Acorn Childcare Centre

Acorn Childcare Centre Raf Cosford, Albrighton, Wolverhampton, WV7 3EX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11 May 2016 Not applicable

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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This provision is inadequate

 Children's welfare and safety are not assured. All hazards are not identified and all staff do not consistently follow the risk assessments in place to secure the children's safety at all times.  On occasions, poor staff deployment in the piglet room results in children not being adequately supervised and the children's care and educational needs not being met consistently.  The leadership and management team is not consistently effective. Staffing arrangements in the piglet room do not help assure the care and safety of the younger children at all times. Systems to manage staff underperformance and to coach staff are not robust enough, which results in practice that is inconsistent.  The quality of teaching and use of assessment information by staff in some of the rooms are not consistently good.

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It has the following strengths

 The supervisor in the pre-school room is highly effective and leads a committed team of skilled staff. The use of resources and the activities provided are excellent and are based on children's interests.  There are highly successful strategies in place to engage and consult with parents. The manager and staff find innovative ways to help parents support their children's learning at home.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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Due Date

 take all reasonable steps to remove, minimise and manage risks and hazards to protect children's safety and welfare, particularly the risks associated with the piglet room outdoor play area 11/05/2016

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Due Date

 ensure children are adequately supervised at all times when using the piglet room outdoor area and ensure staff follow the risk assessments in place to assure their safety 11/05/2016

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Due Date

 ensure staffing arrangements and the routines in place in the piglet room meet the care needs of all children, ensuring their safety and helping staff meet their educational needs 11/05/2016

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Due Date

 ensure staff's professional development needs are identified and met through ongoing coaching and training and any underperformance is swiftly managed so that the quality of teaching and learning is improved 15/06/2016

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Due Date

 ensure all children's level of achievement is identified consistently on entry to the nursery and ensure that staff use the information to provide accurate assessments of the progress children are making and to effectively help extend their learning. 15/06/2016

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager and held a meeting with the manager and the regional manager.  The inspector looked at relevant documentation, such as the nursery's self-evaluation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.  The inspector spoke to a small selection of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. The provider notified Ofsted that a child had been left alone in the outdoor area for several minutes. It was found that all staff, on this occasion, did not follow the agreed procedure for counting the children when they come indoors from outdoor play to ensure all children were present. As a result, the children's safety, welfare and emotional well-being were compromised. The manager took immediate action to ensure that staff underperformance in relation to this was robustly managed. However, the use of risk assessment is inconsistent and does not identify all possible risks. On the day of the inspection, it was found that a metal chain attached to the static musical instrument stand in the sensory garden posed a risk to children. In addition, the piglet outdoor area is vast and offers a challenging range of equipment. However, staff are not vigilant enough and children are not adequately supervised at all

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

times to ensure their safety is not compromised. Self-evaluation is weak because the manager does not have an accurate view of the overall quality and performance of the nursery. Action taken to manage staff underperformance and coach staff to improve the quality of children's assessments and teaching is not fully effective and swift enough.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

All staff do not gather enough information about the children's starting points in a timely manner to help them ensure all children's level of achievement is identified on entry. In addition, some assessments are not kept up to date to accurately show the progress children are making. Consequently, all staff do not set precise and challenging enough targets to help children make the best possible progress. The quality of teaching for young children in the piglet room in particular is not good enough. Staff do not always provide activities at the correct level for children's abilities. Therefore, children do not always show a good interest in what is provided. In contrast, when teaching is good and staff provide a challenging range of experiences, children enjoy their learning. Staff in the pre-school rooms, Tiggers and Kanga's, are highly dedicated. They use an excellent range of topics and are guided by the children's interests. They provide fun activities that promote

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

children's literacy and mathematical skills extremely well.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Children's welfare is significantly compromised because of the poor safeguarding practice in relation to adequately supervising the children. In addition, staff deployment is not consistently effective. As a result, the routines in place for younger children in the piglet room do not always ensure children's care and educational needs are met consistently and their safety assured. Children have excellent opportunities to learn about the natural world, their local community and the wider world. Staff use the Forest School and sensory garden area well to help children learn about the natural wildlife. The older children have a comprehensive understanding of the rules in place to keep them safe while using the Forest School area. In addition, they have a number of good first-hand experiences to learn about keeping safe, such as a visit from the community police and the fire and ambulance service. Children develop a positive attitude towards exercise and eating

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

healthily. This is because they are provided with a broad range of physical activities which is fun and they enjoy the nutritious meals and snacks provided.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

All children do not make good progress from their starting points because their learning is not promoted well enough across the nursery. The younger children are not always well prepared for their next stage of learning to help them make the best possible progress. Children are well behaved and learn right from wrong in a sensitive way. Children in the pre-school rooms make significant progress. Some children excel in their speaking and reading skills and they are well prepared for school. Children who have special educational needs or disability make sustained progress due to the targeted support offered.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY497570 Local authority Shropshire Inspection number 1050421 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 100 Number of children on roll 98 Name of provider 4Children (Direct) Limited Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01902 377 221

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Setting details

Acorn Childcare Centre was registered by the organisation 4Children (Direct) Limited in 2016. The nursery operates from RAF Cosford, Albrighton, Wolverhampton. The nursery opens from 7.30am until 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, all year round. The nursery employs 27 members of staff. Of these, three hold an early years qualification at level 6, one holds qualified teacher status, two hold a qualification at level 4, 22 hold a qualification at level 3 and one is working towards a level 3 qualification.

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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

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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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