Summertown Montessori Nursery

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD Telephone: 0300 123 1231 Fax: 0300 123 3159 Minicom: 0161 618 8524 Email: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk Web: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Summertown Montessori Nurseries Summertown Church Hall Portland Road OXFORD OX2 7EZ Our Reference EY408460

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Monitoring for provision judged as inadequate

An Ofsted inspector, Jennifer Fisher, monitored your provision on 10/07/2014 following your inspection where the provision was judged to be inadequate.

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Outcome of monitoring

As a result of our inspection on 27/05/2014, we sent you a welfare requirements notice. If you were set actions at the inspection, or as a result of our subsequent monitoring or investigations, these are included at the end of this letter.

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Outcome of monitoring

The welfare requirements notice required you to: ensure the named person responsible for behaviour management has the necessary skills to advise staff on behaviour issues and to access expert advice if necessary; ensure staff understand and implement the behaviour management policy and procedures.

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Outcome of monitoring

A notice to improve was also sent that required you to: implement an effective key- person system that ensures every child's care is tailored to meet their individual needs, with particular regard to supporting younger children and those children who require additional support to manage their feelings; implement a policy and procedures to promote equality of opportunity for all children, including arrangements to review, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of inclusive practices, with particular regard to differences in boys' and girls' learning, the support for children who learn English as an additional language and young children; ensure staff have the necessary skills and knowledge, and a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities so that they can fulfil their roles successfully; ensure there are appropriate arrangements in place for the supervision of staff who have contact with children and families, which includes opportunities for staff to discuss

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Outcome of monitoring

any issues, particularly those concerning children's development or well-being; identify solutions to address issues as they arise; and receive coaching to improve their personal effectiveness; keep a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance and the names of each child's key person; ensure there is a clear and well-understood risk assessment policy, and procedures, for assessing any risks to children's safety, and review risk assessments regularly; ensure that the learning environment is equipped with appropriate furniture, that there are suitable spaces for children to rest undisturbed and there is a separate space for children aged under two to play safely; ensure all staff involved in preparing and handling food receive training in food hygiene; ensure staff encourage children to develop respect for others and to help children manage

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Outcome of monitoring

their feelings and understand appropriate behaviour in groups; ensure staff consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child and use this information to identify starting points and next steps for learning, to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development.

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Outcome of monitoring

At the first monitoring visit 10 July 2014, the inspector observed interaction between staff and children in the nursery and had discussions with staff. The inspector also looked at your action plan and self-evaluation form and other documentary evidence.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that you are willing to accept external support and guidance and are active in seeking additional support. You have just started to receive this support from Oxfordshire County Council; however this is in its very early stages so we are unable to comment on the impact that this has on the quality of care, learning and development for children. You have also arranged for Early Years consultant advice and other training courses which have yet to take place.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that self-evaluation of the nursery is improving and you have completed an action plan and self-evaluation of the setting. You have identified priorities for improvement and identified what you intend to do to ensure actions are addressed and improvement is made. You have identified your objectives in meeting the actions and desired outcome on the areas of weakness identified at the last inspection. You have included clear examples of ways in which to seek the views of staff, children and other agencies. You have begun to address some of the actions raised at inspection, however; your action plan lacks sufficient detail in how you will achieve the desired outcome and how you will monitor progress. Some of the action you have taken is in its early stages so we are unable to comment fully on the impact on the quality of care, learning and development for children at this stage. Some of

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Outcome of monitoring

the areas of weakness identified at inspection have not been fully addressed and new weaknesses have been identified, for example, the inspector found that the accident records lack sufficient detail and accuracy. In addition, the inspector viewed the settings safeguarding policies and found that there are different versions of the policy in the policy folder; this was discussed with you as this could lead to confusion in taking prompt action to respond to signs of abuse. We also discussed your recent work with safeguarding agencies and it became apparent, that whilst the manager has a good understanding of safeguarding issues, you did not ensure that she is aware of local reporting procedures. You need to ensure that your action plans include sufficient detail and include how you will ensure continuous improvement. You must also include how you will ensure that other aspects do not slip. You need to execute your plans promptly and effectively to ensure that you are able to sustain

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that you have reviewed and revised the behaviour management policies and procedures and reviewed these with all staff. You are beginning to put plans in place to train and develop staff in their understanding of effective ways to manage behaviour and specifically dealing with challenging behaviour. Staff have been given literature on behaviour management techniques and each staff member is given time to discuss key children’s behaviour during regular meetings. You have arranged for staff to complete an intense online course. Staff have started but are yet to complete the training. The manager is skilled at modelling positive ways to manage children’s behaviour and is working with individual staff to make improvements on how they manage behaviour. There are, however, still inconsistences in how staff manage behaviour and as a result further improvement is needed to ensure that children’s behaviour is managed in an appropriate way.

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Outcome of monitoring

You have made changes to the care and daily routines in order to improve behaviour in the setting. For example, you have introduced shorter and more focused circle time and snack time to ensure that children are not sitting for long periods and becoming bored and restless. At lunch times, children sit with staff in key groups, this helps to ensure that the atmosphere is calm and children behave well. However, the inspector observed that one key group of children were sitting for an excessively long period of time, children showed signs of tiredness and boredom and staff did not respond to their children’s need without being prompted. This does not ensure that children’s needs are well met at all times. You have put some systems in place and provided resources to enable children to talk about their feelings, as a result children are beginning to show care and concern for each other. Further work is needed to ensure that all staff fully implement the

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Outcome of monitoring

new routines and behaviour management strategies and you need to ensure that you monitor the effectiveness of these changes and the impact on children. The inspector found that you have made changes to the key person system to ensure that every child’s care is tailored to meet their individual needs. You have updated your key person policy to ensure that the role of the key person is clear. You have ensured that every child is allocated a key person and you have introduced a board displaying the key person and their children for parents to see. You have organised training for staff on their role, which they have not yet completed. You have organised systems to ensure that staff are able to discuss the individual needs of their key children regularly at supervision meetings and staff meetings. You have made changes to the information obtained about the individual needs of children prior to admission to ensure that staff fully know and understand the needs of all

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Outcome of monitoring

children. You have begun to complete individual educational plans for children with specific needs and more targeted work with outside agencies to further support individual children. You have begun to implement ways to ensure that younger children are supported more fully in managing their feelings through planned circle time discussion and other activities. You have ordered new resources for the children such as persona dolls and puppets to enable children to express their feelings. You need to ensure that these changes are fully imbedded into practice.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that you have updated your equal opportunities and inclusion policy and have reviewed this with all staff. You have a high level of children with English as an additional language (EAL) and staff who are multi-lingual staff who you utilise when assigning key person roles. You have begun to use props with children with EAL to help them to communicate and encourage communication in English; staff speak slowly and clearly to children to ensure that they understand. You have completed ‘all about me’ assessment records for children and staff are beginning to identify individual children’s starting points and plan for these. There is still work to do to ensure that you include arrangements to review, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of inclusive practices and to ensure that they are fully imbedded into practice.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that staff hold appropriate qualifications in line with the Early Years Foundation stage requirements. You have met with staff and reviewed policies and procedures with the staff team to ensure a greater understanding of their roles and responsibilities. You have started to introduce staff questionnaires in order to check staff understanding of their roles. You have focused on their skills in managing children’s behaviour, the role of the key person and food hygiene training. You have made arrangements for the newly appointed manager to carry out peer observations and modelling of good practice. However, there are some inconsistencies in staff members approach to teaching and in their understanding of their roles and responsibilities. You have introduced tailored staff development plans and there are some plans for staff to attend training. Training has yet to take place so we are

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Outcome of monitoring

unable to see the impact of that. You must ensure that you monitor how staff perform and fulfil their roles and respond to training needs promptly to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to fulfil their roles effectively.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that in order to increase the competency of staff you have revised your staff supervision and appraisal systems. You have introduced a new supervision of staff policy, which gives clear objectives and performance review arrangements. You plan to hold supervision every six weeks, however, these have not yet taken place with all staff. You have arranged weekly team meetings and regular one to one meetings with staff and you have set out a clear agenda for these meetings, which include an opportunity for staff to discuss and review the individual needs and progress of children as well as child development and practice issues. These systems need to be fully imbedded into practice to ensure continuous improvement and personal effectiveness of all staff.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that you have a system for recording children’s arrival and departure times to ensure that they are accurately recorded and reflect attendance. This contributes to keeping children safe, however the inspector found that whilst children were in the garden, staff did not know how many children were present, this does not ensure that children are safe in the garden and means that if a child were to go missing there could be a delay which compromises children’s safety.

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Outcome of monitoring

You have reorganised the space in the large hall to create a quiet area for younger children to play and an area for sleep so that children are able to sleep and rest undisturbed. In addition, you have removed low level objects that are potentially hazardous to younger children. You have reorganised daily routines such as circle time and meal time arrangements to ensure that younger children have appropriate seating and are fully included. You have ordered some new resources and equipment, however, these have not been used by the children as yet.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that you have made some improvements to the risk assessment arrangements such as removing small objects in the main hall that may be harmful to children. There are risk assessment procedures in place; these include an assessment of child related risks and staff related risks as well as a daily checklist. However, these procedures are ineffective. This is because the inspector identified several hazards specifically relating to the garden and the transportation of children to and from the garden at the time of the visit. The inspector found that the opportunity for children to leave the premises and run into the car park or outside onto the busy road as they enter and leave the garden have not been sufficiently reduced; staff do not carry out a head count as children enter and leave the garden. Furthermore, staff did not know how many children were present in the garden. This places children at risk. The inspector found that staff complete a a daily checklist in

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Outcome of monitoring

the main hall and garden, however, the form had not been completed correctly, some days were missing and furthermore, hazards identified by the inspector were not identified by staff or included in the risk assessment. This shows a weakness in staffs’ ability to identify new hazards as they arise and to take immediate action to reduce the risks or hazards. In addition, there are no systems in place to monitor the effectiveness of the procedures. The inspector found a number of risks relating to the garden area including hanging, trailing wires, and a padlock and crate left around the slide in the garden used by children. The inspector found that other hazardous items such as plants and areas of the garden where children could go missing had not been identified in the risk assessment. No action had been taken to reduce, minimise or reduce these risks. The risk assessment must be robust and specific to

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Outcome of monitoring

the setting. You must ensure that staff are fully trained in risk assessment and that the systems to identify risks and to take steps to minimise and manage risks are robust and imbedded into practice.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that all staff have completed a level 1 food hygiene course and as a result they have a clear understanding of the safe storage and preparation of food. This ensures that children are safe and minimises the likelihood of children become unwell. The inspector found that the daily routines have been reorganised in the setting to ensure that the individual needs and interests of all children are taken into account. Circle times are much shorter and more focused on the needs of the children and their stage of development and children no longer sit for long periods of time. As a result, the atmosphere is calmer and children are more engaged in play and learning. Some staff lack the necessary skills to ensure that children are challenged appropriately and their needs met, for example, a member of staff did not provide sufficient resources and activities for children, as a result some children were

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Outcome of monitoring

wandering aimlessly. This was quickly addressed by the manager, who asked the staff member to provide more resources and activities for the children. However, there needs to be a more consistent approach by all staff. The inspector found that you have been working increasingly with parents and other agencies, and you gave the inspector some examples of recent working together to ensure that the meet the individual needs of all children are known. This ensures that you are able to focus better on the needs of the children in your care and adapt and respond to those needs to ensure progress. You explained to the inspector that you now gather more detailed information about the children prior to them starting. This enables staff to identify starting points for children and to plan for their next steps. As a result, staff have a better understanding of the children’s individual needs and they are beginning

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Outcome of monitoring

to plan accordingly. Staff are beginning to carry out regular observations of children and they use these observations to inform planning and next steps for children. The new planning and assessment systems introduced by the manager are in their early stages. All staff need to be skilled and confident in implementing these systems to ensure that children are sufficiently challenged in all areas of learning and to ensure that they are making good progress.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector found that the new manager has met with all staff, with a specific focus on improving personal, social and emotional development in the nursery. There is a clearer focus and more positive approach to how behaviour is managed. As a result, the atmosphere is calmer and children are more relaxed and are beginning to understand behavioural expectations. Staff are beginning to encourage children to manage their feelings and they do this through a range of new activities, using puppets and other props, as a result children are beginning to show concern for others. This needs to be fully imbedded into practice to ensure that there is continuous improvement.

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Outcome of monitoring

The inspector agreed to reissue the actions raised at last inspection so that the actions can be fully met and imbedded into practice. Additional actions were raised at the time of the visit, relating to accidents and child protection that asks you to: ensure that accident records contain precise and specific detail of accidents or injuries sustained by children and of first aid treatment given and ensure that all staff know and understand safeguarding policies and procedures and that they are in line with the guidance and procedures of the relevant Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).

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Outcome of monitoring

Having considered all the evidence, the inspector is of the opinion that the setting has not taken prompt and effective action to address the points for improvement.

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Next steps

The next step will be further monitoring.

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Next steps

If you have any further queries please contact us on the number at the top of this letter.

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Next steps

Nick Hudson National Director, Early Education

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure staff consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child and use this information to identify starting points and next steps for learning, to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development. 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

implement an effective key-person system that ensures every child's care is tailored to meet their individual needs, with particular regard to supporting younger children and those children who require additional support to manage their feelings 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure staff have the necessary skills and knowledge, and a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities so that they can fulfil their roles successfully 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

keep a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance and the names of each child's key person 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure there is a clear and well- understood risk assessment policy, and procedures, for assessing any risks to children's safety, and review risk assessments regularly 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure that the learning environment is equipped with appropriate furniture, that there are suitable spaces for children to rest undisturbed and there is a separate space for children aged under two to play safely 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure all staff involved in preparing and handling food receive training in food hygiene 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

implement a policy and procedures to 07/07/2014 04/09/2014 promote equality of opportunity for all children, including arrangements to review, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of inclusive practices, with particular regard to differences in boys' and girls' learning, the support for children who learn English as an additional language and young children ensure staff encourage children to develop respect for others and to help children manage their feelings and understand appropriate behaviour in groups 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure there are appropriate arrangements in place for the supervision of staff who have contact with children and families, which includes opportunities for staff to discuss any issues, particularly those concerning children's development or well-being; identify solutions to address issues as they arise; and receive coaching to improve their personal effectiveness 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure there are appropriate arrangements in place for the supervision of staff who have contact with children and families, which includes opportunities for staff to discuss any issues, particularly those concerning children's development or well-being; identify solutions to address issues as they arise; and receive coaching to improve their personal effectiveness 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure staff understand and implement the behaviour management policy and procedures 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure the named person responsible for behaviour management has the necessary skills to advise staff on behaviour issues and to access expert advice if necessary 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

implement an effective key-person system that ensures every child's care is tailored to meet their individual needs, 11/08/2014 with particular regard to supporting younger children and those children who require additional support to manage their feelings implement a policy and procedures to promote equality of opportunity for all children, including arrangements to review, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of inclusive practices, with particular regard to differences in boys' and girls' learning, the support for children who learn English as an additional language and young children 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure staff have the necessary skills and knowledge, and a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities so that they can fulfil their roles successfully 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

keep a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance and the names of each child's key person 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure there is a clear and well- understood risk assessment policy, and procedures, for assessing any risks to children's safety, and review risk assessments regularly 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure that the learning environment is equipped with appropriate furniture, that there are suitable spaces for children to rest undisturbed and there is a separate space for children aged under two to play safely 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure all staff involved in preparing and handling food receive training in food hygiene 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure staff encourage children to develop respect for others and to help children manage their feelings and understand appropriate behaviour in groups 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

1. ensure the named person responsible for behaviour management 07/07/2014 04/09/2014 has the necessary skills to advise staff on behaviour issues and to access expert advice if necessary WRN ensure staff understand and implement the behaviour management policy and procedures WRN 07/07/2014 04/09/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure staff consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child and use this information to identify starting points and next steps for learning, to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development. 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure that all staff know and understand safeguarding policies and procedures and that they are in line with the guidance and procedures of the relevant Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB). 11/08/2014

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Action Due date Closed date

ensure that accident records contain precise and specific detail of accidents or injuries sustained by children and of first aid treatment given 11/08/2014

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