Footsteps Nursery

Inspection of Footsteps Nursery 89 Station Road, Castle Donington, Derby, Derbyshire DE74 2NL

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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 Good

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The provision is inadequate

Staff do not complete thorough risk assessments of the environment or the resources that children have access to. Additionally, leaders and managers do not ensure that all staff working on the premises have the necessary Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks completed. This potentially impacts children's safety.

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The provision is inadequate

Children do not benefit from a consistently implemented curriculum that links to their next steps in learning. This is because some staff do not understand what they want children to learn from activities. In some group rooms, children wait around, as staff do not plan the transition between activities or daily routines well enough. For example, while staff prepare the room for lunch, toddlers wander around looking disinterested as they have nothing to do. During story time, staff struggle to encourage children to listen and engage positively. This is because children's attention is disrupted, as other staff interrupt the session to take children to have their nappies changed.

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The provision is inadequate

Nonetheless, children get plenty of opportunities to develop their growing physical skills. All children embrace outdoor play. Toddlers busy themselves collecting leaves. They talk to staff about the colours they see and how the leaves feel. Toddlers enjoy rolling hoops along the ground. Staff present challenges as they show children how to spin the hoops around their waists. Toddlers giggle as they try and copy. They use their large muscles as they pull themselves onto the climbing frame, where staff provide a helping hand when needed. Pre-school children ride tricycles, making a line as they follow each other. They push themselves along with their feet, safely negotiating the outdoor play equipment. This helps to develop their coordination skills.

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need to do better?

n Staff do not complete thorough enough risk assessments of the environment to promote children's safety. They do not identify the potential risk posed by sharp scissors being accessible to children. In addition, inappropriate toys, which present a potential choking hazard, are within easy reach of younger children. n Leaders and managers do not follow their own procedures for checking the suitability of all staff. For example, a DBS check has not been obtained for all adults who have access to the nursery. This is a breach of requirements. n Leaders and managers have an overview of the curriculum and know what they want children to achieve. However, not all staff are clear on how to implement the curriculum or how to support children's next steps in learning during activities. As a result, the quality of teaching is variable, and children's experiences are not consistent throughout the nursery. Leaders are aware of

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need to do better?

what staff need to do to make improvements, but this has not yet been fully

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need to do better?

1 December 2022 actioned. n Staff provide opportunities for children to use their small-muscle skills. For example, toddlers engage in a free-drawing activity. They excitedly choose resources, such as pinecones and their favourite toys, to draw around. Toddlers focus as they carefully use pencils to draw shapes, which they proudly show to staff. Pre-school children make marks with chalk. Staff draw letters to challenge them further, which children eagerly attempt to copy. This helps children develop the muscles they need for early writing. n Staff in the pre-school room use effective questioning to extend children's learning. For example, children show an interest in insects. They giggle as they hide toy insects in a staff member's hair and use magnifying glasses to find them. Staff ask children questions to prompt their thinking. Children confidently suggest ideas about where bugs live and the food they eat. Outside, children's

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need to do better?

learning is extended further, as staff ask which insects they may find. Children share ideas and decide to look for worms under leaves and in the soil. This helps support children's developing thinking and conversational skills. n Staff support children's creativity and imagination. For example, children take part in drama sessions, where they pretend to be dinosaurs. They eagerly engage as they practise saying the word 'pterodactyl'. They pretend their arms are wings as they flap around and shake their bottoms, pretending they have tails. Staff encourage children to consider how dinosaurs eat. Children suggest they can stretch and reach leaves in a tree. This helps children learn to solve problems. n Staff do not plan well enough for changes to activities and routines. For example, staff tell children it is time to go outside. They help children get their coats and wellington boots on. However, some children have only just started

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need to do better?

eating a snack and others are having their nappies changed. This means there are prolonged waiting times before they are all ready to go outside. This results in children becoming bored and wandering around the room aimlessly. n Staff promote children's good health. They provide children with healthy snacks and fresh drinking water. Staff ensure children regularly wash their hands before meals, after using the toilet, and after wiping their noses. This helps children to understand good hygiene practices.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and managers do not ensure potential risks to children are minimised. Risk assessments are not fully effective, as staff do not take swift action to remove all potential hazards. Additionally, procedures to ensure that staff working at the nursery are safe to do so have not been followed. Despite this, staff have a sound knowledge of the signs and symptoms of abuse and indicators that a child may be at risk of harm. This includes children who may be at potential risk of radicalised views. Staff know how to record child protection concerns and who to report these to. This includes concerns regarding the conduct of a colleague.

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Due date

ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to safeguard children from risks, and put in place robust risk assessments that are understood and implemented by all staff 06/01/2023

p.4

Due date

take all necessary steps to ensure anyone working on the premises is suitable to do so, with particular regard to DBS checks 06/01/2023

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Due date

provide staff with coaching, support and training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities to implement a curriculum that supports children's next steps in learning and meets their individual needs. 06/01/2023

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should:

n improve the ways staff manage routines, to minimise disruption to children's engagement in their learning and play.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY361824 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 10266007 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 55 Number of children on roll 62 Name of registered person Hearst, Elizabeth Lillian Eve

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reference number

Telephone number 01332 850 699 Date of previous inspection 18 April 2017

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Information about this early years setting

Footsteps Nursery registered in 2008 and is situated in Castle Donington, Derbyshire. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round, except for a week at Christmas. 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 The deputy manager, manager and inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. n The inspector viewed the nursery and discussed the safety and suitability of the premises. n Children communicated 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 spoke with the nominated individual about the leadership and management of the nursery. 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. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and children.

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Inspection activities

n The manager and the inspector carried out a joint observation during lunchtime. 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

1 December 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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