Westfield Centre Children's Day Care

Inspection of Westfield Centre Children's Day Care Westfield Centre, Westfield Lane, Pontefract, West Yorkshire WF9 2PU

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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 Requires improvement

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The provision is inadequate

Significant and continued failings in leadership have a detrimental impact on children's care, learning and development. The ongoing poor oversight from leaders has failed to identify the continued decline in standards from the last inspection. Improvement plans identified by local authority advisors have not been implemented until recently. This has resulted in areas for improvement continuing to grow, as previous leadership and management failed to make any changes. The recently recruited experienced manager is aware of the significant weaknesses in practice and is trying hard to overcome these. However, as other senior staff lack the knowledge and skills needed, the manager has little support to make and secure improvements.

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The provision is inadequate

Staff are kind and caring. However, weaknesses within the implementation of safeguarding procedures and the key-person system result in children's welfare not being maintained. Staff provide children with fun activities to participate in. While children enjoy these, they are not purposeful and do not build on their prior knowledge and skills. Staff plan activities based on yearly events, like autumn and Halloween, not around the skills and knowledge they want children to learn. The lack of support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), also means gaps in children's development are not supported to close. Children's challenging behaviour is inconsistently managed, which does not help them to learn safe behaviours and boundaries.

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need to do better?

n Leaders have failed to follow secure recruitment procedures to ensure children are cared for by suitable staff. The new manager has introduced supervisions of staff, but there is no monitoring of her practice. Therefore, while the manager is beginning to coach staff, she receives little support and/or coaching. Senior staff lack the required skills and knowledge for their roles. This does not ensure children's needs are met or maintain their safety. n Improvements to internal security procedures have helped to increase the security of the nursery. When children go outside to play, they know to sit on the benches while they wait for staff to check the outside area for hazards. However, staff fail to identify standing water in resources as a potential risk to children. Staff do not empty the water out and children play in this. Staff have no way of knowing if the water is clean and safe for children to play with. Staff's poor

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need to do better?

practices do not help children to learn when they may be at risk. n The key-person system has recently changed, and the manager is aware it is not yet effective. This is because staff do not always work with their key children. While staff have an overview of some children's needs, their knowledge is not good enough. Information is either not in place and/or shared, which results in

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need to do better?

25 October 2023 children's needs not being met. n The manager has identified significant gaps in staff knowledge of how children learn, including no monitoring systems to assess children's progress. The manager is supporting staff to begin to assess each child. This will then provide staff with a firm basis on which to support children's future learning and development. However, currently there is no curriculum in place. This means children are not being supported to make progress or to develop positive attitudes to learning. n Children enjoy participating in a range of activities planned by staff. However, staff confirm these activities are not based on children's individual needs or developmental abilities. For example, staff explain activities are planned for Halloween. The collage activity for two-year-olds has pens, paper and leaves but no glue for sticking. Pre-school children have fun painting spiders, with staff

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need to do better?

encouraging them to count the number of legs their spiders have. However, each staff member has no awareness of how the activities support individual children with their next steps in learning. Activities and experiences, therefore, do not support children's progress, as they lack purpose and challenge. n Staff are unable to support children with SEND to catch up with their peers. Details for targeted intervention plans have not been updated for some children since October 2022 and for another child since January 2023. This is despite other professionals visiting recently and sharing new targets for these children. Staff, therefore, fail to use any strategies to support these children or meet their needs. The lack of clear information also results in delays for external support and services being obtained for these children. n Staff inconsistently manage children's challenging behaviour and do not help

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need to do better?

children learn what is acceptable behaviour. For example, staff sometimes ignore the poor behaviour. Then at other times, several staff try to intervene and use different strategies to try and manage the behaviour. This uncertainty does not help children to learn to play safely or appropriately with their peers, or conform to acceptable rules and boundaries.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Children's welfare is not protected. Some staff lack knowledge of a wide range of indicators of abuse. They are unfamiliar with how to identify possible signs associated with drugs, radicalisation and extreme views or behaviours. Staff are aware of the procedures to record information if children arrive with an existing injury. However, completed pre-existing injuries forms lack detail about any injuries and their cause. Staff fail to identify when children may be at risk of abuse or understand when an allegation has been made against a staff member. Staff, therefore, do not follow safeguarding procedures in a timely manner until directed to do so by the new manager. Although staff have recently undertaken child protection training, they lack confidence and knowledge in these procedures. Children's well-being is, therefore, not maintained.

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Due date

ensure all staff have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues, so that they are able to identify signs of possible abuse at the earliest opportunity and respond in an appropriate and timely way 14/11/2023

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Due date

ensure child protection procedures are consistently implemented, with specific regard to obtaining and recording clear information about children's pre-existing injuries where appropriate and recognising when an allegation against a staff member has been made so that relevant procedures can be followed 14/11/2023

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Due date

ensure senior staff have the required skills and knowledge to undertake their roles 14/11/2023

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Due date

ensure effective procedures are followed to assess the suitability of staff working with children 14/11/2023

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Due date

ensure staff understand how to conduct thorough risk assessments, with specific regard to the outdoor area, so that potential hazards are identified and minimised 14/11/2023

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Due date

implement monitoring arrangements for the performance and practice of the manager, which includes the confidential discussion of sensitive issues 14/11/2023

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Due date

25 October 2023 ensure arrangements in place support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) so that they benefit from effective planning which is regularly reviewed and updated to meet their needs 14/11/2023

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Due date

review the effectiveness of the key person system to ensure children's individual needs continue to be met 14/11/2023

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Due date

ensure children's behaviour is managed appropriately and consistently by all staff. 14/11/2023

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Due date

ensure the curriculum intent focuses on the broad range of skills and knowledge children need to develop over time, and share this with staff, so that children are constantly challenged and supported in their play 18/12/2023

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Due date

ensure staff monitor children's progress, so they understand each child's level of achievement and interests and then use this information to plan purposeful learning experiences which focus on building on children's prior knowledge and skills. 18/12/2023

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY545703 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 10314167 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 39 Number of children on roll 39 Name of registered person South Elmsall Community Facilities Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01977 642335 Date of previous inspection 29 March 2023

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Information about this early years setting

Westfield Centre Children's Day Care registered in 2017. The nursery currently employs 13 members of childcare staff. Of these, 12 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or above. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round, excluding bank holidays and two weeks at Christmas. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about 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 Staff and children spoke with 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 Parents shared their views of the nursery with the inspector.

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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

25 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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