Brandon Preschool

Inspection of Brandon Preschool The Brandon Centre, Bury Road, Brandon, Suffolk IP27 0BQ

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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

Children do not experience broad and challenging opportunities to learn. When taking part in activities, they often do not benefit from adult support due to the poor deployment of staff. Children are left to play on their own and, although they are happy to move between activities, staff fail to provide suitable support to enhance their learning. Children show little focus or concentration and quickly disengage from activities. More skilled staff try hard as they move between different activities to engage children. However, they lack support from colleagues. There is little depth to children's learning as staff only briefly interact with them before moving on.

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The provision is inadequate

Children's learning needs are not met as staff do not know them well enough. Staff's expectations for children do not match their abilities. Older, more capable children are asked to make animal sounds when they recognise an animal in a picture, rather than staff extending their vocabulary. Staff question younger children about colour but do not give them the opportunity to respond.

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The provision is inadequate

Staff's lack of engagement with children means that sometimes, children disrupt their friends' play. Some children try to complete a floor puzzle outdoors while others ride over the puzzle on their scooters. Despite this, children are generally polite. They listen to staff and follow their instructions.

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need to do better?

n The culture of safeguarding in the pre-school is poor. Leaders do not ensure that all staff have a secure knowledge of safeguarding policies and procedures. While leaders do hold some discussions with staff about safeguarding, they do not act on any identified gaps in staff's knowledge or check to ensure they maintain their knowledge over time. Staff who are new to the pre-school do not have an induction or training in child protection. Leaders do not ensure they understand the pre-school's policies and procedures. This places children at risk of harm if staff need to act decisively on a safeguarding concern. n Leaders are unable to adequately maintain improvements that have previously been made. This demonstrates their poor capacity to improve. Despite being raised as an action at a previous Ofsted inspection, leaders do not ensure that effective arrangements continue to be in place for the effective supervision and

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need to do better?

support of staff. Poor staff practice is not acted on quickly enough. Staff do not receive accurate feedback about their performance and there are no plans in place to help staff to continually improve. Consequently, this has a negative impact on children's experiences and learning in the pre-school. n Children's key people do not all adequately fulfil their roles and responsibilities. They do not have an accurate overview of children's capabilities or have plans in

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need to do better?

10 September 2021 place to build on what children already know and can do. When changes are made to a child's key person, limited and sometimes inaccurate information is shared. This means that children's continued progress is disrupted and delayed. n Staff prepare a host of activities for children, including opportunities to engage in physical play outdoors. However, staff do not spend enough purposeful time with children supporting them to engage in activities in meaningful ways. This is because staff do not know children well enough or what they need to learn next. Consequently, children do not develop their concentration skills or ability to focus for extended periods. In addition, leaders do not target additional funding where it would have the most impact for children. Instead, it is used to upgrade and update resources with no consideration of the impact this will have on those children to whom additional funding is targeted.

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need to do better?

n The pre-school's policies and procedures are not fully implemented. Safeguarding policies and procedures are poorly understood by some staff. Leaders do not follow their own complaints policy. They do not keep relevant records of parent complaints to help them to reflect on provision and improve experiences for children. Weaknesses in provision are not quickly identified or addressed. n Parents comment positively about how their children settle into the pre-school. They are reassured by the exchange of information they have with staff, including prior to their children starting.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders do not ensure that all staff understand the pre-school's safeguarding policies and procedures. Some staff have a poor understanding of how to identify different areas of abuse or how to report concerns about adults who work with children. They lack knowledge of wider aspects of safeguarding that could have a negative impact on children's welfare. Leaders generally understand procedures they must follow to report concerns. However, in some situations, delays to reporting concerns may occur as they do not show how they would act quickly and decisively. This has a significant impact on children's safety and welfare. Despite this, leaders do follow safe recruitment procedures to ensure staff are suitable to work with children.

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Due date

10 September 2021 train all staff to understand and implement the safeguarding policy and procedures and ensure they have an up- to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues 24/09/2021

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Due date

put in place effective arrangements for the supervision of staff in order to promptly identify and act on weak practice and drive continued improvement 10/12/2021

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Due date

ensure all staff receive induction training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities and the pre-school's policies and procedures 08/10/2021

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Due date

implement an effective key-person system to ensure children's needs are met and learning is tailored to their needs 10/12/2021

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Due date

ensure all staff plan suitably meaningful and challenging experiences for all children, based on their individual needs and stages of development 10/12/2021

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Due date

implement a robust complaints policy and keep a written record of any complaints and their outcome. 24/09/2021

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Setting details

Unique reference number 251423 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 10198965 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 Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 57 Name of registered person Brandon Pre-School Playgroup Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01842 810913 Date of previous inspection 16 January 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Brandon Preschool registered in 1997. The setting employs 10 members of childcare staff, nine of whom hold relevant early years qualifications at level 2 or above. The setting opens from Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 8.30am until 11.30am and 12.30pm until 3.30pm. A lunch club operates from 11.30am until 12.30pm. A breakfast club operates from 8am until 8.30am. The setting 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 provider received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic on the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together. n Children spoke to the inspector about the activities they were engaged in. n The manager and the inspector jointly observed and evaluated a spontaneous activity. n Parents spoke to the inspector about their children's experiences at the setting and the information that staff share with them. n The manager, the provider's nominated individual and the inspector held a meeting together. The inspector looked at a sample of documents, including evidence of staff's suitability.

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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 September 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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