Happy Hours Day Nursery

Inspection of Happy Hours Day Nursery Longfellow Road, Dudley, West Midlands DY3 3EE

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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

There are gaps in staff's safeguarding knowledge. Leaders do not ensure that all staff have the necessary safeguarding knowledge required to keep children safe at the setting. Robust procedures are not in place for recruitment and to ensure that all adults are suitable to work with children. Children's health and well-being are compromised. Staff fail to ensure children's privacy during nappy changing routines. Hazards within the environment are not always identified and minimised by staff. Although children enter the setting happily, they are not all offered the support and teaching they need. For example, leaders and staff fail to provide a curriculum that meets all children's learning needs, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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The provision is inadequate

Inconsistencies in staff practice result in children not always being sufficiently challenged. Children engage with each other during free play and activities of their own choosing. They spend a lot of time playing independently. However, although staff plan activities that they know children enjoy, activities are not precisely focused on what children need to learn next. Staff working with the children are often unsure of children's next steps in learning. Communication and language skills are not promoted effectively enough. Consequently, children are not provided with activities that match their learning needs and, therefore, they do not all make the progress they are capable of.

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need to do better?

n Leaders do not monitor staff's safeguarding knowledge and understanding regularly. Not all staff have a secure enough understanding of safeguarding issues to enable them to keep children safe. In addition, some staff are not fully aware of what to do if an allegation is made against a colleague. This potentially compromises children's safety and welfare if delays in reporting concerns occur. n Leaders do not complete robust recruitment and vetting checks to ensure all adults working with children are suitable. For example, they have not obtained enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks for all adults working with children. This leaves children vulnerable and at risk of harm. n Although risk assessments are in place, staff fail to act swiftly to reduce risks when children play outdoors. For example, when children take wheeled toys to the top of the grassy slope, or to remove broken fencing. n The procedures for supporting children with SEND and those who are at risk of

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need to do better?

falling behind are poor. Where there is an identified delay, staff do not implement targeted support to help children progress. Staff can identify when they have concerns about a child's development, in particular their speech. However, staff do not receive the support they need to implement strategies that help children to catch up. Consequently, children are not provided with

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need to do better?

3 February 2023 activities that match their learning needs and, therefore, they do not make the progress they are capable of. For instance, some children wander around and do not benefit from purposeful interaction or play experiences to support their next steps in learning. n The quality of education across the setting is variable. Staff often just provide resources for children, rather than consistently identifying what skills and knowledge they want children to learn. At other times, when staff do have a clear focus on what they want children to learn, they do not implement this in practice. This means that children's attitudes to learning are not promoted effectively, as staff are not sufficiently challenging them. n Staff interactions do not meet the varied learning needs of the children. The quality of interactions with younger children, particularly in the toddler room, is poor. This has a negative impact on children's communication and language

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need to do better?

development and their overall learning experiences. n Staff are kind and caring towards all children. Most children behave well and are familiar with the nursery routines. Children help to tidy away toys and feed themselves using appropriate cutlery. Children are learning some behaviours to help prepare them for school, such as to use their 'kind hands'. Children enjoy listening to stories. In addition, staff recognise different cultural and religious festivals to help promote diversity in the nursery. n Parents say they value the strong relationships with staff and feel that they can approach staff with any questions or concerns they may have. Parents receive information about what activities their children have been doing and their care routines. They are happy with the frequency and quality of the information provided by the staff. n The manager has failed to address identified areas of weaknesses in staff

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need to do better?

practice. She does not provide staff with effective supervisions and professional development opportunities that help them to understand their roles and responsibilities. This has a significant impact on children's learning experiences and welfare.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Gaps in staff's safeguarding knowledge are not identified or acted on swiftly enough to ensure the ongoing safety of all children. Some staff are not aware of who the designated safeguarding lead is. They have not been trained in the safeguarding procedures, such as how to raise concerns about another adult at the nursery. Recruitment procedures are not consistently robust. The leaders do not ensure that all staff working with the children have a suitable Disclosure and Barring Service check. Leaders have allowed staff to start their work with the children, including providing personal care, prior to full vetting procedures being carried out. Risk assessments are not effective in providing a safe outdoor environment for children. Staff and management fail to identify potential hazards to children's health and safety.

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Due date

take action to ensure all staff understand the setting's safeguarding procedures and know how to respond to any allegations made against a member of staff 03/03/2023

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Due date

consistently implement effective procedures to ensure that practitioners, and any other person who may have regular contact with children, are suitable 03/03/2023

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Due date

ensure there are suitable changing facilities, with sufficient privacy, for changing any children who are in nappies 03/03/2023

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Due date

implement effective systems to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or those falling behind, and put in place a targeted plan to support their future learning and development 03/03/2023

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Due date

ensure that the risk assessment process is effective in identifying and removing all potential hazards to children, particularly in relation to outdoor play 03/03/2023

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Due date

provide staff with regular supervision, training and professional development opportunities to ensure they offer quality learning and development experiences for children 03/03/2023

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Due date

ensure staff provide good quality learning experiences, and effective support and interaction, to engage all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to help them make good progress 03/03/2023

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Due date

3 February 2023 ensure staff understand how to maximise their interactions with children to promote children's communication and language skills more effectively. 03/03/2023

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Setting details

Unique reference number 253801 Local authority Dudley Inspection number 10277238 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 48 Number of children on roll 92 Name of registered person Elcock, Julie

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reference number

Telephone number 01902 881021 Date of previous inspection 21 November 2017

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Information about this early years setting

Happy Hours Day Nursery registered in 1993 and is in Dudley. The nursery employs 16 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and four at level 2. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round, except for bank holidays. 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 and the nursery manager completed a learning walk across all areas of the nursery to understand how the early years provision and the curriculum is organised. n The inspector spoke to children, staff and parents at appropriate times 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 setting. n A meeting was held between the inspector, the provider, the nursery manager and the deputy manager. n A joint observation of a teaching activity was carried out by the inspector and

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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

3 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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