Alphabets @ Frankley

Inspection of Alphabet @ Holly Hill Frankly Plus Childrens Centre, New Street, Rubery, Rednal, Birmingham B45 0EU

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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 are not safeguarded because staff do not have a sufficient knowledge and understanding of the procedures in place to identify and respond to child protection concerns. Managers do not have a good enough understanding of the vetting checks that need to be completed to fully assess staff's suitability to work with children.

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The provision is inadequate

The quality of education that children receive is poor. Recent changes in staffing mean that they do not know enough about children's individual interests, needs and stages of development. As a result, staff do not provide children with sufficiently challenging and enjoyable activities and experiences. Children become bored and show challenging behaviour because staff do not motivate them to learn. Staff plan and provide some group time sessions. For example, they carry out a music and movement session. However, this does not ignite children's interest and many do not participate and they wander away from the activity. Story time is not used well because there are too many interruptions of children arriving and leaving at this time. This means that children struggle to concentrate and become distracted. Staff do not finish the book and end this session once the changeover of children has been completed, meaning children do not get to find

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need to do better?

n Managers do not use self-evaluation effectively to ensure that they meet the requirements set out within the 'Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage'. While they have addressed some of the weaknesses identified at the last inspection, there are still breaches to these requirements. Consequently, the quality of care and education that children receive is inadequate. n Staff do not fully understand their role and responsibilities to safeguard children. They do not have an up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues to identify signs of possible abuse or neglect. Staff do not understand the procedures to follow to report any concerns they may have about children or the conduct of other staff members to the correct agencies. This means that children are not properly safeguarded. n Managers have made some changes to their safer recruitment process since the last inspection. However, they do not fully understand the procedures to

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need to do better?

complete vetting checks for all staff. They do not obtain accurate information about staff's criminal records checks or obtain additional information about staff who have lived or worked abroad. This means that managers may not have all necessary information to make an informed decision about their suitability to work with children to keep them safe.

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need to do better?

11 March 2022 n Key-person systems are not effective. There has been a recent change in staff. Managers have failed to ensure that there has been effective communication between key persons during this transition. As a result, key persons do not know enough about children's interests, needs and stages of development to provide tailored care and learning that meets their individual needs. n Managers have recently reviewed how they intend to assess children's development. However, their plans for this have not yet been implemented. Staff have not completed the statutory progress check at age two for all children. This means that they may not identify any delays in children's development or provide the support children may need at the earliest opportunity, in order to support their learning. n The use of planning is ineffective because staff lack knowledge about children. They do not provide enough experiences that meet children's needs. As a result,

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need to do better?

the progress that children are supported to make in their learning and development is poor. n Staff do not support children to develop a positive attitude towards their learning. The activities that staff provide do not engage children. As a result, children do not behave well. Strategies that staff use to manage their behaviour do not help children to understand their expectations. Staff frequently use physical intervention when it is not necessary to manage children's behaviour. This impacts on children's safety and their personal, social and emotional development. n Managers have plans in place to improve the monitoring of staff practice and provide staff with training. However, this is not yet embedded. The current arrangements for the monitoring of teaching and practice are not effective. The manager does not identify weaknesses and, therefore, does not address these to raise the quality of the provision for children.

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need to do better?

n Staff and managers have improved practises to promote children's health. Children are supported to learn hygiene routines as staff help them to wash their hands before snack and mealtimes. Children enjoy nutritious and healthy meals, such as lasagne with vegetables. n Parents comment positively about their child's experiences. They welcome the support and guidance that staff provide to support their child with toilet training. Parents say that they feel well informed about any changes in the nursery.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Training that is provided to staff does not help them to fully understand safeguarding policies and procedures. Staff lack knowledge about safeguarding issues and do not have a good enough understanding of signs that could indicate a child is at risk of abuse or neglect. They do not know how to report child protection concerns in line with the guidance and procedures of the local safeguarding partners. Staff also lack knowledge about how to report concerns relating to the behaviour and conduct of other members of staff. Recruitment procedures are not rigorous enough to fully assess the suitability of staff working with children. Despite

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Safeguarding

11 March 2022 this, staff and managers use risk assessment effectively to identify and respond to risks or hazards in the environment.

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Due date

ensure that all staff have an up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues in order to identify signs of possible abuse and neglect and respond in a timely and appropriate way, in line with the guidance and procedures of the relevant local safeguarding partners 31/03/2022

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Due date

ensure that all staff understand the procedures to follow if they have concerns about the conduct or behaviour displayed by other members of staff, including the guidance and procedures of the relevant local safeguarding partners 31/03/2022

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Due date

improve strategies for managing children's behaviour, so that children receive consistent messages about staff's expectations 31/03/2022

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Due date

ensure that staff manage children's behaviour in an appropriate way and that physical intervention is only used if absolutely necessary or to avert immediate danger 31/03/2022

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Due date

improve the arrangements for the supervision and monitoring of staff, so that it successfully identifies and addresses weaknesses in teaching and practice and helps staff to fully understand all aspects of their role and responsibilities 31/03/2022

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Due date

11 March 2022 ensure that the key-person system is effective in providing children with tailored care and education that meets their individual needs 31/03/2022

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Due date

ensure that an enhanced criminal records check is obtained for every person who works with children and that an additional criminal records check is made for anyone who has lived or worked abroad. 31/03/2022

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Due date

complete a progress check at age two for all children, so that parents are provided with a written summary of their child's development, which identifies any developmental delays and the strategies adopted to address these 15/04/2022

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Due date

improve the use of planning, so that children consistently receive enjoyable and challenging experiences, which take account of their individual stages of development, interests and needs. 15/04/2022

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY339956 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 10229305 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 54 Number of children on roll 32 Name of registered person Longbridge Childcare Strategy Group

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reference number

Telephone number 0121 675 8355 Date of previous inspection 24 November 2021

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Information about this early years setting

Alphabet @ Holly Hill registered in 2006. It is one of three childcare settings operated by the Longbridge Childcare Strategy Group. There are six members of childcare staff employed. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are 8am until 3pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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 We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider. n The manager and inspector completed a learning walk to gather information about how the provision and curriculum are organised. n The manager and inspector carried out a joint observation to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching. n Parents spoke to the inspector and gave their views of the nursery. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching indoors and outdoors to assess the impact of this on children's learning. n The inspector held a meeting with the nominated individual, manager and deputy manager and looked at relevant documentation and evidence of staff suitability.

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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

11 March 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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