Fairytales Nursery

Inspection of Fairytales Nursery 6 Birmingham Road, Great Barr, BIRMINGHAM B43 6NR

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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 are not safeguarded in the nursery because staff and managers are not alert to risks associated with equipment. This is particularly in relation to some equipment used by the youngest children. Furthermore, the supervision of the youngest children is not robust at all times to minimise the risks of children having accidents.

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The provision is inadequate

Children are not provided with high-quality learning experiences as staff lack knowledge about the areas of learning they teach. For example, older children take part in an activity to learn how to make cakes independently. However, they are only provided with flour, sugar, water and food colouring. They do not learn how to measure the ingredients and staff do not teach children what ingredients are required to make a cake. As children finish their creations, they proudly ask to, 'put it in the oven so it will rise'. However, staff ignore these requests from children and tell them the cakes are only pretend. This means that children do not learn the intended knowledge from the activity and are not able to make connections about cause and effect or see the activity through to the required conclusion.

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The provision is inadequate

Children aged two and three, and particularly those where developmental concerns have been identified by staff, do not receive enough support. Staff do not know enough about their needs or interests to help engage them in meaningful play. Consequently, some children become bored and wander around aimlessly.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and managers do not have a good enough understanding of the requirements of the 'Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage'. The provider has failed to notify Ofsted of information relating to significant events that have occurred since the last inspection and which may affect the suitability of persons providing childcare. There are several other breaches to requirements which impact on the safeguarding and care of children and the education that they receive. n The provider has failed to follow safer recruitment procedures when employing staff in order to assess the suitability of persons having regular contact with children. This means that children are not fully safeguarded. n The arrangements for the monitoring and supervision of staff are not effective. The quality of education that children receive is poor. Leaders and managers have not identified weaknesses in staff practice to enable them to significantly

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need to do better?

raise the quality of teaching and ensure the interests of all children are met. n Leaders and managers do not have a clear enough understanding of risk assessment to keep children safe. Leaders and managers have failed to identify the risks associated with equipment that contributed to the injury of a child and

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need to do better?

23 August 2021 have not taken any action to remove or minimise these risks. Consequently, children's safety is not assured. In addition, there are times when children are not adequately supervised. There have been a number of incidents where the safety of children has been jeopardised. n Managers have designed an ambitious curriculum which intends to support children's independence in preparation for the next stage in their learning. However, this is not closely monitored and is not embedded because the expectations staff have of children vary greatly. The expectations of staff working with the younger children are often too high. Babies are encouraged to drink from open-top cups and try to pour their own drinks, even though they have no concept of this skill or the expectation required of them. In the room for two- to three-year-olds, staff leave children to try cutting up their own food. However, they do not provide support for children who cannot do this. The

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need to do better?

expectations for the oldest children are too low. Staff peel and cut fruit for them at snack time and do not encourage them to try to do it for themselves. Older children are not provided with enough opportunities to learn skills to prepare them for the next stage in their learning. n The key-person system is not effective because staff do not know children well enough. They do not know about their interests and, therefore, struggle to engage children in meaningful play and experiences. Although staff obtain detailed information from parents about children's development, they do not use this in a timely way to provide children with exciting experiences to help them settle in. Despite this, parents comment positively about the nursery. They praise the support and communication they receive from staff. n The quality of teaching is weak. Staff do not recognise how to build on what children know and can do. For example, staff provide an activity for older

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need to do better?

children to learn about two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. However, during the activity, they fail to teach children about shapes and, as a result, children quickly lose focus. Consequently, children do not make the intended progress in their mathematical development. n Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are not well enough supported. Key persons do not know enough about their development or any support they may have in place from other professionals. Targets are in place for children where developmental concerns have been identified by staff. However, these are not appropriate because they are aimed at too high a level and are not achievable based on the children's current stages of development. This means that children are not supported to make the best possible progress in their development. n Although children generally behave well, at times, they become bored and

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need to do better?

disruptive due to the lack of enjoyable and challenging activities. However, staff encourage children to resolve conflict when they do not want to share resources. Staff work with parents to put strategies into place for children who require extra support to manage their behaviour. This helps children to learn boundaries and expectations. n Managers do not ensure that accident records are sufficiently detailed. Some accident records do not clearly explain the circumstances of the accident. This impacts on the safe and efficient management of the nursery.

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need to do better?

23 August 2021 n Staff do not implement good hygiene practices. At snack time, children sometimes eat food directly off the table as staff do not encourage them to use plates. Furthermore, they do not encourage children to wash their hands before taking part in a cooking activity where they lick their fingers to taste the ingredients.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

The provider has failed to ensure that robust recruitment procedures are followed to assess the suitability of staff working with children. Risk assessment is not effective because children are able to access equipment that may not be suitable for their age or stage of development. Nevertheless, the nursery has an appropriate child protection procedure in place which is in line with local guidance. Staff and managers are able to identify signs of possible abuse, neglect and wider safeguarding issues. They understand their duty to report information of a safeguarding nature to other professionals in a timely manner.

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Due date

implement effective systems to ensure that practitioners, and any other person who is likely to have regular contact with children, are suitable 13/09/2021

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Due date

ensure that risk assessment is effective so that all risks to children's safety are identified and action is taken to remove or minimise any risks and hazards in a timely manner 13/09/2021

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Due date

improve the deployment of staff to ensure that children are supervised effectively at all times 13/09/2021

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Due date

improve the key-person system so that staff provide tailored care and learning that meets each child's individual needs 13/09/2021

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Due date

23 August 2021 use the information gained from parents to support children to settle quickly and ensure that the needs of all children are met 13/09/2021

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Due date

ensure that there are arrangements in place to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and children where staff have identified developmental concerns 13/09/2021

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Due date

improve the arrangements for the supervision and monitoring of staff practice to help them fully understand their roles and responsibilities and offer quality learning and development opportunities for children 13/09/2021

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Due date

ensure that all information and records are clear and sufficiently detailed, with particular regard to accident records 13/09/2021

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Due date

ensure that children's good hygiene is promoted at all times, with specific regard to handwashing and the serving of food. 13/09/2021

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Due date

ensure that children are provided with consistently high-quality, enjoyable and challenging experiences that help them make progress in all of the areas of learning and development 28/09/2021

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Due date

ensure that leaders and managers have sufficient oversight of the educational programmes so that children benefit from an ambitious curriculum and meaningful activities and experiences across the seven areas of learning. 28/09/2021

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY431536 Local authority Sandwell Inspection number 10204970 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 52 Number of children on roll 95 Name of registered person Fairytales Nursery Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01217131663 Date of previous inspection 27 June 2017

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Information about this early years setting

Fairytales Nursery registered in 2011. The nursery is located in Great Barr. The nursery operates Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6.30pm, all year round. There are 24 members of childcare staff employed. Of these, 23 hold appropriate qualifications at level 2 or above. 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 We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about this provider. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk to gather information about how the provision and curriculum are organised. n The manager and the inspector carried out a joint observation to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching. n Parents and children spoke to the inspector and gave their views of the nursery. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching indoors and outdoors to assess the impact of this on children's learning. n The inspector held meetings with the manager, nominated individual and a registered person from the organisation and looked at relevant documentation

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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

23 August 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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