Little Dragons Child Care Centre

Little Dragons Daycare Centre St. Georges C of E Primary School, London Road, St. Georges, TELFORD, Shropshire, TF2 9LJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/05/2014 21/01/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 2 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

 Management and staff do not have a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures. In particular, they are not confident of the action to take if an allegation is made against a member of staff. As a result, children are not safeguarded at all times.  Leadership and management is inadequate. Staff performance is not robustly monitored to identify their training, support and development needs. Consequently, children's learning and development is not fully supported.  The quality of teaching is weak. Staff do not demonstrate an appropriate knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage, resulting in children not always engaged in their learning or provided with activities and routines that challenge and interest them.  Assessment and observation are not being carried out or monitored consistently, this means that children's next steps are not being accurately identified and targeted to

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This provision is inadequate

close any gaps in their learning.  Poor deployment of key persons hinders how children build emotional attachments with key persons as they do not spend quality time together in their key groups.

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It has the following strengths

 Parents are given regular information about their child's progress.

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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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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed play and learning activities in the indoor and outdoor environment and spoke to staff and children at appropriate times.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a meeting with management, they looked at and discussed a range of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager and her deputy.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of children's assessment files and progress tracking information and spoke to the key person.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Little Dragons Childcare opened in 2006. It is managed by a voluntary committee and operates from a demountable classroom on the grounds of St Georges Primary School in Telford, Shropshire. The nursery serves the immediate locality and also the surrounding areas. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round, except for bank holidays, from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 62 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language. There are currently 11 staff working directly with the children, all of whom have an appropriate early years qualification. Of these, one has Early Years Professional Status,

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Information about the setting

one has a qualification at level 4, seven have a qualification at level 3, and two have a qualification at level 2. The nursery receives support from the local authority and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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must:

 ensure management update the safeguarding policy to ensure this reflects local safeguarding children board guidance and ensure all staff are knowledgeable and confident to follow this procedure; this specifically refers to responding to an allegation against a member of staff

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must:

 ensure all staff have appropriate training, skills and knowledge to fulfil their roles and responsibilities; this specifically refers to making sure that there are effective supervision and monitoring arrangements to accurately assess and identify the training and development needs of all staff and ensure effective support and guidance is provided where necessary

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must:

 review and improve the monitoring of observation and assessment by ensuring management regularly review the quality and content, so that they are confident that staff are knowledgeable and understand the process

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must:

 ensure that the key person system, especially for children with English as an additional language, is effective and meets the needs of all children to consistently support their learning and welfare to ensure that children's emotional well-being is promoted.

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

 improve the effectiveness of children's daily routines so that noise levels do not distract children from their learning.

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who attend

Teaching in the nursery is varied. Staff take into account children's interests when planning adult-led activities but they do not consider the stage of development or the size of groups during these activities. This results in children sat at tables waiting for limited resources to be offered to them. For example, during an activity painting stones, children are only given paint brushes and their desire for other resources is not supported to further their learning. Consequently, large group activities do not ensure that all children are able to engage effectively with the planned activity and such activities are not adapted to provide age-appropriate levels of challenge. This does not support children's learning and development. In contrast, there are occasions when staff interact well with children, such as during individual small group time. However, the general organisation of routines and numbers of children present in the nursery means that noise levels are sometimes too

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who attend

high and distract some children from their individual learning. This prevents children from engaging with others and does not promote children's communication and language skills. Consequently, children are not well prepared for school or their next stage of learning. Children enjoy a wide range of activities in the indoor and outdoor environment. Children are encouraged to look after plants by watering them carefully using small watering cans. Staff support children for whom English is an additional language by using phrase books to learn about common words.

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who attend

Staff carry out observations of children and record these in children's personal files. However, these are not regular or detailed enough to identify children's next steps in their learning. In addition, observations are not linked to a particular age range in the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance. These observations are used to complete regular assessments of children on a tracking schedule. However, this is not always completed accurately and is not monitored by management. This means gaps in children's learning are not identified or targeted to ensure they make good progress. Staff are aware of how to complete the progress check at age two and discuss this with parents. Staff obtain information from parents regarding children's development but do not identify children's initial starting points. Consequently, observation and assessment methods are inadequate as they are not completed in enough detail to ensure that children's progress is monitored

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who attend

effectively. Parents provide information about their child's individual interests and personal information on entry. Staff hold regular parents evenings which provide opportunities to discuss children's progress. This helps to promote partnerships with parents.

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

Overall, children appear happy to be in the nursery, however, there are times when they do not engage in activities offered to them and seem uninterested and bored. For example, during the inspection a child, who spoke English as an additional language, sat on the carpet and observed others playing for a considerable length of time. Staff did not notice this and she was left to occupy herself without any support to promote her participation or enjoyment. The nursery operates a key-person system and parents are informed of their child's key person so they know who to speak to if they have any concerns. However, this system is not fully effective as children do not spend quality time with their key person or other children in their group. As a result, secure relationships are not always developed between children, each other and their carers to help all children become emotionally secure. Routines and group sizes do not take into account the large

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

number of children in the nursery and the fact they are all cared for in one room. As a result, is sometimes difficult for children to concentrate and persevere during their play.

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

Children move around the nursery freely and begin to learn about managing their own safety. Children are confident to talk to visitors about different aspects of computer programmes. Parents described staff as 'brilliant' and praised them for settling their children into the nursery. Staff provide children with firm boundaries and this results in the children being well behaved and courteous to each other. Children enjoy regular nutritious snacks and freshly cooked meals. They are offered milk and water at mealtimes which promotes their health. Staff are aware of children's individual dietary requirements and cater for them accordingly, adopting safe and inclusive practice. Children are encouraged to have regard for their personal hygiene, as they wash their hands before eating and after toileting. The outdoor area and facilities provides regular opportunities for children to access fresh air and physical exercise on a daily basis. This helps to promote a healthy

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

lifestyle and keep children healthy. The nursery helps children prepare for the move to school as they regularly use facilities in the host school which include forest school activities. As a result, children are familiar with the school environment.

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provision

Leadership and management is inadequate. Safeguarding policies do not reflect local safeguarding children board guidance. In particular, it is not clear what action to take if an allegation is made against a member of staff. As a result, management and staff do not have a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding procedures to ensure children's safety at all times. Management do not support staff to understand their roles to effectively safeguard children. Appropriate recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to ensure staff are safe and suitable to work with children. Risk assessments are carried out and are supported with daily visual checks to ensure the environment is safe for children to use. Visitor identification is obtained and recorded in the nursery's visitor's book.

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provision

Management regularly update their self-evaluation form to identify areas of improvement. However, this has little impact as they have failed to evaluate the effectiveness of daily routines and practices which affect children's learning and development. For example, the high noise levels in the nursery have been noted by management but nothing has been done to reduce these. Staff are suitably qualified and have current first-aid training. However, they do not demonstrate a secure knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage which means that teaching is weak as they are not able to effectively promote children's learning and development. Staff appraisals are normally carried out at regular intervals. However, changes in management arrangements have resulted in these not being followed through. Consequently, management have failed to effectively monitor staff performance or provide sufficient support for staff to ensure that

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provision

required policies and procedures are followed.

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provision

Staff understand the benefit and importance of good relationships with parents and wider professionals and explain how these are used to promote the care and development of children. For example, they work with speech and language therapists to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff have an awareness of children's home life, which means they provide adequate support for children who speak English as additional language. Parents and children are welcomed into the nursery and staff strive to maintain good partnerships with parents. Parents say staff are friendly and share information about their child's day; they feel their children have settled well in the nursery and enjoy their time.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 EY413204 Local authority Telford & Wrekin Inspection number 851370

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 62 Name of provider Little Dragons Childcare Ltd Date of previous inspection 21/01/2011 Telephone number 01952567756

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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

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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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