Cheeky Little Monkeys Nursery

Inspection of Cheeky Little Monkeys Nursery Hailsham Baptist Church, Market Street, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 2AG

p.1

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

p.1

The provision is inadequate

There are significant weaknesses at this nursery. Breaches to the safeguarding and welfare requirements have an impact on children's safety, learning and well-being. Oversight of the nursery is insufficient. Due to this, managers and staff do not always recognise when children may be at risk of abuse or neglect and do not take prompt action to protect them. In addition, all staff are not vetted appropriately to ensure that they are suitable to have access to children and their families. This compromises children's safety.

p.2

The provision is inadequate

Furthermore, the quality of education children receive is poor. The staff team does not implement an effective curriculum. Therefore, staff do not think carefully about what they want children to learn and why. Staff are not always aware of what children could learn from the activities they offer. Play and learning experiences are planned around themes but activities do not routinely consider children's own interests or individual learning needs. As a result, children's learning is not well promoted. Consequently, all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not make the progress they are capable of. In addition, this negatively impacts children's behaviour and attitudes to learning as they are disengaged.

p.2

The provision is inadequate

Despite these significant failings, staff are kind and caring towards children. They work hard to develop positive relationships with children, helping them to develop secure attachments and feel comfortable in the nursery.

p.2

need to do better?

n Safeguarding arrangements do not keep children safe. Those who have lead responsibility for safeguarding do not take appropriate action to refer concerns for children's welfare in a timely manner or in line with local safeguarding partnership guidance. In addition, staff do not always identify when children could be at risk of harm. This significantly compromises children's safety. n Procedures in place to assess the suitability of staff are not always followed. For instance, appropriate recruitment and vetting checks are not carried out for all staff before they start their employment. These failings further compromise children's safety. n Monitoring of the provision is not sufficiently robust. The provider does not take enough action to identify and address weaknesses in practice at the nursery and in staff's understanding of their roles and responsibilities. This has a significant impact on the quality of the provision.

p.2

need to do better?

n There are not effective arrangements in place to ensure that there is a broad, well-balanced and ambitious curriculum on offer for children. Staff do not receive adequate training or support to plan effective learning experiences. Children do

p.2

need to do better?

12 June 2024 not have access to learning that is well planned or sequenced to meet their individual needs. Children are disengaged and often wander around the environment, flitting from activity to activity. This does not provide children with the opportunity to develop a secure foundation for future learning. n Staff plan next steps for children, but these do not precisely focus on what children have already learned and what they need to learn next. This means that children do not have access to appropriate challenge or receive the targeted support needed to make good progress. n Staff receive supervision sessions. However, these processes are not effective. They do not accurately identify gaps in staff's knowledge or weaknesses in their practice. Consequently, these supervision sessions do not support staff to access the training or receive the coaching and mentoring they need. This inhibits staff from gaining the knowledge and skills required to continually improve their

p.2

need to do better?

personal effectiveness. n Children's behaviour is poor. They do not have stimulating activities to captivate their attention. Therefore, children spend their time trying to amuse themselves. This results in inappropriate behaviour. For example, children hurt each other and others by climbing dangerously on furniture. Although staff intervene, they are overwhelmed by the amount of challenging behaviour. As a result, a lot of altercations between children go unnoticed. This does not support children's growing understanding of their own emotions or support them to learn right from wrong. n The staff team is aware of children with SEND. However, arrangements in place fail to provide these children with the support they need so that they can progress in their development. Although these children have individual support plans, these are not always used by staff and so are ineffective. Furthermore, some staff are unsure if children have specific strategies to implement from

p.3

need to do better?

other professionals. This does not meet these children's individual needs. n Children's good health is not well promoted. Some areas of the nursery are dirty, such as the carpets and soft furnishings. In addition, children do not always have access to appropriate, hygienic toilet and handwashing facilities. For example, they often use a dirty portable toilet and do not have access to clean water or soap. Some children do not wash their hands before meals. This often goes unnoticed by staff due to the chaotic environment. n Risk assessment is ineffective. Staff do not have the training and support they need to help them identify and respond to risks. For instance, at times, the indoor floor areas are covered with toys. This often causes children to trip. Furthermore, resources such as a plastic water tray are broken but remain in use. This exposes children to sharp plastic that could cause injury. This does not

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

p.3

Safeguarding

There is not an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

p.3

Due date

take action to ensure that safeguarding concerns are referred in a timely manner in line with local safeguarding partnership guidelines 28/06/2024

p.4

Due date

ensure that effective recruitment and vetting procedures are robust to ensure the suitability of those individuals accessing children and their families 28/06/2024

p.4

Due date

establish effective oversight and governance of the provision to ensure that managers and staff understand how to fulfil their roles and responsibilities 28/06/2024

p.4

Due date

ensure that all staff, including those with lead responsibilities for safeguarding, have sufficient knowledge and understanding of how to identify child welfare concerns and take swift action to keep children safe 28/06/2024

p.4

Due date

ensure that staff supervision arrangements are effective in identifying gaps in their knowledge and practice and that staff receive training and support to improve their personal effectiveness 28/06/2024

p.4

Due date

ensure that staff deployment arrangements are effective in consistently meeting the individual needs of the children, including those with SEND 28/06/2024

p.4

Due date

12 June 2024 provide staff with support and coaching so that they can implement appropriate and consistent strategies for managing children's behaviour, to help all children to feel safe and understand how to manage their own feelings and behaviour 28/06/2024

p.4

Due date

ensure that the needs of children with SEND are met through agreed strategies that are understood and consistently implemented by all staff 28/06/2024

p.5

Due date

take action to ensure that the premises are clean and fit for purpose, including being compliant with health and safety legislation and hygiene requirements 28/06/2024

p.5

Due date

take action to implement a rigorous system for risk assessment to ensure that hazards are identified and managed effectively and promptly so that children are not exposed to risks. 28/06/2024

p.5

Due date

implement a broad and well-balanced curriculum to build on each child's existing knowledge, skills and capabilities and engage them fully in their learning 17/07/2024

p.5

Due date

implement accurate assessment and planning to ensure that children's individual next steps are meaningful and personalised for them to make the progress they are capable of. 17/07/2024

p.5

Setting details

Unique reference number EY477455 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 10339602 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

p.6

Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Sessional day care

p.6

inspection

Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 30 Name of registered person The Park Pre-School Ltd

p.6

reference number

Telephone number 07960 830588 Date of previous inspection 26 June 2019

p.6

Information about this early years setting

Cheeky Little Monkeys Nursery re-registered in 2014. The nursery is open from Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9.15am to 2.15pm. The nursery employs five members of staff. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

p.6

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 We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the nursery. n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want children to learn. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided and assessed the impact on children's learning. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and children. n Children communicated with the inspector during the inspection. n The manager showed the inspector documentation to demonstrate the suitability

p.7

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.

p.7

Inspection activities

12 June 2024 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.

p.7

Inspection activities

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspection activities

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk

p.8

Inspection activities

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspection activities

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8