The Spinney Day Nursery

The Spinney Day Nursery Warrington Road, Hoole Village, CHESTER, Cheshire, CH2 3PA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29 January 2015 15 June 2011

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

The setting does not meet legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is inadequate

 Staff deployment is not effective in ensuring that children are adequately supervised, to ensure their safety and well-being.  Staff working in the toddler room are not clear about their roles and responsibilities. Some staff members do not have suitable experience of working with children aged under two, in order to provide children with appropriate learning opportunities.  Managers do not monitor staff practice effectively and focus on the progress of new members of staff, in order to raise the quality of teaching.  Staff in the baby room do not monitor children's learning effectively, in order to identify their next steps in learning.  At times staff do not respond to children's interests or provide sufficient opportunities for them to access outdoor play.  Staff do not have a secure knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements.  Staff do not consider children's care practices during mealtimes, in order to meet

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It has the following strengths

 Children enjoy healthy meals that are prepared by the nursery's cook and their good health and physical well-being are promoted as a result.  Staff are aware of the action to take if an allegation is made against a member of staff and restrict the use of mobile phones and cameras, to promote children's welfare.  Parents comment that staff are 'very friendly' and that they are happy with the care provided.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 ensure the deployment of staff is effectively organised so that children are adequately supervised, in order to keep them safe  provide staff working in the toddler room with adequate support and training, so they are clear about their roles and responsibilities and provide children with quality learning opportunities  improve the observation and assessment of babies, for example, by identifying their next steps in their learning, through regular and effective observations, so that children make good progress  ensure all staff acquire a sound knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements, so they are confident to fully support children in their learning and raise the quality of teaching  ensure staff respond to children's emerging needs and interests, for example, by providing children with more opportunities to play outside and allowing them to explore and investigate using their senses

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 improve children's care practices at mealtimes, for example, by providing pre-school children with appropriate cutlery and ensuring staff feeding babies in highchairs are situated at their level, in order to promote children's individual needs.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 implement a robust system to monitor the performance of all staff so that the quality of teaching is improved and staff's training needs are precisely identified.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 provide, or secure the provision of, any training which is necessary to ensure that all staff have suitable skills and experience to care for children (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed play and learning activities and spoke to staff and children indoors and outside.  The inspector carried out a meeting with management, they looked at and discussed a range of policies and procedures.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the acting manager.  The inspector looked at a selection of children's assessment files and progress tracking information and discussed these with their individual key person.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.  The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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who attend. This is inadequate

The quality of teaching throughout the nursery is inconsistent. This is because some staff do not have a secure knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements. Staff working with babies, do not have a good understanding of the prime areas of learning. They do not establish babies' next steps in learning, so they can plan for their development. This means that some children are not acquiring the necessary skills to support their future learning. In contrast, staff in the pre-school have a better understanding of how children learn. During circle time, staff support children to recognise letters, and the days of the week, to develop their early reading skills. Staff do not always respond to children's emerging interests as they become evident. For example, children observe the snowy weather and express a strong desire to go outside to explore. However, they are not given the opportunity to play outside at this time, or provided with

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who attend. This is inadequate

alternative ways to develop their interest in the natural world.

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inadequate

The provider does not ensure that the deployment of staff meets the needs of all children. At times, children are not adequately supervised and this compromises their safety. For example, a child manages to undo and play with a safety gate without staff noticing this. Children's care practices at mealtimes are not tailored to meet their individual needs and stages of development. For example, pre-school children are served their meals in bowls and are given spoons to eat with. They ask staff to cut up large pieces of chicken, because they are not provided with appropriate cutlery. This means children are not encouraged to develop their physical and independence skills, to prepare them for the move to school. Babies' personal, social and emotional development and their early communication skills are not promoted well during mealtimes. For example, staff stand while feeding babies in highchairs and do not maintain effective eye contact or communicate well with them.

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provision is inadequate

The provider does not rigorously review the quality of the provision. The systems in place to monitor staff practice are weak. The acting manager does not carry out effective monitoring of staff practice and performance. In particular, new members of staff working in the toddler room lack experience of working with this age group and some are not clear about their roles and responsibilities. This means that the quality of teaching is, at times, weak. Monitoring of assessment is not effective in ensuring that all children make good progress. Pre-school staff closely monitor children's progress and development. However, staff in the baby room do not regularly monitor how babies are developing. They do not identify the next steps in babies' learning to ensure they make good progress. Some of the recommendations from the previous inspection have been appropriately addressed. However, staff do not make good use of the outdoor area or respond to children's needs

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provision is inadequate

and interests. For example, during the inspection, staff did not allow children to play outside because it started to rain.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 305385 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 867591 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 73 Name of provider The Spinney Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 15 June 2011 Telephone number 01244 348520

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Setting details

The Spinney Day Nursery was registered in 1998. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications, one at level 6, one at level 5, six at level 3 and one who has Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round, from 7.30am to 6.30pm. It provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Setting details

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

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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, safeguarding and child protection.

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Setting details

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Setting details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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