The Childcare Academy Ltd

Inspection of The Childcare Academy Ltd G8 Shipwright's House, Queens Dock Business Centre, 67-83 Norfolk Street, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 0BG

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is good

Staff greet children and their parents with smiles and eagerness as they arrive at the nursery. They take the time to speak with parents about children's care and development needs. Staff offer nurturing hugs and create strong attachments with children. Children demonstrate they are happy and feel safe and secure. Staff promote children's positive behaviour well. They demonstrate to younger children the need to share toys, and older children are reminded of the nursery rules. Staff carefully select their words as they encourage children to take turns and be patient. This results in children playing well together, reminding their friends that 'sharing is caring'. Staff place great emphasis on supporting children's emotional well-being. For example, they use a 'feeling tree' and an 'emotion board'. This helps to support children to express their feelings and emotions.

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The provision is good

Staff provide learning opportunities to children that cover all areas of learning. They capture children's curiosity and extend their concentration. Children enjoy feeling pine cones and crunching leaves in their hands, while others scoop out the middle of a pumpkin and show great delight as they search for seeds. Staff have high expectations for every child. This ensures that all children make good progress in their learning.

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need to do better?

n The management team works well together and has a clear vision. It shares this with the staff and together they provide a high-quality service to children and families. The manager accurately identifies the strengths and the progress that they have made since opening the nursery. She works with other professionals, such as the local authority quality officer, and has a detailed action plan in place that will support future developments and improvements. n Staff feel the manager is approachable and takes into consideration their emotional needs and continued professional development. Supervision meetings are regularly carried out and staff training needs are identified. As a result, staff have a great understanding of how children learn and develop and carry out their roles and responsibilities well. n The management team and staff have devised a well-sequenced curriculum that supports all the children that attend. This includes children who speak English as

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need to do better?

an additional language and children who have enhanced play plans in place. Staff know children well and use information from observations to identify gaps in their learning and development. Children benefit from meaningful and focused learning experiences that staff plan to help prepare them for the next stage in their learning. n Staff support children's communication and language development well. They sing songs and rhymes that children eagerly join in with. Staff speak clearly to

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need to do better?

13 October 2023 children as they read stories and skilfully ask them questions, giving them time to respond. Yet, on occasions, some staff do not ensure that they are consistent in their approach when capturing children's attention. This results in some children not being aware that they are being spoken to and prevents them from hearing or understanding the instructions given. This does not fully support children to learn to listen attentively and respond effectively. n Children show great determination and are eager to do things for themselves. For instance, they take off their wellington boots and place their coats on their allocated peg. However, some staff are too quick to carry out tasks for children, such as wiping their noses, serving them food and pouring them drinks. This prevents children from further developing and building on their self-care and independence skills. n Staff develop good relationships with parents. They communicate well with

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need to do better?

parents and continually hold discussions about children's development and how they can further support this at home. Furthermore, staff welcome information from parents about any learning that takes place at home. This two-way communication supports children's continuity in learning. Parents state that their children have blossomed at the nursery and they are very impressed with the information that staff gather when their children start. This helps staff to support children's emotional needs and they settle quickly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager demonstrates a good understanding of the importance of safeguarding children. Recruitment and vetting procedures help to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff are clear about their role and responsibilities and the procedures to follow if they have any concerns. The safeguarding policy is regularly reviewed and reflects local policy and procedures. Staff ensure that the premises are safe and secure and make children aware of potential hazards around nursery. For example, they highlight to children that the ramp is slippery from the rain. This increases children's awareness of the need to keep themselves safe.

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should:

n review the strategies that staff use when capturing children's attention and when giving instructions to further develop and support children's understanding and listening skills n support staff to make better use of opportunities to allow children to further support and build on their independence and self-care skills.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2648388 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 10308664 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 59 Name of registered person The Childcare Academy Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 0151 318 7399 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

The Childcare Academy Ltd registered in 2021. It is located in Liverpool. The nursery employs 13 members of childcare staff. Of these, seven staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, all year round. The nursery offers funded early education to two- and three-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the nursery 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 and inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. 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 carried out joint observations of a group activity with the manager. n Parents shared their views of the nursery with the inspector. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.

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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

13 October 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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