Washington Day Nursery

Inspection of Washington Day Nursery Washington Day Nursery, Knoulberry, Blackfell Village, Washington, Tyne and Wear NE37 1HA

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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

The nursery does not have a robust approach to safeguarding children. Risk assessments are not well embedded across the setting. Safeguarding policies and procedures are not well understood and are not always implemented. Leaders do not ensure that there is always a manager or named deputy on site. As a result, the quality of the provision is left to chance and staff and children do not receive enough support from their leaders.

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The provision is inadequate

Weaknesses in planning the curriculum mean that children are not making good progress. Children are not given enough opportunity to explore their interests with independence. They lie on the floor for long periods of time because there is not enough for them to do. Routines and behavioural expectations are not implemented consistently. As a result, children do not learn to develop positive behaviours and attitudes. Children struggle to maintain concentration and engagement in tasks because the environment is disorderly. This does not prepare children well for the transition to school. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not given the support they need to help them participate in activities and routines. Furthermore, there is not a key-person system implemented in the nursery and this has a particular impact on children with SEND.

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The provision is inadequate

The setting has recently been through a turbulent period with many staff changes, and this has contributed to the decline in the quality of the provision. That being said, leaders are keen to rapidly improve the nursery and intend to take action to improve standards.

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need to do better?

n There is not an ambitious curriculum in place. While staff aim to plan activities linked to children's interests, the activities happen at random intervals, rather than as part of a planned, sequential curriculum. Leaders are not monitoring planning and assessment thoroughly enough. As a result, the activities that some children are asked to complete are beyond their current stage of development. For example, an activity requiring the use of scissors is provided for children who are not yet able to hold scissors. n The safeguarding policy does not provide leaders with enough clarity when they are faced with safeguarding matters. As a result, leaders have not followed the correct processes regarding allegations within the nursery. This means that concerns do not receive a swift response. n Leaders and staff do not have a thorough understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to child protection. Staff do not have a comprehensive

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need to do better?

understanding of how to identify safeguarding concerns. Leaders do not understand sufficiently well the process to follow when allegations are made

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need to do better?

1 May 2025 regarding staff conduct in the nursery. As a result, safeguarding agencies have not been notified. Additionally, the nursery has failed to notify Ofsted of significant events, including in relation to allegations, which is a requirement of their registration. n Staff do not consistently support children to develop their communication and language skills. This is, in part, due to weaknesses in the curriculum, as staff are not fully aware of the language they need to focus on. Music streaming devices are played at a very high volume, impeding children's ability to concentrate and tune into speech. Furthermore, when staff do model speech to children, correct grammar is not always used. Additionally, staff do not use stories, songs and rhymes effectively enough and do not promote a love of sharing books together. For instance, books are not well cared for and group story times are chaotic. Poor staff deployment means children do not receive sufficient support to

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need to do better?

develop good listening and attention skills. n The nursery has not implemented the key-person requirement. As a result, children are not receiving care which is tailored to meet their individual needs and staff are not establishing secure relationships with parents and carers. This means that children are frequently unsettled and behaviour is poor. Staff do not notice when children are left in wet t-shirts for long periods, including children with SEND who may find it difficult to communicate their needs. As such, children are not supported to understand that their personal care is important. Furthermore, parents and carers do not receive thorough communication about their children's experiences, including when their children have accidents or injuries in the nursery. n Management staff are not well deployed to support other staff and children. Furthermore, there is not always a manager or named deputy in the nursery.

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need to do better?

Poor communication across the nursery means that staff do not always know where managers are, or who to go to for support in their absence. This lack of leadership means that staff and children do not receive effective support to ensure the nursery runs smoothly, and there are periods where the nursery is chaotic. n Leaders do not monitor whether deployment of staff is effective in maintaining children's safety. For example, they have not identified that poor supervision of children, in conjunction with the lack of a key-person system, means staff do not notice when children with SEND put objects in their mouths, including small items that pose a choking risk or eat unsafe items, such as play dough. n There is a special educational needs coordinator in place, who is working to improve paperwork and referrals to outside agencies relating to the support for children with SEND. Although written support plans are accurate in identifying

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need to do better?

strategies to support these children, currently these plans are not implemented and have not been shared with staff who work with these children. As a result, children with SEND receive low levels of support. They are not included in routines or activities and wander around the room on their own. The safety of these children is not prioritised. n The bathroom for pre-school children is not suitably equipped. For instance, toilet seats and toilet roll dispensers are broken and toilet roll is stored directly on the floor. As such, this is not a clean and pleasant area for children to use

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need to do better?

1 May 2025 while developing their toilet training skills. n Leaders have not established a positive culture of safeguarding, including in relation to risk assessment. For instance, staff monitoring babies who are sleeping do not position themselves well enough so that they can closely observe babies' safety at all times. Additionally in the baby room, a music streaming device is balanced on a high surface, with a trailing wire. Staff have not suitably considered the risk of this falling onto a baby. Furthermore, when activities are set up, there is a failure to fully assess whether resources may present a choking hazard. The poor understanding of risk assessment means that children's safety is not considered deeply enough. n Leaders are not following the full legal requirements in relation to responding to complaints, including notifying complainants of the outcome of investigations. They do not consider the nature of complaints thoroughly enough and do not

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need to do better?

take enough action in response to concerns that have been raised. As a result, poor standards in the nursery have not been fully addressed and this has had a negative impact on children's overall development and the well-being of staff. n Procedures to protect the personal data of families have failed. Where there has been a data breach, leaders have not considered the potential impact of this thoroughly enough and have not given enough consideration as to how to respond, including whether a referral to the Information Commissioner's Office is required and whether to inform the affected families. As a result, families are unaware that their personal information has been leaked and have not had the opportunity to respond.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

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

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Due date

implement an ambitious curriculum that is effective in supporting all children to make good progress across all areas of learning 30/06/2025

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Due date

strengthen the safeguarding policy, so that leaders are clear about the actions they need to take, particularly in relation to managing allegations 15/05/2025

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Due date

1 May 2025 provide further training to ensure leaders and staff are confident in identifying signs and symptoms of abuse and fully understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding matters 15/05/2025

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Due date

provide staff with appropriate training to enable them to carry out their roles and responsibilities in the nursery effectively, including implementing the curriculum and meeting all aspects of children's needs 29/05/2025

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Due date

implement the key-person role across the nursery, so that all children's care is tailored to meet their individual needs and promotes partnerships with families 29/05/2025

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Due date

review and improve the deployment of staff to ensure that children's needs are met appropriately and care is consistent, this includes ensuring there is appropriate leadership on site at all times and that all members of staff understand these arrangements 15/05/2025

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Due date

ensure that children with SEND receive the support needed to help them to participate in nursery life and make progress towards their developmental next steps 15/05/2025

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Due date

ensure bathrooms are clean, well equipped and suitable for use by children 15/05/2025

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Due date

implement and monitor robust risk assessments, ensuring that all potential hazards are identified, minimised and managed effectively, to ensure children's safety in the nursery 15/05/2025

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Due date

review the complaints procedure and ensure that leaders hold a full understanding of this process, so that any complaints are handled in line with legal requirements 29/05/2025

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Due date

1 May 2025 ensure that leaders are aware of the need to comply with data collection regulations and understand the steps to take in the event of a data breach. 29/05/2025

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY444161 Local authority Sunderland Inspection number 10401546 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 55 Number of children on roll 56 Name of registered person Tyneside Early Education Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 0191 4171113 Date of previous inspection 17 October 2022

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Information about this early years setting

Washington Day Nursery registered in 2012. It is situated in Blackfell Village, Washington, Tyne and Wear. The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 are level 2 or above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 5.30pm. The nursery offers the government funded places for childcare.

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Inspection activities

n The manager and inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. n Children communicated with the inspector during the inspection. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector spoke with the leadership team about the leadership and management of the setting. n Staff spoke to the inspector about how they support children with SEND. 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 a joint observation of a communication and language activity with the manager. n Parents and grandparents shared their views of the setting 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

n We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider.

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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

1 May 2025 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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