Early Steps Preschool

Inspection of Early Steps Preschool Waterlea Adventure Playground, Crawley RH10 6SP

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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 Requires improvement

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The provision is inadequate

Despite previous enforcement action from Ofsted, leaders have not made improvements to raise the quality of the pre-school. As such, there are repeated significant breaches to the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Children's safety is not assured at the pre-school.

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The provision is inadequate

Leaders do not demonstrate the capacity to rapidly improve the outcomes for children's learning and development. There continues to be concerning weaknesses across staff's practice, especially around behaviour management and the organisation of daily routines. Staff do not manage children's behaviour well enough. For example, children do not consistently benefit from the support they need to be able to concentrate and engage in group activities. This does not help them to gain skills that they will need as they progress in their education. Leaders do not monitor staff interactions well enough. Therefore, they do not identify when these are ineffective in teaching children how to behave safely. For example, they do not take action to prevent children from climbing and standing on furniture. As such, behaviour often goes unnoticed due to weaknesses in supervision.

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The provision is inadequate

Leaders do not demonstrate the ability to plan an ambitious curriculum to support children to make consistently good progress. As a result, children are not consistently engaged and noise levels become high. Children run around and shout without purpose. Staff raise their voices to be heard, which raises the volume further. This does not create a suitable atmosphere for children to play and learn.

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need to do better?

n Leaders' self-evaluation is weak and does not identify and address the weaknesses in practice or breaches in requirements. Leaders have not sustained improvements made in the past. This has resulted in repeated breaches of requirements that impact negatively on the outcomes for children. Leaders do not ensure that staff understand how to supervise children properly during mealtimes. At times, staff complete tasks, such as opening the pre-school door, leaving children unattended. Leaders have failed to recognise that ineffective supervision at mealtimes is a weakness and does not protect children from hazards such as choking. This affects children's safety and well-being. n Leaders do not ensure that staff manage children's behaviour in a positive way to help children learn about expectations, be kind, share and be respectful of each other. Staff use physical intervention unnecessarily. Although they do not

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need to do better?

handle children roughly, this does not support children to learn what is expected of them to help them develop their behaviour. Furthermore, staff do not use effective or positive methods to manage behaviour. For example, they threaten to take toys away if children do not share, rather than helping children to

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need to do better?

20 June 2025 develop these skills. n Leaders do not ensure that hygiene practices are embedded. Hygiene continues to be inconsistent across the pre-school. For example, although staff teach children to wash their hands, staff themselves do not wash their hands before serving food at mealtimes. This remains a concern as leaders have not ensured that staff understand the policies and procedures in the pre-school. This does not adequately promote children's good health. n Leaders do not ensure that staff have adequate coaching and supervision to understand what children need to learn and how to provide an effective curriculum. They do not monitor activities to ensure that they are purposeful and linked to children's abilities or interests. For example, staff try to engage young children in an activity to learn about different foods, which is based solely on looking at pictures. Although staff talk to the children about the pictures of food,

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need to do better?

the learning intention is not met as younger children struggle to follow the ideas being shared. Children soon lose interest and move away. Older children are not challenged and often spend significant periods playing on their own or wandering around. Staff do not understand how to adapt activities to meet the needs of children. As a result of the weaknesses in planning and teaching, children do not make the progress they are capable of. n Staff plan some activities that children enjoy and that help them to develop specific skills. For example, activities such as juicing oranges and lemons help to develop children's hand-eye coordination and strengthen their hand muscles. n Staff maintain positive relationships with parents. They have daily discussions with parents and share information about children's development. Parents speak positively about the setting and the care the staff provide for their children. They

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need to do better?

comment on how their children are happy to attend.

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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 children are always supervised effectively during mealtimes 18/07/2025

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Due date

20 June 2025 provide staff with the support needed to implement appropriate and consistent strategies for managing children's behaviour 18/07/2025

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Due date

ensure that all staff follow suitable food hygiene routines 18/07/2025

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Due date

develop robust systems to embed staff's supervision, to improve and sustain the quality of staff practice and teaching. 18/07/2025

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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 and supports them to make good progress across all areas of learning. 18/07/2025

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY554037 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 10375618 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 Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 22 Name of registered person Owen, Judith

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reference number

Telephone number 01293544513 Date of previous inspection 11 November 2024

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Information about this early years setting

Early Steps Preschool registered in 2017 and operates from a playroom in Waterlea Adventure Playground, Crawley, West Sussex. It is open each weekday from 8.45am to 2.45pm during term time only. There are nine members of staff, four of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The provider holds early years professional status. The pre-school provides funded early education for children over the age of two years.

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Inspection activities

n Leaders joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want the children to learn. 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 spoke to children to find out about their time at the pre-school. n Leaders and the inspector carried out a joint observation of a planned activity. n Parents shared their views of the pre-school with the inspector. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the pre-school.

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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

20 June 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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