Safehands Nursery @ The Guild Hall

Safehands Nursery @ The Guild Hall Preston Guild Hall Ltd, Lancaster Road, Preston, PR1 1HT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22 May 2018 1 September 2016

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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 manager has not ensured that sufficient staff are on duty to maintain the required adult-to-child ratios. This puts children's safety at risk and limits staff's ability to meet children's emotional needs effectively. In addition, extra staff, when they arrive, do not know babies and consequently, babies remain unsettled for most of the day.  The manager cannot demonstrate she has investigated and addressed complaints received by parents as records are not available for scrutiny.  Staff do not maintain adequate hygiene standards in areas where formula milk is prepared for babies.  Children are not sufficiently challenged in their learning and become boisterous. Activities are not well planned and teaching is too weak to help children to make progress. In addition, staff struggle to manage children's behaviour.

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It has the following strengths

 Parents make positive comments about the nursery and say their children enjoy themselves and have good relationships with staff. Parents are kept well informed and helped to continue their children's learning at home.  Processes for recruiting and inducting new staff are effective. The manager monitors staff performance to identify training needs for individual staff.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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Due Date

 ensure sufficient staff are on duty to maintain the required adult- to-child ratios 30/06/2018

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Due Date

 ensure staff are deployed effectively, so that children's emotional needs are met by familiar adults who know them well 30/06/2018

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Due Date

 ensure records are available to show how concerns or complaints received have been investigated and addressed 30/06/2018

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Due Date

 ensure areas for preparing formula milk are kept in a clean and hygienic condition 30/06/2018

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Due Date

 improve teaching and provide all children with access to well planned activities designed to challenge their thinking and help them to make good progress in all areas of learning 30/06/2018

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Due Date

 ensure staff have sufficient knowledge, understanding and skills to positively manage children's behaviour. 30/06/2018

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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 had a tour of the premises and spoke with children and staff at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the nursery manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the nursery manager, the area manager and the operations manager. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.  The inspector spoke to parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Safeguarding is ineffective. Despite being qualified and experienced the manager has not ensured that she or her team meet requirements. There are insufficient staff on duty to meet children's emotional and learning needs or to manage children's boisterous behaviour. Children, especially babies, are not familiar with the staff who arrive later to cover staff absence. Babies remain fretful and unsettled for much of the day. In addition, records are not available to show how the manager has addressed concerns raised by parents. Some aspects of leadership are better. The manager is quick to acknowledge the weaknesses identified and explains how she will improve practice. Procedures in place to monitor environmental risks, accidents and administering medication to children are effective. Equally, the processes for monitoring and comparing the progress of children are thorough. Staff have a sound understanding of child protection. They know the signs that

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

suggest a child's welfare may be at risk and know who to refer their concerns to. The manager has established effective partnerships with other agencies to provide additional support to children and their families.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Teaching and the organisation of activities is too weak to enthuse or engage children in learning. Consequently, most children wander about aimlessly or behave boisterously. Pre- school children are not helped to concentrate or to develop thinking skills. Children have access to interesting resources, such as dry rice, scoops and buckets or a tray of sugar to make marks in. However, lack of appropriate supervision means they throw the rice or lick the sugar. Staff who arrive to cover absences are better teachers. Pre-school children delight in a game of 'What's the time Mr Wolf?' they count their steps as they get closer to the 'wolf' and enthusiastically take turns to be the 'wolf'. Cover staff in the baby room support babies' communication using gesture and signing or sing nursery rhymes. While staff do observe what children can do and provide regular summaries for parents, they do not use what they know to plan sufficiently challenging activities to help children achieve

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Children resort to boisterous behaviour as a consequence of not having interesting and challenging activities planned for them. Children climb on work surfaces or over furniture and gates, run around indoors and use resources inappropriately. While the manager has tried to implement positive strategies to support children's behaviour these are not yet effective. In addition, babies' emotional needs are not met well enough. Cover staff try to comfort and nurture babies, however, most remain unsettled without the attention from their familiar key person. In addition, the area for preparing babies' bottles is cluttered and unhygienic. Children do enjoy healthy, well-balanced meals and have opportunities to play outdoors. Cover staff encourage pre-school children to balance, jump and to throw and catch balls. Specialist coaches provide regular sessions to teach children football skills.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Despite the lack of sufficient challenge in their learning, children are confident, can communicate and are keen to engage with visitors. For example, they enjoy pressing the keys on a visitor's laptop. With encouragement, children try to write their name, roll play dough or pretend to be a vet. However, they do not make enough progress and are not supported well enough to develop all of the skills they will require to prepare them in readiness for their eventual move on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY490566 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 1136262 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 - 4 Total number of places 61 Number of children on roll 45 Name of registered person Safehands Nurseries Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 1 September 2016 Telephone number 01772 804100

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reference number

Safehands Nursery @ The Guild Hall registered in 2015. The nursery employs nine members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, including one staff member who holds a qualification at level 4. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 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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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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