Little Lambs Childcare

Little Lambs Childcare Valley House, Rangemoor, Tatenhill Common, Staffordshire DE13 9RS

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Inspection date 27 November 2018 Previous inspection date 14 April 2015

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3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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3

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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3

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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3

Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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This is a provision that requires improvement

n The procedures for risk assessment are not consistently robust. Potential hazards, specifically in the outdoor play areas, are overlooked and not removed quickly enough to minimise any risk of harm to children. n The supervision and coaching of staff are not effective enough to ensure all aspects of staff's practice are robust. Consequently, the quality of children's care and learning is not consistently good. n Staff do not consistently plan and provide outdoors activities for the youngest children on a daily basis, to fully promote their health and well-being. n At times, staff do not effectively engage younger children in learning. Some group activities do not support younger children's engagement and involvement as well as they do for older children.

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It has the following strengths

n Staff focus well on providing opportunities for children to develop their early literacy skills. They encourage children to take part in singing rhymes and songs. Staff support children to develop an interest and enjoyment of books. They provide activities to help children develop their physical skills to handle tools, such as pencils. n Relationships between staff, children and parents are positive. Staff work effectively with parents and keep them well informed, therefore, helping to ensure children's care and learning needs are suitably addressed.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must: Due date ensure that effective risk assessment procedures are fully implemented to identify and minimise potential risks and hazards to children with regard to children's outdoor play areas 07/12/2018

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

improve staff supervision so that staff receive the coaching and support they need to improve their personal effectiveness and provide consistently good-quality care and learning experiences for children 07/12/2018

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

ensure that outdoor activities are planned for babies on a daily basis to support their learning and well-being. 07/12/2018

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

n improve the self-evaluation processes to help identify weaknesses in the provision and to address these quickly n build further on staff knowledge and skills to help support younger children's engagement and involvement consistently.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

Inspection activities n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector spoke with staff and children during the inspection. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the nursery manager. n The inspector held a meeting with the nursery manager. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery. n The inspector spoke to a number of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

Staff complete risk assessments for all indoor areas well. They do not, however, recognise the potential risk to older children with regard to the wet leaves and water on equipment in the outdoor play area. However, older children are well supervised during these times. The self-evaluation procedures include the views of all staff, parents and children. However, these procedures do not focus closely enough on identifying all possible weaknesses in the nursery. Safeguarding is effective. Managers and staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and the action they must take to protect children. The manager undertakes recruitment and ongoing checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

The quality of teaching varies and requires improvement. Staff do not always receive consistently effective coaching to help them improve their practice. For example, during group time for the youngest children, staff did not engage these children successfully. As a result, activities are not well planned to fully support the progress of this group of children. Overall, staff make regular observations of children's play and identify the next steps in learning. Children in the pre-school room use the exciting resources set up by staff to learn and explore. For example, older children use scissors, pens and glue to create their own story board. Staff use a range of questioning techniques to encourage older children to talk about their findings and to solve problems.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Due to weaknesses in the nursery's risk assessment procedures, older children's welfare is not fully protected. Staff support toddlers' indoor explorations well. They do not, however, make sure that all toddlers are taken out in the fresh air every day. Children develop good independence skills. For example, younger children learn to feed themselves from an early age. Staff work well in partnership with parents to identify and meet children's individual dietary requirements. Staff are warm towards the children in their care. They praise children meaningfully throughout the day for all their achievements. Staff help children to learn about rules and how to behave well. This helps children to develop strong emotional attachments and to build new friendships over time.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Not all children make the progress they are capable of. For example, group activities are not well planned to fully support the engagement of the youngest children. Throughout the nursery children learn to initiate their own play. Pre-school children develop an interest and understanding of number, shape and size in readiness for school. They learn to recognise the sounds letters make, and identify and write letters and numbers.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY345593 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 10085437 Type of provision Full day care

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register

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Day care type

Age range of children 1 - 4 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 54 Name of registered person Barker, Carole Edith

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 14 April 2015 Telephone number 01283 536577

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reference number

Little Lambs Childcare registered in 2006. The nursery employs nine members of childcare staff. Of these, two hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 6, six at level 3 and one holds level 2. 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.ofsted.gov.uk . 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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