Small Talk Nurseries Ltd.

Inspection of Small Talk Nurseries Ltd. 85 Grove Lane, Handsworth, BIRMINGHAM B21 9HF

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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 Good

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The provision is inadequate

Significant weaknesses in leadership and management of the provision mean that children are not safe and their individual care and learning needs are not met. There are no key-person arrangements in place for children who are new to the setting. Children who are settling-in become upset. They do not benefit from having a named member of staff who can build a secure relationship with them. This does not support the emotional well-being of children.

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The provision is inadequate

Staff do not have high enough expectations for children's development. Staff assess and monitor children's progress. They identify significant gaps in learning for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, children do not get the help and support they need to ensure they receive targeted support for these gaps to be closed. This means that some children make poor progress in all areas of their learning.

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The provision is inadequate

Children develop friendships with each other. They readily engage with self-chosen play, selecting toys from the suitably resourced environment. The nursery does not have an outdoor area. Pre-school children have daily trips to the local park and toddlers are taken on walks to the local shops. However, babies do not always have the opportunity for daily outdoor activities. This means that not all children benefit from fresh air and exercise to promote their good health. Pre-school children are learning to take care of their own needs. They are encouraged to take care of their own toileting needs and put on their own coats before a trip to the local park.

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need to do better?

n The quality of education is poor. Staff do not use information they gather from their assessments and observations well enough to inform what they teach children. They are not always clear of the reasons why activities have been planned or fully understand what they want children to learn. This means that they are not able to offer children the support they need to make the expected progress in their learning. n Staff are not supported to plan purposeful activities that promote children's next steps in learning. They do not receive effective support, monitoring or coaching to help them to raise the quality of their teaching skills. n Leaders and managers fail to ensure that staff contact outside agencies at the earliest opportunity to ensure that children with SEND receive the help they need. This means that staff do not effectively support children according to their individual needs to help them make the progress they are capable of. Children

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need to do better?

are not well prepared for the next stage in their learning, or for their move to school.

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need to do better?

6 July 2021 n Staff do not use effective methods to help children to understand the rules of good behaviour. When children demonstrate unwanted behaviours, staff ask them to 'stop doing that', without providing any explanations. This does not help children to learn the reasons why certain behaviours are unacceptable. n Risk assessments are ineffective. Children's safety and welfare are compromised because there are significant dangers within the environment. Leaders and managers have not identified poor practice by staff. n Children are exposed to trailing wires and unstable shelving units in the rooms where they play. Children access the internet unsupervised. Staff allow children to run around while they are eating grapes. In addition to this, staff do not check that public outdoors areas used by children are safe and suitable before children are allowed to play there. This puts children at risk of harm.

p.2

need to do better?

n Hygiene practices do not ensure children's good heath is promoted. Babies are allowed to sit on the floor to eat their snack and toddler children eat from a shared plate. This does not prevent the spread of infection. The temperature within the children's rooms is not effectively monitored and maintained at a safe level. n Most children arrive happily and separate well from parents and carers. Parents say that their children enjoy attending the nursery. Some parents are happy with the nursery. However, others say they are unsure of their children's experiences at the nursery and are not sure of the plans for their child's future learning. This means that parents are not always able to continue to support their children's learning at home.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and managers do not have a good enough understanding of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. The provider has failed to share relevant information about staff's suitability with safeguarding agencies. They are unable to provide evidence that all suitability checks have been completed for all staff. Leaders and managers do not ensure staff have a good enough understanding of the setting's safeguarding procedures. Some staff lack knowledge of which external agencies they should contact to share concerns about staff's practice. This means that the staff team are unable to protect children from potential harm.

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Due date

6 July 2021 implement effective risk assessments to identify and remove all hazards to children's safety and welfare 26/07/2021

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Due date

train all staff to understand the safeguarding policy and procedures to ensure they are confident with the process to follow should they have concern about a member of staff's conduct 26/07/2021

p.4

Due date

ensure staff receive appropriate support, monitoring and coaching to raise the quality of teaching to at least a good level 26/07/2021

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Due date

ensure records are available to demonstrate staff's suitability has been checked 26/07/2021

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Due date

make sure that each child has a key person assigned to them to ensure their individual needs are met and to build relationships with parents or carers 26/07/2021

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Due date

implement good hygiene practices during snack time to ensue staff promote children's good health 26/07/2021

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Due date

ensure the temperature of children's rooms is monitored and maintained at a safe temperature 26/07/2021

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Due date

ensure babies have daily opportunities for planned outdoor activities 26/07/2021

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Due date

improve behaviour management strategies used by staff to help children to understand the reasons why some behaviours are not acceptable 26/07/2021

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Due date

improve information sharing with parents so that they receive detailed information about their child's care and learning. 26/07/2021

p.4

Due date

ensure children with SEND have effective plans in place to meet their individual learning and development needs 26/08/2021

p.5

Due date

ensure staff use information gathered from observations and assessments of children to inform them about what children need to learn next. 26/08/2021

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY390736 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 10201361 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 60 Number of children on roll 84 Name of registered person Small Talk Nurseries Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 0121 5543445 Date of previous inspection 10 May 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Small Talk Nurseries Ltd registered in 2010. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm, all year round, except for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. It also runs a before- and after-school club and a holiday club. The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications from level 2 to level 6. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the setting received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the setting and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the setting. n This inspection was carried out following the risk assessment process. n The inspector and the manager completed a learning walk to understand how the setting operates and how the curriculum is organised. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector spoke with staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection. She spoke to parents during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector met with managers and leaders. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the setting.

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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

6 July 2021 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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