Little Einsteins Childcare Services

Inspection of Little Einsteins Childcare Services Lake Forest House, Forest Road, Ilford, Essex IG6 3HJ

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Inadequate Leadership and management Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is inadequate

Children's welfare is not promoted adequately due to significant weaknesses in leadership and management. This has a negative impact on children's safety and the quality of their care and learning. Staff do not have a secure understanding of the setting's procedures for risk assessment and child protection. This means that children's safety and well-being are not assured. At times, staff fail to supervise children adequately or identify and manage hazards that can place children at risk of harm. Some staff fail to ensure that children's emotional needs are met. Children who are struggling to settle and showing distress are left to cry while staff concentrate on everyday tasks. This includes those children who are quiet and not demanding any attention. These children are often left for long periods without any staff interaction. Due to a lack of adequate staffing, key persons are unable to meet the individual needs of children. The curriculum is ambitious and there are

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The provision is inadequate

some good-quality resources. However, not all staff have the experience to be able to make the best use of the resources or put the ambitious plans into practice. Staff do not engage all children's sustained interest and participation. They do not build on children's existing abilities to help children reach their full potential. Staff do not demonstrate a good enough understanding of how children learn or how to support them. Poor teaching has a detrimental effect on the progress children make. The manager frequently has to intervene during activities to remind staff of their responsibilities. Most children separate easily from their parents and are happy when they arrive at the setting. They respond well to the familiar staff, who are friendly and welcoming as they arrive. Children are keen to talk about who their friends are and what they want to play with. Overall, parents provide positive comments about the setting. They particularly appreciate the flexibility of the

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The provision is inadequate

manager and their daily discussions with staff about their children's achievements.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and managers have received support from the local authority to develop practice. However, the impact of this is not yet evident in improving the quality of education and outcomes for children. The manager has not sustained sufficient improvement to address actions previously raised, and these weaknesses remain. n There have been significant changes in the staff team recently. Currently, the manager is taking the lead on several roles including as designated safeguarding lead, special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) and as a key person to several children. Although the manager shows that she has a realistic view of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision at times, she has not identified where requirements are not met. New staff have been appointed. However, the manager has not ensured that there is a balance of qualified staff with the appropriate experience, qualifications and support to fulfil specific roles. This

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need to do better?

27 February 2020 includes working as key persons to children, including those with additional needs. As a result, staff do not always encourage the children to build on their developing social, emotional and communication skills. n The manager does not ensure that all staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe. Staff do not consistently implement effective risk assessments. They do not identify potential risks to children as they climb on equipment, resulting in accidents. Some areas of the setting are not clean and hygienic, including the adults' toilets. n The manager has carried out some induction for newly appointed staff. However, the systems for monitoring staff performance are ineffective. This results in staff not having a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and over-reliance on the manager's direction at key times, including lunchtime when children are not supervised or supported

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need to do better?

appropriately. n The manager does not ensure that staffing arrangements meet the needs of all children. The deployment of staff is not effective across the nursery. Staff interactions are not consistently good enough to help children feel safe and secure. Some staff do not fully understand their buddy key-person responsibilities. For example, they carry out routine tasks in preference to caring for children who are showing signs of distress. This means that children's emotional needs are not met. n The manager and staff work together to plan for children's learning. However, they have not improved the quality of practice adequately to ensure all requirements are met. The manager is covering the role of SENCo but does not ensure that staff are able to fully support children's specific learning needs. Children with identified additional needs are often not receiving the adult interaction required to support them in their development. This has a significant

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need to do better?

impact on how children, and those with identified gaps in their communication and language skills, develop their speech and skills to manage their behaviour. n Some children show confidence as they talk to visitors at the setting. Older children enjoy listening to stories and creative activities linked to themes such as celebrating St Andrews Day. Children remain focused during story time and contribute to the questions asked by staff. They join in with simple actions while singing familiar songs. During an outing to the farm shop, children talk enthusiastically about their favourite vegetables and why these are good for you.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements are not robust, and risk assessments are not thorough. As a result, prompt action is not taken to minimise and remove all risks to children. Staff have recently completed child protection training and most have an adequate understanding of the procedures to follow should they have concerns about a child's welfare. However, managers who hold lead safeguarding roles have not followed their procedure, including for reporting concerns to the designated officer. This compromises children's safety.

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Due date

ensure that designated safeguarding officers and staff have a robust understanding of safeguarding procedures and that staff adhere to these procedures at all times 12/03/2020

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Due date

ensure that an effective key-person system is in place to provide a settled relationship for children and parents so that children's welfare, emotional development and individual learning needs are addressed effectively 12/03/2020

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Due date

improve knowledge of the SENCo role to ensure staff understand how to support children's additional needs and help them achieve to their full potential 12/03/2020

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Due date

ensure arrangements for staff supervision make sure that staff are clear about what is expected of them, and ensure this is sufficiently focused on monitoring and improving practice with children 12/03/2020

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Due date

ensure that staff use assessment effectively to recognise children's progress, understand their needs and to plan activities and support them in reaching their full potential 12/03/2020

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Due date

implement rigorous risk assessments to ensure that all activities are appropriately supervised and any potential hazards in the environment are identified and removed to maintain children's safety 12/03/2020

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Due date

27 February 2020 ensure that staff working with children are deployed effectively to meet children's care and learning needs and to promote their welfare fully 12/03/2020

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Due date

ensure there are appropriate arrangements and facilities for changing children's nappies 12/03/2020

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Due date

put an effective system in place to ensure that the premises are maintained to a suitable standard and comply with requirements of health and safety legislation. 12/03/2020

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Due date

improve the design of the curriculum to ensure its intent meets the needs of all children and prepares them for their next stage in learning 12/03/2020

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Due date

consider the individual needs, interests and stage of development of each child and use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for all children 12/03/2020

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Due date

improve the daily routine so that children's care and learning needs are given priority, and children are not left waiting for long periods without any purposeful activity or interaction. 12/03/2020

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2519906 Local authority Redbridge Inspection number 10145520 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

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inspection

Total number of places 41 Number of children on roll 42 Name of registered person Little Einsteins Childcare Services Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 07951605854 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Little Einsteins Nursery registered in 2019. It is in the London Borough of Redbridge. The nursery is open each weekday from 7am to 7pm all year round, except for bank holidays. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are seven members of staff who work with the children. Of these, four hold relevant early years qualifications at level 3.

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Inspection activities

n The inspectors observed the interactions between staff and children. n The inspectors had discussions with parents and took their views into account. n The inspectors had a tour of the nursery with the manager and discussed the organisation of the play areas and the purpose of activities. n The lead inspector accompanied the manager during the school run, and the deputy manager on an outing to the farm shop. n The manager completed joint observations with both inspectors. n The inspectors held a meeting with the owner/manager and sampled a range of documentation. n This inspection was conducted following Ofsted's risk assessment process.

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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

27 February 2020 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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