Fennies Epsom

Fennies @ Hook Road 1A, Epsom, Surrey, KT19 8TH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 1 November 2016 5 January 2016

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

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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 Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Staff do not always follow the nursery’s procedures to ensure children’s safety. A recent serious incident occurred because staff were not supervising children closely enough. This put a child at significant risk of harm. After the incident, senior staff did not make the necessary improvements, so two days later, the child was put at risk again.  Head office staff have not told Ofsted about important changes and significant incidents that happen in the nursery.  Some room leaders, and those that are in charge of managing safeguarding concerns, are not qualified or trained to the required levels. Not enough staff working directly with the children in some rooms are qualified.  The reporting and recording of incidents is poor. Managers to do not make sure staff record sufficient detail or make their statements clear enough to enable a thorough investigation to take place.  At times, the quality of teaching is inadequate. Some of the less experienced staff, and

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This provision is inadequate

those who do not work directly for the nursery, lack the required knowledge and skills to fully support children's learning.  Senior staff do not monitor the quality of teaching closely enough and do not make sure that all children are making progress in their learning.  Children's learning is not fully promoted during some parts of the day.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are happy at nursery and form close relationships with the staff.  Senior staff who are new to post are committed to making the required improvements.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take 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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Due Date

 make sure that all senior staff have a clear understanding of how to carry out thorough investigations following a safeguarding incident and take the required action to keep children safe 18/11/2016

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Due Date

 put relevant systems in place to make sure lead practitioners responsible for safeguarding attend the appropriate level of child protection training 18/11/2016

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Due Date

 ensure at least one member of staff working in each room for children aged under two years holds a full and relevant level three qualification and must be suitably experienced in working with children of this age 18/11/2016

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Due Date

 make immediate arrangements to improve the supervision of children at all times to ensure children's individual needs are consistently met 18/11/2016

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Due Date

 improve staff deployment across the nursery to make sure that at all times at least one staff member must hold a full and relevant level 3 qualification and that at least half of all other staff hold a full and relevant level 2 qualification 18/11/2016

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Due Date

 improve the recording of significant incidents to provide precise and detailed information and assist senior staff in carrying out a full and thorough investigation 18/11/2016

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Due Date

 make better use of risk assessments to ensure all hazards in the outside area, especially uncovered drains, are made safe 18/11/2016

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Due Date

 improve arrangements to make sure that all staff and the registered provider understand the information that must be notified to Ofsted, including changes to management arrangements and the reporting of significant incidents, and do this within the required timescale. 18/11/2016 To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage the provider must:

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Due Date

 improve the organisation of the daily routine to make sure that children's learning is continually promoted, especially at times of change over and during meal times 18/11/2016

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Due Date

 improve the quality of teaching and assessment to a consistently good or better standard 01/02/2017

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Due Date

 improve monitoring arrangements to make sure any weaker teaching is identified and improved at an earlier stage, especially when staff are new to the setting, or have less experience 01/02/2017

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Due Date

 make better use of information about children's development to identify quickly and precisely where any child may need extra support with their learning 01/02/2017

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Due Date

 make sure senior staff monitor the progress children make more precisely to be able to identify and close any gaps in children's learning. 01/02/2017

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Inspection activities

 This inspection was carried out without notice following information reported to Ofsted which raised concerns about children's safety.  The inspector observed the quality of teaching and the support for children's learning across all areas of the nursery, including the outside area.  The inspector talked to staff about how they keep children safe, what training they have completed and how they plan for, and monitor, children's learning and development.  The inspector carried out joint observations with the nursery manager and the quality improvement manager to evaluate how well senior staff monitor the quality of teaching.  The inspector held a meeting with the nursery manager and the quality improvement manager to talk about the leadership arrangements for the nursery and how senior staff monitor practice.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including: confirmation of staff suitability checks and qualifications, records of children's learning, safeguarding reports,

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Inspection activities

incident logs, and the nursery's self-evaluation.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Changes to the head office senior management structure have impacted negatively on the quality of provision within the nursery. Since the last manager left, not enough support has been provided by senior leaders. This has led to several breaches in legal requirements of the early years foundation stage and the childcare register. For example, relevant information about changes and significant incidents within the nursery has not been reported to Ofsted. Safeguarding is not effective. Poor staff deployment and, at times, ineffective supervision of children, have resulted in a child being placed at significant risk of harm. Weak support from head office staff following the incidents meant the nursery’s follow-up investigation was ineffective. Senior staff with responsibility for child protection lack knowledge of their role. They have not completed training to the required standard. Although there is a sufficient number of qualified staff across the

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

nursery, they are not always deployed effectively to make sure legal requirements are met. For example, on the day of inspection, in the Fledglings room, only one staff member was qualified. In the Nest, the room supervisor is not yet qualified to the right level. The lack of accurate and precise monitoring by senior staff has meant that weaknesses in teaching have not been addressed. Some temporary staff lack the appropriate knowledge and skills to fulfil their role in teaching children and promoting learning. The nursery manager and deputy manager regularly check on the quality of staff practice and offer development opportunities, such as team meetings, supervision and training. However, these measures have not yet led to improvements. The nursery self-evaluation report is not realistic. Although the nursery manager has worked hard to seek the views of children, staff and parents, priority improvement areas have not been identified and weaknesses in

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

practice continue. For example, the arrangements for checking that all children are making good or better progress are ineffective. A senior member of staff has failed to notice that tracking records completed every three month, are identical and indicate that none of the children have made progress. A new quality improvement manager has now been appointed. At the time of inspection, she had only been in post for two weeks. However, she has already quickly identified what needs to improve. She demonstrates a very capable approach towards supporting the nursery staff to make the necessary changes. Parents appear to be closely involved in their children's learning and development. Parents' meetings and popular ’stay and play' sessions mean parents work closely with staff to form positive links between home and nursery.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

The quality of teaching across the nursery is too variable and inconsistent. Although some staff hold higher level qualifications, they lack the skills and confidence to plan appropriate and stimulating activities for children. Poor quality teaching and disorganised daily routines mean that some children quickly become bored and lose interest in their learning. Activities are not always planned precisely around what children are interested in and need to learn next. For example, the children in the Owls group lost interest in a gardening activity. They became disengaged and some of the children started squabbling with one another. Any purposeful time for learning was quickly lost. Younger children spend too much time waiting for lunch to be served with no activities planned to keep them occupied. The children in the Flyers room became excited about a car washing activity. However, the group size was too big for the number of buckets of soapy water

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

provided, so some children had limited involvement. During this activity, the support for children's learning was also variable. Some staff engaged well with the children and promoted language and conversation. However, other staff looked on and merely supervised the activity, rather than extending children's learning. When teaching is better, staff watch carefully what children are doing and know when to intervene to give children additional support. External teachers also visit to enrich children's learning experiences. For example, on the day of inspection, children looked forward to the planned music activity in the morning and participated enthusiastically in a drumming workshop in the afternoon. Staff have formed positive links with local schools. Reception teachers work closely with staff in the summer term to get to know the children ready for the move on to school.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

The weaknesses in safeguarding mean that children's safety and well-being are put at risk. Staff do not supervise children closely enough to make sure all children are safe. For example, despite clear arrangements in place for the safe management of food allergies, a child was still able to eat food that was potentially harmful to her. Senior staff fail to take appropriate action after significant incidents to make sure lessons are learnt and children are not put at further risk. They do not make sure that investigations are thorough and that staff record precise and accurate information to identify and address any future risks. This significantly compromises children's safety. An uncovered drain in the outside area used by the Owls children means that during the gardening activity, some of the children who had lost interest in the activity played near a gulley and were exposed to very hot water. Staff failed to notice this. A child prevented a potential injury when one child went

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

to touch the water, by reminding them that hot water is dangerous and may cause burning. Despite poor staff deployment at times, children know the staff well and form close relationships with them. Babies and younger children are quickly comforted by staff. Familiar staff, where possible, carry out nappy change routines, settle children to sleep and bottle feed to ensure continuity for the youngest children. Some positive action is taken to support children's healthy development. For example, the nursery company has sought advice from an expert child nutritionist to plan all meals. Nursery staff link closely with the local children's centre and help support families to access any additional services they may need, such as help with parenting.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Weaknesses in teaching mean that not all children make as much progress as they should. Senior staff do not accurately check that all children, and groups of children, achieve as well as each other. Ineffective systems mean that senior staff cannot be sure that gaps in the pace of learning between different groups of children are closing. Therefore, some children may not do as well as others. Funding is not always used appropriately to make sure children get the right help they may need. For example, children in receipt of two- year old funding do not always benefit from high quality learning experiences which challenge them and help them to make faster progress. Although staff are aware that some boys need more support in developing their early writing skills, the systems used to monitor this have not been checked. Therefore, staff cannot be sure that boys' skills in writing are now as good as girls. These weaknesses hinder the children's progress and

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

mean that nursery staff cannot be sure that all children are starting school with the skills they need to support their future learning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY481429 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 1073675 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 124 Number of children on roll 73 Name of registered person Fennies Day Nurseries Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 5 January 2016 Telephone number 0208 770 3222

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reference number

Fennies @ Hook Road registered in November 2014. The nursery is one of eight nurseries owned by Fennies Day Nurseries Ltd. It is situated in the centre of Epsom, in Surrey. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.45am until 6.00pm all year round. Funding is accepted for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. A team of 16 staff work with the children. Of these, 10 staff hold recognised qualifications. The nursery manager holds early years professional status. One staff member has a foundation degree in early 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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