Early Miles Nursery

Inspection of Early Miles Nursery Ragworth Neighbourhood Centre, St. Johns Way, Ragworth, Stockton-on-tees TS19 0FB

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision requires improvement

There is a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the nursery. When children arrive to start their session, they quickly settle in and choose where they would like to play, which promotes independence. Staff are attentive and nurturing in their manner towards children and this supports children to feel safe and happy. However, there are weaknesses in relation to the learning and development requirements that leaders have not identified. Staff are not given enough support to ensure that their interactions with children are consistently in line with their developmental needs. The curriculum requires further review to ensure that the aims for differently aged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are carefully sequenced and well planned. Although the curriculum is ambitious in its aims, and there is evidence that children do make progress, leaders have not considered how to build children's knowledge and understanding gradually, to

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The provision requires improvement

reach the intended long-term learning outcomes.

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The provision requires improvement

There have been several staffing changes recently, including a manager who is new in post. These staff changes contribute to the current lack of consistency and direction in the nursery. For instance, routines and transitional times are not yet well embedded, meaning children do not understand the expectations for different periods of the day. However, for the most part, children's behaviour is calm and purposeful.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and staff are clear regarding the key areas of learning. However, weaknesses in differentiation mean the curriculum does not consistently meet the wide range of ages and developmental stages of children who are together in one room. Further attention is required to ensure that the curriculum progression is well planned and explicitly clear, in order to provide the right level of challenge for all children. n During interactions with children, staff position themselves at child height and show a genuine interest in their play. They listen to children's ideas and offer warm praise. This supports children's confidence. n Assessments identify relevant next steps for children. However, the planned activities are not consistently in line with these, nor matched to the appropriate levels of development for children. For instance, there is a focus on teaching phonetical knowledge with word search worksheets provided and home learning,

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need to do better?

which focus on letter recognition. Children do not yet have the knowledge and skills to access these activities. n Although staff observe this and offer some flexibility within activities, such as encouraging expressive mark making over the top of worksheets, they lack awareness as to when they need to fully adapt pre-planned activities to meet

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need to do better?

8 September 2025 the needs of every child. n Staff are attentive in their interactions with children with SEND. These children are warmly welcomed into the nursery. Staff understand the challenges that children with SEND face and leaders ensure there is ongoing contact with parents and outside services, meaning the progress of SEND children is regularly reviewed. That being said, there is not yet clear enough communication and support in place to assist staff to implement support strategies consistently. This limits the pace of progress for children with SEND. n Children happily explore the nursery provision and practise a range of skills. Staff support children in these, such as guiding turn-taking and sharing when using the indoor slide. Children develop imaginative skills while making pretend meals in the home corner. Older children explore numbers and demonstrate an interest in organising them into groups of odd and even numbers.

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need to do better?

n However, staff have not considered how to build on these positive behavioural skills to support children in following routines and remaining focused during transitional times. For instance, when children have washed their hands before lunch, they do not understand that they need to wait at the table for their food. This means they return to playing in the room and staff struggle to bring all the children together to start their meal. This limits the support for children's behavioural and personal development skills. n Leaders do not consistently verify and clearly record staff qualifications in relation to paediatric first-aid training and food hygiene training. This means that they cannot make fully informed choices regarding staff deployment. However, during the inspection there were staff with appropriate qualifications undertaking duties, such as food preparation, and a qualified first-aider present during

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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Due date

review the curriculum to ensure it is clearly sequenced and fully meets the developmental needs of all learners 06/10/2025

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Due date

8 September 2025 ensure that all members of staff are supported to deliver quality learning and development experiences, which support the intended curriculum and are appropriate to children's developmental stages. 06/10/2025

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should:

n review and further improve the support in place for children with SEND to ensure that there is consistent support in place which ensures they are robustly supported in accessing their intended learning outcomes n improve daily routines and transitional times further to better support children to understand what they need to do during different parts of the day n improve procedures for verifying and recording staff qualifications further to ensure that leaders can make informed decisions regarding the deployment of staff.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2801580 Local authority Stockton-on-Tees Inspection number 10419377 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 28 Number of children on roll 18 Name of registered person MR&RG Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 07538277860 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Early Miles Nursery registered in 2024 and is located in Ragworth Neighbourhood Centre, Stockton-on-Tees. The nursery employs four members of childcare staff. Of these, three hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting is open from 7.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday, all year round.

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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. n The inspector viewed the provision and discussed the safety and suitability of the premises. n The manager and inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. n Children spoke 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 nominated individual and the manager about the leadership and management of the nursery. n Leaders spoke to the inspector about how they support children with SEND. 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 carried out a joint observation with the manager. n The nominated individual provided written feedback from parents regarding their

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Inspection activities

experience of the nursery. 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

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 September 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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