Orchard Early Years

Katie's Kids Nursery Unit 2, Hartley Business Centre, Monkmoor Road, SHREWSBURY, SY2 5ST

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/08/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 The owner and staff team do not have an adequate knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and self-evaluation is weak. Consequently, the provider is not meeting a number of legal requirements.  Children's safety and welfare is compromised because effective vetting systems are not in place to ensure staff members working with children are suitable to do so.  Staff do not have access to adequate training, coaching and support. They do not have a secure enough knowledge of child protection and safeguarding issues. There is an insufficient number of staff with a current first-aid certificate on the premises at all times. Therefore, staff cannot promote children's welfare.  There are a number of significant hazards in the outdoor play areas that present a risk to children's safety. Consequently, this area is not fit for childcare purposes.  The quality of teaching is poor because staff do not receive the supervision, coaching

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This provision is inadequate

and support they need to be effective in identifying and meeting all children's needs.

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It has the following strengths

 All staff respond warmly to all children showing them care and consideration, which helps to support children's emotional well-being.

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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 activities in all of the three playrooms and in one of the outdoor areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the owner and all staff about children's play and care routines.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector interacted with children and spoke to a parent to obtain their views about the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation of children's activities and experiences with the owner.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at assessment records and planning documentation. She looked at evidence of the suitability and qualifications of the staff, a range of written policies and child attendance records.

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Information about the setting

Katie's Kids Nursery was registered in 2014 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is situated within a business centre near the centre of Shrewsbury. The setting serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The setting employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above. The setting opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7am until 7pm. There are currently 25 children on roll within the early years age range. The setting provides funded early education for three- and four- year-old children.

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

We will be issuing a Welfare Requirement Notice requiring the provider to:

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

implement effective systems to ensure that practitioners and any other person who has regular contact with children are suitable; with particular regard to obtaining Disclosure and Barring checks and references, and recording information about the identity checks and vetting processes that have been completed.

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must:

 ensure at least one person who has a current paediatric first-aid certificate is on the premises and available at all times when children are present, and accompanies children on outings

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must:

 ensure all staff receive training, support and coaching to help them understand their roles and responsibilities; in particular in relation to safeguarding, child protection, and health and safety issues, and so that staff offer quality learning and development experiences for children

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must:

 have and implement a safeguarding policy, which includes action to be taken in the event of an allegation made against a member of staff, and covers the use of mobile phones and cameras in the setting

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must:

 train all staff to understand the safeguarding policy and ensure all staff have up- to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues

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must:

 ensure the premises are fit for purpose; with particular regard to outdoor areas of the premises

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must:

 ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure that children are not exposed to risks and demonstrate how risks are managed; with particular regard to outdoor areas of the premises

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must:

 ensure that assessment accurately reflects children's progress and is used to shape learning experiences for each child based on their level of achievement, interests and learning styles

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must:

 ensure that practitioners use information about each child in their care to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience in all of the areas of learning and development.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is inadequate because the majority of staff lack the knowledge of how to promote learning and support children to make progress. Assessment and planning is not securely based on children's achievements and does not challenge them to make good progress. Staff do not receive the supervision, coaching and support they need to ensure assessments of what children can do are based on accurate observations or take into account what parents know about their children when they first attend the nursery. As a result, clear starting points are not established and the subsequent progress reports that are given to parents about their children's stage of development are not accurate. This includes the information that is recorded in the progress checks that have been undertaken for children between the ages of two and three years. This limits the staff's ability and effectiveness to work with other professionals because they are unable to

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who attend

identify any gaps in children's learning and to know when to seek intervention and support. In addition, staff have not received guidance to ensure they use information from assessment to develop a clear understanding of children's learning needs or to plan tailored activities to support their progress. As a result, some planned activities are not well-matched to support children's needs. This means children's learning is not adequately supported or extended. For example, a cooking activity for pre-school children does not challenge children in any area of learning. This is because the group of children are only provided with one mixing bowl, which prevents them from being actively and purposefully engaged. The activity is not sufficiently planned or organised to support or extend children's emerging literacy or mathematical skills because recipe books are not used and resources to support children's interest and understanding of number, weight and

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who attend

measure are not provided. Children's creative and critical thinking is also not encouraged. For example, children are not supported to express and test their ideas, or to experiment or predict what might happen to the ingredients when they are mixed or cooked. These weaknesses in teaching mean that children do not consistently gain the necessary skills to support their future learning or their readiness for school.

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who attend

Some staff, however, demonstrate more purposeful interactions with children at times. For example, staff in the toddler and baby room, who work with children under three years, appropriately support the communication skills of children who only have emerging vocabulary. When they sing songs to children they sing slowly, which gives younger children the support and encouragement they need to join in and begin to sing along. Staff adequately engage children in play by encouraging them to become involved in the activities. They look at books and discuss these with children, using prompts and giving children time so that they can begin to express themselves through words and gestures. Staff provide familiar, new and some unusual resources, which encourage children to explore and experiment using all of their senses. This includes using herbs from the garden, water, sand and foam and everyday objects, such as hair and nail brushes.

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who attend

Staff in the pre-school room provide a varied range of activities that children enjoy taking part in. They have developed daily routines, such as circle time, to provide opportunities for children to talk and listen in small groups. This supports children's communication skills and provides opportunities for children to count and learn the days of the week. Children's imaginative play is supported by the stimulating variety of resources that are available to them. Staff spend time playing alongside children and show interest in what they are saying and doing, which helps to maintain children's interest in the activity. Children make marks and write for different purposes using a wide variety of resources that are available, both indoors and outdoors. Staff respond to this interest by encouraging children to demonstrate their knowledge of letters and the sounds they make. Children spend lots of time outdoors and have lots of opportunities to support their interest and awareness of

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who attend

nature, such as taking part in growing and forest school activities. Children enjoy regular visits to local places of interest, which helps children to become aware of their local community. Children use a range of electronic resources, including computers, which supports their interest and skills to use technology.

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

Children's safety and welfare is not adequately protected because effective vetting systems are not in place to ensure all staff members working with children are suitable to do so. There are weaknesses in staff's knowledge of some child protection and safeguarding issues, which means they cannot fully promote children's welfare. While children have lots of opportunities to enjoy fresh air and exercise, the outdoor environment is not kept free from significant hazards. Risk assessments are not robust and staff do not identify risks to children and put appropriate measures in place to minimise these. This does not ensure children are kept safe. In the event of illness or injury, arrangements are not in place to ensure all children receive first aid from a member of staff holding a current first-aid certificate. Despite these significant weaknesses, staff take suitable steps to support children's emotional well-being. All staff

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

respond warmly to children, showing care and consideration. For example, staff sit next to children and talk softly to them as they are falling to sleep. They greet children with warm smiles as they wake up and talk to them in soft tones and give hugs, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Staff respond swiftly to all children's approaches for attention, which ensures children's confidence and self-esteem are supported adequately.

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

Children benefit from the close bonds they develop with their key person who spends time exchanging information with their parents. This helps to identify and support children's care needs, particularly in the baby room. There is an effective settling-in policy which helps children to become familiar and secure in their new environment. Staff provide some appropriate support through play opportunities and discussions to prepare children emotionally for their moves on to other settings, such as school.

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

Staff foster positive relationships between children. For example, they encourage children to work together to help to tidy away and to share and take turns. This helps children to play cooperatively and to consider others. All children respond well to praise and encouragement from staff and behave very well. Children's good health is effectively supported through a variety of healthy snacks and meals. Menus are planned with great attention to nutrition, acknowledging individual children's specific dietary needs and preferences. Children's awareness of healthy eating is further supported through growing activities. Children's self-care skills are suitably supported through daily routines.

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provision

The owner and staff team do not have adequate knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. As a result, there are a number of breaches to requirements and children's safety and welfare is not adequately promoted. For example, the owner and some staff do not fully understand their safeguarding roles, which includes the action to be taken in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. Consequently, children's welfare is not adequately promoted. The mobile phone policy does not contain sufficient clarity and detail of how the provider ensures that staff do not take personal mobile phones into the nursery or use them on outings, unless in an emergency. As a result, there are not enough safeguards in place to ensure there is no unauthorised use of mobile phones by staff, in order to protect children.

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provision

Arrangements are not in place to ensure all areas of the garden have been risk assessed. As a result, there are significant risks to children's safety when they play outdoors and their safety cannot be assured through staff supervision alone. Risks include a large amount of small stones, which present a significant choking hazard and an uncovered water pond, which presents a high risk to children's safety. Consequently, the outdoor area is not safe. Suitable arrangements are not in place to ensure a qualified first aider is present at all times in the nursery and to accompany children on outings. This is because there is only one member of staff employed who holds a current first-aid certificate. Consequently, children's health is further compromised.

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provision

The nursery does not have an effective system in place to ensure staff members working with children are suitable to do so. This significantly compromises children's safety. For example, no steps have been taken to obtain Disclosure and Barring Service checks or references for two new staff before they began working at the nursery. In addition, no record of an identity check is made for one of these staff. Furthermore, references have not been secured for all other staff who are working in the nursery and a record of Disclosure and Barring Service reference numbers are not kept for all staff which is a breach of requirements.

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provision

The weaknesses in relation to the limited training and support staff receive are reflected in the poor quality of teaching. Staff have not received sufficient guidance to ensure they complete accurate assessment or effectively tailor activities to meet children's needs. As a result, children's learning is not adequately supported because they are not provided with accurate levels of challenge to help them make good progress. There is insufficient monitoring of children's learning. Staff do not gather or exchange relevant information about children's stage of learning and development from or with parents or other professionals. Therefore, opportunities to develop purposeful partnerships with parents and other professionals to meet children's needs are significantly hindered. Staff ratios are met at all times and this helps to ensure children are within sight or hearing of staff. More than half of the staff hold a full and relevant level 3 childcare qualification, although they

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provision

do not use their knowledge and skills effectively to meet the needs of children. Staff are suitably deployed in the provision and on outings to ensure unqualified staff are under the supervision of qualified staff. Staff involved in preparing and handling food have undertaken training in food hygiene.

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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:

 ensure effective systems are in place to ensure that any persons who have regular contact with children are suitable, particularly in relation to obtaining an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that at least one person who is caring for children has an appropriate first- aid qualification (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any risks to the health and safety of children (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  train all staff on the written statement of procedures to be followed to safeguard children from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure effective systems are in place to ensure that any persons who have regular contact with children are suitable, particularly in relation to obtaining an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

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

 ensure that at least one person who is caring for children has an appropriate first- aid qualification (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any risks to the health and safety of children (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 EY478071 Local authority Shropshire Inspection number 987013 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 66 Number of children on roll 25 Name of provider Katie's Kid's Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07971499359

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Setting details

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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