Fellowship of St Nicholas - Greenway

Fellowship of St Nicholas - Greenway 2 Waterworks Cottages, Waterworks Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1RU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27 June 2016 17 December 2013

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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

 Not enough action has been taken after a serious incident involving a child. This raises concerns about the senior leadership arrangements, the supervision of children and the deployment of staff.  The leadership team is unable to demonstrate that all required checks are carried out on all staff members to make sure they are suitable to work with children.  Staff are not vigilant enough in checking the nursery for potential hazards and hygiene issues.  Although there are often the required number of staff working with the children, they are not always deployed appropriately to keep children safe and to promote their learning.  Staff do not make full use of the key person system to support children's emotional well-being.  Some nursery routines are disorganised and chaotic for children. Often, too many staff undertake cleaning duties, rather than organising activities for children. This means children are often left waiting and this leads to poor behaviour.

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This provision is inadequate

 The quality of teaching is variable across the nursery. Some staff are better than others in promoting children's learning. Support for quieter children, those with additional needs and those who speak English as an additional language requires improvement.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff work closely with parents to help them support 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 the provider must:

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Due Date

 improve the senior leadership arrangements to make sure immediate and appropriate action is taken following a serious incident involving a child to fully review the nursery's management and staffing arrangements 01/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve staff's understanding and vigilance in using risk assessment to accurately check the nursery for potential hazards and keep children safe from harm 01/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the staff recruitment arrangements to ensure any breaks in employment are rigorously followed up to demonstrate that all staff are suitable and safe to work with children 01/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the key person system to make sure priority is given in all routines to fully support children's emotional well-being 01/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the deployment of staff to make sure they are more vigilant in keeping children safe and supporting their learning and development, both inside and outside 01/07/2016

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Due Date

 make immediate changes to the way in which children's toothbrushes are stored to protect children from infection 01/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the organisation of the daily routines and the presentation of activities, both inside and outside, to maximise children's learning 29/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the quality of teaching across the nursery to make sure staff take more account of the specific needs of children who speak English as an additional language; children who have special educational needs; and children who are quieter and prefer to learn in different ways 29/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the planning and assessment arrangements for children who have special educational needs to make sure information from all agencies involved in the child's care is taken into account and that relevant and precise targets are set and closely monitored to enhance their learning and development. 29/07/2016

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Inspection activities

 This inspection was carried out without notice following concerns reported to Ofsted about children's safety, staff deployment and supervision levels.  The inspector observed the quality of teaching and the support for children's learning both inside and outside.  The inspector talked to staff about how they keep children safe, how they plan for children's learning and their understanding of nursery policies and procedures.  The inspector gathered the views of a small number of parents and carers who were available at the beginning of the morning session.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the nursery manager to evaluate the quality of teaching.  The inspector held discussions with the leadership team to evaluate how well senior staff monitor the quality of provision and make any necessary improvements.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including records of children's

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Inspection activities

progress, safeguarding files, the nursery's development plan and confirmation of staff training and suitability checks.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

The leadership team has not monitored the nursery sufficiently well to improve weak practice. Safeguarding is not effective. Following a serious incident, the senior team have not worked closely enough with the nursery manager to review procedures and prevent any further risks to children. Senior staff do not take enough action to make sure children are protected from risks within the nursery. Staff prioritise cleaning routines, rather than supervising children. As a result, a child was put at risk. Hazards in the garden are not made sufficiently safe and staff fail to identify these through their daily checks. However, staff confirm they know what to do to report any concerns about a child's welfare. Leaders and managers carry out checks on the nursery and monitor staff performance. However, these have not been rigorous enough and have not improved the inconsistencies in teaching. Self-evaluation is not effective and does not identify shortfalls in practice.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Although the nursery manager monitors the progress children make, it took a head office audit to recognise the poor assessment procedures for children with special educational needs. Recruitment arrangements lack rigour. Not all breaks in staff employment are followed up to make sure they continue to be suitable to work with children. Partnerships with local schools are positive and nursery staff and Reception teachers work effectively together. However, inaccurate assessment for some children means information is not always as helpful as it could be.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff do not always make full use of daily activities, both inside and outside, to challenge children and promote their learning. Some staff do not interact with children sufficiently well. They do not always respond to what children are doing and saying. At times, staff tend to supervise children's play, rather than enrich their learning. For example, staff fail to engage appropriately with children who speak English as an additional language. As a result, opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills are missed. Assessment arrangements are not always precise enough for children with special educational needs. For example, focused targets are not always set which take account of the child's overall needs. A confusion in roles between the key person and the trained special educational needs coordinator has resulted in a small number of children's progress not being monitored accurately. When teaching is better, staff interact with children well. For

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

example, one staff member in the pre-school engaged in imaginative play with children in the role play 'school', helping them to practise typical school routines. Some good teaching was seen when children explored using their senses with a paint and glue mixture. Staff encouraged children to describe how the mixture felt and introduced new words, such as 'squidgy'. In the baby room, teaching is generally better as the group of children is smaller. Staff support the babies' learning generally well and encourage them to explore using their senses. They recognise babies' non-verbal communications and support their language development through the repetition of words.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Disorganised daily routines, poor staff deployment at times and weak quality teaching impact negatively on children's well-being and their learning and development. Due to the noisy environment, the needs of quieter children are sometimes missed. Staff do not manage changes within the daily routine well. They are often too focused on tidying up, cleaning tables and sweeping floors, rather than planning suitable activities for children. This means there is lot of aimless waiting for children and this leads to some disruptive behaviour through boredom. They key person system is not used well enough to support children's emotional well-being. Not enough consideration is given towards making sure key persons undertake children's care routines. Nappy change arrangements disrupt children's learning and play as children are called in from the garden, whether or not they are busy and engaged in activities. Little thought is given towards how this could be

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

managed better to help children prepare for interruptions to their play. Children are moved around the nursery in response to staff needs. This does not always take account of children's needs and some staff are not always familiar with the children they are temporarily caring for. The storage arrangements for children's toothbrushes are unhygienic and do not protect children against cross-infection.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Weak teaching and inaccurate assessment for some groups of children hinders their progress. This means staff cannot be sure that children with special educational needs, and those who speak English as an additional language make as much progress as they could. However, when teaching is better, most other children make suitable progress. They concentrate well; listen attentively and engage in activities that interest them. There are opportunities for them to be independent and most children behave generally well.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY337266 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 1054148 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 75 Name of registered person Fellowship of St. Nicholas(The)

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 17 December 2013 Telephone number 01424 438660

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reference number

The Greenway nursery run by the Fellowship of St Nicholas charity registered in 2006. It operates from a self-contained part of the Hastings Town children's centre in East Sussex. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm, for 48 weeks of the year. There are currently 75 children on roll. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language. A team of nine qualified staff work with the children. The nursery manager is working towards her foundation degree. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. Funding is accepted for the provision of early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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reference number

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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reference number

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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reference number

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reference number

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