Abacus Children's Nurseries Ltd

Inspection of Abacus Children's Nurseries Ltd Balcarres, Southfleet Avenue, LONGFIELD, Kent DA3 7JG

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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

There are significant breaches of requirements at this nursery. These directly impact the safeguarding arrangements, as well as the quality of education children receive. Although leaders demonstrate a secure knowledge of child protection, they have not ensured all staff have a robust understanding of how to identify and respond appropriately to a child welfare concern. In addition, arrangements in place to ensure risks to children are identified and appropriately acted upon are not sufficient. This compromises children's safety.

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The provision is inadequate

Children do not receive the quality of education they deserve. Leaders do not ensure that they or staff have a sufficient knowledge of how to plan and deliver an ambitious, broad and well-balanced curriculum. Staff do not plan purposeful activities to capture children's curiosities, build on their individual interests or to extend their learning and skills. As such, there is not enough for children to do to positively engage them. Staff do not recognise what they want children to learn next, or how play experiences in the continuous environment support children's ongoing development. This does not set children up to succeed and has a detrimental impact on children's attitudes to their early learning.

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The provision is inadequate

Children's behaviour is negatively impacted due to their lack of stimulation in the environment. Children are bored and often wander the environment without purpose. Furthermore, weaknesses in the engagement that staff provide means children often receive very limited and poor-quality interactions. Overall, children do not receive the support they need to develop their own communication and language skills. Despite the significant weaknesses, children demonstrate they are content in the environment and seek comfort from staff who they have secure bonds with.

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need to do better?

n Those who have ultimate oversight and governance of the nursery do not provide enough ongoing support for staff on site, including the leadership team. They do not ensure that weaknesses are promptly and appropriately addressed or ensure the requirements of registration are met. n Although staff have received safeguarding training, leaders have not ensured they have fully understood and retained the knowledge they have learned. As such, some staff demonstrate a poor understanding of their responsibilities to child protection. For instance, some staff are not able to identify when children may be at risk, and some do not recognise the urgency to respond swiftly to any concerns they may have. This compromises children's ongoing safety. n Staff are unclear about whether children are meeting their developmental milestones. They do not plan precise next steps tailored to individual children. As

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need to do better?

21 May 2025 a result, children do not benefit from a well-thought-out curriculum or learning that supports them to make the good progress they are capable of. n Leaders have not ensured that children receive meaningful, high-quality interactions. Staff often call out instructions to children across the room, which children do not respond to. Many interactions that children receive are staff telling them not to do something as the poor-quality learning environment impacts their behaviour. Such limited interactions do not provide children with the opportunities they are entitled to, in order to develop their early language and communication skills. n Although there are some arrangements in place for staff supervision sessions, these are not regular or effective. Leaders do not ensure staff receive the ongoing training, support and coaching they need. Additionally, the irregular supervision sessions do not allow leaders to identify gaps in staff's knowledge or

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need to do better?

act on these accordingly. This does not support staff to continually improve their own personal effectiveness and directly impacts the quality of care and learning children receive. n Staff do not receive the guidance and coaching they need to ensure they support all children to understand expectations for good behaviour. They do not apply consistent behaviour management strategies and do not provide the necessary guidance and role modelling children need when learn what is expected of them. Children's disengagement further impacts their behaviour. For instance, some children climb on tables, tussle over toys and hurt each other. This often goes unnoticed by staff. This does not teach children right from wrong. n Leaders have not ensured staff have the skills required to identify and appropriately manage or mitigate risks. For instance, children bite pieces of plastic off poorly maintained resources. The garden contains damaged crates

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need to do better?

which expose children to sharp plastic. Additionally, animal faeces remain in the environment where children are playing. Furthermore, at times, staff deployment is not effective when children access the outdoors. As such, the supervision of children at these times is not sufficient. These weaknesses compromise children's safety and well-being. n Leaders have not taken reasonable steps to ensure fire evacuation procedures are robust. They have not ensured appropriate processes are in place to ensure that children of all ages are able to exit the building safely in an emergency. In addition, although some staff have received appropriate first-aid training, leaders have not ensured they have retained important knowledge, such as how to respond to a choking incident. These weaknesses further compromise children's safety. n Children's personal hygiene is not well promoted. For example, staff do not recognise when children need support to wipe their noses and enhance their

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need to do better?

self-care skills. Furthermore, nappy changing arrangements do not promote children's privacy and equipment is not well maintained to ensure good hygiene. This does not promote children's good health.

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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

take action to improve the oversight of all aspects of the provision, to address weaknesses and maintain a safe environment for children 05/06/2025

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Due date

ensure all staff receive appropriate safeguarding training to enable them to identify and respond when a child may be at risk of harm, and know the correct procedures to follow to respond appropriately 05/06/2025

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Due date

ensure staff supervision arrangements are effective in identifying gaps in their knowledge and practice, and provide staff with the support, coaching and training needed to improve their personal effectiveness 12/06/2025

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Due date

provide staff with support and coaching so they can implement appropriate and consistent strategies for managing children's behaviour, to help all children understand how to manage their own feelings and behaviour appropriately 12/06/2025

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Due date

21 May 2025 take action to implement a rigorous system for risk assessment to ensure staff robustly know how to identify hazards and manage these effectively and promptly, so that children are not exposed to risks 05/06/2025

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Due date

improve staff deployment to ensure children are adequately supervised at all times to ensure their safety 05/06/2025

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Due date

implement a suitable emergency evacuation procedure that includes plans on how staff are to support all children to be moved to a place of safety 05/06/2025

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Due date

take action to ensure staff trained to administer first aid have the sufficient knowledge in order to respond to an emergency 05/06/2025

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Due date

ensure nappy changing facilities are always suitably hygienic, and implement appropriate practices to ensure that children's good health is consistently supported. 12/06/2025

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Due date

plan and deliver an ambitious curriculum that builds on all children's existing knowledge, skills and capabilities and engages them fully in their learning indoors and outdoors 25/06/2025

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Due date

take action to ensure staff are providing high-quality interactions that consistently and securely promote children's communication and language development. 25/06/2025

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY309106 Local authority Kent Inspection number 10404069 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 47 Name of registered person Abacus Children's Nurseries Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01474 702190 Date of previous inspection 3 June 2024

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Information about this early years setting

Abacus Children's Nurseries Ltd registered in 2005. It is located in Longfield, Kent. The setting is open Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 6pm, all year round. The setting receives funding to provide free early education for children aged nine months to four years. There are seven members of staff. Of these, four hold relevant early years qualifications.

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Inspection activities

n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want their children to learn. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n Children interacted with the inspector. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and children. n The manager showed the inspector documentation to demonstrate the suitability of staff. n The inspector viewed the nursery and discussed the safety and suitability of the premises with the manager. 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

21 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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