The Stables Nursery School Ltd

Inspection of The Stables Nursery School Ltd Grimsditch Lane, Lower Whitley, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 4ED

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

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

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The provision is inadequate

Leaders do not prioritise the safety of children. They do not ensure staff have a secure understanding of child protection to identify children at risk of harm. In addition, effective steps are not followed to minimise risks. On the day of inspection, leaders and staff were unaware that their actions put children at risk of becoming ill. Children are provided with food, such as cooked spaghetti, to explore as a sensory activity. This has been stored incorrectly for a long period, posing a risk of food poisoning. Staff allow babies to eat and touch the food from the floor next to the main doorway and fail to intervene when this is pointed out to them. Children do not always have access to fresh drinking water or regular outdoor play. Leaders believe it is too difficult to take babies to the garden and do not provide them with alternative outdoor activities. Babies rarely go outside and do not get to

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The provision is inadequate

practise their walking outdoors or benefit from fresh air.

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The provision is inadequate

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders offer extra settling-in visits and have changed how handovers to parents are completed. This has helped children to settle well. However, children's daily routines are not always effective in supporting their care and learning. For example, sometimes sleeping babies are startled awake by others in the room. At times, older children become restless and bored as they wait for long periods at mealtimes. In general, children confidently explore the wide range of activities. Leaders have high expectations for children. However, children are not always supported by staff who know them well and understand how to help them learn. Children have warm bonds with the staff they do know. Overall, children behave well, although at times, older children's noise level disrupts learning.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and staff do not ensure children's safety, good health and well-being. Despite having completed food hygiene training, they do not understand or consider the risks to children when providing unhygienic cooked food as a play activity. In addition, staff do not provide children with access to drinking water throughout the day. When a baby starts coughing after eating some sand, water is not readily available to them. Babies who are learning to walk rarely, if ever, go outside to practise their developing skills, explore or learn about the natural world. n Leaders have not reflected on the effectiveness of children's daily routines. Babies and toddlers sleep in the same room as their friends play. At times, this causes babies to wake before they are ready. As children wake in the toddler room, they are encouraged to be quiet and wait for the last sleeping child to wake. In addition, during overly long circle times, older children become

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need to do better?

distracted and stare out of the window. This limits opportunities for children to

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need to do better?

5 April 2022 engage in play and learning. n Children usually behave well. Older children understand the expected behaviour at the setting, but staff do not teach them how to moderate their voices. Occasionally, the noise from children's play is so loud that children and staff cannot hear, meaning certain planned activities cannot be carried out. Staff model language well and introduce new words. However, due to the noise levels, older children sometimes cannot hear what staff are saying. In turn, staff do not always hear what children say, so cannot correct their pronunciation. This prevents children from developing their communication and language skills, including those who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). n Generally, staff plan challenging activities to support children's learning. Overall, they share accurate information with parents on their children's progress and

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need to do better?

care. Children take home books to develop their enjoyment of stories. In the main, staff support children's learning at home. n Leaders do not ensure children are supported by their key persons. Sometimes, children's key persons work across different areas of the nursery. This means at times, children are supported by staff who do not know enough about individual children's needs and next steps to fully promote their learning and development. Parents say that leaders have dealt with recent staff changes well. They say that all staff are friendly and helpful. n Overall, staff use information well from professionals to support children. Additional funding is used to provide extra staff attention or to provide resources to support children well. In the main, children with SEND are suitably supported. n Children celebrate many events and learn about festivals. They bring in photos from home and tell their friends about their trips to see family in other countries.

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need to do better?

Children learn about other communities beyond their own experience. n Leaders do not ensure that all staff receive effective inductions. For example, some staff who usually work at other nursery sites do not know where the nearest first-aid box or fire exits are. This compromises children's safety. Staff receive some feedback and coaching to support their quality of teaching. However, this is not yet fully effective as the manager fails to recognise weaknesses in staff practice. n Staff report that they feel valued by leaders. The manager takes steps to support staff and keep morale high. For example, they have recently reduced the amount of unnecessary paperwork to be completed by staff. Instead they send short video clips of children to their parents, which shows effectively what they learn. This means that staff can concentrate on their interactions with children.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is not a priority for leaders. They do not ensure that staff have a suitable knowledge of how to identify when a child is at risk of harm or how to deal with allegations about staff. The manager does not understand the importance of

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Safeguarding

5 April 2022 the need for staff to have a secure safeguarding knowledge. Her attitude to safeguarding children is weak. Although staff takes some steps to minimise risks in the environment, activities put out by staff and leaders put children at risk of becoming unwell. Staff are not vigilant about good hygiene practices, even for the youngest children in their care. Children's safety cannot be assured.

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Due date

ensure that all staff understand safeguarding policies and procedures and have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding, including the 'Prevent' duty and how to deal with allegations about staff 26/04/2022

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Due date

implement effective risk assessment so that all risks to children's health and safety are identified and minimised 26/04/2022

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Due date

ensure fresh drinking water is available and accessible at all times to support children's good health 26/04/2022

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Due date

provide all children with daily opportunities to access outdoor play 26/04/2022

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Due date

support staff to teach children about the expected behaviours at the setting, in particular to use appropriate voice levels so that noise does not interfere with children's learning 26/04/2022

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Due date

ensure parents know who their child's key person is, and embed an effective key-person system that supports all children's care and learning needs 26/04/2022

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Due date

improve the support and induction training given to staff to help them understand their roles and responsibilities, including health and safety issues 26/04/2022

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Due date

5 April 2022 implement effective arrangements in place for the supervision of staff to improve their practice and raise the quality of teaching to a consistently good level. 26/04/2022

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should:

n review the organisation of daily routines to minimise disruptions to children's sleep and to support their learning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2549319 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 10215679 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 71 Number of children on roll 96 Name of registered person The Stables Nursery School Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01925 730055 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

The Stables Nursery School registered in 2019 and is situated in Lower Whitley, Warrington. The setting employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 6, two hold qualifications at level 4, six hold qualifications at level 3 and four hold qualifications at level 2. The setting opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm. The setting 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 provider. n The inspector viewed the provision and discussed the safety and suitability of the premises. n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want their children to learn. n Children spoke to the inspector during the inspection. n Staff spoke to the inspector during the inspection. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this was having on children's learning. n The inspector observed interactions between staff and children. n The manager and the inspector carried out a joint observation during a group activity. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of

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Inspection activities

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

5 April 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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