Brighter Beginnings Day Nursery Limited

Brighter Beginnings Day Nursery Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Ken Fisher, Ofsted Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: Ace Mill Gorse Street Chadderton Oldham Greater Manchester OL9 9RJ Monitoring visit: Brighter Beginnings Day Nursery Limited, 20–21 November 2019

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Context and focus of visit

From October 2018, Ofsted undertook to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of apprenticeship training provision which began to be funded from April 2017 or after by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and/or the apprenticeship levy. This monitoring visit was undertaken as part of those arrangements and as outlined in the ‘Further education and skills inspection handbook’, especially the sections entitled ‘Monitoring visits’ and ‘Monitoring visits to providers that are newly directly publicly funded’. The focus of these visits is on the themes set out below.

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Context and focus of visit

Brighter Beginnings Day Nursery Limited (BB) received its ESFA apprenticeship contract in January 2018. The company started to deliver its own apprenticeships in February 2018. Previously, BB delivered apprenticeships, as a subcontractor, for another training provider. Currently, 113 apprentices are on directly delivered programmes. Of these, 109 apprentices are on apprenticeship frameworks and four are on the recently introduced apprenticeship standards. Thirty-seven apprentices are studying children and young people’s workforce at level 2 and 76 are studying early years educator at level 3.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers ensure that the curriculum offer is highly relevant to apprentices working in early years settings. Apprentices develop substantial new vocational knowledge, skills, understanding and behaviours. For example, they learn how to develop and adapt activities to meet the needs of individual children.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers ensure that they fulfil the principles and requirements of an apprenticeship. Apprentices receive their full entitlement to off-the-job learning.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have developed close working partnerships with nursery staff. They ensure that nursery staff are familiar with apprenticeship requirements and developments such as the recently introduced new standards for early years educators. The standards-based apprentices have a good awareness of end-point assessment requirements.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers check apprentices’ progress systematically. They have good knowledge of which apprentices do not make the required progress and the underlying reasons. They intervene immediately and ensure that apprentices reverse Monitoring visit: Brighter Beginnings Day Nursery Limited, 20–21 November 2019 any ‘slippage’. Managers give good support to apprentices when needed, for example to those who have long-term health issues.

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Reasonable progress

Managers focus appropriately on functional skills training to enable apprentices to gain the required qualifications. Leaders and managers have made good arrangements to replace functional skills tuition in the evening with daytime classes. However, they do not ensure that apprentices who have the required functional skills qualifications receive enough support to develop their English and mathematics further.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the provision. They check the relevance and quality of the apprenticeship provision with the help of an external nursery owner. They recognise the need for more external scrutiny and have appointed another governor very recently with the required knowledge and experience.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have implemented a range of appropriate internal quality assurance and improvement measures. However, the self-assessment report is insufficiently judgemental and concise.

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Reasonable progress

Managers and learning facilitators design and implement good on- and off-the-job learning programmes. Employers benefit greatly from the contributions that apprentices make to their nurseries.

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Reasonable progress

Learning facilitators use good learning resources and provide helpful feedback to apprentices. As a result, apprentices develop the knowledge, skills, understanding and behaviours they need to work effectively with young children.

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Reasonable progress

Learning facilitators check apprentices’ understanding carefully before moving on. When apprentices do not understand particular concepts, for example in mathematics, learning facilitators give them additional tasks to consolidate their learning.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices enjoy their learning. They work enthusiastically in lessons and when learning individually. Apprentices learn successfully because of the tuition and support they receive from knowledgeable, skilled and experienced learning facilitators.

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Reasonable progress

Most apprentices produce written work of the required standard. However, in a few instances it is not always clear that they complete all the work set and acknowledge their information sources. Monitoring visit: Brighter Beginnings Day Nursery Limited, 20–21 November 2019 Most apprentices can explain clearly the knowledge and skills they have developed and their relevance to early years care. For example, they understand infants’ developmental stages and how play supports cognitive development. However, apprentices only have short-term targets linked to individual units. They are not clear about their longer-term targets that show overall development.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices have a good understanding of British values and life in modern Britain. They apply these values to their work with children, for example by encouraging turn-taking and listening to others. However, they do not apply English and mathematics enough in their work with young children.

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Reasonable progress

Learning facilitators assess apprentices’ starting points appropriately. However, it is not always clear how they use the results to plan individual learning or how they check the currency of apprentices’ prior learning. Consequently, a minority of apprentices do not make the progress of which they are capable.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers place a high priority on safeguarding. They have a comprehensive range of safeguarding and safeguarding-related policies and procedures. They implement these appropriately, when needed, to protect apprentices and staff.

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Reasonable progress

The designated safeguarding officer (DSO) and deputy DSO are suitably trained and experienced. They follow up all cases promptly and efficiently. Although they track them until they reach a satisfactory conclusion, occasionally the records are not updated frequently enough.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers make appropriate background checks when they appoint staff and select apprentices. Nursery staff receive appropriate training. They have good experience of safeguarding the children in their care.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices have a good understanding of the importance of safeguarding in nurseries and the signs of abuse. However, their knowledge of how to safeguard themselves when not in the nursery is incomplete. A minority of apprentices have only a basic knowledge about the ‘Prevent’ duty and its implications. Monitoring visit: Brighter Beginnings Day Nursery Limited, 20–21 November 2019 regulates and inspects to 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 children looked after, safeguarding

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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