The Little Lotus Nursery

Inspection of The Little Lotus Nursery Benwell Nature Park, Atkinson Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE4 8XT

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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The provision requires improvement

Children benefit from the cosy and caring environment in the setting. Staff form strong bonds with children in their care. Children enjoy the physical care and cuddles they receive from staff. For instance, children who are unsettled are quickly provided with hugs, reassurance and soothing words. As a result, children settle quickly and form secure relationships with their key person. This helps children to feel confident and happy. Children behave well and are polite. Staff act as positive role models. They provide guidance and effective strategies to help children to behave well and to support their well-being.

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The provision requires improvement

Although the enthusiastic manager has clear intentions for the curriculum, she has only been in post for a short time and has not had the opportunity to embed her vision. Children are not consistently provided with a curriculum that challenges and extends their learning. On occasions, staff do not build on children's interests or what children already know and can do. Staff provide children with some interesting activities. For example, children explore paint with a variety of tools, and enjoy using the sponges and cloths to wash the dolls in the water. However, staff do not consistently focus on teaching children in a planned and sequenced way. For example, during a planned activity, young children are asked to push buttons on an interactive toy in a specific order. Children quickly lose interest because the activity is too complicated for them.

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The provision requires improvement

Children enjoy their time at nursery. They settle happily with staff, who respond to their needs and keep them safe. Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, parents no longer come into the nursery. Despite this, children are confident to leave their parents at the gate.

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need to do better?

n Although staff assess children's development accurately, they do not consistently plan activities to help children to make the best possible progress. For instance, staff do not always implement what they want children to learn effectively. This means that children's learning is not promoted as effectively as possible. That said, staff provide children with some exciting activities and experiences. n Overall, staff work well with professionals and other settings that children attend. They share information about children when they move on to other settings, such as school. Staff speak to other settings on a daily basis to help to support the continuity of care and learning for children. However, at times, staff do not seek guidance from other agencies to provide support for children who need extra help with their speech and language development. n While partnerships with parents are positive, staff do not gather crucial

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need to do better?

information about what children know and can do when they first start at the

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need to do better?

8 October 2021 setting. This means that staff do not plan consistently for children's learning from the very beginning. That said, staff share information with parents to help them to understand how their children's learning can be further supported at home. Parents are very complimentary about the setting. They comment that staff are supportive towards the whole family and know their children very well. n The manager understands the importance of self-evaluation. She generally reviews the setting to help her to make improvements. The manager places a strong emphasis on staff's well-being. She meets with staff and provides supervisions sessions to make sure that all staff are well supported. However, staff do not attend specific professional development opportunities to raise the quality of their teaching further. n Children enjoy playing outdoors, which helps to support their physical development. They show increasing agility as they balance on wooden beams,

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need to do better?

and forage in the nature garden looking for leaves and conkers. Staff support children to develop their small-muscle skills as they manipulate dough and post small objects into slots. Children enjoy taking part in weekly yoga sessions, which helps to develop their balance and coordination. n Staff recognise the areas where children have gaps in their learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They focus on helping children to develop their social skills and independence. Staff are very caring, sensitive and nurturing. They quickly respond to children's needs. Staff give children gentle reminders, where necessary, and encourage them to use good manners. Children say 'please' and 'thank you' as they play. n Children are starting to develop important independence skills. They take off their shoes as they enter the setting, pour their own milk at snack time, and put on their own coats as they play outside. Staff remind children to wash their

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff place a high priority on keeping children safe. They are clear about the procedures to follow, should they have concerns about a child. This keeps children safe and supports their well-being. The manager uses robust procedures for the recruitment and induction of new staff to ensure that children are cared for by suitable people. All staff are aware of the procedures to follow should an allegation be made against a member of staff. Staff supervise children sufficiently to help keep them safe. They risk assess the setting to provide children with a safe and secure environment.

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should:

8 October 2021 n improve the planning of activities and ensure that learning intentions are appropriately targeted and implemented to enable all children to make consistently good progress n strengthen links with other professionals to provide the utmost support for children's learning n gather more detailed information from parents about what their child can do when they first start at the setting n target professional development opportunities to help raise the quality of teaching to a higher level.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY553761 Local authority Newcastle upon Tyne Inspection number 10174898 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 21 Number of children on roll 16 Name of registered person The Little Lotus Nursery

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reference number

Telephone number 07404651489 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

The Little Lotus Nursery registered in 2018. The nursery operates from the community room of West Newcastle Academy. The nursery employs four members of childcare staff. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The nursery opens during term time from 8.45am until 3.45pm on Monday to Thursday, and from 8.45am until 1pm on Friday. It 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 provider and has taken that into account in the evaluation of the setting. n Relevant documentation was checked and discussed, such as policies and procedures. The inspector discussed the setting's self-evaluation and checked evidence of staff's suitability. n Children and staff were spoken to throughout the inspection. n Parents' views were obtained. n The inspector carried out a learning walk with the nursery manager. They discussed the learning environment and how the curriculum is organised. n The inspector and the manager observed and evaluated an activity.

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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

8 October 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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