Oxford Day Nursery

Oxford Day Nursery 35 Sherbourne Road, Acocks Green, BIRMINGHAM, B27 6DX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/06/2014 25/01/2013

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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

 Significant breaches in safeguarding and welfare requirements mean that children's safety is not adequately maintained.  Children are not adequately safeguarded as the provider does not have robust recruitment procedures in place, unvetted persons are left alone with children, and staff do not have a secure understanding of safeguarding procedures to effectively promote children's welfare.  Risk assessments are not robust enough to identify potential hazards. Consequently, children's safety is compromised.  Monitoring and assessment systems are not effective in identifying children's next steps in learning. As a result, staff do not plan effectively and children do not make sufficient progress in their learning.  Partnerships with parents are not strong enough to support the effective sharing of information. Frequent staff changes mean that parents are not aware of who their child's key person is and are not supported to be involved in the ongoing progress of

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It has the following strengths

 The nursery environment is inviting and stimulating and resources are easily accessible to children. Consequently, children's experiences are enhanced and their independence and freedom of choice promoted.

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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 children playing inside and outside.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of the staff, self- evaluation, risk assessment and policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the nursery owner, the manager and staff at appropriate times throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including children's records, learning and development information and staff records.  The inspector took into account the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Oxford Day Nursery was re-registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It one of two nurseries privately owned by the same provider, and operates from three floors of a converted detached house in the Acocks Green area of Birmingham. The nursery serves the local area and is accessed by a small step at the front entrance. It opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm all year round, with the exception of Bank Holidays. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff, including the manager. Of these, seven hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and two hold level 2. The manager holds a childcare and management qualification at level 4. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 84 children on roll who are within the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-,

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Information about the setting

three- and four-year-olds. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 train all staff to ensure that they have a good understanding of all safeguarding practice, including the signs and symptoms of abuse and the procedures to follow if they are concerned about a child, or if an allegation is made against a member of staff

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must:

 ensure that adults whose suitability has not been checked, including through a Disclosure and Barring Service check, are not left alone with the children being cared for

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must:

 ensure staffing arrangements are organised to ensure safety and to meet the needs of the children, with specific reference to maintaining required adult-to-child ratios

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must:

 conduct comprehensive risk assessments to identify all potential hazards to children and take adequate steps to minimise or remove these risks. This is with particular regard to children leaving rooms unsupervised

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must:

 develop the educational programme to provide consistent interesting and challenging experiences by improving staff's use of effective teaching strategies to promote learning for children at all times

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must:

 ensure children are supported in their progress in all areas of learning by making systematic observations and assessments, and using these to plan relevant and motivating experiences for each child as an individual

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must:

 ensure that parents are provided with a short written summary of their child's development in the prime areas when they are aged between two and three years, identifying the child's strengths and any areas where their progress is less than expected

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must:

 implement effective procedures for the supervision of staff to provide support, coaching and training for all staff, to ensure that they have the appropriate skills, knowledge and understanding to provide a quality learning experience for all children, achieved through high-quality teaching

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must:

 implement an effective key-person system to ensure that every child's learning and care are tailored to meet their individual needs, including providing effective support for those children who speak English as an additional language

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must:

 make fresh drinking water available at all times, in suitable cups or bottles, and ensure staff follow hygienic procedures, for example, by ensuring equipment, such as water bottles and dummies, are clean before children use them.

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who attend

The learning and development requirements are not being met effectively. Staff provide children with activities that cover all areas of learning, although it is not always clear from planning how staff are responding to children's emerging needs and interests. As a result, children's individual learning needs are not adequately planned for, and at times babies and young children are not sufficiently engaged in purposeful play and learning opportunities. As a result, this hinders their progress. Staff do not pay enough attention to how children engage in activities. For example, babies show an interest in the inspector's paper and pen for some time, and staff only get paper and a pencil out when the inspector asks if they have any paper. Some babies are then given paper without a pencil to make marks with. This means babies are missing opportunities to engage in early mark making. There are inconsistencies in staff's interaction with children. Opportunities for

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who attend

adults to engage with children are missed. For example, staff sit with children as they play with dough. Although this offers many opportunities for children to explore their imagination and discover early mathematics and science, staff lack secure skills to fully engage and question children in their play. As a result, children do not display the characteristics of effective learning, such as developing their own ideas.

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who attend

Adult-led activities do not always take account of individual children's stage of development. As a result, some activities are too simple or too difficult for some children to fully participate. Consequently, children are not always engaged or challenged by the activities provided. Furthermore, children are not acquiring the necessary skills to prepare them for the next stage in their learning. Nevertheless, children do enjoy being outdoors and they make use of the activities on offer. For example, the newly refurbished outdoor area offers them opportunities to run, climb and play ball games. The range of wheeled resources to push, balance on and steer offer children opportunities to develop a range of physical skills.

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who attend

Staff do not demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the children's individual learning and progress. Some staff are from a sister nursery and do not know the children well, while other staff have moved rooms and are working with unfamiliar children. Frequent staff changes have meant that systems in place for observation and assessment have not been implemented for some time. Observations are not carried out regularly and assessment is too inconsistent in quality to ensure information gained is used appropriately to build on children's progress. Consequently, there is little evidence of how information from observations is used to plan and provide a suitable range of experiences for all children to help them prepare for school and future life. This has a direct impact on the progress children make and means they are not supported to make good progress. Progress checks for children aged between the ages of two and three years are carried out but are not

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who attend

routinely shared with parents. This means a shared approach to learning has not been established. There are links with local schools and a summary of children's progress is completed for parents to share with new providers in order to ease the move for when children transfer to new settings.

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

When children join the nursery they are invited to settling-in sessions and they are assigned a key person. However, recent staff changes have led to frequent changes of children's key person, and some parents are unaware who their child's key person is. This means that children do not have a special person they can form attachments with and who knows them well. Children who speak English as an additional language do not receive appropriate support as staff do not know what their home language is. As a result, children's sense of well-being and self-esteem is compromised because they are not always cared for by staff who know them well. Parents are encouraged to provide basic information for their child, which informs staff about their likes and dislikes, family and home life and some basic aspects of their development. However, staff do not always use this information to plan appropriate next steps in learning and development for children.

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

Children have daily opportunities to access the garden area. Therefore, they receive fresh air and exercise to support them in developing a healthy lifestyle. Toddlers and children are able to climb on the large wooden structure and 'whizz' down the slide. Staff give children clear messages to help them develop an understanding of why it is important to have a healthy diet and engage in physical activity through regular discussions and a range of activities. However, children's well-being is compromised because staff do not follow hygienic or safe practices. For example, staff provide children with water bottles that have not been washed sufficiently and are not designed to be re-used. Older children's water bottles are empty because staff have not filled them at the start of the day. As a result, children do not have access to fresh drinking water at all times. In addition, babies' care needs are not always met. For example, when a child drops a

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

dummy on the floor, staff pick it up and put it on the side, but a short time later the dummy is given back to the child without being washed. Children's safety and security are further compromised because the risk assessment process has not identified weaknesses around staff supervision. For example, on the day of the inspection, a child leaves the room and starts to climb up the stairs without staff noticing. It is only when a parent brings the incident to the attention of staff that they bring the child back into the room.

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

Staff use some activities to teach children how to keep themselves safe. For example, they practise regular fire drills with the children so they are all clear of the how to evacuate the premises in case of an emergency. However, children's feelings of safety and security are misplaced, because weaknesses in the provision mean that staff do not keep them sufficiently safe. Transitions between rooms within the nursery are adequately supported. Children make regular visits to their new rooms before moving, which gives them some support for their emotional well-being.

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provision

The provider is not meeting a number of requirements for the Early Years Register and the Childcare Register. As a result, these breaches of legal requirements have a negative impact on children's care, learning and development. The manager is knowledgeable and experienced and understands the safeguarding and welfare requirements. She acknowledges that improvements need to be made, but as she has been also managing the sister setting, she has been unable to implement them effectively. In addition, staff have recently left the nursery, which has led to staff shortages and new staff joining with little induction. As a result, the new staff have not had the support or guidance they need to ensure that they are fully aware of the expectations of the nursery.

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provision

The inspection was prioritised after concerns were raised with Ofsted that adult-to-child ratios were not being met. This raised concerns relating to the safeguarding and welfare requirements, ratios, child supervision, staff deployment and risk assessments. On the day of the inspection, two members of staff were brought in from a sister setting and ratio requirements were met. However, scrutiny of sampled records shows ratios had not always been met in the days prior to the inspection. This does not keep children safe or support their learning and development. The registered provider is aware of the staffing problems within the setting and the significant negative effect this has on the service provided. He is actively recruiting new staff and training staff to take over the management role of the sister setting, to enable the manager to focus on the required improvements at this nursery. The manager has started to review the nursery's written

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provision

risk assessment. However, this has not been completed and has failed to identify potential hazards to children, such as the risk of children leaving rooms unsupervised. This is a breach of the requirements of the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Register. As a result, children's safety is compromised.

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provision

Staff's understanding of meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements is not secure. Some staff have not had specific safeguarding training and this has not been not included in the induction process for new staff. This means that staff are not aware of the signs and symptoms of child abuse and who to contact if they have a concern about a child or if an allegation is made against a member of staff. In addition, a Disclosure and Barring Service check has not yet been obtained for a new member of staff and supervised contact with children is not enforced. As a result, children may be placed at risk. The manager has not held supervision meetings for staff for some time. As a result, the nursery does not adequately support professional development of staff or improvement of the setting as a whole. These breaches of requirements have a significant impact on children's learning. There is no system in place for monitoring the planning and delivery of

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provision

the educational programmes. Consequently, the nursery is unable to monitor children's progress or identify children who may need extra support to close any gaps in learning. Staff are appropriately qualified for their roles, however, weaknesses in teaching are not identified because leaders do not focus closely on the impact of teaching on children's learning.

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provision

There are positive aspects of partnerships with parents despite the ineffective key-person system. Parents speak well of the nursery provision and say that they speak with staff daily about their children's achievements. The management have a clear understanding of the importance of working in partnerships with parents, other providers and external agencies to ensure support and appropriate interventions for children are sought. The provider and manager's approach to self-evaluation lacks rigour. The Ofsted self- evaluation form has only been completed in part and has failed to accurately identify the nursery's strengths and priorities for improvement. Weaknesses in staff practice and nursery procedures are not successfully identified. Consequently, children's overall needs are not met and their safety is compromised.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 undertake a risk assessment of the premises and equipment immediately where the need arises, and ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  have effective systems to ensure that any person caring for, or in regular contact with children is suitable to work with children, which must include obtaining an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  undertake a risk assessment of the premises and equipment immediately where the need arises, and ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  have effective systems to ensure that any person caring for, or in regular contact with children is suitable to work with children, which must include obtaining an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (voluntary part of the Childcare

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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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 EY427931 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 980134

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 84 Name of provider Shezad Inayat Date of previous inspection 25/01/2013 Telephone number 0121 764 5535

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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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