N.E.S.T Childcare Ltd

N.E.S.T Childcare Ltd 24 Norbury Court Road, London, SW16 4HT

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30 August 2017 27 November 2012

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Inadequate 4

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate 4

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

p.1

This provision is inadequate

 Staff's knowledge of safeguarding and child protection procedures is weak.  Accident records do not meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage.  Records of pre-existing injuries children have when they arrive at nursery are not detailed enough to alert staff to possible concerns in the child's life away from the nursery.  At times insufficient staff are on duty to meet the needs of the children. The number of qualified staff working in the nursery does not meet levels required by the early years foundation stage.  Arrangements for a deputy to take charge in the absence of the manager are weak.  The door separating residential accommodation from the nursery is not kept locked.  Young volunteers are left in sole charge of children.  Adults whose suitability has not been confirmed work with the children.  Assessment of children's development is unreliable and planning does not focus

p.1

This provision is inadequate

sufficiently on children's needs. As a result, children do not progress at the rate they are capable of.  The key person system is not effective. At times whole groups of children are cared for by staff who are not their assigned special staff member.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Parents have confidence in the nursery. Children enjoy the company of the adults who work with them.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to:

p.2

Due Date

 ensure existing injuries to children are recorded so that the nature of the injury and the explanation are clear and can be assessed swiftly to identify possible signs of abuse or neglect 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 ensure staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding matters, and their safeguarding responsibilities, including knowledge of possible signs of abuse and the procedures to follow for reporting concerns about children's welfare, such as unexplained absences from the nursery 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 keep a written record of accidents or injuries and any treatment given to children and inform parents about the accident and/or injury the same day or as soon as possible afterwards 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 ensure that there are sufficient staff working in the nursery at all times in order to meet the needs of the children and ensure their safety 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 ensure that there are sufficient staff holding full and relevant level 2 and level 3 qualifications working with the children 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 ensure that the named deputy is capable of taking charge in the absence of the managers 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 ensure that staff are deployed so that sufficient qualified and experienced staff are working with the children, in particular babies 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 ensure that volunteers aged under 17 years are not included in staff ratios and are not left in sole charge of children 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 ensure that all adults living or working on the premises are suitable to do so, this is with particular reference to obtaining Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 make sure that residents of and visitors to the residential part of the building cannot access the nursery through unsecured doors 29/09/2017

p.2

Due Date

 ensure that an effective key person system is in place to provide a settled relationship for children and parents, and that children's welfare, emotional development and individual learning needs are addressed effectively 29/09/2017 To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage the provider must:

p.2

Due Date

 improve the monitoring of children's development to ensure it is assessed accurately and used to recognise their progress, understand their needs and review the effectiveness of extra government funding 29/09/2017

p.3

Due Date

 use the individual interests and needs of the children to plan challenging experiences so that children make the best possible progress. 29/09/2017

p.3

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in both rooms of the nursery.  The inspector spoke to members of staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection, held a meeting with the manager and had a telephone discussion with the owner of the nursery.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector looked at children's records, planning documents, evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery and a range of other documentation, including policies and procedures.

p.3

Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

The nursery is jointly managed by two people who work on different days of the week. In their absence a deputy manager is in post, however, she has not been fully briefed on the role. The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. Managers do not ensure that sufficient staff are on duty at all times, in particular at the beginning of the day when one staff member works alone as children arrive. Volunteers are used to ensure that staff do not work alone with children, however, they have not all had suitability checks completed. Volunteers under the age of 17 are left working alone with children. In addition, the number of qualified staff working with children frequently does not meet the required levels. This has a detrimental effect on the quality of the experiences children have in the nursery. Staff’s knowledge of safeguarding and child protection is patchy. Staff have an adequate understanding of what to do if they are concerned about a child. However, their

p.4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

understanding of why it is important to monitor children's absence varies. All staff have a different understanding of when they are expected to contact parents if a child is absent and what to do if parents cannot be contacted. Staff have little or no knowledge of what might indicate a child is at risk of being exposed to extreme views of right and wrong or of what they would do with such concerns. Records of accidents children have at the nursery are not completed accurately and do not contain details of any treatment given to children. Staff do record when children arrive at nursery with an injury, however, they do not record information about how the child sustained the injury. This compromises their ability to monitor information for any worrying patterns. The door that separates the nursery from residential accommodation at the same address is not kept locked to prevent residents or visitors to the residential accommodation from accessing the nursery. Staff

p.4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

have supervision meetings with one of the managers at which their work is reviewed and targets are set. However, training is not having sufficient impact on the quality of teaching.

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Managers monitor children's progress and staff practice. However, they do not do this effectively and they do not share the findings with staff. Managers have not identified that staff assess children's development at different levels in different documents, which compromises the accuracy of their monitoring of individual and groups of children's progress. Additionally they do not know whether additional government funding has had any impact on children's development and progress. The deputy manager had no knowledge of the gaps found by managers in the progress of some groups of children and action had not been taken to work to help children to catch up with their peers. Next steps for children's learning are identified and some of these are relevant to the needs of the child. For example, children who are starting school shortly are helped to practise sitting at activities. The next steps, however, do not provide children, especially the most able

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

children with the challenge they need to achieve their full potential. Planning for babies is general and is not sufficiently focused on individual learning needs. Staff describe activities as being planned to keep children busy between meal and sleep times. Activities for older children are planned with more purpose, for example, they spent time searching for letters and numbers hidden in shaving foam. Staff tested their knowledge of letter and number recognition and praised children for their efforts.

p.4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

The key person system operated by the nursery is not effective. It does not support children, especially babies, to have their individual needs met. In the baby room none of the staff, working on the day of the inspection, were key person for any of the children present. Older children are independent and choose from the range of activities provided for them. At times some of the older and most-able children have little interest in what is on offer and either wander or sit passively. Parents speak highly of the nursery. They value the friendly relationships their children have with staff and the daily information they receive about their children. Snacks are healthy and fruit based and children have access to drinking water throughout the day.

p.5

Outcomes for children are inadequate

Children do not make good enough progress while at the nursery. Groups of children who are identified as at risk of not meeting levels of development typical for their age are not well provided for. For example, in the recent past children whose speech and language development was identified as being below what might be expected did not receive a range of focused teaching in order to help them to catch up with their peers. Individual children's progress is slow and in some cases it stalls due to a lack of challenge and extension from staff. Older children recognise some letters and numbers and staff speak to them about the sounds that letters represent. Some older children can write their name and others make patterns to represent writing. Babies enjoy songs and rhymes and have opportunities to make marks on paper using crayons and pencils.

p.5

Setting details

Unique reference number EY298349 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 1085413 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 1 - 7 Total number of places 27 Number of children on roll 21 Name of registered person Maxeen Morgan

p.6

reference number

Date of previous inspection 27 November 2012 Telephone number 020 8765 1144

p.6

reference number

N.E.S.T Childcare Ltd opened in 2005. The nursery is situated in a residential area in Norbury in the London borough of Croydon. It operates from ground floor rooms of a converted semi-detached house. The nursery opens five days a week for 50 weeks of the year, closing for one week in the summer and one week at Christmas. The nursery is open from 7.30am to 6.30pm. There is team of 8 members of staff, including the manager, 7 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery supports children who are in receipt of the early education funding.

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

reference number

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

reference number

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

p.7

reference number

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

p.7