Little Steps Big Steps Nursery

Inspection of Little Steps Big Steps Nursery Trinity Community Centre, Old School House, 3 Trinity Road, Luton, Bedfordshire LU3 1TR

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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

Insufficient progress has been made since the last inspection. The quality of interactions between the staff and the children remains inconsistent and poor. Staff fail to implement well planned or meaningful experiences for the children in their care. Children often wander around the room with no purpose to their play. They are not encouraged by the staff to persist and concentrate. Additionally, some children display disruptive behaviours, which the staff consistently struggle to manage. Opportunities for the children to develop their own play and ideas are very restricted. For example, resources to support children's imaginary role play at the wooden kitchen, both indoors and outdoors, are minimal. Resources, such as the puzzles, are uninviting and haphazardly piled on top of one another. Additionally, many of the resources were initially inaccessible to the children on their arrival at the nursery. They were draped in cloths.

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The provision is inadequate

On occasions during the inspection, some improvement was noticed. Children paint and use their fingers to make marks in oats. They develop their hand-to-eye coordination skills as they learn to pour the oats from one container to another. Children colour pictures. Some children draw recognisable pictures and are encouraged to write their name. They learn to count, to differentiate between different sized bears and are introduced to concepts, such as half full and empty.

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need to do better?

n Insufficient progress has been made to raise the quality of the care and learning experiences provided for the children since the last inspection. Staff do not provide a curriculum that is designed to give children the knowledge and skills to support their future learning, including their progression to school. The quality of their teaching, including the planning of activities and the availability of resources, remains poor. This significantly hinders children's ability to thrive and make progress in their learning and development. n Staff fail to implement consistently effective behaviour management procedures. This is despite having received training to support this. Some children display disruptive behaviours, which the staff consistently struggle to manage. Children become distressed, raise their voices and hit and push other children. These behaviours pose a risk to themselves and to other children, and frequently

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need to do better?

distract other children's learning. Furthermore, this has a significant impact on children's emotional well-being and their ability to make meaningful developmental progress. n Despite receiving support from the local authority, staff still require further development opportunities to ensure they are able to support all children's needs, and to perform their roles and responsibilities to a consistently good level. This includes their knowledge of the curriculum, their teaching skills and

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need to do better?

30 March 2022 the management of children's behaviour. n Staff do not have the knowledge and skills to support children with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including identifying a member of staff to act as a special educational needs coordinator. This potentially hinders children's progress and achievements. n Children enjoy playing outside in the fresh air. For example, children paint and are encouraged to throw the ball into the net. However, overall, the quality of the staff's interactions and the range of purposeful, planned activities are poor. n Staff are aware of children with known food allergies, including those with food preferences. Children sit around the table together to enjoy their snack. They are supported by staff to use utensils to cut their cucumber into slices and to butter their crackers. This develops children's self-care skills.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Since the last inspection, management and staff have updated their child protection knowledge. The manager and staff demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the signs and symptoms of abuse, including wider aspects of safeguarding, such as radicalisation. They understand how to make a referral if they have concerns about a child in their care. The owner of the nursery follows appropriate recruitment and induction procedures. Suitability checks are completed to ensure all staff working with the children are suitable. Since the previous inspection, staff have also made improvements to their risk assessment procedures. Daily checks are completed to minimise potential hazards across the nursery.

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Due date

ensure children are provided with a high- quality setting that is safe and stimulating, and where children are able to enjoy meaningful learning and grow in confidence 29/04/2022

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Due date

implement effective procedures to support the management of children's behaviour 29/04/2022

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Due date

30 March 2022 support staff to undertake further training and professional development opportunities to ensure they are able to support all children's needs, and are able to offer quality learning and development experiences for the children 29/04/2022

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Due date

ensure arrangements are in place to support children with SEND, this includes identifying a member of staff to act as the special educational needs coordinator. 29/04/2022

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2559879 Local authority Luton Inspection number 10232611 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 30 Number of children on roll 22 Name of registered person Inspire & Aspire Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01582 563871 Date of previous inspection 14 December 2021

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Information about this early years setting

Little Steps Big Steps Nursery registered in 2019. The nursery employs four members of childcare staff. All members of staff hold appropriate early years qualifications ranging from level 3 to level 6. The setting opens from Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9am 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 The acting manager and the inspector completed a learning walk across all areas of the nursery to understand how the early years curriculum is organised. n The inspector observed staff's interactions with the children during indoor and outdoor activities, and assessed the impact this has on the children's progress and achievements. n The provider, acting manager, staff and children engaged in discussions with the inspector at appropriate times during the inspection. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the acting manager and discussed the children's progress and achievements. n A sample of the nursery documents was reviewed by the inspector. This included evidence of staff suitability and training. n The inspector took account of the views of parents by speaking to them.

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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

30 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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