Secret Garden Day Nursery

Inspection of Secret Garden Day Nursery 50 Haughton Green, Darlington DL1 2DF

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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

Staff focus on supporting children and families to feel safe and happy in the nursery. They meet children's care needs effectively and provide a caring, nurturing environment. Babies settle in quickly and older children benefit from calm, quiet areas, which have a positive impact on their behaviour. Although the procedures for dropping-off and collecting children has changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents are still happy with the levels of communication they have with the staff team. Staff spend time outdoors talking to parents and families, which helps to promote continuity of care and build relationships.

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The provision requires improvement

Overall, children are engaged in activities that they enjoy. Staff provide a range of resources that they know children are interested in. This helps them to start to build on their concentration and some children make good progress. For example, older children thoroughly enjoy an activity to raise their awareness of the importance of good oral hygiene. They use good small-physical skills to colour 'plaque' onto teeth and show pride once they have 'brushed' this off. However, staff's teaching does not consistently support and challenge all children, and some have lower expectations, particularly for children's communication and language development.

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need to do better?

n Staff promote children's personal, social and emotional development well. They recognise the impact of the pandemic for some children and work hard to help them settle in and feel safe. Children have good relationships with staff and regularly ask them to join in with play. Staff gather information about children's routines when they start and use this information to meet their individual care needs. This has a positive impact on children's emotional well-being. n Children are keen to join in with activities and, at times, show good levels of concentration. For example, older children enjoy exploring slime independently in the tuff tray and others play imaginatively with characters in the doll's house. Babies use their hands to make marks in the paint tray and young children develop good physical skills outdoors. n The curriculum for children's personal, social and emotional development and physical development is good. However, experiences planned for children in

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need to do better?

other areas of learning are not focused sufficiently on children's developmental needs. Staff do not consistently identify what they want children to learn and do not challenge them well enough to promote their good progress. In particular, there are weaknesses in how children's communication and language skills are promoted throughout the nursery. Some staff have insufficient knowledge of how children acquire language and have low expectations for their learning. Despite staff recognising when some children have a delay in their speech, there

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need to do better?

22 November 2021 is not enough focus placed on skills, including developing key words. This means that, for some children, gaps are not closing swiftly enough to build firm foundations for the future. n Staff are good role models for children. They encourage good manners and teach children about making healthy choices. For example, older children learn about the importance of brushing their teeth and living a healthy lifestyle. Children have plenty of opportunities for exercise outdoors in the fresh air and large garden. Staff help them to take an active part in their self-care and build on their independence, such as putting on their coats and hats. Children's behaviour is good. They take turns and show kindness to each other. n Partnerships with parents and other professionals are positive. Staff work alongside the local authority officers to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, staff work on targeted plans to support

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need to do better?

children and follow advice from other professionals. Parents leave positive reviews for the staff and are very happy with how confident their children have become, and feel this has helped their transition to school. n The leadership team has focused on supporting staff, children and families throughout the pandemic. The manager knows each family exceptionally well and offers advice and guidance whenever it is needed. Staff benefit from regular team meetings and one-to-one supervision. However, monitoring of staff practice is not thorough enough to identify and address all weaknesses in teaching. This is affecting the nursery's ability to reach a good standard of quality, overall.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff prioritise children's safety. They are confident to identify, record and report concerns about children's welfare and know what to do if they have concerns about their colleagues. The manager provides staff with a clear policy and procedure to follow. They have access to regular child protection training, which helps them to maintain an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues, such as the impact of domestic violence and possible signs of exploitation. The provider and manager recruit staff safely and ensure they are suitable to work with children. For example, they complete enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks and validate references for applicants. During the pandemic, the manager completed specific risk assessments, which were shared with staff and parents. This helped to keep them safe.

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Due date

22 November 2021 implement a well-planned and sequenced curriculum, particularly for communication and language, ensuring staff have high expectations and provide challenging experiences that help children to make the best possible progress in their learning. 22/03/2022

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should:

n improve monitoring so that all weaknesses in teaching are swiftly addressed to raise the practice to a higher level.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY552521 Local authority Darlington Inspection number 10143609 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 40 Number of children on roll 71 Name of registered person Secret Garden (Darlington) Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01325464443 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Secret Garden Day Nursery registered in 2017 and is situated in Haughton Green in Darlington. The nursery employs 14 members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds early years professional status and two hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 6. The majority of the remaining staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.45am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children and wrap-around care for children who attend local schools.

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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 setting and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the setting. n The inspector observed the quality of education during activities indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n A joint observation was completed by the manager and inspector indoors during a planned activity. The inspector and manager made further observations outdoors and evaluated the impact of this on children's learning. n The inspector held a discussion with the manager and provider in relation to the leadership and management of the nursery. She looked at relevant documentation, such as evidence of recruitment and staff's qualifications and their suitability to work with children. She discussed children's learning and development with the staff team and nursery manager.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector spoke to parents, and the manager obtained written feedback for the inspection.

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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

22 November 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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