Early Days Nursery

Early Days Nursery 32 Reservoir Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, B16 9EG

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28 May 2015 26 November 2013

p.1

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

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

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

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

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

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

The setting does not meet legal requirements for early years settings

p.1

This provision is inadequate

 Staff are not deployed adequately and risks are not managed well enough to ensure children's safety at all times.  Some staff do not have sufficient knowledge of the nursery’s policies and procedures for whistle blowing and the use of mobile telephones. Staff do not follow procedures for accurately recording the administration of medication.  Staff do not support children well enough because they do not clearly identify what the children’s next steps in learning are; nor do they plan activities to meet the needs of individual children.  Staff do not know if children make consistently good progress because their observations and assessments are not linked to their planning, they are variable in quality and are not always evaluated and/or completed in a timely manner.  Leaders do not check and evaluate well enough the practice of all staff and the overall quality of the nursery's provision. Consequently, the leaders do not identify accurately

p.1

This provision is inadequate

the training needs of all staff, especially in respect of the learning and development requirements.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Staff display warm and caring behaviour towards children. Children form positive relationships with each other.  Staff establish sound partnerships with parents. They work closely with parents to support children's individual care.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

 improve the deployment of staff to ensure the supervision and safety of the children  take all reasonable steps to remove, minimise and manage risks and hazards to protect children's safety and welfare  ensure that all staff maintain a consistent and accurate written record each time medicine is administered to a child  ensure all staff fully understand and implement consistently the nursery policies and procedures with regard to whistle blowing and the use of mobile telephones  ensure that the observation, assessment and planning is understood and implemented consistently by all staff and that assessments of children’s learning and development are accurate and used to plan for children’s next steps in their learning  ensure that the quality of teaching is consistently good by monitoring staff performance accurately with particular regard to the learning and development requirements.

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

 ensure that all necessary measures are in place to minimise any risk to the health and safety of the children in their care, with particular regard to the keeping of records of medicine given (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purposes of the childcare are safe and suitable for that childcare (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that all necessary measures are in place to minimise any risk to the health and safety of the children in their care, with particular regard to the keeping of records of medicine given (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purposes of the childcare are safe and suitable for that childcare (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

 ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks. (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspectors observed the quality of teaching and the impact on children's learning both indoors and out.  The inspector spoke to parents and took account of their views.  The inspectors looked at records of children's progress, assessments and adults’ planning documents.  The inspectors spoke to staff and checked the staff suitability and qualifications.  The inspector conducted a joint observation.

p.3

who attend. This is inadequate

The quality of teaching and adults’ knowledge of observation, planning and assessment are weak. Staff learn about children's abilities through talking to parents and completing ‘All About Me’ forms when they first start at the setting. However, children's learning is not regularly assessed by all staff across all areas of learning, meaning that activities are not always linked to their individual learning needs and the next stages in their development. Some staff suitably support learning by extending older children's vocabularies. For instance, staff encouraged children to imagine what it may be like in outer space. Where teaching is better, for instance during outdoor play, children are supported to develop their mathematical thinking. Children play together during group games, developing their confidence and their use of numbers by counting.

p.4

inadequate

The deployment of staff, particularly in the baby room and outdoors, is inadequate because staff do not ensure that children are adequately supervised. Consequently, children's safety is not well promoted. Not all staff are aware of the procedures to safeguard children with regard to whistle blowing and the use of mobile telephones. Staff do not accurately record when children are given medication. Risks to children are not addressed immediately and some hazards are not identified. Children are able to access the adult toilet which may contain potential hazards. Children are happy and settled because they form positive relationships with the staff at the nursery. A key-person system is in place. Staff develop good relationships with parents who say that their children are happy and that the staff are 'caring'. Children have friendly and caring relationships with each other and staff act as role models to manage children’s behaviour

p.4

inadequate

effectively. Staff are supporting children to become independent. Older children are encouraged to serve themselves at meal times and they learn appropriate hygiene practices through the daily routines. Children enjoy the outdoor space and freely choose to use this area to gain fresh air and physical exercise. They confidently explore their environment and are motivated to engage in the activities available to them. Their emotional well-being is promoted.

p.4

provision is inadequate

Staff are appropriately qualified, with most staff holding a qualification at level 3. The leadership team supervise staff regularly and have started to monitor some of their work. However, the relatively new performance management processes are not consistently applied across the whole staff group. Leaders do not focus enough on the quality of teaching and the development of staff’s understanding of how children learn. As a result, weaknesses in the quality of teaching have not been addressed and training needs for staff not accurately identified. Staff observations, their assessments and planning are not consistently monitored. The next steps in children’s learning are not clearly linked to the planning of activities. There is a process to assess if children are ready to start school; however, no children have been assessed using this tool, so staff cannot be sure if they have the skills necessary to be ready for school. Staff have an appropriate

p.4

provision is inadequate

understanding of the safeguarding procedures and know what to do if they have a concern about a child. They have completed training to ensure they report safeguarding concerns promptly to the appropriate agencies. Sufficient staff have undertaken paediatric first-aid training, which enables them to provide appropriate care should a child have an accident at the nursery. Some self-evaluation has been undertaken and the leadership team have worked hard to address the actions raised at the previous inspection. However, leaders have not fully understood the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, there are breaches of both the learning and development and the welfare requirements meaning that the provision is inadequate.

p.5

Setting details

Unique reference number 227184 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 1013595 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 70 Number of children on roll 55 Name of provider Early Ventures Ltd Date of previous inspection 26 November 2013 Telephone number 0121 456 5550

p.6

Setting details

Early Days Nursery was registered in 1991 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery is situated in a grade two listed building in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham and is managed by a private provider. Children are cared for in playrooms based on both floors of the premises and in an annexe. There are enclosed outdoor play areas. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm, all year round. The nursery employs 27 members of staff who work directly with the children. Of these, 16 staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above and 7 staff hold an appropriate qualification at level 2. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

Setting details

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’.

p.7

Setting details

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

p.7