Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Hodge Hill

Inspection of Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Hodge Hill Bromford Road, Birmingham B36 8EY

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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

Children's safety is compromised at this setting. All children attending, including babies to four-year-olds, are being cared for in the toddler room with temporary heating as the boiler is broken. Managers and staff do not effectively manage the risk the electric heaters pose in practice as they are not always positioned in a safe place. Managers have also failed to recognise that their short-term solution to the heating problem means that staff do not always promote babies' best interests. This is because staff are struggling to manage the combination of all age groups in one room effectively.

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The provision is inadequate

The curriculum provided is weak, and the quality of teaching is, at times, poor. Managers and staff are very unclear about what they want babies, toddlers and pre-school children to learn. Staff know their key children but do not provide activities that suit their ages and stages of learning or build on what they already know and can do. This means children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not make sufficient progress in their learning.

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The provision is inadequate

Children are fairly settled in the environment. Staff meet children's basic care needs, and their interactions with children are warm and friendly. Despite the majority of the premises not being in use, the setting is very spacious. The environment is generally well resourced, including appropriate toys and equipment for children of all ages in the one room. Children make independent choices about what they want to do. For example, toddlers play with small-world animals and construction, and pre-school children enjoy role play in the home corner. Overall, children generally behave well and cooperate with daily routines, including tidying up, lining up to go outside and self-serving their lunch.

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need to do better?

n The newly established nursery has experienced a period of instability, including management and staffing changes. The area oversight manager intends to work with the new manager closely and has lots of plans for the provision. The newly appointed manager and staff have had basic inductions to the ethos of the company and received a check on their well-being from the area oversight manager. However, managers have not yet had the time to implement and embed a supervision system. Managers and staff do not benefit from an ongoing programme of training and support to help their practice continually improve. n Due to recent issues with the heating, managers have decided to use temporary electric heaters in one main base room, combining all ages of children from babies to pre-school children in this room. Despite completing risk assessments for these temporary arrangements, they do not implement them in practice

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need to do better?

effectively. For example, an electric heater was balanced on a resource storage

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need to do better?

27 January 2023 unit that children access. Managers and staff had overlooked that a child could easily pull it down onto themselves, which would cause serious injury. This does not help to keep children safe. n Babies are somewhat restricted because, despite not being ready, they have had to move to the toddler room. Staff know babies need to work on their physical development, such as crawling, standing and walking. However, they tend to keep babies on a small carpet area with a small selection of resources as they are surrounded by older children playing. Alternatively, to avoid this, at times they pick babies up and carry them around continually, including outside. This means there is a significant lack of opportunities for babies. n The curriculum is not carefully sequenced. Managers and staff do not consider children's age and stage of development carefully to provide activities that promote their individual learning needs. For example, staff set out to teach

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need to do better?

toddlers about winter weather using craft materials. Toddlers spend a very short period of time sticking and gluing some white cotton wool onto white paper and adding silver glitter. However, staff fail to identify that this is not entirely age- appropriate, and they do not adapt their practice to promote their aim effectively. Therefore, although toddlers somewhat enjoy the activity, they learn very little from taking part in the experience. n Staff fail to inspire pre-school children to learn. For example, they contain them in adult-directed group time for almost an hour before lunch, despite many of them struggling to sit, listen and pay attention. They also fail to recognise that pre-school children prefer the sensory aspect of mixing paints and are not keen to count the plastic animals that staff introduce to the activity to try to teach them number skills. These poor practices do not help children to achieve the

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need to do better?

best possible learning outcomes in readiness for school. n The newly appointed manager is now acting as the nursery's special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). However, she has not yet had the time to fully review children's progress and any developmental concerns with key persons. Therefore, she does not have a good enough overview of all the children who need support from the SENCo. As a result, not all children with SEND receive the targeted help they need to ensure they progress well. n Managers and staff do not share enough two-way information with parents to ensure continuity in children's education between the setting and home. Despite this, parents report positively on the new nursery manager. They say that they feel their children enjoy their time at nursery and, overall, are well cared for by the staff team. n The nursery is welcoming to children of all backgrounds, ethnicities and religions. Staff provide children with opportunities to learn about their similarities

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need to do better?

and differences. They also promote the nursery rules, including their positive expectations, such as using 'kind hands'. Staff encourage and reward children with stickers when they behave well. n Staff make use of the 'Startwell' government initiative to teach pre-school children about the importance of healthy lifestyles. Pre-school children routinely wash their hands before eating, and they enjoy a variety of fruits at snack time. They like accessing physical play equipment outside, including ride-on vehicles and an obstacle course made from crates.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

The environment is not completely safe. All children, including babies, are being cared for in one room with temporary heaters as a source of warmth. However, the risk assessment for the electric heaters is not put into practice effectively. This poses a risk to babies' and children's safety. However, recruitment is robust and all staff are suitably vetted. The premises are secure and the environment is clean throughout. Clear fire evacuation procedures are in place. Managers and staff understand their child protection responsibilities, including managing child abuse, neglect and radicalisation. They know what to do and who to report to in the event of any concerns. This protects children from some types of harm.

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Due date

put appropriate supervision and support systems in place to help managers and staff improve their practice 28/02/2023

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Due date

implement effective risk assessment in practice, specifically in relation to the use of temporary heaters 28/02/2023

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Due date

make use of the separate baby room and ensure that babies are only moved into the older age group when appropriate, to help promote their best interests 28/02/2023

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Due date

improve the curriculum and ensure that staff fully consider the age and stage of development of each child and plan accordingly to meet their individual learning needs 28/02/2023

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Due date

improve the quality of teaching across the provision to ensure that staff inspire learning and promote the best possible outcomes for all children 28/02/2023

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Due date

27 January 2023 improve the provision for children with SEND to ensure they progress well 28/02/2023

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Due date

share more information with parents about children's learning and development to promote continuity between the setting and home. 28/02/2023

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2703200 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 10275691 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 150 Number of children on roll 44 Name of registered person Ashbourne Day Nurseries Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 0121 783 6899 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Hodge Hill registered in 2023. The nursery employs six members of childcare staff. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above. The nursery operates all year around. Sessions are available Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery offers funded places 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 inspector viewed the provision and discussed the safety and suitability of the premises. n The 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 The inspector spoke with the area oversight manager and new nursery manager about the leadership and management of the setting. 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. n The inspector carried out a joint observation of a mathematics-focused group

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Inspection activities

activity with the area oversight manager and the new nursery 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. n We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider.

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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

27 January 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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