Early Steps Day Nursery

Early Steps Day Nursery St. Wilfrid Catholic Church, 97 Lorrimore Road, LONDON, SE17 3LZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23 July 2015 17 September 2013

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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

 The provider does not ensure that there is always a senior member of staff present who is capable of taking charge in the manager's absence.  Staff do not protect children's health and well-being. Staff allow children to eat food on dirty tables and do not stop them from eating food which has been in other children's mouths. Younger children do not have access to fresh drinking water.  The provider fails to ensure that there is at least one person present who holds a relevant first-aid qualification when children are in the nursery. The provider does not accurately record children's attendance. This does not protect children's safety.  Staff supervision sessions do not identify the poor quality of teaching. Therefore, staff are not effective in extending and supporting children's learning.  Staff do not understand how to manage children's behaviour appropriately. Children regularly throw toys and climb on furniture, which puts all children's safety at risk.

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This provision is inadequate

 The key-person system is not effective in ensuring that children have a special person to turn to for support to promote their emotional well-being.  Staff do not use their observations of children to identify what children can do and to plan appropriate activities to challenge them and support their learning. Therefore, children become bored and wander around.  Self-evaluation is ineffective as it does not identify significant weaknesses in the nursery and any breaches of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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It has the following strengths

 Children enjoy healthy meals, with fresh fruit and vegetables.

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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 there is a capable and qualified deputy available to take charge when the manager is not present  improve staff's awareness of maintaining good hygiene practices to ensure that children are protected from the risk of cross contamination during meal and snack times  ensure at least one member of staff is present at all times who has a valid paediatric first-aid qualification  improve staff's knowledge of appropriate behaviour management strategies to ensure that children's behaviour is consistently managed  ensure younger children have access to fresh drinking water at all times  develop the use of observations to regularly assess children's progress and plan suitably challenging activities and experiences to interest, motivate and engage children in their learning and to ensure they make progress in relation to their starting points  ensure there are effective arrangements for the supervision and mentoring of staff,

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

which provide support, coaching and training for the staff, and ensures they are aware of their roles and responsibilities and the quality of their practice is consistently good  maintain an accurate daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance.

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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

 improve self-evaluation procedures to identify areas for improvement and ensure all legal requirements are met, and develop concise action plans to raise the quality of the provision and outcomes for children. To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 ensure that at least one person who is caring for children has an appropriate first-aid qualification (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure younger children have access to drinking water at all times (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  maintain a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  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 children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  maintain a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the children in the main playrooms and the outside area.  The inspector spoke with the provider and staff at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector reviewed documents including staff suitability.  The inspection was carried out as part of the risk assessment process.

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who attend. This is inadequate

The provider fails to monitor staff practice, planning and assessments. Staff do not use their observations to identify children's stage of learning and development. This means that they are unable to plan relevant and suitability challenging activities to help children make progress. This results in activities being mundane and does not help children to make progress in relation to their starting points. Therefore, children are not helped to be ready for school. The provider has sought support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, staff are unable to effectively implement suggestions because they are not fully aware of children's stages of learning and development. Staff interact with children and ask questions to help promote their language. However, due to the poor quality of teaching, staff are unable to stretch and extend children's learning.

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inadequate

Children's well-being and good health is significantly compromised. Staff do not ensure that tables are clean before children have snack. Furthermore, staff do not prevent children from eating food which has already been in other children's mouths. This increases the risk of children becoming ill through cross contamination. Staff do not ensure that younger children have access to drinking water for long periods of time. This does not promote their health or well-being. The key-person system is not effectively implemented as some staff do not work during school holidays. This means that those children whose key person is absent do not have a special person to turn to support their emotional well-being. Staff do not have a good understanding of how to manage children's behaviour. They are unable to stop children from repeatedly climbing on furniture or throwing toys, which puts children's safety and physical well-being at risk. Staff have

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inadequate

suitable partnerships with parents, which enables them to gather information regarding children's care routines and any allergies or dietary requirements they may have.

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provision is inadequate

The provider does not have a suitable understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. There are also breaches of the Childcare Register. Poor staff deployment means that there is often not a member of staff present, particularly first thing in the morning, who is capable and qualified to take charge in the manager's absence. The provider fails to ensure a member of staff is present who holds a valid paediatric first-aid qualification when children are in the nursery. This does not ensure children's safety or well-being. However, staff record any accidents children have, including the treatment they provide, and share this information with parents when they collect their children. Staff have undergone Disclosure and Barring Services checks to ensure their suitability and all have level 3 childcare qualifications. Staff have a clear understanding of child protection procedures and how they would report any concerns

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provision is inadequate

they may have about a child. This helps to protect children from harm. However, the provider does not ensure that staff accurately record children's hours of attendance. The provider carries out supervision meetings with staff and identifies some further training for them to attend. However, the provider is unable to drive any improvement as she fails to sufficiently monitor the staff's practice or identify the weaknesses in the quality of teaching. This hinders children's ability to learn the skills they need to move to school. Self-evaluation is not robust and fails to identify areas of weakness and breaches in the legal requirements.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY460674 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 1021806 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 7 Name of provider Miata Educational Services Date of previous inspection 17 September 2013 Telephone number 02077012800

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Setting details

Early Steps Day Nursery registered in 2013. It operates from a renovated church hall in Kennington, London SE17. The nursery operates Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year from 7.30am to 6.30pm. The nursery supports children with special needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. There are nine members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate childcare qualifications. The manager holds a degree in childhood education. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education sessions for children aged two, three and four-years-old.

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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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