Little Swans Day Nursery

Inspection of Little Swans Day Nursery 330 Yardley Road, Yardley, Birmingham B25 8LT

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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 safety is not assured. Staff do not understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They lack awareness of signs that could indicate a child is at risk of abuse or harm, and they do not know the correct procedures to follow to report concerns. Children are exposed to some risks to their safety because managers and staff do not respond to radiators that have become very hot. Parents are not always provided with information about head injuries that children sustain in a timely way, to ensure their safety.

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The provision is inadequate

The curriculum does not provide children with a breadth of knowledge or experience so that they become well prepared for the next stage in their learning. Staff provide children with some resources to play with. However, these activities are often mundane. Children repeat playing with the same resources for a long time, such as blocks or animals. There is not enough choice for them to make about what they want to do next. Staff do not change activities to reflect children's interests. As a result, some children lose focus quickly. They gaze around the room and are not motivated to learn. Older children sit looking out of the window when they know their parents are due to arrive.

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The provision is inadequate

Children practise some physical skills. Outdoors, they use ride-on toys to move around a track and learn to use steps to navigate using a slide. Children use different tools to transport and manipulate sand.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and managers have a poor oversight of the quality of provision. They do not monitor staff's teaching or practice closely to identify and address weaknesses. Leaders and managers have not recognised significant breaches to requirements that impact on the quality of care and education that children receive. n Leaders and managers are unaware that staff do not understand safeguarding issues and procedures. Staff do not know how to identify or respond to child protection concerns. This means that children are not safeguarded. n Risk assessment is not used effectively. Staff and managers are aware that, at times, radiators can become too hot. However, they fail to monitor this closely. As a result, some radiators become very hot to touch, which puts children's safety at risk. n Accident procedures are weak. Written records of some accidents children sustain are not maintained. Staff do not communicate with each other, or with

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need to do better?

parents, when children have sustained head injuries. This means that parents do not receive accurate information about accidents or injuries their children have sustained, to enable them to monitor them at home to ensure their safety.

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need to do better?

18 October 2023 n Leaders, managers and staff do not understand how to promote children's good health. They do not recognise risks of cross-infection, such as using nappy changing mats that have become torn, or staff not washing their hands between wiping different children's noses. Some younger children drink from each other's cups, and staff do not take action to clean these. Older children do not learn how to manage their own hygiene. They are not encouraged to dry their hands after they have washed them. Prior to eating their snack, children wipe their hands on a carpet or their shoes to dry them. n Many children have experienced recent changes to their key person. As a result, staff do not know children well. Information about children's learning has not been exchanged between staff. They are unclear about whether assessments of children's development and progress have been undertaken. Consequently, care

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need to do better?

and learning programmes are not tailored to meet each child's individual needs. n The quality of education that children receive is poor. Staff plan some activities. However, the learning intentions for these activities are not closely linked to children's next steps or individual needs. Children spend a long time repeating the same activities or playing with the few resources provided. This means that children are not supported to make progress in their learning. n Parents report that staff are generally very friendly and that their children enjoy attending the nursery. However, some parents raise concerns about communication with leaders and managers. Although some information is provided through an online portal, parents do not know or understand what it is that children are being supported to learn. This means they cannot build on children's learning outside of the nursery. n Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not receive

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need to do better?

the help and support they need. Some children, including those who have been attending for a long time and those who have significant delays in their development, have not yet received any support. This is despite parents also raising concerns. Although there is a named coordinator in place to support children with SEND, they do not provide support to staff or children swiftly enough due to limited time provided by managers to fulfil their role. This impacts on children's learning and means that gaps in their development are at risk of widening. n The arrangements for the supervision of staff are weak. Although leaders and managers complete some observations of staff and provide opportunities for supervision meetings, this is not effective. They have not identified staff's training needs. Staff do not receive the support and professional development opportunities they need to improve their knowledge and skills and provide

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need to do better?

children with high-quality care and education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Training made available to staff does not ensure that they understand how to protect children from the risk of harm. Staff have a poor knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues. They do not know how to report child

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Safeguarding

18 October 2023 protection concerns to the local safeguarding partners. For some staff, their understanding of how to respond to possible child protection issues places children at increased risk of harm. Risk assessment is not used effectively to keep children safe. Children are at risk of sustaining burns because radiators become too hot. Information about accidents that children sustain is not shared with parents to ensure children's safety outside of the nursery.

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Due date

ensure that all staff have a secure knowledge of how to identify and respond to child protection issues and concerns and understand the roles and procedures of the local safeguarding partners 17/11/2023

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Due date

make sure that risk assessment is used effectively to identify any risks to children's health and safety, and ensure that action is taken to reduce or minimise risks in a timely way 17/11/2023

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Due date

ensure that all hygiene practices and procedures minimise the risks of cross- infection and promote the good health of children 17/11/2023

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Due date

implement an effective key-person system which ensures that staff know children well and enables them to provide care and learning that is tailored to meet each child's individual needs 17/11/2023

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Due date

ensure that written records of accidents or injuries children sustain are maintained and that clear and accurate information is provided to parents on the same day, or as soon as reasonably practicable 17/11/2023

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Due date

18 October 2023 ensure that there is effective communication between staff and parents, to provide continuity in children's care, learning and development 17/11/2023

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Due date

ensure that the arrangements for the supervision, monitoring and professional development of all staff are effective so that they fully understand and fulfil their roles and responsibilities 17/11/2023

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Due date

put appropriate arrangements in place to provide support for children with SEND. 17/11/2023

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Due date

use assessment information purposefully to ensure that planning and activities provided to children are suitably challenging, interesting and take account of children's individual needs. 15/12/2023

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY103338 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 10313869 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 124 Number of children on roll 139 Name of registered person Boulton, Elaine Sheila

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reference number

Telephone number 0121 706 8889 Date of previous inspection 25 October 2021

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Information about this early years setting

Little Swans Day Nursery registered in 2002. It is situated in Yardley, Birmingham. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are between 7.30am and 6pm. The nursery employs 21 members of childcare staff. Of these, two hold qualifications at level 5, eight hold qualifications at level 3 and four hold qualifications at level 2. The nursery provides early education funding for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the provider and have 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 provider, manager and inspectors completed a learning walk to gather information about how the provision and curriculum are organised. n The provider and one inspector carried out a joint observation to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching. n The inspectors spoke to, and viewed written feedback from, parents and took account of their views. n The inspectors spoke to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspectors observed the quality of teaching, indoors and outdoors, to assess the impact of this on children's learning. n The inspectors spoke with the provider and manager about the leadership and

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Inspection activities

management of the nursery and looked at relevant documentation and evidence of staff 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

18 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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