Rocking Horse Day Nursery

Rocking Horse Day Nursery 1 The Stables, Carla Beck Lane,Carleton, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 3BU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25 May 2018 23 October 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 manager does not record, or store all concerns and information relating to the children, to help her and other key staff monitor any potential safeguarding issues.  There are significant weaknesses to the manager's understanding of requirements. She does not lead staff well, to ensure that risk assessments are robust and that children do not have access to potential hazards when they use different parts of the premises and go to sleep. This leaves children at risk of accessing rat poison in particular.  There are ineffective procedures to support children, staff and visitors in the event of a fire or emergency, to ensure they evacuate safely, promptly and are all accounted for.  The manager does not ensure that staff monitor and check sleeping children, and those going to sleep, frequently enough, so they can respond quickly to ensure their safety.  The manager does not access support from other professionals promptly, for children to

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This provision is inadequate

receive the necessary input they need without delay, to help them make good progress.  There are poor procedures to monitor and assess children's progress and achievements accurately. Although staff plan interventions, these do not match all children's individual needs, leading to poor teaching and learning, particularly for those in the pre-school room.

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It has the following strengths

 Children settle well at the nursery. They have good relationships with staff.

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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

 improve procedures for recording concerns and information relating to children, so that there are clear records of relevant information and contacts with other agencies that would enable the safeguarding lead and other staff to identify any emerging patterns of concern should they arise 25/06/2018

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Due Date

 implement effective and robust risk assessments that identify all potential risks and hazards to children, to ensure that the areas children access are safe at all times, with particular regard to the use of rat poison and the organisation of the sleep room 25/06/2018

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Due Date

 ensure evacuation procedures are clear and effective, to enable safe evacuation of children, staff and others on the premises in the event of a fire or other emergency 25/06/2018

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Due Date

 ensure that all emergency escape routes are clear and free from hazards 25/06/2018

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Due Date

 ensure that children who are trying to get to sleep, or who are asleep, are frequently checked and monitored to ensure their safety at all times 25/06/2018

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Due Date

 implement procedures to share relevant information with other professionals, to ensure children get the early help they need as promptly as possible to help them make good progress 25/06/2018

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Due Date

 implement appropriate procedures for supervision, support and training of staff, including the manager, so that they have appropriate skills, knowledge and training to ensure children's safety and improve the quality of children's learning experiences. 25/06/2018

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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

 improve assessment procedures to monitor and track all children's progress accurately, to identify what individual children need to learn next, and ensure staff provide the targeted support to help all children make good progress from their starting points. 25/06/2018

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had a tour of the premises with the manager.  The inspector spoke with parents and children. She took their views into consideration.  The inspector had discussions with staff, leaders and the manager.  The inspector reviewed documentation relating to children's learning, development and progress. She reviewed risk assessments, policies, procedures and other documents relating to health and safety.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager. She made general observations both indoors and outdoors.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Safeguarding is not effective. There are significant weaknesses in the manager's ability to consider risks and implement effective procedures to ensure children are safe. For example, she does not take children, staff and visitor registers in an emergency, believing they should be locked away, to follow new data protection requirements. This means children and adults could be unaccounted for, which poses significant risk to them. Although the manager has implemented and practised a lockdown procedure to move children from the main nursery building in the event of an emergency, she has not ensured the route they follow is safe and free from serious risks and hazards, such as over-cluttered rooms with dangerous items. The manager does not ensure risk assessments are effective. For example, in the sleep room, children who sleep in cots are at risk of pulling the stacks of resources on them from the low shelves overhead. Those

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

who rest/sleep in prams and on the sleep mats are not monitored when they try to get out or up, and have easy access to rat poison and plastic bags stored in the adjacent bathroom, where the door is propped open. The manager does not ensure that staff frequently monitor and observe children when they rest and sleep, to ensure they are safe. At inspection, when the risks are shared with the manager, she does not take immediate action to remove them and only does so, when the inspector asks her to for the second time. Although the manager and all staff have a secure knowledge of signs and symptoms, and the procedures to follow should they have a child protection concern, the manager does not ensure she keeps records of any issues, concerns or contact from other services, such as social care. Where issues are recorded, they are not sufficiently detailed or easily allow those with a lead role in safeguarding to access them and monitor

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

any patterns or ongoing issues. Self-evaluation is not effective. The manager does not monitor staff teaching, or children's progress well enough to identify any gaps and inaccuracies in children's achievements and ensure that teaching matches the children's needs. The manager supports staff to attend some training, however, this does not target the key areas they need to improve in the quality of their teaching.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

The manager and other key members of staff, who share information and seek support through professionals, demonstrate a poor understanding of their responsibility to do so. For example, they rely on parents to do this and do not contact the relevant professionals themselves, to reduce the significant delays for those children receiving prompt and early help. As a result, children do not make the progress they are capable of, to prepare them for their next stages, particularly those ready to move on to school. Significant inaccuracies in the monitoring and assessment process means that teaching, particularly for those children in the pre-school room, does not match what they can already do and need to learn next. Activities generally lack sufficient challenge and do not engage all children well enough. However, older children have opportunities to engage in some creative adult-directed play to explore texture. Toddlers and babies have good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

relationships with staff. Staff communicate well with parents about their children's routines and needs, and encourage continued learning at home.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Significant weaknesses to the leadership and management greatly compromises children's safety, well-being and welfare. Risk assessments are ineffective and do not identify significant risks and safety hazards for children who use the sleep room. Sleeping arrangements for children are not safe. Staff do not supervise or respond to children as they settle to sleep. Although staff check on children intermittently, they use pre- populated record sheets to record inaccurate times of when they observe children sleeping. Staff do not follow the setting's procedure to sit outside the sleep room door and visually observe sleeping children at all times. Children, especially those who sleep on a sleep mat have easy access to hazards in the adjacent bathroom. Children who sleep in cots, can reach low-level shelving overhead stacked with resources, and can pull the items onto themselves or other children unsupervised. Children sleeping in prams are fastened

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

in using a five-point harness and staff do not always respond to them as they try to get out, to ensure they are safe. When made aware of the significant safety issues, the manager did not clearly communicate with staff to ensure that they removed all identified risks. Children have daily opportunities to explore and investigate outdoors and be physically active. Older children enjoy planting and growing produce with staff, which they get to take home. Most children learn to behave well, although, at times, poor organisation and teaching support means the older children do not always behave as they should. Younger children receive lots of cuddles and reassurance from staff, that supports them well to explore and settle. Children have a wide variety of healthy meals and snacks.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Children do not make the progress of which they are capable. The significant weaknesses to leadership and management do not support them to be safe and ensure their safety at all times. Weak assessment and monitoring systems do not ensure that staff provide the targeted support children need to close gaps in learning rapidly. Teaching does not match the children's needs, meaning at times, children do not engage in the activities. However, older children have some opportunities to learn about phonics and practise their early writing skills. Children in the pre-school room become unsettled when they do not have clear routines and boundaries to follow, which impacts negatively on their behaviour. Children in the baby and toddler room like to explore indoors.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 400070 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 1103764 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 24 Number of children on roll 38 Name of registered person Jacqueline Asquith

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 23 October 2014 Telephone number 01756 796323

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reference number

Rocking Horse Day Nursery registered in 1996. The nursery is set in a rural village in Carleton near Skipton. They employ 10 members of childcare staff. The majority of staff hold appropriate level 3 qualifications. They offer free funding for early years education for children aged two, three, and four years. The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.30pm.

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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

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