Lola-Belle's Private Day Nursery Ltd

Lola-Belle's Private Day Nursery Ltd 11 Owen Street, TIPTON, West Midlands, DY4 8EZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/09/2013 01/02/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 3 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Risk assessments are not rigorously completed to minimise hazards to children; this is with particular regard to clear fire exits and access on the stairs.  Some routines are not effective in reducing the risk of the spread of infection or providing calmer routines for toddlers at meal and sleep times.  The quality of teaching and learning is inconsistent; weak systems for monitoring practice, observation and assessment, including the progress check at age two, means some children do not make good progress in their learning and development.  Planning for individual children is erratic and results in some older, more able children, not being sufficiently challenged and extended in their learning.  Poor deployment of staff hinders how children build emotional attachments with staff who have limited knowledge and information about their needs.  Children's privacy is not assured with regard to maintaining confidentiality.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff working with the younger babies interact positively, promoting their development and learning effectively.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled 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 practice in all areas of the nursery, indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the owner and the manager during the course of the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff and interacted appropriately with children during the inspection.  The inspector conducted a safety check on the premises indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of comments made by parents spoken to on the day and from written comments in some children's developmental records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined a selection of policies and procedures, including risk assessments, children's developmental records and staff suitability, recruitment and training records.

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Information about the setting

Lola-Belle's Private Day Nursery was registered in 2009 and is on the Early Years Register. It is one of two settings privately owned and managed by a limited company. It is situated in converted retail premises within a shopping centre in Tipton, Sandwell. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from four main care rooms laid out over two floors. The first floor is accessed via stairs. There is a secure enclosed outdoor play area across the car park.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 14 members of childcare staff including the owner. Of these, 13 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 3. Two members of staff also hold Foundation Degrees and one member of staff is working towards this qualification. Additional housekeeping and maintenance staff are also employed.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 55 children attending in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 ensure that fire exit doors and evacuation routes are free of obstruction and easily opened from inside at all times

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must:

 implement the risk assessment procedures more effectively to ensure hazards to children are kept to a minimum with particular reference to attention to fire safety, items, such as correction fluid, left within children's reach, and the possibility of children entering the kitchen

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must:

 improve planning to provide challenging and enjoyable experiences for children in all areas of learning and development by: using robust and consistent observation and assessment of children's learning; offering a more effective balance of adult- led activity that provides challenge and extension for older and more able children

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must:

 improve the procedures for completing the progress check at age two consistently, highlighting areas in which children progress well and any areas where progress may be less than expected; involve parents in how the summary can be used to support learning at home

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must:

 ensure the monitoring of staff practice is rigorous, identifying and tackling any underperformance promptly so that staff know their roles and responsibilities and that teaching is consistent and effective in supporting children in making best progress

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must:

 review the key person system to ensure that any changes to the deployment of staff are managed effectively so that staff know their key children's needs and can build on children's continuing progress in learning and development

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must:

 ensure that the privacy of children cared for is protected and that information relating to individual children is handled in a way that ensures confidentiality.

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

 review the organisation of lunchtimes for toddlers to help them enjoy their mealtimes and prepare for afternoon sleep in a more calm and orderly environment

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

 review and develop the self-evaluation process to accurately identify and prioritise targets for improvement.

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who attend

The quality of teaching across the nursery is variable and this results in some children not making the best progress they could. Older children, in particular, are not always fully challenged and extended to develop the motivation and skills necessary for preparing for the next steps in their lives. The planning, observation and assessment systems are inconsistently completed resulting in a predominance of child-led activity that does not broaden or extend children's thinking effectively. For example, some art activities are overly simple, such as the paintings made using coloured dabbers. Circle time for the older children is rather basic in content as children recall the weather, the day and name the various colours. Staff do not use such activities to promote further learning through effective questioning, such as asking children to consider how some colours are created by mixing two or more colours. Staff do, however, encourage children to make some links as

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who attend

they ask them to identify each other's items of clothing in the certain colours. Such inconsistent teaching, however, impairs children's preparations for the next steps in their learning, particularly the move to full time school.

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who attend

Some children play well, under their own direction, developing their social interaction. For instance, they work together, using the wooden blocks to create a balancing beam and invite their friends to try and walk across it. However, when they leave the activity for a few minutes, it is cleared away by staff before ascertaining if the activity is over and done with. This hinders children's enjoyment and sense of achievement. Observations are undertaken erratically and are not always collated regularly enough to ensure that any gaps in children's progress would be identified and met swiftly. Some children's developmental records are very minimal, particularly some of the required progress checks at age two. Recording is inconsistent and does not always clarify areas where a child may not be achieving as expected. Where staff have used additional systems for monitoring progress, such as the local authority language assessment tool, the summaries are slightly

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who attend

clearer. Additional support is sought from the relevant agencies to support communication and language. Staff use some non-verbal systems as well, to support children with English as an additional language and children where spoken language is emerging. Children are able to view different languages including Polish and Welsh, developing an awareness of differences in society.

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who attend

Some of the summaries do not show how parents have been actively involved in discussion with their child's key person to plan for supporting learning at home. However, staff do take time to speak with parents on a daily basis and parents are invited to attend specific meetings each term to discuss progress. The nursery has developed the 'wow moments' notes which parents are invited to take home and complete, sharing their children's achievements from home. These are reflected in some children's folders, contributing to the progress they make in some areas of their learning and development. For example, a child relates a recent visit to the theatre to see the play about the monster living in the woods, a familiar character from a much-loved book. They also relate the fun that was had during play at a large town park. This also supports the partnerships with parents. Practice with the babies and young toddlers is more effective and consistent. Staff in the

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who attend

baby rooms know their children's individual needs and characters well and plan appropriate activities to ensure that they build strong attachments to their key persons. Honing their early walking skills, children move around the low level furniture, enjoy crawling into the attractive dens for quieter activities. These are changed frequently from a sensory space, for example, to a musical environment where the various instruments are explored and tested by the inquisitive babies. Older babies return from an outing to the local park, fresh faced and ready for their lunch. Staff talk about the various sights seen such as feeding the ducks and seeing all of the traffic, linking this with some songs, such as 'The wheels on the bus'. This helps children to start making some connections in their learning.

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who attend

The quality of teaching and learning improves when children access the outdoor play area, as they enjoy active games and learn to share and take turns. Some children use the bikes with care, negotiating space well and following the 'road' that is built in to the soft play surface design. Younger children participate in the story time on the grassed area, joining in with some familiar phrases and pointing out the characters in the story. Some staff are sought out by the children to join in their games, such as the game of football although, again, there is limited extension or challenge to promote children's further learning, such as counting and recording the goals scored. Parents are given daily verbal feedback about their child and this is reinforced with some daily diaries. Some parents provide comments regarding their children's activity at home that are included in some of the developmental records, fostering the partnership between home and the nursery.

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

Children's health and well-being are compromised at times, as staff do not implement the health and safety policies effectively. Risk assessments are carried out but staff are not diligent in addressing some concerns. Fire exits are not always kept clear as, on occasions, there is equipment stored in very close proximity to emergency exit doors. Some buggies are placed on the stairs when children return from a local outing, impeding safe access and exit down the stairs. When some hazards are pointed out, such as a bottle of correction fluid left in children's reach and the kitchen door left propped open, staff do attend to the issues. However, this reactive approach means that children are left at risk. Arrangements for minimising the risk of the spread of infection are not fully effective as some of the babies' feeder cups show signs of grubbiness around the mouth pieces although staff sterilize these daily. The hand washing facilities for staff in the toddler room

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

are not always readily available for easy use. Staff are reliant on the small sink in the sink unit and, at times, the unit sinks can be filled with children's mealtime plates and trays. This is a particular concern given that there have been some cases of tummy upsets in the nursery recently.

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

The overall arrangements for lunchtime in the toddler base can be chaotic at times. This mars their social development as some children attempt to help themselves from others' plates and wander round while other children are still eating. Sleeping mats are prepared while children are eating and there are times when children and adults walk over the bedding, increasing the risk of contamination and possible transfer of some foods that have fallen to the floor. Such routines in the baby room are more organised and calm, enhancing children's enjoyment of mealtimes. They are supported effectively by staff who assist in the children's attempts at self-feeding, although, occasionally, some struggle with the large plastic cutlery. Meals and snacks are healthy and nutritious and prepared by the qualified cook who liaises well with staff to ensure that children's dietary needs and allergies are known and fully adhered to. Accidents are recorded and suitably managed by

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

staff who hold relevant first aid qualifications.

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

Generally, children's behaviour is managed well as staff encourage good manners and praise children's interaction with their peers. Some older children develop their hierarchy in their play and take the lead in framing the activities. They share and show care and consideration for each other as they are becoming aware of the consequences of their actions on others. Following recent changes to the deployment of staff in the various rooms, the arrangements for children moving through the nursery are not always smooth and staff have limited knowledge of children's levels of ability. Some children take time to relate to their new key person, marring the development of their secure emotional attachment. They tend to seek out more familiar staff for reassurance and support often engaging with their past key persons, as they play their games of football and require assistance pulling themselves up the ramp and rope on the climbing frame. The outdoor

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

play area is a recent addition to the resources and environment. The management is working to increase the range and quantity of resources, such as bicycles, to further enhance children's outdoor learning.

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provision

This inspection was conducted as a result of concerns raised with Ofsted regarding safety, risk assessments, the educational programmes, staffing ratios and maintaining confidentiality. The inspection found that all staffing ratios were being met, although at times, the deployment of staff is erratic due to changes in staff working patterns and the children's key persons. This results in staff having limited information about some aspects of the children's levels of ability and their interests. This leads to weak observation and assessment of children. Risk assessments are ineffective in ensuring that children are safe and that hazard are kept to a minimum, such as the obstructions on the stairs and the fire exits. The owner and the manager have policies and procedures in place to outline the operation of the setting. However, the practice is not monitored sufficiently to ensure that staff follow the procedures as they should.

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provision

Similarly, the systems for monitoring practice and children's progress are not robust enough to address the variable inconsistencies in teaching. This means that some children are not making the level of progress they could and hinders how well prepared they may be for their next steps, such as the move to school. It also means that some of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are not being met, particularly regarding the limited information for parents in the progress check at age two.

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provision

Children's privacy is not fully assured as some information has been shared with others inappropriately. This compromises children's confidentiality, safety and welfare.

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provision

Self-evaluation is overly-optimistic at the moment and does not clearly identify and prioritise the weaknesses in the provision in order to drive improvement systematically. Staff do, however, have a sound knowledge of their roles and responsibilities with regard to child protection and safeguarding. Senior staff have undertaken in-depth training and work effectively with relevant agencies and other professionals to support children and families. Parents are further assured of the suitability of staff as the management undertakes the required checks and has efficient procedures in place for the recruitment and selection of staff. Parents express their satisfaction with the nursery, remarking on the friendly and approachable staff and the smaller care rooms that offer children security and freedom to access the varied range of resources.

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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 action. 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 EY393248 Local authority Sandwell Inspection number 934395

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 54 Number of children on roll 55 Name of provider Lola-Belle's Private Day Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 01/02/2010 Telephone number 0121 5579956

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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, which are usually the childminder’s 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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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