Smart Kids Nursery

Inspection of Smart Kids Nursery Unit 1, 93 High Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, West Midlands B5 6DY

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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

p.1

The provision is inadequate

Children's safety and well-being are compromised. This is because children are exposed to risks in the environment and are not appropriately supervised at times. Staff do not recognise when items may pose a choking hazard to young children and do not take immediate action to keep children safe. Furthermore, there are gaps in staff's safeguarding knowledge. As a result, children's safety is not assured.

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The provision is inadequate

Planned activities are not matched with children's current levels of achievement or next steps in learning and intent is not always clear. Children disengage in activities led by adults, as they become easily distracted. Noise levels in some areas are high and children lose focus and wander off. This impacts on children's ability to listen, hear and concentrate. Despite this, babies enjoy joining in with singing songs and using musical instruments. Staff model words well and babies get excited and repeat single words such as 'baa'. Children have formed positive relationships with their key person. Staff are caring and kind towards children. They read stories and engage in play with them. This helps children to settle quickly.

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need to do better?

n Staff fail to identify risks in the environment and do not take appropriate steps to assure children's safety. Furthermore, some staff's knowledge and understanding of safeguarding is weak. Although all staff have had safeguarding training, leaders have not identified these gaps and have, therefore, not addressed this to ensure staff are able to implement procedures effectively. n Staff plan activities for babies based on sensory needs. For example, babies play with toy ducks in the water, animal figures in the sand and use plastic cups to fill with dry pasta while in the outdoor area. However, staff do not notice when babies put items in their mouths or recognise that some of these resources pose a choking hazard to babies. Doors to prevent children having unsupervised access to stairs are left open. Risks in other areas of the environment are not always identified and managed. For example, in the toddler room, children climb

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need to do better?

onto soft furnishings. Staff do not supervise the children well enough to ensure they are kept safe at all times. This impacts on children's safety. n The manager has devised a curriculum that covers all areas of learning and development and talks passionately about this. Staff talk about what they want children to learn from their planned activity. However, these activities do not match children's age and stage of development. For example, babies join in with a painting activity using cars. They move the cars forwards and backwards through paint to make marks. Staff say they are learning about numbers. Therefore, the intent does not always match the implementation of the activity. Staff are unaware of what children know and can do. For example, staff talk about children being on track in their ages and stages of development but do

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need to do better?

24 November 2022 not consider children's individual needs, starting points or next steps. This means learning is not always at the correct level for children to build upon what they already know. n Children are developing their communication and language skills. Staff introduce language for counting, saying 'one, two, three' as children build using the soft- play blocks. Staff also model language to children such as 'full' and 'empty' and children repeat this back as they fill and empty cups. In pre-school, staff model activities and use open-ended questions and challenge children. Children draw shapes as staff talk with them about shapes they can see in a book. However, at times, staff do not recognise that they are teaching children the wrong shape names. This means that children are not supported through positive interactions and secure routines to make sound progress in their learning and development.

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need to do better?

n Staff use their home language to engage with children. They interact at children's level. This helps children who speak English as an additional language to develop their communication skills and access the curriculum on offer. n Children benefit from additional experiences through regular visits in the local community, for example to the local market and police station. This is further extended through opportunities for children to experience visits from external people, like 'the animal man', linked to topics. This helps children to understand the world. n Managers talk about their induction processes and the use of online applications for staff to access ongoing training. However, managers do not find out about what staff have learned, and arrangements for coaching and mentoring of staff are not always effective. That said, managers are passionate, have a vision for their setting and work with other agencies to seek advice.

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need to do better?

n Parents feel informed about their child's day at the nursery. They engage with staff about topics and themes in the nursery and use this to support home learning. Parents speak positively about the nursery and are happy with the support they receive from the staff and managers. They say their children are happy at the nursery.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

p.3

Safeguarding

Leaders and managers do not ensure that staff carry out thorough risk assessments of the environment and of the activities and resources children play with. This means that risks are not managed well at all times to ensure children's safety. Staff's lack of safeguarding knowledge has an impact on their ability to safeguard children. Managers and staff know how to identify signs of abuse and who to report their concerns to should they have a concern about a child. However, some staff do not understand their role and responsibilities with regard to the 'Prevent' duty. That said, managers have taken steps to ensure that the recruitment and vetting checks are completed for all staff. This helps to ensure that those caring for children are suitable to do so.

p.3

Due date

take all reasonable steps to ensure staff and children are not exposed to risks and demonstrate how risks are identified and managed in a timely manner 03/01/2023

p.4

Due date

ensure all staff understand the safeguarding policy and procedures and have up-to-date knowledge of, and regard for, the 'Prevent' duty guidance 03/01/2023

p.4

Due date

support all staff to undertake appropriate training and professional development opportunities to ensure they have appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding to fulfil their roles and responsibilities and offer quality learning and development experiences for children that continually improve 03/01/2023

p.4

Due date

ensure staff are deployed effectively and children are supervised and kept safe and secure at all times. 03/01/2023

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Due date

consider the individual needs, interests and development of each child and use this information to plan and provide challenging and enjoyable experiences to promote all children's learning and development 30/01/2023

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Due date

24 November 2022 support staff to decide what they want children to learn and the most effective ways to adapt their teaching to stimulate children's interests and provide positive interactions and secure routines for play and learning. 30/01/2023

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2595823 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 10251389 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 95 Number of children on roll 150 Name of registered person ASKN Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01214488688 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Smart Kids Nursery registered in 2020. The nursery is based in Digbeth and employs 24 members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The nursery is open each weekday, from 7.30am to 8pm, and on Saturday from 9.30am to 1pm, all year round. 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 managers and the inspector carried out a learning walk together of all the areas of the nursery and gathered information about how the provision and curriculum are organised. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager and they evaluated the quality of teaching and practice together. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n Parents shared their views of the nursery with the inspector. n A meeting was held between the inspector and the leaders and managers.

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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

24 November 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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