Little Learners Day Nursery

Inspection of Little Learners Day Nursery 46 Haling Park Road, South Croydon CR2 6NE

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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's safety and well-being are compromised at this nursery. This is due to the leaders', managers' and staff's poor knowledge and understanding of the requirements. Children come across safety hazards in the outdoor and indoor environment. The children in the baby room do not have adequate numbers of staff to supervise them during lunchtime.

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The provision is inadequate

Children receive inconsistent support from staff who have low expectations of what individual children can achieve. Staff do not plan for children's learning effectively. Many children, including those with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND), lack support with their communication and language development. As a result, gaps in their learning and development are widening, preventing them from making steady progress. Children who speak English as an additional language do not have opportunities to develop and use their home language in their play.

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The provision is inadequate

Most children are happy and settled. Children learn good manners from the kind staff and behave well. Children eagerly explore available resources and enjoy playing outdoors. They help staff to take care of the pets at the nursery, such as stick insects, fish and snails.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and managers do not evaluate their practice effectively to identify significant breaches to requirements. Leaders, managers and staff do not fulfil the requirements of their roles. Children are at risk of harm, as leaders fail to notice there is not enough staff to work with children and supervise them during mealtimes to ensure they are safe while eating. n Leaders, managers and staff are not vigilant enough to recognise hazards to children's safety or take steps to remove or minimise the risk. This includes tripping hazards in the area designated for the group to assemble in the event of an emergency and the use of inappropriate cutlery, at mealtimes, for the youngest children. In addition, staff do not recognise that stacking seven chairs on top of one another poses a risk to crawling babies or young children who are learning to walk. n Leaders and staff fail to record the administration of first-aid treatment following

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need to do better?

a serious incident. Although they inform parents about incidents involving children, full information is only verbally available to other professionals, including inspectors. This does not ensure safe management of the nursery and puts children at risk. n Staff who work directly with children encourage them to regularly wash their hands to prevent the spread of infections. However, some staff have poor knowledge of good hygiene practices and carry out different duties in the same

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need to do better?

14 October 2021 uniform. This poses risks of cross-contamination and cross-infection and does not promote children's good health. n Staff carry out required assessments of children's progress and share them with parents. However, some staff are unaware of how they can support their key children to make progress. Current supervision arrangements are not effective to help staff improve their skills. Leaders and managers do not provide specific support and development opportunities for individual staff to improve their practice. n Most staff are unclear what they intend individual children to learn from the activities they provide. Children enjoy taking part in activities if they get appropriate attention from staff. For example, during cooking activities, some children wait for a very long time before they are able to have a go at slicing vegetables. Staff tell children to put their hands on their laps and wait. When

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need to do better?

children finally get their turn, staff give them limited time to perform the tasks and children continue to crave attention. n Staff are unsure how to support individual children's communication and language development. Some staff miss opportunities to engage with children, question them to challenge their thinking or lead simple conversations. Other staff believe they can only support children's home language once children start talking. This means children miss opportunities to hear and use their home language in their play and learning. n Staff are unable to provide appropriate support to individual children to meet their learning needs or follow their interests and build on what children already know. Although some staff are able to identify that some children may need additional support, they do not communicate their concerns to relevant people or offer adequate support. Children, including funded children, those with SEND

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need to do better?

and those who speak English as an additional language, lack opportunities to make steady progress in their learning and development. n Children enjoy being active in their well-resourced outdoor area. For example, they build sandcastles, jump on the trampoline and enjoy their time spent in the sensory garden. Children naturally learn about the importance of being active. They are learning to take turns and be tolerant of each other's differences. For example, staff appropriately challenge any instances of stereotypical behaviour and support an ethos of equal opportunities. n Parents talk positively about the nursery and are happy with the level of information they receive about their child's day.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and managers fail to carry out their duties effectively and recognise the insufficient staff to child ratio in the baby room at lunch time. This means there is not enough staff to supervise children and keep them safe while eating. Leaders, managers and staff have poor knowledge of risk assessment and are unable to identify and minimise hazards to children's safety. This puts children at risk of harm. Children with SEND do not receive consistent and effective support to help

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Safeguarding

14 October 2021 them make the best possible progress. This has a significant impact on their care, learning and development. Some staff do not follow effective hygiene practices to minimise risks to children's health. Leaders and managers ensure that all staff have suitable knowledge of how to identify the signs that children might be at risk of harm, including if they are being influenced by extremist views. Staff know how to report such concerns to relevant agencies.

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Due date

ensure that all staff, including leaders and managers working with children are suitable to meet the requirements of their roles 28/10/2021

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Due date

ensure all staff receive effective and regular support, including supervision and opportunities for professional development to improve the quality of education for children 28/10/2021

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Due date

ensure there is an adequate number of staff in the baby room to attend to children and supervise them at all times, particularly at mealtimes 28/10/2021

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Due date

improve staff's knowledge of good hygiene practices and ensure these are followed consistently to reduce the risk of cross-infection and promote children's good health 28/10/2021

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Due date

ensure every first-aid treatment given to a child following an incident is recorded, and information is available to those who need to see it 28/10/2021

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Due date

improve risk assessment procedures to identify hazards and ensure staff and children are not exposed to risks within the environment 28/10/2021

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Due date

14 October 2021 ensure there are suitable arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and/ or disabilities in a timely manner, to help them make the best possible progress. 28/10/2021

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Due date

ensure that the curriculum is carefully planned and tailored to individual children's learning needs and implemented effectively to support their progress towards next stages in their learning and development 25/11/2021

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Due date

raise the quality of teaching and ensure all staff sufficiently support children's language and communication development 25/11/2021

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Due date

provide opportunities for children who speak English as an additional language to develop and use their home language in their play and learning. 25/11/2021

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY478271 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 10197570 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 58 Number of children on roll 99 Name of registered person JLB Childcare Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 02086497745 Date of previous inspection 25 October 2016

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Information about this early years setting

Little Learners Day Nursery initially registered in 1991 and re-registered at new premises in 2014. It is one of three settings operated by JLB Childcare Ltd. The nursery operates in the London Borough of Croydon. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.30pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. There are 18 staff. One staff holds qualified teacher status, fifteen staff hold appropriate qualifications at level 3 and one staff holds an appropriate level 2 qualification.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first inspection the setting received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the national manager and has taken this into account in their evaluation of the setting. n Parents shared their views with the inspector, about their children's time at the setting. n The area manager and the inspector observed an activity together and discussed the quality of education. n The inspector held discussions with staff during the inspection. n Children spoke to the inspector and introduced their friends. n The inspector observed children's play. n The inspector held meetings with the area manager. n The inspector observed supervision of children throughout the nursery. n The inspector viewed a range of 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

14 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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