Catherine's Little Angels

Inspection of Catherine's Little Angels Ciaras Tots, 88 Carmoor Road, Manchester, Lancashire M13 0FB

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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

Following their return to nursery, after closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, children are experiencing changes in their care at the nursery. This includes changes in staff and in the organisation of their groups and playrooms. Babies are currently cared for in a smaller room than previously. This means they have limited space to explore and develop their physical skills. Two-year-olds are cared for in the pre-school room, where activities are often too challenging. This results in them often being disengaged. Likewise, pre-school children are unable to access toys with small pieces that provide them with additional challenge, due to the risk to toddlers who play alongside them. Children have experienced changes in their key person. Assessment arrangements have not been maintained for all children. At present, children are not experiencing a well-planned curriculum, which meets their individual learning needs.

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The provision is inadequate

Due to current instability within the staff team, children's safety is hindered. For example, on the day of the inspection, there were not enough staff working with the children. Furthermore, some of the staff were not qualified to meet children's needs and ensure their safety. Babies are cared for by adults who have not received specific training and who do not consistently implement measures to keep them safe, such as using safety harnesses fitted within highchairs. Children's safety is further hindered because staff overlook completing attendance records. Such records are essential in case of an emergency. Additionally, leaders sometimes do not carry out staff vetting robustly, to ensure the suitability of all adults before they start working with the children.

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The provision is inadequate

There are elements of positive practice. Staff are kind and caring towards all children. They value children's differences. Children seek out staff for cuddles and are confident to make their needs and wants known, such as requesting a drink. Staff give high priority to promoting positive relationships and behaviours. Children are learning some behaviours to help prepare them for school, such as to use their 'kind hands'. However, at times, they are overly directed, which limits their ability to become independent thinkers and learners.

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need to do better?

n Although the provider has sustained most of the improvements made following Ofsted's previous visit, other aspects of leadership and management have slipped. Leaders do not maintain a robust enough oversight to ensure that statutory requirements are consistently met. They do not implement some policies effectively. For example, leaders had not followed the nursery complaints procedure or kept a record of complaints made about the nursery. n Following the impact of COVID-19, leaders are finding it increasingly difficult to

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need to do better?

19 October 2021 maintain a stable staff team and to manage staff performance in an effective way. There is currently no deputy manager in post. Following periods of absence, and despite leaders obtaining online training packages, they have not ensured that all staff regularly refresh their knowledge and skills. Some performance concerns have not been resolved swiftly enough. Leaders are not maintaining quality. n Staff contingency arrangements are ineffective. During the inspection, due to unexpected staff absences, all children were grouped together in one room. The very small number of adults present were not able to meet the diverse needs of all children present. Babies and children who needed additional support were not engaged. Two-year-olds were unable to sustain the level of attention in adult-led activities planned for pre-school aged children. Children's care and learning was compromised. n Due to some staff absences, during the inspection there were no persons

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need to do better?

present who were qualified to administer first aid and respond to medical emergencies. This significantly compromises children's safety. A small number of staff have completed basic first-aid training and once identified during the inspection, the provider acted swiftly to ensure that staff receive full training within a short timescale. n The manager has not ensured that staff working with babies are trained to meet the specific needs of this age group. Additionally, unqualified staff are sometimes left alone with children. The curriculum for babies is not well planned. During the inspection, some babies looked for reassurance from adults they did not know. Babies frequently watched or wandered as other children participated in activities. n Although there are some long-standing staff, who know the children and families well, recent changes have affected the consistency of the key-person system. There is no transition between key persons to help ensure children's learning

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need to do better?

needs and next steps are fully understood. Additionally, the manager has not ensured that staff have completed the required progress check for children at age two years. This means that planned processes for the assessment of and planning for children's individual learning and development are not consistently effective. n Some aspects of partnership working are strong. Parents spoken with said they value the strong relationships with staff and the updates they receive about children's activities and what they are learning at nursery. The manager maintains strong links with other professionals to ensure that, when staffing allows, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities get the additional support they need. n There is evidence that staff deliver some aspects of the curriculum successfully. After identifying gaps in children's experiences following COVID-19, they provide increased opportunities for children to learn about their local community and the

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need to do better?

wider world. Staff make good use of books to help broaden children's vocabulary and make learning meaningful. Children recognise and name some of the 'people who help us'. They are developing a love of stories, inspiring an interest in reading. n Staff have high expectations, particularly for children's behaviour and self-care.

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need to do better?

19 October 2021 During many adult-led activities, staff encourage older children to think and respond. They encourage children to solve number problems and to build their skills in mathematics. For example, staff model counting in the right order. They encourage most-able children to think hard about the next number when one more is added. However, children receive limited opportunities to repeat, practise and reinforce their learning in independent play.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Recruitment procedures are not consistently robust. In an effort to quickly recruit staff, on occasion, leaders have allowed them to start their work with the children prior to full vetting procedures being carried out. When the numbers of staff caring for children are insufficient, planned safety measures are sometimes overlooked. For example, staff do not consistently secure the safety gates to prevent children leaving play areas unsupervised. Staff do understand their responsibilities relating to implementing general child protection procedures. They can identify potential concerns and fulfil their responsibilities to follow local safeguarding procedures. They know what to do to keep children safe in these circumstances. Child protection training has been appropriately prioritised.

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Due date

consistently implement effective procedures to ensure that practitioners, and any other person who may have regular contact with children are suitable 07/12/2021

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Due date

ensure all staff undertake appropriate training and professional development opportunities to ensure they offer quality learning and development experiences for children 07/12/2021

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Due date

ensure there is always at least one person who has a current paediatric first-aid certificate available when children are present on the premises or to accompany children on outings 07/12/2021

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Due date

19 October 2021 implement a consistent key-person system which is effective in providing a settled relationship for each child along with and care and learning which is tailored to meet their individual needs 07/12/2021

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Due date

ensure there is a named deputy who is capable and qualified to take charge in the manager's absence 07/12/2021

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Due date

ensure there are sufficient staff working directly with the children to meet their needs and ensure their safety at all times 07/12/2021

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Due date

ensure that at least half of all staff working with children aged under two years have received training that specifically addresses the care of babies 07/12/2021

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Due date

ensure all staff implement the measures in place to reduce potential risks to children, for example keeping safety gates closed and using the safety harnesses fitted in highchairs 07/12/2021

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Due date

implement the written procedure for dealing with concerns and complaints from parents and/or carers, and keep a written record of any complaints and their outcome 07/12/2021

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Due date

maintain an accurate record of the names of children on the premises, their hours of attendance and the names of the persons who looked after them 07/12/2021

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Due date

ensure the progress check for children aged two years is consistently carried out 07/12/2021

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Due date

plan a broad, balanced curriculum which helps all children in the nursery to develop the characteristics of effective learning 07/12/2021

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Due date

19 October 2021 implement robust monitoring of the quality of practice in the nursery to help identify areas for improvement and ensure all legal requirements are consistently met. 07/12/2021

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2546937 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 10206326 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 50 Number of children on roll 18 Name of registered person Complete Education Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 0161 248 5340 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Catherine's Little Angels registered in 2019. The nursery provider employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 6 and the large majority of all other staff hold an appropriate early years qualification at level 3. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round, except for public holidays and a week at Christmas. Sessions are from 7am until 6pm.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the setting received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the setting. n This was an unannounced inspection, carried out following the risk assessment process. n The inspector conducted a learning walk and discussed the curriculum with the manager. n The inspector spoke with the children, staff and a parent at appropriate times during the inspection. n The inspector checked relevant records. n Discussions were held with the provider's representative.

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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

19 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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