Merchant Square Day Nursery

Inspection of Partou Merchant Square Day Nursery & Pre-School Harbet Road, Paddington, LONDON W2 1AJ

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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 and welfare are not assured. Staff lack knowledge and understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. They fail to identify and respond to possible child protection issues or concerns in a timely way. In addition, staff have a poor understanding of how to help children understand what is expected from them. Consequently, children show poor behaviours, which at times jeopardises their safety and the safety of others. Although staff try to respond to some of these behaviours, their attention on doing this means that other children are not always properly supervised.

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The provision is inadequate

There have been several recent changes to the leadership and management of the setting. New managers are ambitious about what they want children to learn. However, this vision is not yet shared by staff, and identified improvements have not yet been made. This means that the quality of education for children is poor. Children do engage in some activities. For example, with encouragement, they select test tubes from a storage unit and use these to fill and transport water into a larger jug. However, children quickly lose focus in activities and do not always have something interesting to move on to. This results in children wandering around and disrupting other children who are engaged.

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need to do better?

n Staff do not understand their duties to safeguard children. They are not alert to inappropriate behaviours of other staff and do not respond to these in a timely or appropriate way. Although there are policies and procedures in place to safeguard children, these are not understood properly, or implemented effectively, by leaders and managers. Required referrals to other agencies are sometimes delayed. Leaders and managers do not always recognise the impact of internal investigations on the safeguarding of children. n Children do not receive effective support to understand how to behave safely. Staff lack skills in supporting and managing children's behaviour. Children push and hurt their peers, and run around the room without focus. Staff often respond to such behaviours with only single words or instructions, such as 'no'. They do not consistently explain to children why they cannot behave in certain

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need to do better?

ways. This means that children do not learn clear boundaries about how to behave. This has an impact on children's safety and personal development. n Although there are sufficient staff present for the numbers of children who attend, they do not always deploy themselves effectively. Staff spend a lot of their time following children around or dealing with difficult behaviours. This results in the environment becoming chaotic, and other children are not always properly supervised. At mealtimes, staff chase children around the room who have left the dinner table. This means that some children remain eating without

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need to do better?

8 May 2025 being in sight and hearing of staff. This compromises children's safety. n New leaders and managers are aware of weaknesses in teaching and practice and the poor performance of some staff. They have devised improvement plans, but these are in their infancy. Staff receive some supervision from leaders and managers. However, this is not yet tackling poor performance or improving staff's effectiveness to meet children's needs. n Staff do not fully understand their roles or responsibilities. They do not consistently recognise when children need emotional support or comfort and do not help children to make positive choices during their day. Staff access some training and professional development opportunities, but these are not yet having an impact on their teaching and practice to promote the interests of children. n The quality of education that children receive is poor. Although staff know children's individual interests and next steps, these are not adequately planned

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need to do better?

for. Activities provided for children do not always keep them engaged and staff lack teaching skills to motivate children to learn. Children often lose interest in their play, which results in them throwing toys or disrupting others. This hinders the progress that children make in their learning and development. n Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive tailored support to promote their care and learning. Individualised plans are implemented to help close gaps in their learning. Leaders and managers liaise with other professionals to help children get any extra help they need. They work closely with parents to provide continuity between nursery and home.

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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

ensure that all staff receive training that enables them to identify and respond to any child protection issues or concerns, including the action to take in the event of inappropriate behaviour or conduct from staff 27/05/2025

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Due date

8 May 2025 implement and follow effective safeguarding policies and procedures that are in line with the guidance and procedures of the local safeguarding partners, particularly in regard to the action to be taken in the event of an allegation against a member of staff 27/05/2025

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Due date

ensure that all staff manage children's behaviour in an appropriate way, which helps children to understand what is expected of them and promotes their safety and well-being 27/05/2025

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Due date

deploy staff appropriately at all times to supervise children effectively, including when they are eating, to ensure their safety 27/05/2025

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Due date

make sure that arrangements for the supervision of staff are effective in tackling poor performance and weaknesses in knowledge and practice to improve staff's personal effectiveness 27/05/2025

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Due date

ensure that all staff receive training and professional development opportunities that enable them to fulfil their roles and promote the interests of children. 27/05/2025

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Due date

ensure that staff plan and provide interesting and suitably challenging activities that support children to become engaged and make progress in their learning. 20/06/2025

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY481188 Local authority Westminster Inspection number 10397991 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 69 Number of children on roll 29 Name of registered person Merchant Square Day Nursery Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 0207 402 2227 Date of previous inspection 16 March 2020

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Information about this early years setting

Partou Merchant Square Day Nursery registered in 2014. The nursery is situated in the London Borough of Westminster. The nursery is open from Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. The nursery employs eight members of staff. Of these, two hold qualifications at level 6, one holds a qualification at level 4 and four hold qualifications at level 3. The nursery provides funded early education for children aged from nine months to four years old.

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Inspection activities

n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk to gather information about how the provision and curriculum are organised. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching to assess the impact of this on children's learning. n The inspector spoke to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector took account of parents' views through viewing written feedback provided. n The inspector spoke with the management team about the leadership and management of the setting and looked at relevant documentation and 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

8 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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