The Garden Nursery and Preschool

Inspection of The Garden Nursery and Preschool 201 New Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 4ED

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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

The organisation of the provision is not good enough to ensure that children are suitably supervised at all times. Weaknesses in staff deployment results in inappropriate ratios being maintained at times. This does not adequately ensure children's safety.

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The provision is inadequate

Children enjoy taking part in activities at the nursery. Arts and crafts activities are available to them and children are each encouraged to participate. For example, children use a variety of resources and tools as they glue shapes to their pictures of monsters and tigers. However, staff do not always recognise when to build on children's interests in activities to extend their learning further. As a result, children are not always fully challenged in their learning.

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The provision is inadequate

Younger children build independence skills, for example staff encourage them to find their own cups before they sit down to snack. Older children are encouraged to self-serve snacks and pour their own drinks. However, when children come in from the garden, they do not wash their hands before they select their snack. Furthermore, staff do not remind them to do this. Consequently, children are not supported in developing positive attitudes towards good health and hygiene practices.

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need to do better?

n Staff-to-child ratios were not adhered to during the inspection, despite a high number of staff being present. Four members of staff left the room for an informal meeting with no regard for the deployment of staff. This meant that a single member of staff was left alone with 14 children in the outdoor play area. Furthermore, staff members do not know how many children they are caring for. Therefore, children's safety cannot be assured. n There is an appropriate procedure in place for responding to children who are ill or infectious, which is shared with parents. However, in practice, staff do not follow this precisely enough. For example, they do not recognise when to take unwell children away from where other children are playing. This does not provide children with a quiet place to rest while they wait for parents to collect them. Furthermore, this does not promote good health for children by reducing

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need to do better?

the spread of illness. n Staff approaches to children's personal care are varied. For example, some staff ask children politely if they can change their nappies. In contrast, others do not meet children's intimate care requirements sensitively. For instance, staff pull down children's trousers in front of other children to check their nappies, when children have clearly stated they have soiled them. Following this, staff fail to follow appropriate hygiene practices themselves by washing their hands.

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need to do better?

16 February 2023 Through this, children's privacy is not respected, and appropriate cleanliness is not modelled by staff. n The manager has secure intentions for the curriculum and how it is to be implemented throughout the different rooms. She knows the importance of carrying out reviews of the setting to raise the quality of education and expectations for children. The manager also recognises the significance of carrying out staff supervisions but has recently failed to keep these up to date. In addition, the manager does not receive purposeful supervisions with the registered provider. As a result, staff professional development is not fully supported to ensure areas of improvement are identified and addressed. n Staff support children to develop their physical skills. For example, they model how to balance on and jump from tyres. Children are confident to explore their physical abilities. They pedal on bicycles and skilfully use scooters in the garden.

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need to do better?

However, teaching of mathematics is less effective. Staff do not recognise opportunities to build on children's interests in games to extend their learning. For example, staff did not support children who were attempting to count during a game of hide and seek. n Staff read stories enthusiastically to children, who become involved and interested. Children often get books out and look at pictures independently. Furthermore, children enjoy making marks as they draw lines and animals on white boards. This supports the development of their early literacy skills. n Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well, and are knowledgeable about their current stage of development. Staff work with other professionals and incorporate the information and advice they receive into their planning for children's learning. n Babies and young children are supported in building their vocabularies. Staff use

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need to do better?

snack opportunities to teach them about single words. They introduce children to different names of colours, for instance the colour of their plates and fruits. Young children are becoming confident communicators as they begin to name instruments and toys with excitement. n Parents report that they are happy with the care received by their children. They know who their child's key person is and are told about their child's day when they collect them. In addition to this, parents are kept informed of their child's next steps through the nursery's online platform.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Breaches to the safety and welfare requirements compromise children's safety. Poor staff deployment leads to staff not being aware of how many children they have in their care and the required staff-to-child ratios not being met. Nevertheless, staff do have a clear understanding of how to report any concerns they might have about a child. They also know the procedure they should follow should they ever have a concern about the conduct of a colleague. Managers work closely with the local authority, for example they attend team around the family meetings, to support children in their care.

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Due date

ensure management effectively deploy staff and adhere to appropriate staff-to- child ratios to ensure the welfare of children 17/03/2023

p.4

Due date

ensure staff implement policies effectively, particularly those relating to children who become unwell or who may have an infectious illness 17/03/2023

p.4

Due date

implement effective systems for the supervision of the manager and staff, to provide support and coaching and to identify meaningful continuous improvement opportunities. 17/03/2023

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should:

n monitor staff practice more effectively to make sure that children benefit from consistent messages around good hygiene and are respectfully supported with personal care n strengthen the mathematics curriculum for older children, to build on their knowledge and extend children's learning further.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY449358 Local authority Brighton and Hove Inspection number 10276284 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 96 Number of children on roll 88 Name of registered person Early Education Alliance Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01273 418089 Date of previous inspection 10 July 2017

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Information about this early years setting

The Garden Nursery and Preschool opened in 2012. It operates in Hove, East Sussex. The setting is open between 7.30am and 6.30pm each weekday, all year round. The provider employs 17 staff. Of these, there are 10 staff who hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The setting receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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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 manager and inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. n The inspector spoke to children, to find out about their time at the setting. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and children. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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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

16 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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