Blundellsands Kindergarten

Blundellsands Kindergarten Blundellsands Road West, Blundellsands,, Liverpool, Merseyside, L23 6TF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25 June 2015 29 March 2011

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Requires improvement 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

 The provider does not safeguard children's welfare. Recruitment and vetting procedures are not rigorously followed to ensure that staff are suitable and have the necessary skills, attitudes and abilities to carry out their roles.  The provider has failed to notify Ofsted of serious injuries to children within the required 14 day timescale.  Staff are not always organised appropriately throughout the kindergarten. This means they do not always effectively meet children's care and learning needs. There are weaknesses in the quality of teaching and learning.  Supervision of staff is not sufficient in identifying their training needs, securing their professional development or supporting them to work as a team.  Monitoring and evaluation are not robust enough to ensure that all the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are met.  Settling-in arrangements are not consistently followed or supportive for all children.

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It has the following strengths

 Children's cultural awareness is broadened by sharing family customs, craft activities, tasting food and being involved in activities related to the celebrations of others.  Parents' views taken at inspection are complimentary about the staff and the welcoming atmosphere. Parents are regularly informed of their children's progress.  The kindergarten is made welcoming with displays of children's work and photographs of them and their families. This helps children to feel valued and gives them a sense of belonging and self-confidence.

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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 all staff working with children are subject to a rigorous recruitment procedure, including obtaining enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks, identification checks and suitable references; record information about completed checks, including the Disclosure and Barring Service check reference number, the date it was obtained and details of who obtained it  ensure that people are not left to have unsupervised contact with children if their suitability has not been checked, including through a Disclosure and Barring Service check  deploy staff effectively to meet the emotional and learning needs of the children  identify and address the training and development needs of all staff to encourage their personal effectiveness and teamwork, and encourage their continuous improvement through stronger arrangements for the supervision of staff  improve monitoring arrangements by placing a greater focus on achieving consistency

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

in the quality of teaching, record keeping, information gathering at children's induction and overall practice, so that all children benefit from high standards.

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Inspection activities

 We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about this provider.  The inspector observed activities in both indoor rooms and in the outdoor area.  The inspector spoke to members of staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection and held meetings with the manager of the kindergarten and a committee member.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector looked at children's records, planning documentation, evidence of the suitability of staff working in the kindergarten and a range of other documentation, including policies and procedures to safeguard children's welfare.

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who attend. This requires improvement

The quality of teaching and learning varies. Staff do not consistently help children to make the most of the resources to challenge them. As a result, children are occupied rather than actively engaged in learning. Despite this, children generally enjoy their time at the kindergarten. Staff plan some interesting activities, which cover the seven areas of learning. For example, records show that some are themed on the planets. Children enjoy drawing and listening to stories. Computer games develop their mathematical knowledge and their awareness of technology. Partnerships with parents, local schools and health professionals contribute to the steady progress children make. Some parents share their talents with children, for example, by teaching flamenco dancing or how to make pizzas. Overall, children's progress is generally good in communication and language and in physical, personal, social and emotional development. As a result, they have some key

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who attend. This requires improvement

skills needed for their future learning when moving on to school.

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inadequate

Weaknesses in safeguarding, record keeping and staff deployment significantly impact on children's safety and well-being. For some children, pre-visits and information from their parents help them to feel emotionally secure when they start. However, this is not the same for all children and results in inconsistencies in the quality of their transitions. However, relationships between children and staff are warm and friendly. Children behave fairly well and develop useful self-help skills. Children learn how their bodies work as they feel their heartbeat after exercise. They are beginning to learn about safety as they climb on the lower branches of trees and are reminded not to do forward rolls down the hill.

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provision is inadequate

There are significant breaches in the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The provider has failed to notify Ofsted within the required 14 day timescale of incidents at the kindergarten whereby children have sustained serious injuries. Some staff and regular visitors have unsupervised contact with the children, despite there being no evidence of their suitability. Other staff have Disclosure and Barring Service checks but few other steps are taken to establish their suitability. Some staff are trained in child protection, while some have a basic awareness of the procedures to follow through reading policies. Accidents are appropriately handled and recorded, although, procedures to notify Ofsted of significant injuries have only recently been put in place. Registers show, when including students working as volunteers and the manager, there are sufficient staff in the building to meet the minimum adult-to-child ratios. However, at

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provision is inadequate

inspection, staff do not organise themselves adequately to effectively support children's care, learning and development. Staff do not receive sufficient coaching to improve their personal effectiveness or that of the team. Also, qualified staff have little time to share their skills. The views of staff, children and parents are welcome. However, evaluation is not strong enough to address weaknesses in practice.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 310399 Local authority Sefton Inspection number 1017721 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 76 Name of provider Blundellsands Kindergarten Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 29 March 2011 Telephone number 0151 924 7795

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Setting details

Blundellsands Kindergarten was registered in 1996. The kindergarten employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, one staff holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 5, one at level 3 and one at level 2. The manager holds Qualified Teacher Status and Early Years Professional status. The kindergarten opens from Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 8am until 3.15pm. The kindergarten 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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