Footsteps Day Nursery

Inspection of Footsteps Day Nursery 95 Lyminster Avenue, BRIGHTON BN1 8JL

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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 Inadequate

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The provision is inadequate

Children's welfare is compromised due to breaches of safeguarding requirements. Supervision of children is ineffective. They are not consistently supported during mealtimes across the toddler and pre-school age groups. Additionally, routines are disorganised where children often move between areas not overseen by staff.

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The provision is inadequate

At times, children's attitudes to learning are compromised as they find it hard to concentrate or maintain interest. This is because the experiences on offer fail to ignite their curiosity and lack purpose. For example, children are seen to wander and become bored in the toddler room, as they move between areas where limited resources are set up. Additionally, group story time in pre-school provides no level of interaction for children to keep them engaged or promote their language skills. This is because books are presented to children by an audio recording while staff turn pages in time to the story. Children lose interest and become despondent. They start chatting to friends, lay on the floor or look at other books.

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The provision is inadequate

Despite the weaknesses, children settle quickly and have good relationships with their friends and adults that care for them. They have ample opportunities to find out about people and their local community. They go on bus rides to a local market to purchase fruit and vegetables to bring back to nursery to make smoothies and soup to taste. They have visits from the police and firefighters to find out about 'people that help us,' to gain a greater understanding of life beyond their immediate experiences.

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need to do better?

n Since the last inspection, the provider has devised action plans and sought support from an outside agency to aim to address the actions set. However, there has been a significant turnover of staff and this has impacted on the successful implementation of planned improvements. There continues to be significant weaknesses in the safeguarding requirements and quality of the provision. n The person with lead responsibility for safeguarding ensures staff receive training. However, she does not check that this has equipped them with the knowledge they need. Some staff do not have a secure awareness of child protection issues, such as radicalisation, extremism and county lines. Furthermore, some staff have weak knowledge around indicators that may mean a child is suffering from physical abuse. This does not ensure the welfare of children. n The knowledgeable owner uses her expertise to support the new manager.

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need to do better?

Together, they have a clear intent for what they want children to learn, building on what they already know and can do. However, the new staff are not clear

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need to do better?

8 February 2023 how to implement the intended curriculum effectively. In addition, the recent staffing changes have resulted in children being assigned a new key person, who does not have a robust knowledge of their individual needs. Therefore, planning for each child's learning and development is not precise enough to support them to make the progress they are capable of. Furthermore, staff are not clear about the information they are required to include when completing progress checks for children at age two. n At times, the environment becomes noisy and chaotic, and routines are not consistently effective. Children are not always clear what is expected from them. Staff shout out children's names to be heard across the room. Children wander between areas and bang plates on the table as they tire of excessive waiting. Staff do not deploy themselves or communicate effectively with colleagues to ensure all children are well supervised. As a result, they miss situations that

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need to do better?

could present as hazards to children's safety. For instance, children swing back on chairs, and toddlers are not consistently observed during mealtimes to prevent them giving food to one another, which could present a risk of choking. n Children often show repeated unwanted behaviour. This is because they are not supported to understand what is expected from them and the impact negative behaviour has on themselves and others. Children are often told 'We use kind hands' when they throw toys across the room, but are not given age-appropriate explanations as to why they should not do this. This does not help children to understand how to behave well. n Leaders work in partnership with parents through a variety of platforms. This includes an overview of what the setting is delivering to children, curriculum newsletters, and resources to support learning at home. Parents comment favourably about the provision, and how much their children enjoy attending.

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need to do better?

However, not all parents are clear what their individual children are specifically learning, or who their key person is. n Children are confident in wanting to show adults what they know. They excitedly talk about their pet guinea pigs, and their understanding of what they do to help look after them. Staff provide children opportunities to contribute and learn how to care for living things. n During outdoor play, children play collaboratively and delight when they join in chasing games with their friends in the garden. Staff support children to use a range of resources to develop their physical skills. For example, children use small bikes to practise balance skills and access outdoor equipment to learn how to climb.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Children's welfare is not assured as some staff do not have robust, up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues. Most staff know the process to follow to report any child protection concerns. However, the designated lead for safeguarding does not ensure that all staff are clear about the role of agencies with statutory responsibilities. For example, some staff do not understand the role of the local

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Safeguarding

8 February 2023 authority designated officer. Staff are not supporting children as well as they could to help them learn about keeping themselves safe when they are online. Leaders do not follow up vetting checks in a timely manner as part of safe recruitment practice. This does not ensure staff are suitable to work directly with children.

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Due date

ensure staff improve their knowledge of all safeguarding matters and are able to demonstrate a secure understanding of who to report child protection concerns to in line with local procedures 14/03/2023

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Due date

improve recruitment processes so vetting checks are conducted in a timely way so that all staff have that have access to children and their families have their suitability assured 14/03/2023

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Due date

ensure children receive support to learn about staying safe when accessing the internet 14/03/2023

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Due date

implement effective arrangements to ensure each key person has the information they need to tailor care and support to reflect each child's individual needs 14/03/2023

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Due date

improve the quality of teaching to ensure that all children are effectively challenged to make good progress in all areas of their development 14/04/2023

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Due date

develop staff's understanding so they have a good working knowledge of precisely what to include in the progress check at age two 14/03/2023

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Due date

ensure staff are deployed well so that children are supervised effectively to avoid hazards to their safety and well- being 14/03/2023

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Due date

8 February 2023 improve the organisation of some elements of the daily routine to reduce unnecessary disruption and to avoid excessive waiting times for children 14/03/2023

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Due date

improve staff knowledge of how to manage children's behaviour, so that children are supported to understand why behaviour rules are in place 14/03/2023

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Due date

ensure that parents know who their child's key person is and are well informed about the progress their child is making. 14/03/2023

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY472844 Local authority Brighton and Hove Inspection number 10254316 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 48 Number of children on roll 41 Name of registered person Footsteps Childcare Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01273 508 533 Date of previous inspection 26 August 2022

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Information about this early years setting

Footsteps Day Nursery registered in 2014 and is situated in Brighton. It is open each weekday, from 7.45am to 6.15pm, for 52 weeks of the year, except for public holidays. There are 10 members of staff, of whom five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and one holds a qualification at level 2. The nursery provides funded free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector observed the interactions between children and staff and assessed the impact of teaching on children's learning. n The manager and owner 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, knowledge of their key children, training opportunities they have and the procedures they follow to keep children safe. n Parents were invited to share their views about 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

8 February 2023 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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