The Valley Nursery and Kids Club

Inspection of The Valley Nursery and Kids Club New Road, Team Valley Trading Estate, GATESHEAD, Tyne and Wear NE11 0JU

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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 Inadequate

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The provision requires improvement

Children have adjusted well to changes in the arrival procedures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff provide children with a warm welcome at the door, which helps them to separate from their parents with ease. Children walk into the nursery happily and confidently with staff, showing that they feel safe and secure.

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The provision requires improvement

Some improvements have been made in the nursery since the last inspection. The management team has made positive changes to the environment and how staff plan for children's learning. However, the plans for children's learning are not yet fully understood and embedded by all staff. As a result, staff do not always provide activities and experiences that target individual children's development needs, to help them make good enough progress in their learning. That said, children do enjoy some of the opportunities that staff provide. Pre-school children develop exciting storylines with friends. For example, as they play with the dolls, they pretend they are going to a wedding. They confidently explain that a wedding is 'when you get a husband'. Toddlers show great curiosity when they find a spider in the garden and explore it closely using the magnifying lens. Staff respond to babies' interest in the inspector's pen by offering them crayons to make marks.

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need to do better?

n The management team shows commitment and drive to improve the quality of the provision and outcomes for children. The team has worked closely with the local authority advisers and has also made changes to the line management to give the manager more time to support and monitor staff's practice. n The management team has a clear focus on what it intends for children to learn. However, these expectations for children's learning are not consistently understood by all staff. As a result, the curriculum is not yet successfully delivered to children to provide them with the full breadth of knowledge and experiences they need in preparation for the next stage in their learning. n Staff's knowledge of, and expectations for, children's development is variable. Some staff know children very well. However, not all staff have a deep understanding of children's development to support their learning. Although staff

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need to do better?

identify what they want children to learn next, they do not use planning well enough to meet their learning needs. At times, staff do not challenge children's learning enough. As a result, children are not supported to make the best possible progress in their learning and development. n Overall, children behave well. However, there are occasions when older children struggle to manage their own feelings. Following training, managers have introduced changes to support staff to manage children's challenging behaviour more effectively. However, this approach is not yet embedded and consistently implemented by all staff. This hinders the progress that some children make.

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need to do better?

24 June 2022 n Staff provide a nurturing and sensitive approach to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They obtain support and follow guidance from SEND professionals involved in the care of the children. This ensures these children have a consistent approach towards their care and learning. n Communication and language are not supported well enough, even though this has been identified as an area where there are gaps in some children's learning. Staff miss opportunities to help young children to develop their early speaking skills, for example, by responding to their sounds or repeating words. Staff working with toddlers and older children do not consistently sustain conversations so that children's vocabulary is increased and their thinking skills are suitably enhanced. n Children develop a love of books. Older children listen well to familiar stories and join in repeated refrains. In their play, they recall and recreate aspects of the

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need to do better?

'The Three Little Pigs', pretending to 'huff' and 'puff' until they blow the house down. n Children's health is well supported. They benefit from a varied range of healthy snacks and meals. Staff supervise children well while they eat, and ensure that food is cut up for young children. This helps to prevent incidents of choking. Older children are supported to learn about hygiene practices and understand that they need to wash their hands before mealtimes. n Parents and carers say that they are very happy with the nursery and with the progress their children make. They appreciate the various ways that staff communicate with them about their children's achievements.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Managers and staff know how to recognise signs that a child might be at risk of abuse and neglect. They know the procedures for reporting any concerns they might have and work closely with other agencies involved in children's welfare. Staff have a clear understanding of how to report any concerns about a colleague. Recruitment procedures are robust and include the background checks that must be carried out to assess whether staff are suitable to work with children. Managers ensure that the deployment of staff means that there are enough staff present to meet the needs of children and keep them safe.

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Due date

24 June 2022 improve and monitor the implementation of the curriculum to ensure that staff consistently plan and provide children with challenging and enjoyable experiences that take account of their individual needs, interests and stages of development 22/07/2022

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Due date

ensure staff follow through behaviour management strategies consistently to establish children's understanding of boundaries and the impact of their actions on others 22/07/2022

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Due date

improve staff's understanding of how to develop children's communication and language skills by ensuring all staff make effective use of questions that encourage children to think and engage them in sustained conversations. 22/07/2022

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should:

n strengthen staff's understanding of the developmental stages that children go through to develop skills, such as early writing, to plan more effectively for their learning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY320833 Local authority Gateshead Inspection number 10237754 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 152 Number of children on roll 119 Name of registered person Team Valley Nursery Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 0191 4915050 Date of previous inspection 24 March 2022

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Information about this early years setting

The Valley Nursery and Kids Club registered in 2006. It is situated in Team Valley. The nursery employs 26 members of childcare staff. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above, including two with early years professional status or early years teacher status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. 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 inspector carried out a learning walk with the manager and discussed how the curriculum is delivered. n The inspector observed the quality of education during activities and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. She spoke with staff and children during the inspection. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector held a meeting with the nursery manager. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery. n The inspector spoke with parents and carers during the inspection and took account of their views.

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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

24 June 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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