Lets Explore Day Nursery

Inspection of Lets Explore Day Nursery Lets Explore, 59-61 Brighton Road, Horley, Surrey RH6 7HJ

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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 are safe and happy at the nursery and, for the most part, enjoy their time exploring a range of well-planned activities. For example, babies confidently dig soil in the garden and two-year-olds explore making marks as they paint with toy cars. Pre-school children enjoy threading beads onto string and show secure hand-eye coordination. However, some group activities in the pre-school are not effective and do not meet children's learning needs. Also, changes of routine are not organised well in pre-school, meaning children miss valuable time to play and learn.

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The provision requires improvement

Children form positive bonds with staff and each other and build secure social skills. For example, babies enjoy reassuring cuddles with the attentive staff, and are keen to include them in their play. Older children play happily together and develop their imaginary play in groups, such as when looking after baby dolls and 'cooking' in the role-play kitchen.

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The provision requires improvement

Some children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not receive the support they need. They do not benefit from effective strategies to close gaps in their learning and do not make good levels of progress. Despite this, most children are supported well. Babies learn to walk from an early age and confidently manoeuvre challenging climbing equipment. Two-year-olds enjoy group singing sessions and older children recognise shapes well as they explore play dough.

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need to do better?

n The manager is well supported by her ambitious deputy, and together they have a positive vision for the nursery. They have systems in place to monitor and support staff's professional development and have identified some areas of weakness in the nursery. Staff practice has been impacted by increased absences due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the manager has not acted quickly or effectively enough to improve standards and ensure there is good practice across the nursery. n The manager and staff have a good overall understanding of their curriculum and what they want children to learn. They have a shared focus on communication and language development and most children are supported well. For example, staff model language clearly for babies and encourage interesting conversation with older children. However, some children with identified speech and language delay are not supported well. Staff do not have

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need to do better?

effective strategies in place and do not consistently model clear and simple language for those children with SEND. They do not meet children's additional needs well enough, which has an impact on their ability to catch up in their

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need to do better?

19 January 2022 learning. n Despite this, overall, staff plan well for most children's learning and use children's interests to make learning fun. For example, babies develop their physical skills as they use ride-on toys outdoors. Two-year-olds show care for others as they gently 'feed' baby dolls and put them to sleep. They talk confidently about their home experiences and show good communication for their age. Pre-school children enjoy listening to stories and show an interest in books and literacy. They count confidently past 10 and think of words beginning with the letters they see. n Overall, staff are positive role models and children learn to behave well and share. However, changes of routine are not organised well in the pre-school, which disrupts children's learning and affects their behaviour. For example, during the inspection, it took 15 minutes for staff to get children ready for the garden. During this time, children were not engaged in learning and got

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need to do better?

distracted because they were bored. For instance, some children wandered around the room making noises and stopped listening to staff, while others rolled around on the floor. n Parents are appreciative of the support they receive and feel well involved in their children's learning. They comment enthusiastically on the benefits of regular feedback on their children's development and support for home learning. n Staff do not organise some group times effectively and do not act quickly enough to identify issues that arise. For example, during the inspection, group time in the pre-school room lasted too long, with many of the children losing interest, focus and concentration. Staff did not adapt their teaching to keep children engaged or bring the activity to an end. Subsequently, some children did not participate in or benefit from the activity for long periods of time and their learning was not supported effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager and staff attend regular safeguarding training and work well as a team to keep children safe. Staff are regularly tested on their knowledge and confidently know how to recognise the signs that a child's welfare may be at risk, including from neglect and extremist views. There are effective procedures in place and staff know the actions to take, to report and escalate any such concerns if needed. The manager and staff work hard to ensure the environment is safe and secure for children and minimise risks vigilantly.

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Due date

19 January 2022 ensure all children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive the extra support and attention they need to help them to close the gaps in their learning 28/02/2022

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Due date

manage changes of routine effectively in the pre-school, to ensure children do not have to wait for unnecessarily long periods of time 28/02/2022

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Due date

improve the organisation of group activities in the pre-school to ensure children engage well and benefit from the learning opportunities 28/02/2022

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Due date

improve support for staff's professional development to act quickly and decisively on identified areas of weakness. 28/02/2022

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2547849 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 10215623 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 80 Number of children on roll 140 Name of registered person Lets Explore Day Nurseries Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 0330 055 3336 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Lets Explore Day Nursery registered in 2019. It is located in Horley, Surrey. The nursery operates from Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm, all year round. There are 19 staff members, 16 of whom hold relevant qualifications between level 2 and level 3. The nursery receives funding for the provision of early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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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 manager and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the setting. n The inspector carried out a learning walk with the manager to discuss the nursery's curriculum intent. n The views and opinions of the children, staff and parents were taken into account during the inspection. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities and jointly assessed the impact this has on children's learning and personal development with the manager. n The inspector looked at a sample of documentation, including staff suitability records and first-aid certificates.

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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 January 2022 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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