KidZ City Nursery

Inspection of KidZ City Nursery Bridge House, Bridge Road, Sheerness ME12 1RH

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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 Not applicable

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The provision is inadequate

There are significant weaknesses in leader's and staff's understanding of safeguarding practice and procedures. This means that children's safety and welfare are compromised. Previous actions set for the setting to improve have not been consistently met by the leaders and managers.

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The provision is inadequate

The curriculum is not understood by leaders and staff within the setting. Consequently, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are not provided with meaningful learning opportunities. Activities set up for children lack a clear purpose. They often wander and lose interest in what they are playing with. Staff do not support children to be fully engaged in what they are doing. For example, activities on offer are not tailored to what children need to learn right now to meet their developmental needs. Nonetheless, they like to access the garden, and they show better levels of concentration during activities outside. For instance, children practise their physical skills on the bikes and interact well with their peers to imaginatively mix grass, leaves and twigs to cook in the mud kitchen.

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The provision is inadequate

Children show that they are happy at the nursery. Staff are friendly and kind in their approach towards children. However, staff do not fully understand their role as a key person. They do not build secure relationships with parents and carers. Information is not always shared with the children's key person and parents. For example, there are long delays in staff obtaining information from parents about children's medical needs. This puts children at risk.

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need to do better?

n Arrangements for performance management of staff is poor. Leaders and managers fail to identify weaknesses within the staff team. They do not give staff effective and constructive feedback to improve their practice. This does not ensure that staff knowledge is building over time to support the children within the setting. n The provider is not involved in the day-to-day running of the setting. She fails to ensure the managers are successfully and effectively supported in meeting the requirements of the early years foundation stage. This has led to inconsistencies in the management of the provision. The provider does not keep Ofsted and other agencies up to date with operational changes. n The curriculum does not meet the needs of the children. It is not robust enough to ensure they are building their knowledge over time. Occasionally, children fail to maintain levels of concentration, as they are not provided with experiences

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need to do better?

that meet their needs. They play with what they know and can do, but this lacks any stretch and challenge. Staff do not receive coaching to provide meaningful

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need to do better?

6 October 2022 interactions and engagement with children. This impacts on the children making the progress they are capable of. n The key-person system is not effective. Staff knowledge of their key children is weak. They do not know the children well enough to ensure that they have their individual needs met. For example, staff were unable to identify children with medical needs and how to support them. There is lack of effective communication with parents to ensure that staff know enough about children to keep them safe. n Children with SEND are not given the support they need to succeed. Action is not swift enough. Plans are in place for children who receive intervention from outside agencies. However, children who are being monitored do not have their individual needs met with precise and targeted plans while waiting for external support. This does not enable children to make progress or be suitably

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need to do better?

supported by the staff within the setting. n Staff and leaders do not have effective communication with parents. For example, parents who speak English as an additional language are provided with minimal information about their child's day. When there are concerns about a child, leaders do not ensure that they talk to parents as a matter of priority. For instance, children who are presenting with SEND are monitored for long periods of time before parents are invited in to discuss concerns. This delays the support that is provided for children, with plans that all staff and parents understand and implement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders do not ensure that staff have a clear and secure understanding of the safeguarding procedures. Staff are unclear where to report concerns relating to children who may be at risk and where to report allegations against staff members. The directors have failed to ensure that the manager, who is the setting's designated lead for safeguarding, has a secure knowledge. Therefore, she is unable to identify risks to children within the local area, such as county lines, and how to share this knowledge with the staff. Risk assessments are completed daily. However, these are not thorough enough. Leaders do not act swiftly to pinpoint possible risks to children. For example, there are berries on the tree outside that children have daily access to.

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Due date

6 October 2022 take action to ensure all managers and staff understand the setting's safeguarding procedures, and know how to respond to any child protection concerns in an appropriate and timely manner 28/10/2022

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Due date

improve supervision arrangements to make sure all staff receive support, coaching and training that is monitored to help them have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities 28/10/2022

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Due date

improve the key-person system to help ensure staff specifically tailor the care to meet every child's individual needs, with particular regard to health and children who speak English as an additional language 28/10/2022

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Due date

implement robust risk assessments to minimise the risk of harm to children, ensuring all risks and hazards to children's safety are identified, removed or minimised 28/10/2022

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Due date

ensure all children who have been identified as needing additional support have a clear plan in place that is implemented by all staff to meet their needs 28/10/2022

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Due date

ensure leaders have secure knowledge and understanding of the requirements in relation to notifications, particularly with regard to reporting changes/concerns to people connected to the organisation in a timely manner. 28/10/2022

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Due date

6 October 2022 ensure staff plan a good-quality curriculum, with effective support and interactions for all children, including those with SEND, to help children make good progress with activities and experiences that meet their needs 31/12/2022

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Due date

improve parent partnership arrangements to ensure two-way communication is effective, to precisely meet the individual needs of children. 31/12/2022

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2607262 Local authority Kent Inspection number 10257584 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 49 Name of registered person KidZ City Ltd.

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reference number

Telephone number 01795 668628 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Kidz City Nursery registered in 2020. It is situated in Sheerness, Kent. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, throughout the year, 7.30am to 5pm. There are six members of staff, four of whom hold relevant qualifications at level 3. 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 nursery 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 setting. n The inspector observed the interactions between children and staff and assessed the impact of teaching on children's learning. n The nursery manager completed a learning walk and joint observations with the inspector to explain the nursery's curriculum and assess the quality of teaching. n Staff spoke to the inspector about their role, the training opportunities they receive and the procedures they follow to keep children safe. n The inspector spoke to parents and carers to gather their views on the provision.

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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

6 October 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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