Little Willows Day Nursery

Inspection of Little Willows Day Nursery (Corsham) Stokes Road, Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 9AA

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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 provider does not consistently follow safeguarding procedures, which places children's safety and well-being at risk. Arrangements for recognising, recording and reporting concerns are not robust, compromising children's safety. Staff do not consistently take prompt action when concerns arise about a child's safety or well- being. The procedures in place to assess and reduce hazards are ineffective in keeping children safe.

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The provision is inadequate

Staff demonstrate an understanding of the curriculum and child development. For example, toddlers explore creative activities, such as using toy cars to make paint tracks, and begin to learn about colour mixing. Staff support babies to build their coordination as they develop physical skills, like crawling.

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The provision is inadequate

While some children enjoy their time at the nursery, the quality of staff interactions is variable. This impacts how well children engage in learning and make progress, particularly in their communication and language development. As a result, many children do not achieve as well as they could.

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need to do better?

n Leaders do not ensure that staff consistently follow safeguarding procedures. Staff do not always recognise when concerns may indicate a risk of harm to a child. Although they sometimes record concerns or share them with other professionals, this is not done in a timely way. Staff do not routinely review or follow up concerns, which makes it difficult to identify patterns that may suggest ongoing risk. Leaders do not provide support to help staff respond swiftly and with confidence. These weaknesses compromise children's safety and welfare. n Leaders recently notified Ofsted of a serious incident. A child was able to leave the premises unsupervised and get out to a main road, where a member of the public found them and then returned them to the nursery. While leaders have taken some action to prevent a similar incident from occurring, they have not recognised the risks presented by staff continuing to use an entry gate to access

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need to do better?

an outdoor tap and hose pipe for water activities. This is because not enough care is taken to ensure that children are not able to leave the premises unsupervised while the entry gate is open. n Leaders do not ensure that staff receive sufficient training, support and coaching to ensure they effectively interact and support children in their play and develop children's language and communication skills. As a result, interactions between most staff and children are poor. While some staff engage children in conversation, others routinely engage with each other in lengthy personal conversations and fail to engage with the children. n Parents report that communication with staff is clear. They feel well informed

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need to do better?

3 July 2025 about their children's daily activities.

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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 leaders take swift action when there are concerns about a child's safety or well-being, including making timely referrals and following local safeguarding procedures 04/07/2025

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Due date

ensure that any risks to children are assessed accurately, and that appropriate steps are taken to reduce hazards to keep children safe 04/07/2025

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Due date

ensure all staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding procedures, including how to identify, respond to and act on concerns about children's welfare and whistle-blowing procedures 11/07/2025

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Due date

improve monitoring, support and coaching to develop staff interactions with children, enhancing children's language and communication skills. 11/09/2025

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY546672 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 10399550 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 41 Number of children on roll 64 Name of registered person Little Willows Day Nursery Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01249 701444 Date of previous inspection 5 December 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Little Willows Day Nursery (Corsham) registered in 2017. It is one of two privately owned nurseries and is located in Corsham, Wiltshire. The nursery opens each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm. There are 14 members of staff employed to work with the children, including the manager. Six staff hold relevant level 3 early years qualifications and eight members of staff are unqualified. The nursery employs a chef. The nursery offers government funded spaces for childcare.

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Inspection activities

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 manager and the inspector completed a learning walk of the setting. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n Children spoke with the inspector during the inspection. n The manager and inspector carried out a joint observation of an activity and they evaluated this together. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the setting. n Parents shared their views of the setting 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

3 July 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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