Life Bank Nursery at Kensington Children's Centre

Inspection of Life Bank Nursery at Kensington Children's Centre 23 Quorn Street, LIVERPOOL L7 2QR

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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

There are weaknesses in the leadership of this nursery. Children are left alone with and have their personal care needs met by staff who have not had their suitability checked. This compromises children's safety and welfare.

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The provision is inadequate

There is a focus on communication and language development at the nursery. Children who speak English as an additional language are particularly well supported. They hear some new words, such as 'solar panels', and begin to copy phrases they are familiar with. Some older children are becoming confident communicators. However, not all staff implement the curriculum well enough. They have varying expectations of what children can achieve and are capable of. Babies and young children are expected to sit and engage for too long in activities that are not developmentally appropriate. Consequently, they become restless and upset. This hinders the overall progress that children make.

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The provision is inadequate

Despite the weaknesses. Children are well settled at the nursery with staff who get to know them very well. They arrive happily and separate from parents with ease. Children have formed lovely relationships with all of the staff and with their peers. Staff role model good manners and teach children about the importance of sharing. Children demonstrate good behaviour and some understanding of what is expected of them.

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need to do better?

n There are significant gaps in the procedures for safer recruitment and vetting processes. The provider has failed to ensure that all staff who work directly with children have an enhanced criminal records check. Furthermore, the induction and supervision procedures in place are not robust enough. Not all staff understand the company safeguarding policy. This compromises children's safety and well-being. n The manager has implemented some procedures for monitoring staff performance and provides a varied range of training courses. Staff complete training in speech and language to directly support children they care for. However, although practice is observed by the manager, staff do not always receive specific feedback to help improve their individual knowledge and skills further. Consequently, there are inconsistencies in the quality of education that children receive. n The manager is knowledgeable and has a good understanding of child

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need to do better?

development. She plans a curriculum that is flexible and adapted to meet children's unique needs. However, there are inconsistencies in the implementation of the curriculum. Not all staff have a good understanding of the different ways that children learn. This means, too often activities are overly

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need to do better?

21 February 2023 adult-led or not pitched correctly, hindering children's engagement levels. n Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength at the nursery. The manager has introduced a specialist provision to provide bespoke care and learning for children with the most complex needs. Across the nursery, staff are very attentive to the unique needs of children with SEND. However, some quiet, less confident children are often overlooked by staff and not encouraged to engage in play and learning. This does not help these particular children to develop a positive attitude to learning and acquire skills they need for the next stage in their development. n Children are developing some good literacy skills. They recall parts of the 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' story using words, such as 'swishy swashy'. When reading with children individually, staff read with enthusiasm and intonation to help

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need to do better?

children remain interested and engaged. However, group story times are less effective. Some children are not developmentally ready to sit for periods of time. Consequently, they become agitated and disruptive, distracting the children who want to listen. This has a negative impact on the experiences some children receive. n Children are developing their physical skills at the nursery. They strengthen their large muscles using the trampoline and have daily access to the outdoor area. Older children show good fine motor skills when creating snowman sculptures from dough. They include intricate details, such as small balls for eyes. This small-muscle exercise helps to strengthen children's finger muscles in preparation for early writing. n Staff actively seek to form partnerships with parents and carers. They have daily conversations about children's development and include parents in children's assessments. The manager creates photo displays to show parents what children

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need to do better?

do at nursery. However, not all parents are sure about children's individual next steps or how they can extend these at home. This hinders the continuity in children's care and learning and the progress that they make.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

The provider has failed to ensure that procedures for safer recruitment are robust. Some staff are not appropriately vetted before they have unsupervised contact with children. Furthermore, not all staff are sure how to refer concerns about children or staff members beyond the designated safeguarding lead. That said, staff understand the signs and symptoms of abuse and what constitutes a concern. The manager is alert to safeguarding issues which are prevalent in the community and where to refer concerns to.

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Due date

ensure that staff looking after children are suitable to fulfil the requirements of their roles and that staff, whose suitability has not been checked, do not have unsupervised contact with children 14/03/2023

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Due date

ensure all staff understand the safeguarding policy and are aware of how to refer concerns about children or members of staff beyond the designated lead if necessary 14/03/2023

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Due date

provide staff with effective feedback through supervision arrangements on their performance to improve teaching and raise the quality of education to a good level. 14/03/2023

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should:

n support staff to engage quieter, less confident children in play and learning more consistently n consider how group times are organised to enable children to benefit fully from the learning experience n support parents to understand children's individual next steps and how they can extend these at home.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY376559 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 10277095 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 78 Number of children on roll 114 Name of registered person Sure Options Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 0151 300 8420 Date of previous inspection 30 August 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Life Bank Nursery at Kensington Children's Centre registered in 2008. The nursery employs 17 members of childcare staff. Of these, 13 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or above. The nursery is open from Monday to Friday, 51 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 8am 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 manager and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the nursery. n The manager gave the inspector a tour of the setting and discussed how the curriculum is planned and implemented. n The inspector observed the quality of education indoors and evaluated the impact on children's learning. n Discussions were held with staff, children and parents at appropriate times throughout the inspection. n Leadership and management discussions were held with the manager throughout the inspection. Documentation relating to the suitability of people working on the premises was checked. The inspector looked at qualification certificates, paediatric first-aid certificates, Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

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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

21 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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