The Children's House Montessori

The Children's House Montessori 207 West Street, Fareham, Hampshire, PO16 0EN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30 May 2017 22 May 2014

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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

 The provider does not ensure that all staff have the required checks, nor does she ensure that any records of these are available to verify the suitability of staff to work with children.  Children's safety is compromised. The provider does not take prompt action to minimise risks to children. She has not taken reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised persons entering the setting, or to ensure the safety of children and staff in the case of a fire or other emergency.  Leadership and management are ineffective. The provider has failed to identify or address serious weaknesses and breaches in the requirements of the Early Years Register and the Childcare Register. The new manager has started to reflect on current practice to identify improvements; however, changes are yet to be implemented to improve outcomes for children's care and learning.  Information held about children's individual needs is inaccurate and insufficiently

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This provision is inadequate

detailed to ensure staff are able to deal with any emergencies effectively.  The provider fails to ensure that staff monitor children's progress effectively. Staff do not have a secure understanding of children's learning needs and fail to provide activities that support and challenge children, to help them make good progress.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff promote children's independence to make choices in their play.

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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

 implement effective systems to ensure that any person who has regular contact with children is suitable, including through a criminal records check, and record information about the vetting processes that have been completed 20/06/2017

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Due Date

 take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised persons entering the premises 20/06/2017

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Due Date

 implement effective systems to identify, and remove or minimise, risks to children 20/06/2017

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Due Date

 take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of children and staff in the case of a fire or other emergency, and ensure fire escape routes are kept clear at all times 20/06/2017

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Due Date

 ensure that records that include information about children are accurate and detailed, with particular regard to children's home address, contact details and individual medical needs 20/06/2017

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Due Date

 ensure all records are easily accessible and available for inspection 20/06/2017  ensure that anyone whose suitability has not been checked, does not have unsupervised contact with children being cared for. 20/06/2017

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Due Date

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage the provider must:

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Due Date

 introduce effective procedures to help staff understand children's level of achievement, and use this information to shape learning experiences so that each child is supported and challenged well and makes good progress. 20/06/2017

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playrooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector held meetings at an appropriate time with the managers and registered persons and looked at children's assessment records and sampled welfare records.  This inspection was triggered following the risk assessment process.  The inspector checked evidence of staff suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and engaged in discussions with staff and children at appropriate times.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Safeguarding is ineffective. Although staff have an adequate awareness of safeguarding policy and procedures, safety and security issues and weak systems for staff recruitment compromise children's safety. For example, staff who have not had suitability checks completed are sometimes left unsupervised with children. The managers do not monitor the effectiveness of the provision effectively. They fail to identify or address weaknesses with regards to educational programmes and the quality of teaching. Documentation is not used effectively to support children's health and well-being. For example, children's individual records sometimes lack up-to-date contact details and fail to include information about children's health needs. Also, the provider does not ensure that documentation is easily accessible and available for inspection. Parents state that children enjoy attending and they value the flexible approach to supporting their family's needs. Staff link with

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

other professionals to provide consistent support for children with additional needs.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

The quality of teaching is weak and does not ensure that children make good progress. Staff do not have a secure understanding of children's stage of development or learning needs. As a result, activities fail to challenge them appropriately or help them to increase their skills. Staff miss opportunities to build on children's literacy and language skills. For example, during a painting activity they failed to encourage children to label their work or to discuss the patterns or colours they saw. Children benefit from the caring way in which staff engage with them, which supports them to learn how to behave well.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Managers fail to safeguard children's welfare. They sometimes leave staff whose suitability has not been checked alone with children. Managers do not provide a safe and secure environment for children to play. They delay taking action to minimise risks. Risk assessments are ineffective in helping staff to address safety issues. For example, although staff have identified that the main entry door does not close correctly, they do not take steps to ensure that unauthorised people are not able to gain entry. Arrangements for emergency evacuation are poor. Children rarely practise the procedures and some emergency exits are blocked, preventing staff from evacuating the building quickly should there be a fire. Staff teach children about positive hygiene routines to help them learn about keeping healthy.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Children fail to acquire many of the skills that help to prepare them well for the next stage of their learning. Children lack motivation as activities are not sufficiently challenging or targeted to their individual learning needs. For example, although children enjoy playing in the sand, they receive little engagement from the staff to challenge their mathematical understanding or increase their use of language.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY453858 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 1098886 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 54 Number of children on roll 45 Name of registered person The Children's House Montessori Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 22 May 2014 Telephone number 01329236677

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reference number

The Children's House Montessori re-registered in 2012 when it became a limited company. It is a privately run Montessori day nursery and operates from premises on the outskirts of Fareham, in Hampshire. The nursery has a sister nursery in the locality, which caters for babies and toddlers who transfer to this nursery at the age of two years. Children use two adjoining rooms on the ground floor and there is an outdoor play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks a year. The setting receives funding for the provision of free education for children aged two, three and four years. There are nine members of staff working with the children, eight of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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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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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