Bonnie Bear Day Care

Inspection of Bonnie Bear Day Care 172 Rice Lane, Liverpool L9 1DG

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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

Despite the enthusiasm of leaders, some children's needs are not met at this newly developing nursery. While babies and pre-school children are settled and explore with increasing confidence, children in the toddler room do not enjoy the same quality of experiences. Children aged between 18 months and three years are cared for by staff who do not know them well enough. Too many children are unsettled and unstimulated. At times, there are not enough staff to sustain the level of reassurance that children need. Furthermore, they do not notice when children sit alone and are disengaged. The curriculum is poorly planned and, at times, children's safety is compromised. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not given the precise support they need to help them keep up with their peers.

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The provision is inadequate

The curriculum for children in the baby and pre-school rooms is clearer. In these rooms, children are mostly cared for by staff who know them well. Babies are given many valuable opportunities to develop their physical skills. They are keen to move and handle interesting items which staff provide for them to explore. Pre-school children develop positive attitudes learning. They are keen to be involved and have a go. These attitudes are essential for their future learning. Children are enthused by their key person, who provides rich and exciting opportunities for them to learn through their play. They feed their toy dinosaurs, making 'potions'. They use glitter, cut 'big' and 'small' pieces of lettuce with safety scissors and use their hand and finger muscles to attempt to snap carrots into shorter lengths.

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The provision is inadequate

All children started nursery following the start of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Many children leave their parents at the door without fuss. Their care needs are known and met, largely due to the friendly communication between staff and parents. Some infection control measures are in place and the premises are kept very clean. However, staff fail to do the basics, such as wiping children's runny noses, to help prevent the spread of infection.

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need to do better?

n A change in manager and vision has a negative impact on establishing a well- sequenced curriculum. While intentions for what babies need to know and do are well considered, their learning is not continued when they move through to the toddler room. Leaders have not supported staff to understand and deliver an effective curriculum. As a result, opportunities to support children's learning are too narrow to help them to make the progress they are capable of making. n The key-person system is not stable. On the day of this inspection, toddlers were mostly cared for by staff who were new to the children. Although staff knew the most essential information to ensure individual children's physical well-

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need to do better?

16 September 2021 being, they did not know how to meet children's individual learning needs. Staff were unable to provide some children with the emotional support they needed to help them feel safe. This inconsistency hinders children's personal, social and emotional development, which is crucial for them to lead happy, confident lives. n Leaders fail to manage the nursery with rigour. The provider sometimes relies on agency or volunteer staff to ensure required ratios are met. While all employed staff are suitably checked and inducted into their roles, additional helpers sometimes work with the children before their suitability checks are finalised. Leaders have not made sure that staff fully understand that helpers must not have any unsupervised contact with children until those checks are complete. This hinders children's safety. n Too often the manager is needed to work with the children. This means that she

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need to do better?

has insufficient time to focus on her management role. This affects her ability to monitor staff practice and improve the quality of children's care and education. Consequently, some unsafe practice is not identified and some required records, such as for complaints and two-year progress checks, have not been completed. n Leaders do not do enough to ensure that safety is given the utmost priority. For example, they have failed to identify and address the risks associated with the storage of toys in a corridor, which is a fire escape route. Additionally, they do not make sure that staff consistently offer direct supervision of children when using the nappy changing table. n Children with SEND do not receive the focused, individualised support they need to keep up with their learning. Leaders fail to plan effectively to meet the specific needs of each child. They do not do enough to liaise with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, who are involved in

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need to do better?

assessing children's needs. This means staff are not clear about ways to promote children's development. n Despite the poorly planned and implemented curriculum for toddlers, children who are settled in the pre-school room begin to know more and do more. Their consistent key person plans exciting activities which inspire them to become keen, interested learners. They are continuously engaged and play cooperatively with their small group of friends. n The curriculum for pre-school children's communication and language is strong. Staff focus on building children's vocabulary, adding interesting words to the narrative as they play. Children hear the member of staff talking about 'fossils', 'reptiles' and different 'species' as they play with the toy dinosaurs. Children also hear and say interesting words as they develop familiarity with favourite books that staff frequently read to them. n Leaders and staff build very friendly and trusting relationships with most

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need to do better?

parents. Staff make good use of communication tools to keep parents fully informed about their children's care and learning. Staff provide helpful guidance for parents of babies when needed. For example, they talk to parents about weaning, sleeping and promoting 'tummy time' to help babies' physical development. Parents of pre-school children are also encouraged to participate in home-based activities, to reinforce and extend children's learning further. Many parents comment on their children speaking and singing more since starting at the nursery.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Risk assessments are not rigorous enough. This leads to situations which hinder children's safety. For example, children aged under two years, who are based in the toddler room, play with toys and materials that are suitable for older children in the room. On occasion, staff do not notice when the youngest children put small play items into their mouths. Children are not taught well enough how to keep themselves safe. Staff are made aware of the nursery's procedures for child protection. They have a clear insight into the issues they need to know about to help them identify, help and manage the safety of the children and families they work with.

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Due date

ensure there are enough staff on duty who know the children well, and are able to meet their individual needs at all times 28/10/2021

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Due date

improve staff deployment to enable the manager to undertake her role effectively 28/10/2021

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Due date

establish a stable key-person system which allows all children to develop strong attachments with a member of staff who knows them well and ensures their individual needs are met 28/10/2021

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Due date

implement effective risk assessment which identifies potential hazards and ensures children's safety, including the risk of falls during nappy changing, their access to potential choking hazards and for clear emergency evacuation routes 28/10/2021

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Due date

keep a written record of all complaints and their outcome 28/10/2021

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Due date

16 September 2021 ensure adults whose suitability has not been checked do not have unsupervised access to children 17/09/2021

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Due date

ensure that there are suitable arrangements in place to meet the individual needs of children with SEND 28/10/2021

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Due date

ensure that a progress check is carried out for every child aged between two and three years 28/10/2021

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Due date

improve partnerships with other professionals involved in assessing children's development and use shared information to plan how to address any learning and development needs 28/10/2021

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Due date

establish a clear curriculum for children in the toddler room, so that they are provided with a broad range of well- sequenced opportunities which give them the right foundations for good future progress 28/10/2021

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Due date

support staff working with children in the toddler room to understand how to implement a curriculum which supports children to be involved, stay engaged and develop keen attitudes to learning 28/10/2021

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Due date

ensure staff give higher priority to preventing the spread of infection and helping children learn how to practice good personal hygiene, including keeping their runny noses clean. 28/10/2021

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2619438 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 10206325 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 39 Number of children on roll 68 Name of registered person Bonnie Bear Day Care Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 07501842634 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Bonnie Bear Day Care registered in 2021. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks per year. Sessions are from 7 am to 6pm. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff, almost all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at a minimum of level 3. The manager is qualified at degree level. The nursery provides funded 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 Ofsted's risk assessment process. n The inspector observed the quality of education and the impact this has on children's learning. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk around the nursery. n The inspector spoke to children, parents and staff. n The inspector checked relevant records, including evidence of the suitability of staff working with children.

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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

16 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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