Storkway Nursery

Inspection of Storkway Nursery Storkway Childrens Centre, Ridgebrook Road, Kidbrooke, London SE3 9QX

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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

Breaches in the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the early years foundation stage have a significant impact on the learning, safety and welfare of the children. Children do not always experience warm and positive interactions with staff to support their care and learning. For instance, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not supported by their key persons when they struggle with routines such as mealtimes. Other staff do not always understand their needs and, at times, become frustrated, rushing children through routines and completing tasks for them. Therefore, children miss out on positive learning opportunities.

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The provision is inadequate

The quality of education is poor. Despite some staff initiating meaningful conversations with children and introducing them to new words as they play, others offer little or no support to extend children's language. Furthermore, staff are not always deployed effectively to adequately supervise children. This means that children are often left to their own devices, and some spend a high proportion of their time not engaged in meaningful learning. Children do not receive support and guidance from staff to help them understand their feelings and adapt their behaviour. At times, minor disagreements escalate, and children become upset or hurt each other. Children do not always feel safe and secure.

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need to do better?

n Recently, the manager has faced a challenging time due to difficulties in recruiting staff. During this time, the provider has relied on agency staff to meet the required ratios for staff qualifications. This has had a detrimental impact on the quality of the provision. For instance, some staff comment that they have been asked to carry out tasks without prior training. The manager has identified the weaknesses in staff's performance. However, the support and supervision provided to address this is not effective. Therefore, some staff do not fulfil their roles and responsibilities adequately and provide a poor quality of education. n The manager describes what she wants children to learn at the nursery and how they might achieve this. However, some staff do not have a good enough knowledge of how young children learn and develop to implement an effective curriculum. Staff have developed links with the local authority SEND team to

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need to do better?

help children work towards individual learning targets. However, inconsistencies in teaching mean that children, including those with SEND and those who receive additional funding, do not make the best possible progress. n Staff are not always deployed effectively to ensure that children are safe and that their needs are met. For example, staff identify potential risks when planning activities for babies. However, they do not ensure that babies are always closely supervised while engaging in risky activities. This compromises

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need to do better?

5 July 2023 children's health and safety. n The key-person system is not fully effective. Although all children have an allocated key person, they do not receive consistent personalised support and care from them. For example, babies become extremely distraught when their nappies are changed by staff who do not understand their emotional needs or how to reassure them. n Staff do not manage children's behaviour effectively. For instance, they ignore unkind acts or give children commands, such as 'hands down', when they push each other. Therefore, children do not learn about boundaries and how to moderate their behaviour. n Parents are generally happy with the childcare service and say that staff are friendly and welcoming. However, some parents comment that staff do not consistently provide regular feedback on their child's progress and development to help them to continue this at home. n Children have ample opportunity to play outdoors. They enjoy being active and

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need to do better?

develop a good range of physical skills as they run, climb, balance and ride tricycles. Children are served a range of healthy meals and snacks each day, which contributes to their enjoyment of healthy lifestyles. n Children show enthusiasm and engage well in activities that interest them. For example, they enjoy discussions with staff about familiar stories. Children make marks to represent their ideas or join staff to re-enact a 'bear hunt' in the garden.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager and staff attend safeguarding training and understand a broad range of child protection issues. They know how to identify signs of child abuse and what to do if they have concerns about a child's welfare. Staff carry out safety checks of the premises and resources to remove and reduce risks. However, staff are not always vigilant enough to ensure children's safety. Some staff do not support children's emotional well-being effectively, to help them feel safe and secure at the nursery.

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Due date

5 July 2023 implement effective supervision and training programmes for all staff in order to develop and improve their knowledge and skills and raise the quality of education to a good level 28/08/2023

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Due date

support staff to implement a clear and well-sequenced curriculum, which takes account of the individual needs, interests and development of each child to help them make the best possible progress 28/08/2023

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Due date

ensure that staff are deployed effectively to keep children safe and to support their welfare and educational needs 28/08/2023

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Due date

improve the key-person system to ensure that information is shared effectively with all parents and that all children receive consistent, good-quality care and learning experiences tailored to their individual needs 28/08/2023

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Due date

develop staff's understanding of how to manage children's behaviour and to teach children about expectations and boundaries in appropriate ways. 28/08/2023

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY279982 Local authority Greenwich Inspection number 10298846 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 50 Number of children on roll 69 Name of registered person Pre-School Learning Alliance

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reference number

Telephone number 0208 856 2277 Date of previous inspection 26 February 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Storkway Nursery registered in 2005. It is located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The nursery is open from 8am to 6pm, each weekday, throughout most of of the year. The provider employs 16 members of staff, six of whom hold an early years qualification at level 2, level 3 or level 6. The manager holds qualified teacher status. The nursery offers funded 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 inspector observed the quality of education and assessed the impact on children's learning. This included a joint observation with the manager. n The manager showed the inspector the nursery premises and explained how they organise the learning programmes for children. n The inspector spoke with parents, staff and children and took account of their views and experiences of the nursery. n Leaders met with the inspector to discuss issues such as staff recruitment. They ensured that relevant documents were available for the inspector to view.

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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

5 July 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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