Willowdene Nursery School

Inspection of Willowdene Nursery School 42 Reading Road, Chineham, BASINGSTOKE, Hampshire RG24 8LT

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Inadequate Leadership and management Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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The provision is inadequate

Significant weaknesses in staff's knowledge of how to protect children from risk of harm compromise children's safety. Leaders who hold responsibility for sharing information and liaising with safeguarding agencies fail to fulfil their roles sufficiently. Despite these serious weaknesses, staff support children's learning well. They provide effective interventions for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), supporting their successful start in readiness for their move to the next stage of their education. Staff promote a curriculum that motivates children to learn and that helps children fulfil their individual learning potential. Pre-school children use technology with increasing skill, for example tracing letters expertly on the interactive whiteboard. They work together to wrap festive parcels, cutting carefully with scissors. Children show persistence and teamwork as they estimate the amount of paper and tape they need to cover their

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The provision is inadequate

presents. They excitedly place them under the tree for their friends. Babies express their creativity as they make handprints in paint and marvel at the patterns they make. However, despite the strong foundation for children's emotional well-being and good support for their behaviour, these are undermined by the weaknesses in safeguarding. Children's personal development and well-being cannot be assured.

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need to do better?

n Self-evaluation and monitoring of the provision overall are ineffective and do not ensure children's safety. The provider fails to oversee the role of the designated safeguarding lead effectively or monitor staff's implementation of the nursery's safeguarding policy. Staff do not act quickly, or efficiently, when a concern arises. They place children at continued risk of harm. n The provider has taken successful steps to develop the learning spaces and children's access to resources, since the last inspection. Children benefit from an interesting selection of resources that spark their curiosity and imagination to learn, both inside and outdoors. However, as children eagerly use these, staff's teaching does not always focus precisely enough on extending children's learning so that they are able to achieve their individual targets for learning quickly enough. n Staff accurately assess and successfully plan for children's individual learning

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need to do better?

needs. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) uses her specialist training and teaching well to plan precisely for the needs of children who need further support. For example, children develop confidence in speaking during group times and learn to manage their feelings better in new social situations through sensitive confidence-building activities. n Staff across the nursery provide a firm foundation for children's communication. Babies enjoy animated song times as they sing along to favourite rhymes. Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, quickly

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need to do better?

10 December 2019 learn new words alongside their home languages and become confident talkers. Toddlers show a love of reading and snuggle up with staff to read their favourite books, chanting along to popular phrases. n Partnerships with parents are effective and promote information sharing that builds on what children enjoy and need to do next. Staff create a range of exciting opportunities for parents to support children's learning further, including literacy, to provide consistency for their learning. For example, the creation of home activity bags allows parents to talk about celebrations, such as Hanukkah, during craft activities with their children at home. n Children benefit from interesting activities in their local community which extend their knowledge of the life outside the nursery and home. For example, older children enjoy a game of skittles and make crafts with local pensioners. They enjoy nutritious meals at nursery and have good opportunities to be physically

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need to do better?

active. Children have suitable access to drinks in the day. n The provider manages staff's well-being and workload effectively. Staff report that they feel valued and speak positively about their access to ongoing support, including for their mental health. Supervision opportunities, training and regular staff meetings ensure staff discuss matters that affect children's learning. However, this support is not effective when it comes to safeguarding matters. n Staff's failure to act to safeguard children means babies and older children experience a false sense of security in the nursery, despite showing they feel settled and happy. Children's 'voices' are not heard or acted on when they share concerns with the adults who they trust and confide in. This compromises children's emotional well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

The provider does not create a safeguarding culture in the nursery that allows for robust record keeping, early identification and timely referral of safeguarding concerns. Safeguarding leads inaccurately give advice to staff; adopting a 'wait and see' approach rather than taking swift action when concerns arise. Information sharing with schools and safeguarding professionals is ineffective. The level of information supplied is of poor quality and is shared by staff who minimise the seriousness of the concerns through their failure to recognise fully what these signs and symptoms mean. Suitable procedures are in place for the recruitment of staff and to ensure their ongoing suitability. The provider addresses any complaints, as required.

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Due date

ensure that the designated safeguarding lead understands their responsibility and is capable of fulfilling the role, to enable them to give effective support, advice and guidance to other staff so that any concerns about children are swiftly identified and acted upon 09/01/2020

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Due date

train all staff to understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, to ensure they have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues, including being alert to concerns in a child's life and when to escalate concerns they have about children 09/01/2020

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Due date

ensure staff have regard to 'Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018' and notify those agencies with statutory responsibility about concerns for children's safety without delay 09/01/2020

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Due date

maintain robust records and obtain and share information with other professionals working with children, including social services and local schools as appropriate, to ensure the needs of all children are met and their safety is assured. 09/01/2020

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should:

n strengthen teaching to help staff make best use of activities to extend and challenge the learning for children further.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 507837 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10108509 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 0 to 4 Total number of places 45 Number of children on roll 53 Name of registered person Hargraves, Marilyn

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reference number

Telephone number 01256 324191 Date of previous inspection 14 January 2015

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Information about this early years setting

Willowdene Nursery School registered in 1990. It is located in the Chineham area of Basingstoke, Hampshire. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. It is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three, and four years. The nursery employs 18 members of staff. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications, including one member of staff who holds qualified teacher status.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector completed a learning walk with the deputy manager. She discussed the learning intentions of the activities and resources provided. n The inspector met with the deputy managers to discuss the leadership and management of the nursery, in the absence of the manager/provider, who was on holiday when the inspection took place. n The safeguarding policy and procedures were discussed with staff, the deputy managers and the designated safeguarding lead. A sample of records was reviewed at this time. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the deputy manager of an activity in the toddlers' room. n Activities were observed in all three rooms of the nursery and in the outside areas, and discussed with staff. The inspector talked to the SENCo in order to evaluate the quality of provision for children with SEND. n The inspector spoke to parents, staff and children to gather their views. She also

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Inspection activities

took into consideration parents' written views.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

10 December 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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