Little Squirrels Nursery

Little Squirrels Nursery St. Marys Church Hall, Church Street, WALTON-ON-THAMES, Surrey, KT12 2QS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17 June 2015 5 November 2012

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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

 Fire exits are blocked, which poses a risk to children and adults in the event of an emergency evacuation.  Leaders and managers have failed to sustain improvements or make the necessary changes. For example, child protection procedures continue to be misunderstood and suitability checks are not completed.  The quality of teaching is too variable. Staff miss opportunities to support children’s communication and language skills. Furthermore, they do not support children’s early literacy skills adequately.  The owner has not ensured that the member of staff identified as the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) has the support and training for the role. This results in delays in providing specialist support for children when needed.  The lack of stability in staffing has not been managed well enough to enable a smooth handover in the key-person arrangements. Consequently, there are weaknesses in

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This provision is inadequate

planning and some children’s needs are not met.  Staff fail to complete the required progress checks for two-year-olds. These weaknesses affect the progress some children make and their readiness to start school.

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It has the following strengths

 The staff team are hard working, well deployed and have developed positive relationships with children.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following enforcement action:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

We will issue a welfare requirements notice, requiring the provider to:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

put effective arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and ensure that the person identified as the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) has support, training, knowledge and understanding in order to fulfil the role effectively

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

put effective systems in place to ensure that practitioners, and any other person who is likely to have regular contact with children, are suitable

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of children, staff and others on the premises in the case of fire or any other emergency, by ensuring that the emergency evacuation procedure is understood and that all fire doors are free of obstructions at all times

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

ensure that the practitioner designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding has sufficient knowledge and understanding to provide support, advice and guidance to staff on an ongoing basis, and on any specific safeguarding issue as required.

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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

 implement an effective key-person system, in order to meet each child’s individual learning and care needs, to support parents in guiding their children’s development and to engage with more specialist support when required  ensure that the individual needs of all children are met through the planning and delivery of the educational programmes, by taking account of each child’s interests, stage of development and capabilities, and by planning activities according to the information gathered  support children’s communication and language skills, for example by talking to them, modelling language and encouraging them to express their ideas and thoughts during the daily routine  ensure that the educational programme for literacy is effective by using appropriate teaching methods when introducing words and letters and providing a range of resources for children to explore and use in their play to develop their mark-making

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

and early writing skills  review children’s progress when they are aged between two and three and provide parents with a short written summary of their child’s development in the prime areas, to identify children’s strengths, and any areas where progress is less than expected.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching and the impact on children's learning, both inside and outside.  The inspector spoke to a small selection of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the owner.  The inspector held a meeting with the owner.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including records of children's learning, safeguarding policies, suitability checks and staff files.  The inspector spoke with staff and children at suitable times throughout the inspection.

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who attend. This is inadequate

The quality of teaching is variable and unsatisfactory. Staff do not provide enough opportunities for younger children to participate in meaningful speaking and listening activities. Some parts of the routine, such as snack times, are mundane as children sit eating in silence. Some activities are beyond younger children’s understanding and they become bored, such as during carpet time when staff talk about countries and flags. As a result, not all children are absorbed in their learning and they become disengaged. Although there is a range of resources for children to explore and investigate, these do not provide suitable learning opportunities across all areas of development. For example, there are work sheets and stencils, which are not age appropriate. Furthermore, there is a lack of resources to encourage mark-making and early writing for children to access when they are absorbed in play. Although staff assess children’s progress when they start at the

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who attend. This is inadequate

setting, there are unnecessary delays in seeking specialist advice and providing individual support. This failure hinders some children’s progress. Staff do not make good use of the information they know about how individual children learn and the different levels of progress they make to support their needs. This oversight means some children with limited social skills or delayed speech are not fully prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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inadequate

Children’s safety is at risk because staff block fire exits on a daily basis. This means that the arrangements for emergency evacuation procedures are inadequate. Some older children are confident, play well together and become independent. However, there have been significant changes in the staff team, resulting in instability in the key-person arrangements. As a result, some children are unsettled at times and staff do not know all children well enough to meet their individual needs. Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that progress checks are completed when children are aged between two and three years. This oversight means that staff do not identify when younger children’s progress is less than expected or take action to support them in their early stages of development.

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provision is inadequate

The owner has an inadequate understanding of the statutory requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Safeguarding arrangements are weak as the lead practitioner for child protection lacks knowledge of appropriate procedures to follow. Leaders and managers do not monitor the educational programmes effectively. Furthermore, they do not ensure that staff have the training and support they need to fulfil their roles. Consequently, there are significant weaknesses in planning, staff practice and assessment arrangements. Changes to the leadership of the setting and staffing have affected the management team’s ability to improve standards. Some of the enforcement actions raised at this inspection have been areas of weakness identified at recent Ofsted investigation visits. For example, the owner continues to fail to follow adequate procedures to check the suitability of staff. This is a concerning lack of regard for safe recruitment procedures,

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provision is inadequate

which puts children at risk. Parents say that they find staff to be caring and kind. The owner provides information about the nursery to parents through websites and newsletters.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY418558 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 1013910 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Chloe Jade Daysh Date of previous inspection 5 November 2012 Telephone number 07598159248

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Setting details

Little Squirrels Nursery is a privately owned setting. It was registered in 2010 and first opened in January 2011. It operates from within St Mary's Church Hall, Walton-on- Thames, Surrey. The setting is open each weekday from 9.15am to 12.30pm during term time only, with an option to stay for a lunch club between 12.30pm and 1.15pm. The setting receives funding for the provision of free nursery education for children aged two-, three- and four-years-old. There are eight member of staff. Three staff holds and early years qualification at level three and one member of staff holds a degree.

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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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