Little Seedlings Day Nursery

Inspection of Little Seedlings Day Nursery 2 Bagot Street, Liverpool, Merseyside L15 0HT

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Inadequate Leadership and management Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is inadequate

The provider is in breach of requirements relating to fire safety and risk assessments. As a result, leaders and staff fail to protect children from risk of significant harm. Hazards in the environment are not identified and removed. For example, rubbish is placed at the side of the building, preventing pre-school children from evacuating safely in the event of an emergency.

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The provision is inadequate

That said, the quality of education is good. Children are happy and settled. Staff have high expectations for children to achieve to their fullest potential. As a result, children's behaviour is good. Children engage in the purposeful environment. Babies happily wave as adults enter their room. This shows that they feel safe. Children have secure attachments with their key person, who checks in with them frequently. Children join in at singing time, showing high levels of delight at the familiar songs and rhymes. This supports their early communication development.

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The provision is inadequate

Staff have identified that some children's communication skills have been impacted following the COVID-19 pandemic. They support children to develop their language skills. Staff help children to listen carefully to what they can hear. Children benefit from experiences to use their imagination as they tune into sounds. For example, as children hear sounds from the beach, they predict that the water might be cold. Children happily express how they enjoy activities at nursery. They are inquisitive and confident in expressing their needs and concerns.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and staff do not always consider children's safety. They fail to follow the risk assessments that have been put in place. For example, the fire door to the kitchen is wedged open. This places the children and staff at risk of significant harm. Staff do not consistently use the pre-school room safety lock that is in place to prevent children from exiting. Therefore, children have access to the kitchen area and staff toilet, exposing them to a wide range of hazards. The television in the pre-school room is not attached to the wall. As a result, this is at risk of falling. Leaders and staff have not considered this in the risk assessments. n Fire evacuation procedures for the pre-school children are compromised. Staff and children cannot safely exit the premises to the meeting point. This is due to broken equipment and rubbish blocking their access to the exit gate. Staff have failed to identify this hazard. This results in the nursery evacuation procedure

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need to do better?

not being adhered to and places the children at risk of significant harm. That said, babies' and toddlers' evacuation procedures are not compromised as they exit via a different route. n Leaders have a clear vision for the nursery and have created a curriculum to

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need to do better?

4 July 2022 meet the needs of the children. There are effective systems for identifying children's starting points and to monitor individual children's progress. Regular meetings are in place to review children's development and identify next steps. As a result, children are making good progress in this rich and stimulating environment. n The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is passionate about her role. She has developed secure systems to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to reach their fullest potential. Working in partnership with parents and other professionals ensures early identification and monitoring of developmental concerns. As a result, children receive early intervention targets and make good progress. n Communication and language development is an area of strength. The nursery has a high number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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need to do better?

Leaders have supported staff to access training to develop their skills in this area of their practice. This is having a positive impact on children's communication and language skills. n Parents are happy with the nursery. They say that their children enjoy coming and are making good progress, particularly in their confidence and communication skills. The staff are supportive and offer advice and guidance when needed. Parents have attended stay-and-play sessions and they also have regular meetings with staff to discuss their children's progress. Parents receive frequent updates on children's next steps and what they have been doing at nursery.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff do not consider the risks that children are exposed to and how to keep them safe in the nursery environment. As a result, leaders and staff do not identify and manage risks adequately. This exposes children to risk of significant harm. However, leaders and staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse. They know the correct action to take if they are concerned about the welfare of children. Leaders and staff understand the importance of whistle-blowing and the procedures they should follow. A robust recruitment process ensures that new staff are suitable to work with children.

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Due date

4 July 2022 ensure that all risk assessments are robust and identify hazards that compromise children's safety, in particular the correct use of fire doors and ensuring children do not have access to unsafe areas of the provision 05/08/2022

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Due date

ensure that fire evacuation routes are clear for children and staff to exit safely in case of an emergency 05/08/2022

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Due date

ensure that staff understand and comply with the nursery policies and procedures for keeping children safe, in particular fire evacuation, risk assessments and safety checks identified by the provision. 05/08/2022

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2558706 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 10233473 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 46 Number of children on roll 75 Name of registered person Little Seedlings Day Nursery Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 0151 735 0358 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Little Seedlings Day Nursery registered in 2019. The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, all but one hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The manager holds qualified teacher status. The nursery operates Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5.30pm, for 51 weeks of the year. It is closed for one week at Christmas and on bank holidays. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provision. n The nursery manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want the children to learn. n The SENCo spoke to the inspector about how they support children with SEND. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and children. n The inspector carried out a joint observation of a group activity with the nursery manager. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of their views. n The manager showed the inspector documentation to demonstrate the suitability of staff.

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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

4 July 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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