Catkins Nursery

Catkins Nursery Charnwood Children's Centre, Purcell Avenue, LICHFIELD, Staffordshire, WS13 7PH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 9 February 2017 Not applicable

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 The quality of teaching is not consistently good. This variable practice in teaching means not all children make good progress from their starting points.  The deployment of staff is not always effective to ensure children's needs are met consistently during the session.  Staff do not consistently use the information from children's assessments effectively to plan a challenging range of activities to help all children make good progress.  The monitoring of staff practice and the programme for staff professional development is not focused sharply on raising the overall quality of teaching swiftly.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff know the children and their parents well and they are warmly welcomed on arrival. Staff place a good focus on sharing information daily and keeping parents up to date about their child's day.  Links with the local school nurseries and the onsite nursery and school are strong. This results in a good sharing of information when children move on to nursery to help them settle.  Staff have a good understanding of child protection issues and the procedures to follow if they are concerned. They work closely with other professionals to share information and secure children's welfare.

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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 further the system in place for monitoring staff practice and the programme of staff professional development to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently good level 24/04/2017

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Due Date

 improve the deployment of staff to ensure children's needs are met consistently during the session and to help staff better support children to make good use of all the available activities 20/02/2017

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Due Date

 improve the use of the information gained from children's developmental assessments to help staff plan challenging activities with a clear learning intention to help children make good progress. 24/04/2017

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector spoke with staff and children during the inspection.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the nursery owner.  The inspector held a meeting with the nursery manager and owner. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.  The inspector spoke to a number of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

The manager and owner do not effectively use the cycle of supervision and monitoring staff's practice to help them focus precisely on improving the quality of teaching. As a consequence, the quality of teaching is not consistently good and requires improvement. Arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There are robust vetting procedures in place to ensure staff are suitable and their continued suitability is checked. The manager and owner have an accurate overview of the quality of the service provided and have a clear action plan in place to help secure improvement.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff do not always effectively manage the free-flow system of children using the indoor and outdoor learning environments. This leads to staff not always encouraging children to make the most of the activities available. As a consequence, children do not always show a good level of involvement in their play. Furthermore, activities are not always matched to children's understanding and level of development. Therefore, some activities lack challenge and do not have a clear learning intention to help children make good progress. In contrast, when teaching is good, children show better levels of interest and cooperation. For example, children are keen to take part during group activities, such as when they sing the welcome song and talk about the weather. Children also enjoy the smaller-group activities when they are spilt according to their ability. For example, older children take turns and cooperate well as they play a sound lotto game.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

The weakness in staff deployment during the free-flow period has an impact on how well staff meet children's individual needs at this time. For example, the assigned key person for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities works well to support them and close gaps in their learning. However, the support children receive during the period when they are able to move freely between different areas of the provision is inconsistent, as it depends on which staff are working with them. Staff provide children with gentle reminders about the rules in place for their safety and they respond well to this direction. Children are reminded to use gentle hands and learn about taking turns. Children benefit from daily physical activities to promote their good health and well-being. Children thoroughly enjoy their healthy snack. This time is used well to help children increase their self-help skills. For example, children serve food with tongs, pour their

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

drinks and separate their food waste and utensils into separate buckets.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Not enough children make good progress from their starting points or are well enough prepared for their next stage of learning. Nevertheless, they do acquire some basic skills for when they move on to the local nurseries. Children who speak English as an additional language make steady progress. They are confident during group time and enjoy learning new words in English. Children learn about their own cultures and those of others, and learn how to manage their feelings. Children enjoy using their senses as they explore the sand, water and dough. The most able children begin to show an interest in counting.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY490339 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 1017220 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 26 Name of registered person Hey Diddle Diddle Group Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 07790 296674

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reference number

Catkins Nursery was registered in 2015. It is one of two provisions managed and owned by the Hey Diddle Diddle Group Ltd. The nursery opens Tuesday's from 9am until 12.30pm, Wednesday's from midday until 4pm, Thursday's from 9am until 12.30pm and Friday's from 9am until 1pm, term time only. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery employs six members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3.

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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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Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our website for news, information and updates at www.ofsted.gov.uk/user.

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reference number

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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