Little Blessings Childcare And Education

Inspection of Little Blessings Childcare And Education 226 Brighton Road, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 6AH

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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 Inadequate

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The provision is inadequate

Children's health and well-being are significantly compromised. Staff use of risk assessment is ineffective. They do not recognise when the learning environment is too cluttered and how this poses a risk to children. Babies are observed trying to move around the room and needing to climb over resources and equipment that are unsteady. As a result, they lose their balance and fall.

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The provision is inadequate

Children's learning experiences are weak. There are numerous resources available to help staff enhance the activities they provide, yet staff do not use these. For example, as older children play in the mud kitchen, they do not benefit from staff using the resources intended to help them learn. In addition, staff lack sufficient understanding of children's individual learning needs. They do not have high enough expectations for what children can do. For instance, staff speak about what 'children of this age' should be learning, not what individual children are learning based on their unique needs.

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The provision is inadequate

Children do not have enough support for their behaviour, particularly those who have identified additional needs. Staff are aware of the strategies that support children, but they do not use them consistently.

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The provision is inadequate

Despite this, children and staff make positive relationships. Children settle well with staff when they come into the setting at the start of their session.

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need to do better?

n The provider has not made sufficient improvement since the last inspection. Significant weaknesses remain that compromise children's safety and welfare. n The provider does not ensure that the manager meets the responsibilities of their role. She does not support the staff team effectively and is unaware of the levels of poor practice within the setting. Supervision arrangements for staff are in place. However, they do not provide staff with the support, coaching and mentoring they need to promote the interests of children. n The manager does not deploy staff effectively. Staff in the baby room do not have a relevant childcare qualification, which has a significant impact on the quality of babies' learning and development opportunities. Staff who work alone are unable to supervise the group of children effectively when changing another child's nappy. Children climb up on equipment, lose their balance and fall. This

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need to do better?

places children at risk of injury. n Hygiene routines are inadequate. Staff do not clean babies' faces when their noses are running into their mouths. In the toddler room, the children's food for lunch is left on a low-level surface. Children return from the garden and take handfuls of food from the tray without washing their hands. Staff serve this food

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need to do better?

20 January 2022 for the children to eat. Furthermore, staff do not consistently wash their hands before serving children's meals. This significantly compromises children's health. n Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not receive enough support from staff. While the setting's lead for SEND understands the strategies needed to support children, these are not used. For instance, for children who require support when moving from one activity to the next, staff repeatedly shout their name and give numerous instructions. This causes high levels of emotional distress for the children. Staff do not use targets from specialist advisers effectively. As such, children with SEND do not have their needs met. n The curriculum for the setting is poorly designed and implemented. The manager discusses how staff support children's learning and development using knowledge of children's interests. However, this is not followed through into

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need to do better?

practice. In the garden area, staff provide activities where children can learn about animals and where they live. However, when children access the activity, staff focus on baking a cake using the animal habitats as ingredients. n The manager is aware of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's communication and language skills. She discussed training that staff have accessed to support this area of learning. However, she has not monitored the impact of this on staff practice effectively. Staff do not teach children the correct sounds that form words, to encourage their early literacy skills. They mispronounce some words, which does not teach the children how to say these correctly. n Staff do not make use of the learning environment available to them. Pre-school children spend their afternoon session all on the landing area. There is insufficient space for children to play and explore or move around safely. Babies

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need to do better?

are unable to navigate the room safely because there are too many large resources and pieces of equipment blocking their way. n Parents speak positively about the setting. They value the communication they receive from staff about their children's time in the setting.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff do not understand how their actions impact children's safety. For example, staff move a 'step' while children are standing on it to wash their hands. This causes children to lose their balance and places them at risk of injury. However, the manager and staff have a good understanding of when children may be at risk of or exposed to abuse. They know how to report these concerns appropriately. Systems for the safe recruitment of staff are in place.

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Due date

improve oversight of the setting to ensure that the manager meets the responsibilities of their role and that staff receive the support they need to improve their practice 07/02/2022

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Due date

ensure that staff supervision arrangements provide support, coaching and mentoring and promote the interests of children 07/02/2022

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Due date

improve staff deployment to ensure children's needs are met 07/02/2022

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Due date

improve the good health of all children attending the setting through consistent and effective hygiene practices 07/02/2022

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Due date

take all reasonable steps to ensure that staff and children are not exposed to risks 07/02/2022

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Due date

improve practice to ensure that the needs of children who require additional support are met. 07/02/2022

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Due date

ensure that staff consider the individual needs, interests and development of children so they are able to provide challenging and enjoyable experiences. 07/02/2022

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2515574 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 10205427 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 32 Name of registered person Peart, Sandra

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reference number

Telephone number 07890313020 Date of previous inspection 29 July 2021

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Information about this early years setting

Little Blessings Childcare And Education registered in 2019 and is located in the London Borough of Croydon. The nursery is open from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. There are eight staff members. Of these, one has a childcare qualification at level 6 and three staff members have childcare qualifications at level 3. The nursery provides funded early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together. n The inspector observed staff and children during their activities and spoke to staff at appropriate times. n Parents spoke to the inspector and shared their views. n A meeting took place between the inspector, the manager, the deputy manager and the director to discuss the leadership and management of the setting. n The inspector reviewed documents relevant to the inspection. n This inspection was carried out following Ofsted's risk assessment process.

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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

20 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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