Clarendon Nursery

Clarendon Nursery Garston Old Road, Liverpool, L19 9AF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/01/2013 22/06/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 4 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Organisational procedures compromise the safety of children. The hours that children attend are not consistently recorded and the requirement to always have a member of staff qualified at level 3 on the premises is regularly not met at the start of the day.  The roles and responsibilities of the manager and provider are unclear. As a result, required procedures are not in place. For example, the manager is unaware of the need to evaluate the nursery's strengths and weaknesses and so there are no plans or targets in place to strive for improvement.  There are no in-depth induction processes for new staff and no ongoing programme to monitor and develop staff practice. The result of this is that some staff, who are left in charge, do not fully understand safeguarding procedures.  Detailed information about children's stage of development is not collected on entry to the nursery. Ongoing observation and planning lacks the detail required for staff to

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This provision is inadequate

effectively target support for individual children.

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It has the following strengths

 Relationships between children, parents and staff are warm and friendly. Parents say their children look forward to spending the day at the nursery.  Children have opportunities to learn French and Spanish and enjoy celebrating festivals. This helps them value diversity and learn about the wider world.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children and staff, who were engaged in activities.  The inspector spoke to children, staff and parents.  The inspector examined children's learning records and enrolment files.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined organisational records and met with the manager and the provider.

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Information about the setting

Clarendon Nursery was registered in 2011. It operates from premises in the Garston area of Liverpool. The nursery is owned and managed by an individual and applies a Montessori approach. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7am until 7pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 19 children attending. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds. The nursery employs nine members of childcare staff. Of these, seven hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or level 3. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure that a daily record of the hours children attend is kept and that it includes every child present  ensure there is always a member of staff on duty, who holds a full and relevant level 3 qualification  ensure staff and managers understand their roles and responsibilities by providing induction training and regular appraisals  make use of ongoing observation and assessment of each child's progress against all seven areas of learning; taking account of their starting points, age and stage of development and use this information to identify the next steps in their learning.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 devise and implement a thorough self-evaluation process, which includes the views of parents and children, to identify strengths and areas for development. Implement an action plan to overcome weaknesses that have been highlighted as a result

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 provide opportunities for children to make age-appropriate choices about what they want to eat, for example, encourage older children to serve themselves at mealtimes

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 provide a range of sensory media and materials for toddlers to explore regularly, for example, paint, sand and dough.

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who attend

The range of resources available to older children supports their development across all seven areas of learning. Low-level storage allows children to make some choices in their play and so helps them to develop independence. Children's communication is supported because staff read stories to them and sing songs during planned circle time. Staff engage children by helping them to touch the sensory textures within story books and describe how they feel. Children enjoy trying to paint their 'face' on paper plates after staff encourage them to look in the mirror and demonstrate by making their own 'face' first. Staff then guide children by asking questions, for example, 'what colour are your eyes?' and 'where is your nose?' Children are supported as staff show them how to transfer paint to paper and praise their creative efforts. However, toddlers have fewer opportunities to freely explore messy, sensory activities other than when involved in planned outdoor play.

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who attend

This means that toddler's creativity is stifled.

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who attend

Festivals, such as, Christmas, Hanukah and Diwali are celebrated through art and craft activities. Staff teach all children basic greetings and numbers in French and Spanish and older children also learn the names of body parts. This helps children to appreciate and value diversity and begin to learn about the wider world. Print displayed around the nursery helps children to learn days of the week and months of the year.

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who attend

Children are regularly observed by their key person during planned adult-led activities; however, these observations are not fully evaluated. This means that staff are not effectively using the next steps in children's learning to plan to support individual children. Opportunities to help children make progress are missed. Children's development across the seven areas of the curriculum is not monitored in such a way as to identify their stages of development. The nursery does not assess children's developmental starting points on entry or ask parents to share what they know about their child's learning. However, older children are offered homework, which allows their parents to support their learning at home.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Relationships between children and their key person are warm and friendly. Parents comment that their children look forward to coming to the nursery and that there is a 'family atmosphere'. While children are kept safe generally because staff have first aid training and daily risk assessments are completed, organisational procedures compromise the safety of children. The daily hours that children attend are not recorded consistently. In the morning, there is not always a member of staff with a level 3 qualification on duty. As a result, there are insufficient experienced staff available to ensure that all regulatory requirements are consistently met.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff are aware of the likes and dislikes of individual children and their specific dietary requirements. Children are offered healthy and nutritious meals and snacks, including fresh fruit and vegetables on a daily basis. Mealtimes are sociable because younger and older children eat meals together. However, as food is pre-served by staff, children are not able to make age-appropriate choices about what they eat or serve themselves. As a result, children have fewer opportunities to develop independence. Children are encouraged to be physically active as outdoor play is offered everyday. Older children have been looking closely at how their body works, learning how the heart pumps blood around their body and how food is digested. These activities help children to understand the importance of diet and exercise and so promote their health.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The environment is organised in such a way as to allow toddlers to see the older children playing and planned circle time involves all the children. This helps toddlers in their transition to the pre-school room. Children have specific key people caring for them and there are also staff who float between groups. This means that children get to know all the staff, helping them to feel secure. Children behave appropriately because staff gently remind them to play safely and be kind to each other.

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provision

The new manager holds regular staff meetings and has addressed most of the actions identified in the last inspection. However, recent changes of senior staff have resulted in some confusion in the accountability of management arrangements. As a result, some required organisational procedures are not yet in place. There is no regular evaluation of the strengths of the nursery or the areas for development. Therefore, there are no action plans or targets in place to ensure that the nursery is striving for improvement. The manager encourages apprentices to continue training and this helps them to develop their practice. However, regular staff appraisals are not evident. This means that opportunities to further develop the skills of staff are missed. An induction pack for new staff has been developed but has not been effectively used to ensure that new staff fully understand key policies. As a result not all staff, who are sometimes left in charge, are confident in

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provision

explaining safeguarding procedures. This poses a risk to children.

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provision

New observation and planning procedures have been implemented but are not yet fully effective as the developmental stages of children are not identified in all seven areas of learning. Therefore, appropriate interventions for individual children are not consistently provided. This means that opportunities to help children progress in all areas of their development are missed. The nursery has links with the local children's centre and they sign post parents to specific groups that may support them. For example, there is a group called 'Me Time', which supports parents of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. A local charity is involved in developing the outdoor space by creating a planting area for children to plant vegetables. The manager is actively forging links with other providers and the local authority early years team, in order to develop her knowledge and share good practice.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted 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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Setting details

Unique reference number EY435216 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 805666

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 39 Number of children on roll 19 Name of provider Karen Margaret Donnelly Date of previous inspection 22/06/2012 Telephone number 0151 3459455

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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