Through the inspector’s eyes
When Amanda Tyson, CCI, made her last inspection at Ladybird Nursery School in Barnes, south west London, she was very impressed. Her report gave it three outstanding grades for care and one for nursery education. The nursery, which operates from a church hall for children in the local community is clearly among the top providers. And she was very pleased when on leaving the nursery that they said they’d ‘enjoyed the inspection’. As she comments, ‘Not many people say that.’
Join us on a trip around the nursery through the inspector’s eyes.
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'As soon as I arrived at Ladybird Nursery I sensed this was going to be at least a good quality setting and potentially an outstanding one. Peter Pan’s Neverland sprang to mind as I observed the superb outdoor play area with a beautiful wooden fort; a giant sailing boat to take children to faraway places; tyres, building blocks and planks of wood that could be moved around to create variable challenges; and stepping stones made from tree stumps to assist children across imaginary waters. |
This sympathetically designed outdoor environment provided children with full access to all areas of learning and development and is an excellent example of the principles underpinning the imminent Early Years Foundation Stage.
The wow factor
I now expected the inside to be well organised and resourced, but I was still unprepared for what I saw. ‘I’ve walked through Neverland, and now I am somewhere in between Aladdin’s Cave and Alice’s Wonderland’, I thought, as the wow factor hit me. This church hall was transformed into an exceptionally exciting, enabling, play and learning environment. All the more remarkable because every Friday they clear it away and set up again on Monday. The children were absorbed in exciting play and experiments throughout the day, which meant no time for squabbles. Children could make, or be, absolutely anything they wanted to because this ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ was brimming with real objects, natural resources and different materials; treasures for children to explore, as well as manufactured toys. The children’s high levels of concentration, self motivation, independence and confidence had no boundaries.
I observed some fantastic play and learning. Here are just a few examples:
A group of children were playing with water. One child helped herself to a small natural sponge and began to submerge and squeeze simultaneously. Within minutes others were copying and a major experiment was underway to see who could make theirs wetter or dryer. A staff member casually approached after observing from a distance and asked them if they knew where sponges came from, which they didn’t. After telling them they grow on the sea bed with living things, a wide-eyed two year old pointed to the bottom of the water and asked, ‘in there?’ A thoughtful looking three-year-old piped up, ‘well, how does it come here then?' and so the talk turned to divers.
The role of an architect was brought to life in the block play area. To the delight of the children and myself, it was equipped with hard hats, overalls, and a giant 'blueprint plan'. Children were planning their buildings, railways and roads. I was particularly impressed to see boys enthusiastically using pencils to write and girls working out solutions to mathematical problems.
Children were risk assessing the premises; 'inspecting' with clipboards and pictorial recording sheets, thus helping them to understand and be able to recognise dangers for themselves. This is a very good example of the sort of inspiration I look for when considering the outcome judgement for safety. This is highly innovative; outstanding.
It’s just not possible to describe here all the outstanding features of this nursery. Leadership is particularly strong and the team are extremely committed.
With all these outstanding outcomes for children, why didn’t I grade them outstanding overall? Well, although relations between parents and the setting were excellent in so many ways, the procedure for sharing information about children’s progress and development, and including them in planning for children’s next steps of learning had not been fully developed.
It was with regret that I was unable to award this delightful group an overall outstanding judgement because the provision for play and learning, health and safety, nearly all aspects of positive contribution, leadership and management would be hard to match.
The enabling environment of Ladybird Nursery is a fabulous inspiration for settings preparing to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The senior management and staff were a pleasure to meet and inspect. By the time I left, the action plan for meeting the recommendations for improvement was becoming a clear vision.'
