Little Stories

Once Upon A Time Croft Day Centre, Ulleries Road, Solihull, B92 8ED

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13 June 2018 Not applicable

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3

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:

 Staff do not consistently use information obtained from observations and assessments of children's learning and achievements to help them to plan effectively for each child's learning. Consequently, activities do not always provide appropriate levels of challenge, and children do not make a consistently good level of progress.  The provider, who is also the manager, does not monitor the quality of teaching, learning and assessment effectively, to provide good standards. She does not reflect on the quality of the provision accurately enough to identify where improvements can be made, to promote children's learning.  Parts of the daily routine interrupt the play and exploration for pre-school children. This means that, at times, children are not actively engaged in their learning. Staff do not provide a choice of activities for older children who prefer to learn outdoors.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff work in close partnerships with parents. This helps to provide continuity in the learning and support for children.  Staff provide a calm and nurturing environment for babies. Overall, babies show a positive interest in some of the activities available to them.  Older children enjoy physical play, such as practising their running and throwing skills.  Staff manage children's behaviour effectively. Children learn to share and take turns. They enjoy playing together.

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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 observations and assessments of children's starting points and ongoing achievements are accurate and use this information to shape learning experiences that are tailored for each child, so they make consistently good progress 30/09/2018

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Due Date

 develop the monitoring of the quality of teaching learning and assessment, to raise it to a consistently good level and improve outcomes for children. 30/09/2018

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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

 make effective use of self-evaluation to ensure that weaknesses in practice are quickly identified and acted upon, to improve the quality of provision for children  review and make improvements to some routines, to ensure children are fully engaged in their chosen play, including for those who prefer to learn outdoors

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed teaching practices and the impact these have on children's learning.  The inspector held discussions with the manager, staff, children and parents.  The inspector read some of the setting's documentation, including the safeguarding policy and procedures.  The inspector sampled children's development information and records.  The inspector carried out joint observations with the manager.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Safeguarding is effective. Staff have a secure knowledge of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child's safety. Children are well supervised by staff who maintain ratios. Staff make careful risk assessments, log all accidents involving children, tend to these appropriately and inform parents. The manager provides staff with some training opportunities. Recent training has helped staff to enhance the learning experiences for babies. However, self-evaluation and the monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning are not specific enough to identify and address all weaknesses consistently. This means that the manager is unable to ensure that the quality of teaching and learning for all children is consistently good.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Although staff make regular assessments of children's progress, these are not always precise or used well. Some staff do not identify children's starting points accurately or promptly. This means that staff do not consistently provide children with activities that are matched to their individual learning needs. Staff working with babies do not recognise opportunities to extend their physical skills fully. For example, they feed some older babies with spoons and do not encourage them to do this for themselves. Staff follow routines for pre-school children that do not support their learning consistently well. At times, children are kept waiting unnecessarily and become bored and restless. Children benefit from opportunities to use their creative ideas. Toddlers enjoy creating effects as they paint with string. Pre-school children develop an understanding of the world, such as learning what seeds need to grow.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Staff provide children with regular opportunities to play outdoors. However, staff working with toddlers and pre-school children do not consistently provide a sufficient range of activities for children who prefer to learn outdoors. This means that children's individual interests are not met consistently well. Staff attend to babies' intimate care needs appropriately. An effective key-person system is in place. Staff are friendly and children build secure relationships with them.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Weaknesses in some aspects of teaching and assessment mean that children do not consistently benefit from activities that motivate them to learn and captivate their interest. Nevertheless, children learn some important skills for their next stage of development. Babies explore a range of sensory experiences confidently and make new discoveries, such as painting their feet. Pre-school children use their imaginations as they pretend to cook with mud. They learn about letters and the sounds they represent.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY548525 Local authority Solihull Inspection number 1137770 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 65 Number of children on roll 54 Name of registered person Once Upon A Time Children's Day Nursery Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 0121 213 5866

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reference number

Once Upon A Time registered in 2017. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 6.30pm for 51 weeks of the year, except for bank holidays. The nursery employs nine members of childcare staff, all of whom have appropriate early years qualifications from level 3 to level 6. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education to children aged two, three and four years.

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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

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

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