Clever Clowns Day Nursery

Inspection of Clever Clowns Day Nursery The Former Eagle Public House, Greenbrow Road, Manchester, Lancashire M23 2UH

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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 Good

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The provision is inadequate

Children's well-being and safety are compromised. Leaders have not made sure that all staff consistently have a good understanding of their role and responsibilities to safeguard children. Some staff do not have a strong understanding of how to keep children safe. They do not have a robust understanding of safeguarding, including the action to take if an allegation of harm is made against a member of staff. Furthermore, risk assessments are not effective. Leaders identify potential risks to children's safety in the outdoor area, yet they fail to act upon this in a timely manner to minimise the risk of harm to children.

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The provision is inadequate

The quality of teaching is poor. Staff do not provide purposeful interactions with children. For example, children wander around the setting with lack of purpose or engagement even though they have been identified as needing support in their communication and language skills. Staff fail to use their interactions with children to challenge them in an effective way. They do not enhance the learning opportunities for children. Children are not provided with experiences to build on what they already know. This is particularly the case in children's communication and language and mathematical development. This hinders children's learning and development.

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The provision is inadequate

Children's attitudes to learning are poor. Staff do not provide experiences that engage and entice children. This results in children not being able to concentrate for long periods of time. In addition, staff do not consistently manage children's behaviour. This leads to children not understanding how to behave appropriately to protect themselves and others from harm.

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need to do better?

n Some staff do not have a secure understanding of child protection. They demonstrate a weakness in their knowledge of the policies and procedures to protect children from harm. Some staff are not clear on what to do if they are concerned about the conduct of another member of staff and need to whistle- blow. This puts children at risk of being cared for by adults who may not be suitable. This impacts on children's well-being and safety. n Leaders have failed to ensure that new staff understand the responsibilities of their role. During the induction period, they have not checked that new staff have fully understood key policies and procedures to protect children. This impacts on new staff not being able to demonstrate that they have adequate knowledge to safeguard children. n Leaders do not understand their responsibilities in efficiently risk assessing the environment. The manager has identified a potential risk to children's safety but

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need to do better?

25 October 2022 has failed to minimise this risk in a timely manner. For example, despite identifying items in the garden that could be a choking hazard, swift action has not been taken to remove them. This demonstrates a lack of capacity to improve and ability to risk assess effectively. This puts children at potential risk of harm or injury. n Staff do not promote language and communication well. Although staff read stories and sing songs with children, they do not engage in high-quality interactions with them. Staff dominate conversations, hindering children's ability to interact and develop a wide vocabulary. Additionally, staff fail to promote children's thinking skills and challenge their understanding. This results in children making poor development in language and communication. n The curriculum for mathematics is poor. Despite some opportunities for children to compare sizes of objects and hear numbers, children are not routinely

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need to do better?

exposed to opportunities to count and develop a strong grounding in numeracy. This hinders children's mathematical development. n Children do not demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They do not consistently engage well in activities. They quickly get bored and move on to something else. Staff do not provide engaging and challenging experiences to develop children's curiosity to learn. n Some children behave well. However, staff are not consistent with how they manage behaviour. In addition, when children do display unwanted behaviour, staff do not explain to children why the behaviour is inappropriate. This hinders children being able to understand how to keep themselves and others safe. n Children have formed secure bonds with their key person. They seek out staff for cuddles and reassurance when needed. Children's emotional care needs are met, and staff understand how to support them. This supports children's

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need to do better?

development of secure relationships. n Hygiene practices are not well embedded. Staff do not wash their hands after wiping children's noses or before serving food. Additionally, they do not consistently ensure children follow good hygiene practices to help children develop an understanding of how to promote their own good health. n Staff have regular catch ups with managers to discuss their well-being and development. Leaders also carry out observations of staff practice to identify areas of development. However, these have not been effective in evaluating weaknesses in practice. Leaders have not provided staff with precise support to further their professional development and provide better outcomes for children. This has significantly impacted on the quality of the implementation of the curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders fail to ensure that children are kept safe. They do not act in a timely manner to take action against identified risks. This means that children are at potential risk of injury from an unsafe environment. In addition, some staff do not demonstrate adequate knowledge of child protection issues and procedures to

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Safeguarding

25 October 2022 follow to protect children from harm. Some staff are not aware of the full procedure to follow if they have concerns about the conduct of another member of staff. This has a significant impact on children's safety.

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Due date

ensure that all staff have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues and are trained to understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, including whistle-blowing 23/11/2022

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Due date

ensure that induction training is effective in helping staff to understand their roles and responsibilities, including safeguarding and child protection 23/11/2022

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Due date

ensure that children are not exposed to risks and that actions from risk assessments are completed in a timely manner 23/11/2022

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Due date

ensure behaviour management procedures are well understood by all staff so that they are consistently applied and help children to understand the expectations of their behaviour 23/11/2022

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Due date

promote the good health of children, including through rigorous hygiene procedures. 23/11/2022

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Due date

review arrangements for the supervision of staff to provide effective support and coaching that promotes continual improvement of staff practice. 23/11/2022

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Due date

consider the individual learning needs of each individual child and plan challenging and enjoyable experiences for children to be able to build upon what they already know in each area of learning and development. 30/11/2022

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should:

n develop staff knowledge of how to develop language and extend vocabulary with children so that they can provide the correct level of challenge for children n strengthen the curriculum for mathematics so that it provides further support for children's developing understanding of counting and mathematical concepts.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY439883 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 10259873 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 50 Number of children on roll 65 Name of registered person Makin, Sharon Marie

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reference number

Telephone number 0161 998 1083 Date of previous inspection 28 September 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Clever Clowns Day Nursery registered in 2011 and is located in Manchester. The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of these, 5 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above, and three hold level 2 qualifications. 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 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 We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider. n The inspector viewed the provision and discussed the safety and suitability of the premises. n The manager and floor 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 with the inspector during the inspection. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and children. n The inspector carried out joint observations of group activities with the manager. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.

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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

25 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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