, they have developed professional working with health-care professionals such as specialist nurses and inclusion partners from the local authority. This means that they can provide the most appropriate support that ensures all children make secure and consistent progress from their start points. Leaders know what funding is available for children and use this in the most appropriate ways that help children to make sustained progress from their start points.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders support staff continuous improvement. They complete regular observations, peer reviews and spontaneous feedback. Staff complete activity sheets and discuss practice during supervision. Leaders test staff knowledge during walk-throughs of safer sleep and mealtimes. They recognise individual learning styles and tailor support. Staff feel supported by leaders to manage their workload and staff say they have a positive work-life balance. They feel supported through regular discussions about their well-being and value the open- door approach where they can speak to leaders at any time. Leaders have developed performance management which is thorough. Staff complete probation reviews at regular intervals and have ongoing quality supervisions where they can discuss performance and ongoing professional development. Training is precisely aligned with the identified priorities of the setting. Sharply focused leadership drives consistently

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

effectively practice across the setting. Staff feel confident, supported and empowered. This means that children benefit from sustained, high-quality provision. Senior leaders have secure oversight of the setting and support and challenge setting leaders. This means that setting leaders and staff are clear about their responsibilities and are able to consistently raise standards for children, particularly those with SEND, or those who have barriers to their learning.

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

Children flourish in this warm, homely and highly nurturing environment. They settle quickly because staff prioritise emotional security and respond with sensitivity. Leaders have clear expectations for attendance which are shared with parents. This ensures that children attend regularly and develop secure attachments with staff and are emotionally ready to learn. Babies snuggle into staff, laugh as they explore light-up-rings and show avid curiosity as they investigate paint and sensory materials. These experiences help babies build confidence and develop early communication skills as staff name colours, describe textures and model simple signs.

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

Toddlers explore dough with enthusiasm. They make faces, roll shapes and even discover how to cut dough using string. Staff respond with genuine delight, telling children how clever their ideas are. This boosts children's problem-solving skills and encourages them to think critically. Children develop fine motor skills as they scoop sand and pour water. They show perseverance when challenges arise, such as when handling tools, and staff encourage them to keep trying.

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

Children explore thoughtfully prepared environments that spark curiosity. They investigate pine cones, herbs and natural objects, smelling, touching and describing textures. They explore mud kitchens, climb and balance and learn to take well-managed risks.

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

Children develop imagination as they build houses for a toy bunny, create hospitals and sing to make the bunny feel better. Staff follow children's ideas and extend learning as they encourage design, construction and storytelling. This deepens children's creativity and collaboration.

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Address:

Epping Methodist Church 119 High Street Community links enrich children's experiences. They visit gardens, plant flowers, explore markets and learn about people at work. Children investigate bird nests and explore old wasp nests. They harvest root vegetables and weigh and peel potatoes as they learn about life cycles. These experiences help children connect learning to the real world.

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Address:

Children and their families receive a warm welcome. Family photographs help children see their home lives represented and strengthen their sense of belonging. As a result, children feel safe and valued. Children show independence as they peel bananas, pour drinks and wash hands. They follow routines and manage transitions well. As a result, children develop confidence, curiosity and secure foundations for future learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make secure progress from their start points because leaders have designed a curriculum that supports all children, including those with barriers to learning to learn to engage in learning alongside their peers.

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Next steps

Leaders should embed and evaluate their highly effective inclusive practice over time so that it has a sustained, transformational impact on every child and can be shared with other settings.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, special educational needs coordinator and parents 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. Epping CM16 4BD Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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About this inspection

Registered person: Chrysalis at the Church Limited

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:30

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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

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

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