Early Stage Care

Early Stage Care 20a Darnall Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S9 5AB

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Inspection date 10 July 2019 Previous inspection date Not applicable

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Previous inspection: Not applicable 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 The owner and manager do not ensure that all staff have a secure, up-to-date knowledge of child protection issues, including reporting and recording procedures. Furthermore, those with key responsibilities for safeguarding children do not fulfil their responsibilities effectively. This significantly compromises children's safety. n Arrangements for working in partnership with other relevant professionals when children are not achieving at the typical levels of development for their age are not effective. n Staff deployment when babies and toddlers sleep is poor. Children's safety is compromised as they are not adequately supervised at these times. n The key-person system does not work effectively to support children's well-being. Staff do not always know about children's important dietary or health information, and communication and partnership working with parents are poor. n Leaders do not provide adequate supervision, coaching, training or support to staff to

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This provision is inadequate

promote the interests of children. Poor identification of staff's development needs and monitoring of the quality of teaching result in weak practice across the nursery, despite the enthusiasm of the staff. n There are not enough opportunities for children to learn and develop in the outdoor environment, particularly for those who to prefer to learn outside. n Assessments of children's progress are of poor quality and inaccurate. The manager and staff are unable to identify and plan children's next steps precisely and complete an accurate progress check between the ages of two and three years. Not all children make sufficient progress and older, more-able children are not offered appropriate challenge.

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It has the following strengths

n Children form appropriate emotional bonds with staff and freely go to them for cuddles. They receive praise for good sitting and listening.

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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 ensure that all staff, including the designated safeguarding lead officer, have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues, with particular regard to understanding signs of possible abuse and neglect, and how to accurately record and respond in a timely and appropriate way to any concerns they may have about a child in their care 26/07/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

ensure that the designated safeguarding lead officer provides effective support, advice and guidance to any other staff on an ongoing basis, and on any specific safeguarding issue as required 26/07/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

ensure that if staff have concerns about children's safety or welfare, that agencies with statutory responsibilities are notified without delay, meaning children's social care services and, in emergencies, the police 26/07/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

improve the arrangements to support children who are not achieving at the typical levels for their age, including promptly seeking support from other relevant professionals where appropriate 26/07/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

improve the deployment of staff to ensure that children are adequately supervised and that their safety needs are met at all times, with particular regards to arrangements for sleeping babies and toddlers 26/07/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

improve the key-person system to ensure children's care is tailored to meet their individual needs at all times, and ensure that effective communication is established with parents, so they are appropriately informed about, and successfully involved in, all aspects of their children's care and learning 26/07/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

put in place effective arrangements for the supervision of staff, in order to monitor and improve their personal effectiveness and quality of teaching, and provide them with support, coaching and training, so that quality learning experiences are delivered to children in an environment that fosters a culture of continuous improvement 26/07/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

ensure that outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily basis, unless circumstances make this inappropriate, such as adverse weather. 26/07/2019

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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: Due date implement rigorous assessment arrangements in order to monitor children's progress and carry out an accurate progress check at age two, identify gaps in children's learning and any areas where they require additional support, and plan their future learning through challenging and appropriate activities that are matched to their individual needs. 06/09/2019

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities inside and outdoors and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector completed a joint observation with a member of staff. n The inspector looked at a sample of children's assessment records and discussed the systems for planning children's play experiences. n The inspector held a meeting with the manager and owner and looked at a sample of policies, including risk assessments. She viewed evidence of the suitability, qualifications and recent training of staff working in the nursery. n The inspector spoke to children during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

Arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. The designated safeguarding lead officer does not provide effective support, advice or guidance to staff in relation to any concerns raised about children in their care. Staff have a poor understanding of the possible signs of abuse and do not know how to keep accurate records where they have a concern about a child's welfare or speak to parents about existing injuries that children may arrive with. Records of concerns about children's welfare, maintained by the designated safeguarding lead officer, are not accurate and do not reflect concerns raised by staff. In addition, although concerns about children's safety and welfare have been raised with other professionals, new information provided has not been accurately assessed or followed up on without delay. This significantly compromises the safety and welfare of children. Performance management of staff is ineffective. The owner and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

manager do not conduct robust supervisions with staff. They do not offer adequate support, monitoring and coaching to improve staff's practice and knowledge. Staff are keen and eager to learn. However, direction from leaders does not support them in improving their knowledge and abilities to raise outcomes for children. Although staff complete mandatory training courses, there is still not enough focus on improving the quality of teaching. All the required policies and procedures are in place, including a complaints procedure. Self-evaluation is not effective and has failed to identify significant weaknesses in practice.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

The manager does not ensure that the key-person role is implemented effectively. They fail to ensure that children's level of development on entry is assessed, their progress monitored or that next steps in learning are routinely implemented by the child's key person. Information from children's assessment is not accurate and staff's knowledge of individual children is significantly hindered because they are not supported by the manager to spend enough time observing children to enable them to identify their level of achievement. Information gained from observations of children is passed to the manager who is responsible for updating individual progress records and identifying children's next steps in learning. This information is not used to plan activities with a clear learning intention that the staff understand. Therefore, although staff are generally enthusiastic, they continually miss opportunities to extend and build on children's

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

learning, and activities often lack challenge or do not capture the children's interest. In addition, the manager and staff do not adequately identify where children are not achieving at the typical levels for their age or how to support them. Where they have identified a delay, such as speech and language, support has not been sought from other relevant professionals in a timely manner. Older children's early literacy skills are appropriately supported by staff. Pre-school children enjoy turning the pages of a favourite book and enthusiastically point to the pictures as they tell the story. Babies and toddlers enjoy making sounds by banging stacking cups together and listening to staff sing nursery rhymes.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Babies and toddlers are not always adequately supervised to ensure their safety. Children are not always in sight or hearing of staff while they are sleeping. Although they are checked every 10 minutes by staff, staff have not considered that some children are capable of opening the stair gate and therefore leaving the room unsupervised during this time. New parents are asked to provide written information about their child's individual needs. However, the manager has not ensured that key persons have an adequate knowledge of this information, such as children's dietary requirements or any specific medical needs. As a result, children's safety and well-being are significantly compromised. Information sharing with parents, particularly about children's ongoing learning and development at nursery or at home, is poor. Staff do complete a daily information sheet, such as nappy changes and sleep times, but this is usually put into

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

the child's bag rather than discussed with parents. Children do not have regular access to the outdoors. This means that children who prefer to learn outside, and who frequently ask, do not have enough opportunities to enjoy fresh air and exercise, in order to fully promote their health and well-being. Staff build on children's independence by encouraging them to wash their own hands and help tidy up.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Children's learning is often incidental due to the weaknesses in the assessment process. Therefore, children do not make the progress they are capable of and gaps in achievements are not being sufficiently identified and narrowed. The activities and routines provided do not hold younger children's interest or engage them purposefully. That said, children are sociable and older children develop some skills needed for the eventual move to school, such as starting to write their name and confidently counting to 10.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY557211 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 10113721 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 - 13 Total number of places 33 Number of children on roll 37 Name of registered person Early - Stage Care Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01143276405

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reference number

Early Stage Care registered in 2018 and is located in Sheffield. The nursery employs seven members of childcare staff. Of these, three hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and one holds level 6. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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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reference number

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