Edgbaston College Preparatory School

The Trees Day Care Nursery 188 Regents Park Road, Shirley, Southampton, Hampshire SO15 8NY

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Inspection date 8 May 2019 Previous inspection date 21 March 2018

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Previous inspection: Requires improvement Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate 4 Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4 Outcomes for children Inadequate 4

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This provision is inadequate

n Recruitment of staff is weak. Leaders fail to ensure that gaps in staff's employment and any ongoing health issues are scrutinised to ensure staff's suitability to work with children. Not all staff have the required Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and on occasions these staff have unsupervised access to children. n Staff have insufficient understanding of safeguarding procedures, including the steps they should take if they need to report a concern about a child or the behaviour of another adult. Risk assessments in the garden areas are ineffective and staff do not ensure children's safety or good health when children play outside. n Staff, including the manager, do not benefit from effective supervision, training and support that helps them to improve the quality of their teaching and personal effectiveness. Leaders have failed to appoint a named deputy, who is capable and confident to cover in the manager's absence.

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This provision is inadequate

n Teaching does not meet the needs of the children effectively. Children, including those in receipt of early years pupil premium, children identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language, do not make good progress in readiness for school. n Staff show a poor understanding of how to identify what children need to learn next. They make infrequent and inaccurate assessments of children's learning. They do not plan purposeful play activities that interest and challenge children or help them to work towards their next steps in learning.

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It has the following strengths

n Staff are friendly and caring and meets children's individual dietary and health needs well.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action: We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to: Due date obtain enhanced DBS checks for all staff and apprentices, and ensure that unchecked staff are not left unsupervised with children 04/06/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

implement effective recruitment procedures to ensure staff's suitability and that all gaps in employment are fully explored and relevant references are obtained when recruiting staff 04/06/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

implement an effective procedure to ensure staff's suitability to work with children in the event staff are taking medication that is likely to impair their ability to look after children properly 04/06/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

ensure that staff have adequate understanding of the safeguarding policy and procedures so that they are able to identify safeguarding concerns should they arise and respond to them, or an allegation against a person working at the setting, in a timely and appropriate way 04/06/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

ensure that effective risk assessment procedures are implemented and action taken to identify and minimise or remove hazards to children in the setting, with particular regard to the outdoor areas 04/06/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

ensure there is a named deputy who is capable and qualified to take charge in the manager's absence 04/06/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

ensure that effective systems are in place for the supervision of staff, including the manager, so that they have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and receive support, coaching and training, to meet the needs of children. 04/06/2019

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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 staff use observation and assessment to accurately identify where children are in their learning and what they need to learn next 04/06/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

plan challenging and enjoyable experiences that take full account of each child's individual needs, interests and stage of development, to promote good progress in their learning, particularly in communication and language in the younger age ranges 04/06/2019 keep parents and others involved in children's care and learning so they are regularly informed about their child's progress. 04/06/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

n The inspection was completed by two inspectors and was conducted unannounced. n The inspectors observed children's play indoors and outdoors. n The inspectors looked at samples of children's assessment folders and discussed children's learning with staff. n The inspectors spoke with staff, parents/carers and children at appropriate times during the inspection. They held a meeting with the manager and staff from the sister nursery who are supporting the nursery. n The lead inspector conducted a joint observation of an activity with the manager and also observed lunchtime in the pre-school room.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

Leaders have taken insufficient action to monitor the effectiveness of the provision since the last inspection. Weaknesses in staff's practice have remained unchallenged and have a significant impact of children's safety and capacity to do learn. Safeguarding is ineffective. Recruitment procedures do not ensure staff's suitability. Some staff have worked at the nursery for over a year and do not have a DBS check. In addition, leaders do not complete thorough checks on staff's previous employment history or ensure that sufficient information is gathered on staff's needs for medicines, to assess their suitability to care for children. On the day of the inspection, unchecked staff were observing changing children's nappies unsupervised. Staff's safeguarding knowledge is inconsistent, and some staff do not show a secure understanding of wider safeguarding issues. They are unclear on the procedure to follow should leaders fail to take action if a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

concern is noted about a child. Leaders do not work in effective partnership with agencies to support children's welfare. For example, they are not sufficiently vigilant in recording or sharing information with children's services in order to protect children from harm. The provider does not monitor staff's practice effectively, including that of the manager, to help staff improve their practice. Staff, including those who have been promoted to new roles within the nursery, do not receive support to ensure they fulfil their roles effectively. This has led to weak practice that remains unchallenged. Leaders have taken some action to address the actions identified at the last inspection, such as improving hygiene procedures throughout the nursery and the introduction of some strategies to further support children with English as an additional language. However, while the manager shows an understanding of what needs to improve further, immediate

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

safety risks to children and issues with staff suitability have not been prioritised sufficiently, so children's safety cannot be assured. Currently, there is no named deputy to support the manager, which is a breach in requirements. Leaders have not used additional funding, such as early years pupil premium funding, effectively to provide additional support for those children who are eligible.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Staff's expectations for children are not high enough. Despite being qualified, staff fail to provide activities that build on what children know already and need to learn next. Planned activities do not offer appropriate levels of challenge; they lack purpose and fail to capture children's interest. Support during children's free play is very poor. Staff do not interact purposefully with children and children wander aimlessly around the room. Some staff, including those who act as leaders to unqualified and inexperienced staff, show a very poor understanding of assessing the individual needs of the children. For example, they are unsure of the basic details of their key children, such as how old children are or what children could do when they first came to the nursery. Staff's understanding of how to identify children's next steps in learning is weak. They inaccurately identify targets for children to work towards that are not reflective of where

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

children are in their learning. They do not plan effectively for children who need additional support to catch up, in readiness for school. For example, children do not benefit from teaching that focuses on promoting their language skills or physical development further, despite some children showing a significant delay in this area. Partnerships with parents, carers and other professionals such as speech therapists are ineffective. Staff share inaccurate information about children's learning, including children's next steps for learning, which does not support consistency in promoting children's good progress. Despite weakness in staff's use of assessment, some staff provide appropriate activities and offer some positive support to children. For example, younger enjoy song and rhyme times and explore a range of sensory play items that suitably capture their interest.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Weaknesses in safeguarding practice mean staff do not promote children's safety and welfare effectively. They fail to identify and minimise hazards in the garden. For example, staff completing a safety check of the garden do not remove the discarded, broken toys that are scattered across the play area or take effective action to minimise the risk of a significant amount of bird droppings that cover the resources set out for children to play with. However, despite weakness to children's safety, children are happy in the nursery and staff demonstrate a caring nature towards the children. Children benefit from a healthy range of meals and snacks. Staff promote children's independence at mealtimes, such as supporting children to serve food for themselves. They suitably support children to develop their self-care skills, such as learning to wash their hands thoroughly after playing in the garden. Improvements to hygiene procedures since the last inspection

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

ensure that areas, such as bottle-preparation areas and nappy-changing areas, are clean and well maintained. Children enjoy some opportunities to develop their physical skills outside. Older children ride tricycles down a slope and younger children explore the sand. However, due to weaknesses in planning and teaching, play outside does not support children's interests or learning needs well. Staff suitably manage children's behaviour in line with children's understanding. On occasions, older children's behaviour becomes boisterous and they run around the room, due to the lack of challenge for their learning.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Weaknesses in teaching, assessment and planning have a negative impact on children's learning experiences and their readiness for school. Older children sometimes lack interest in the activities on offer and find it hard to concentrate and remain engaged. Children do, however, develop suitable levels of independence, for example babies learn to feed themselves and toddlers makes choices in their play.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 131616 Local authority Southampton Inspection number 10084831 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 1 - 4 Total number of places 82 Number of children on roll 54 Name of registered person White Horse Child Care Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 21 March 2018 Telephone number 023 8077 6655

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reference number

The Trees Day Care Nursery registered in 1998. It operates in the Shirley area of Southampton, Hampshire. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, all year round. It provides free early education for children age three and four years. The provider employs 11 members of staff. The manager holds an early years qualification at level 5 and five staff hold early years qualifications at level 3.

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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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