Little Fingers Preschool & Out of School Club

Summary of outcome

All early years providers must meet the legal requirements in the Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage, which you can find at

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Summary of outcome

www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2. If we find that a provider is not meeting the requirements, we can take action to ensure they put matters right.

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Summary of outcome

On 12 January 2023, we carried out an inspection and found the provider was not meeting some of these requirements.

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Summary of outcome

The overall effectiveness of the provision was judged to be inadequate. The inspection report sets out the actions the provider was required to take to meet the requirements.

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Summary of outcome

On 7 February 2023, we carried out a regulatory visit. The focus of the visit was to check whether the provider had met the safeguarding and welfare actions raised at their last inspection. We found the provider had met some of the safeguarding and welfare actions but not others.

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Summary of outcome

The provider has ensured that children's attendance at the setting is monitored. They call parents and/or carers when children do not attend the setting, stating the reasons why this is so. The provider stated these records are reviewed to be sure they have valid reasons for children's non-attendance to the setting. The provider ensures that children have no access to the outside play area linked to the setting as this area continues to be unsafe. They have ensured that information has been sourced from every parent and/or carer, regarding children's name, address, date of birth, and name and address of every parent and/or carer. While the provider has taken some steps to develop the key person system, staff have a poor understanding of how the children learn, of what the areas of learning are, and how to implement an effective curriculum to meet the needs of children and to ensure every child has the opportunity to make the progress they are capable of.

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Summary of outcome

We have served a welfare requirements notice. This is a legal notice that requires the provider to take the actions below within the timescales set out. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this.

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Summary of outcome

n ensure all those working with children have a thorough knowledge and understanding of how to safeguard children and be able to identify those children who may be at risk of harm, including children who may be at risk of radicalisation or extreme behaviours

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Summary of outcome

n implement effective risk assessments regarding the use of mobile phones on outings and ensure this is followed and understood by all staff ensure all children have daily access to the outdoors

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Summary of outcome

n ensure staff know and understand how to support the care and learning needs of children who may have children special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to enable staff to plan high quality learning experiences tailored to children's individual needs

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Summary of outcome

n ensure parents are provided with accurate information about the Statutory

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Summary of outcome

framework for the early years foundation stage (EYFS) which helps them understand the progress their children are making n ensure that key persons plan and provide a learning environment tailored to the individual needs of every child

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Summary of outcome

n use supervision, coaching and support effectively for all staff, including the manager, to ensure they have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of how to support every child to make appropriate progress in their learning and development

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Summary of outcome

n ensure a regular two-way flow of information between parents/carers and providers of other settings that children may attend, to help ensure that information is obtained to help meet the needs of every child

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Summary of outcome

n help staff to understand how to promote and support children's good oral health, with particular regard to the provision of juice in bottles with teats for children.

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Summary of outcome

On 28 February 2023 we carried out another regulatory visit. The focus of the visit was to check whether the provider had met the safeguarding and welfare actions raised at their last visit. We found the provider had met some of the safeguarding and welfare actions but not others.

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Summary of outcome

The provider has bought a mobile telephone for staff to take on outings with the children. This enables them to be able to contact the setting or other services in the event of any emergency that may occur. The provider ensures that the staff in the provision no longer use their own mobile telephones on outings or to take pictures of children in the setting. They have addressed issues relating to children's good health. They no longer allow children to drink juice out of a bottle and encourage the use of cups or only water in bottles. The provider has taken some steps to develop relationships with other settings that the children attend, to help find out how children are developing elsewhere. However, this information is not yet used well-enough to help support children's learning in this provision. While the provider has taken some steps to help parents learn more about what takes place in the setting, this currently only links to a letter about attendance and the safeguarding

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Summary of outcome

policy. Actions remain in place regarding children's learning and development that were set at the inspection in January 2023. We served another welfare requirements notice. This is a legal notice that requires the provider to take the actions below within the timescale set out. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this.

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Summary of outcome

n ensure all those working with children have a thorough understanding of how to safeguard children from harm and be able to clearly identify children who may be at risk of harm, including children who may be at risk of radicalisation or extreme behaviours

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Summary of outcome

n ensure all children have daily access to the outdoors

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Summary of outcome

n ensure systems are in place to accurately identify and support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to allow them to access planned, high quality learning experiences tailored to their individual needs

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Summary of outcome

n ensure effective partnership working with other settings children attend, using information gathered to support children's learning and development

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Summary of outcome

n ensure key persons know children well and support their individual needs appropriately

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Summary of outcome

n ensure all those working with children develop their knowledge and understanding of how to help children learn and develop in order to offer high quality learning and development experiences for all children n ensure effective arrangements are in place for the supervision of staff to support, coach and train them to develop their teaching skills.

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Summary of outcome

We will monitor the provider's response to ensure the action is successfully completed.

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Summary of outcome

On 25 April 2023, we carried out an inspection. We found that the provider had met some of the actions due by 19 April 2023, but not all. Additionally, we found that the provider was not meeting some of the other requirements. We served another welfare requirements notice. This is a legal notice that requires the provider to take the actions below within the timescale set out. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this.

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Summary of outcome

n ensure that parents know how children are learning and the progress they are making, particularly for those parents and children who speak English as an additional language

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Summary of outcome

n ensure staff plan appropriately for children with special educational needs

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Summary of outcome

n improve the monitoring of staff practice to swiftly identify staff who need further support, and ensure that professional development opportunities are focused on improving staff's knowledge and skills to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently good level

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Summary of outcome

n devise and implement an ambitious and challenging curriculum that supports every child's learning and development in all areas, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language

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Summary of outcome

n ensure children who are learning to speak English as an additional language are provided with opportunities to use their home language at the setting to further support their communication and language skills

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Summary of outcome

n improve the curriculum for children's communication and language to ensure every child makes appropriate progress in their speaking skills

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Summary of outcome

n ensure staff observe, assess and plan for all children appropriately

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Summary of outcome

n improve the curriculum for physical development to ensure children have opportunities to develop their large-muscle skills.

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Summary of outcome

On 15 June we carried out a regulatory call. The focus of the call was to check whether the provider had met the safeguarding and welfare actions and learning and development actions, raised at their last inspection. We found the provider had met some of the actions but not all.

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Summary of outcome

The provider stated that parents are now spoken with about the progress their children are making in their learning and development to ensure they are informed of how their children learn. They stated that they ensure that children who have special educational needs are identified and that they put plans in place to meet their needs. The provider stated that they monitor staff practice through observations and regular support meetings, to identify weaknesses and set targets to improve. Although the learning and development actions were discussed, there was no evidence provided to show the impact this was having on children, therefore a regulatory visit took place to monitor the actions on the 12 July 2023. We found the provider had met some of the safeguarding and welfare actions but not others and some aspects of the learning and development actions.

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Summary of outcome

The provider ensures children have better opportunities to develop their large muscle-skills through the provision of tricycles, a parachute, balls, tunnels and soft play. The manager does monitor staff practice and although this has generated a little improvement in terms of the curriculum, this process is still not effective. Although the provider has plans in place to support children, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, staff do not know how to put effective plans in place or know when to seek intervention, to ensure every child makes the progress they are capable of.

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Summary of outcome

We issued an actions letter and served another welfare requirements notice. This is a legal notice that requires the provider to take the actions below within the timescale set out. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this.

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Summary of outcome

n ensure that any delays in children's development are identified by staff swiftly and that every step is taken to seek appropriate support and intervention as quickly as possible

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Summary of outcome

n ensure that leaders and managers improve their knowledge and understanding of how to identify weaknesses in staff practice to ensure that teaching improves

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Summary of outcome

n demonstrate that all those working with children understand how to accurately assess that children are learning and developing, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language

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Summary of outcome

n ensure staff develop the skills and knowledge needed to promote children's communication and language skills effectively, particularly for those children who speak English as an additional language

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Summary of outcome

n ensure the manager and staff have a clear understanding of how to provide children with a curriculum that is ambitious and appropriate for every child, which takes account of their interests, individual needs and next steps in learning We are taking steps to cancel the provider's registration. On 16 June 2023, the provider objected to us taking this step. Having reviewed the provider's reasons for objecting to this step we are proceeding with steps to cancel the provider's registration.

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Summary of outcome

We took steps to cancel the provider's registration. On 16 June 2023, the provider appealed to an independent external tribunal, the Health, Education and Social Care First-tier Tribunal. However, the provider withdrew their appeal on 9 August 2023. The provider's registration is therefore cancelled.

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