Building Blocks Day Nursery (NW) LTD

Inspection of Building Blocks Day Nursery (NW) LTD Building Blocks Day Nursery, Plant Hill Road, MANCHESTER M9 8LX

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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

Children's welfare needs are not always met in this nursery. Staff, including the designated safeguarding lead, do not always recognise or act on concerns which could result in a child being at risk of harm. There is a lack of communication between leaders and staff about child protection matters. As a result, concerns about the welfare of children are not always swiftly identified, acted upon or followed up.

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The provision is inadequate

Children do not receive the level of education that they are entitled to. Children in baby and toddler rooms do not experience a broad and challenging curriculum. Some staff do not know children well enough to support their learning and development to good levels. Children in the baby and toddler room are not sufficiently engaged. That said, children in the pre-school room enjoy planned activities that support their development. For example, they learn about feelings and engage well in interactive stories which begin to help develop an understanding of feelings and emotions.

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The provision is inadequate

Children's development and progress is not always well supported, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff do not always know how to support children's individual needs. As a result, children's behaviour is affected. Staff do not support children to develop good listening skills, extend their concentration, or develop good levels of involvement in activities.

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need to do better?

n The manager recognises that due to recent staffing issues, there has been an impact on the monitoring of staff performance. Furthermore, she has not been able to keep an overview of how the curriculum is implemented in the rooms due to other tasks she is responsible for. For example, preparing meals for children. She is aware of some staff members who have areas of development in their practice, but has not put effective plans in place to support them. This has resulted in the quality of teaching being poor in the baby and toddler rooms. This has a significant impact on children's learning and their outcomes. n The provider has failed to ensure that leaders understand how to design and deliver an effective curriculum across the setting. The quality of teaching is inconsistent. Children in the baby and toddler rooms do not benefit from the same level of teaching that children in the pre-school room do. Staff in the baby

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need to do better?

and toddler rooms do not provide learning opportunities that are challenging and ambitious, and they are not proactive in supporting young children's experiences. This means some children do not gain the necessary skills to support their future learning. n Parents comment that they are happy with the feedback that they receive about

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need to do better?

6 March 2023 their children's time in nursery. However, the management team do not have effective measures in place to support vulnerable families and signpost parents to other services if needed. n The pre-school room leader supports the children in understanding simple boundaries for behaviour. However, in the other rooms this is not well supported. Children's behaviour begins to decline when they are not engaged. Staff do not have clear boundaries set for the children and do not understand how to support children in basic social skills, such as sharing, waiting and taking turns. During these occasions, staff do not always acknowledge or challenge these behaviours. This impacts on children's interactions with each other and results in conflict between children and leads to accidents. n The manager does not have a clear understanding of supporting vulnerable families and assumptions are made on how well they know the families.

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need to do better?

Children's welfare is compromised due to failings in recognising, recording and reporting concerns to the relevant agencies. As a result, there are delays in making referrals to external safeguarding agencies. This puts children at risk of harm. n Staff do not have regular supervision sessions or the opportunity to discuss their personal development with the management team. The leadership team do not complete regular peer observations to improve staff practice and, when they are completed, the feedback does not give clear areas of development. Staff do not have targeted plans to support their areas of development and raise the quality of teaching for all children. As a result, less-experienced staff members do not have plans to improve their practice. This means the quality of teaching and children's safety is compromised. n The manager does not identify and manage the risks associated with nursery activities and routines effectively. In the baby room and toddler rooms, children

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need to do better?

repeatedly put sand and flour in their mouths. Staff are not vigilant enough in dealing with these possible choking hazards. At times, the inspectors have to alert staff to these incidents. Therefore, staff are not promoting children's safety. n The management team do not ensure that staff are deployed effectively. As a consequence, children with SEND are not always supported well enough. Children who require a high level of assistance to manage their needs are not fully supported. When staff do attend to children's needs, other children who also require support are left unsupervised. This results in children climbing and swinging on chairs while eating, taking extra food from the trolley and dropping food on the floor and then eating it. Staff do not have an awareness of the potential risks associated with these behaviours. Therefore, children are at risk of harm, in particular of choking.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Children's welfare is compromised due to failings in recognising and reporting concerns to the designated safeguarding lead (DSL). The DSL does not always follow up on staff members' concerns. Risk assessment is not effective. Not all staff

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Safeguarding

6 March 2023 understand their role and responsibilities to keep children safe. Safeguarding training for staff is inconsistent and staff are not updated regularly with the latest safeguarding changes. The manager and staff do not identify concerns that might indicate a risk to children's safety. Staff do not have an awareness of carrying out risk assessments for activities they provide. All staff have recently completed paediatric first aid and know how to deal with accidents. However, incidents are not always dealt with promptly and staff do not always follow up on accidents with parents in a timely manner.

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Due date

take action to ensure all managers and staff understand the setting's safeguarding policy and procedures, allowing them to recognise concerns to the welfare of children and act swiftly 27/03/2023

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Due date

deploy staff effectively, to ensure that they provide consistent support for children's development, care and individual needs 27/03/2023

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Due date

take all reasonable steps to ensure children are not exposed to risks and that staff can demonstrate how they are managing risks 27/03/2023

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Due date

implement appropriate supervision arrangements for staff who have contact with children and families 27/03/2023

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Due date

support staff to develop consistent and effective strategies to promote children's positive behaviour 27/03/2023

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Due date

6 March 2023 ensure all staff are trained to understand the nursery safeguarding policy and procedures, and have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding, with particular regard to identifying safeguarding concerns and reporting procedures. 27/03/2023

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Due date

ensure all staff are supported to effectively implement a sharply focused curriculum that builds on children's prior knowledge. 27/03/2023

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY452941 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 10280269 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 120 Number of children on roll 79 Name of registered person Building Blocks Day Nursery (NW) Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01617401053 Date of previous inspection 1 September 2017

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Information about this early years setting

Building Blocks Day Nursery (NW) LTD registered in 2012. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff. The nursery opens from 7.30am until 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, for 51 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. It operates a before- and after-school club during school term times and a holiday club during school holidays. 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 The manager and inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. n Children spoke to the inspector during the inspection. n Staff spoke to the inspector during the inspection. 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 observed the interactions between staff/the childminder and children. n The inspector carried out joint observations of group activities with the manager. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of their views. n The manager showed the inspector documentation to demonstrate the suitability

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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

6 March 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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