The Willows Day Nursery

The Willows Day Nursery 1 Sovereign Way, Trafalgar Industrial Estate, Downham Market, Norfolk, PE38 9SW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 5 April 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:

 Senior management's revisions to the evacuation procedures for the baby room have not been effectively communicated to all staff and there are some omissions on daily checks of the environment.  At times, staffing arrangements and inappropriate grouping of children do not fully support children's learning and development needs.  Some children, whose home language is not English, are not well supported to use their home language in play and learning.  Staff do not have a good knowledge of how to effectively support those children whose communication and language is less well developed.  Parents are not provided with good opportunities to become engaged in their children's learning or given ideas on how this can be followed up at home.

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It has the following strengths

 Children develop good independence skills and a sense of responsibility. They can select their own resources, make decisions in their play and follow their own interests.  Children are well behaved and cooperate with each other and staff.  Management and staff have a clear knowledge and understanding of child protection policies and procedures.

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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

 ensure that effective systems are in place to make sure all staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, with particular reference to regular checks of the learning environment and communicating any management revisions in evacuation procedures 19/05/2017

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Due Date

 ensure that the premises, equipment and staffing are organised in a way that meets the needs of all the different children attending the provision 01/06/2017

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Due Date

 ensure that there are opportunities for children, whose home language is not English, to develop and use their home language in play and learning. 01/06/2017

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Due Date

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

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Due Date

 improve the quality of teaching by providing staff with appropriate strategies and skills to particularly support children's communication and language development  improve partnerships with parents by engaging them further in their children's learning and development and providing ideas and strategies how this learning can be continued in the home.

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Inspection activities

 Ofsted carried out this inspection as a result of the risk assessment process following information it received about this provider.  The inspector observed the quality of teaching during indoor and outdoor activities and assessed the impact of this has on children's learning.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of an activity with the nursery manager.  The inspector held a meeting with nursery manager and spoke with staff during the inspection. She looked at relevant documentation, such as evidence of suitability of staff working in the setting.  The inspector sampled a range of other documentation, including records of children and the setting's policies and procedures.  The inspector spoke to the children and a sample of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Robust recruitment procedures ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. The nursery employs a cook and a cleaner to support the smooth operation of the nursery. The recently recruited manager has started to use self evaluation and as a result, a number of improvements have been made; further plans are in place. Reviews of different groups of children are made in order to monitor progress. Staff attend regular meetings and are supported with one to one supervision. In addition, the manager makes regular room observations. Despite this, not all staff are aware of revisions to the evacuation procedures for the baby room and staff fail to notice, and take action, when children's crayons are blunt, children's cameras are uncharged, paper towels supplies are low and nappy sacks are not stored securely.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Children join in and are keen to learn new skills. The staff talk with babies, at their level, to capture their attention. Staff ask some questions to help children learn. Although the quality of assessment is variable, staff use observation and assessment to plan the next steps in children's learning. They are keen to work with other professionals to support children's learning. However, they have fewer strategies to support children whose communication and language is less well developed. Not all staff know how to effectively support children who speak English as an additional language. Some parents speak favourably about the nursery and the staff. Parents are kept informed about their children's progress and can contribute to assessments. However, not enough is being done to engage parents in their children's learning and help their children to make as much progress as possible.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Key persons help children to settle. Older children competently serve themselves to healthy food and drinks, which promotes physical health and well-being. Any special diets are catered for. Staff eat with the children, acting as good role models. All children learn good hygiene practices and staff care for babies' personal needs in a sensitive way. All children, with the exception of the babies, choose when to play outside in the well- resourced, stimulating garden. The out of school room is not currently used. At certain times, children of different ages and stages of development are grouped together. When numbers are low, staff effectively manage this, however, when numbers are significantly higher, children's individual learning and development needs are not well met. Overall, children behave well because staff explain what is expected and reinforce positive behaviour.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Children develop some of the key skills needed for the next stage in their learning. Two- year-old children use magnifying glasses to closely look at bugs in the garden. Older children explore mathematical props and talk about different shapes and size. However, weaknesses in the educational programme mean that children are not as well prepared for school as they could be.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY495009 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 1086332 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 11 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 91 Name of registered person Alpha Nurseries Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01366 381515

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reference number

The Willows Day Nursery registered in 2015. The registered provider holds Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7am to 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four- year-old children.

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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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