Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Fenny Stratford

Stratford

Unique reference number (URN): EY549195 Address: Fenny Stratford, 11-13 Watling Street, Bletchley, MILTON KEYNES, MK2 2BU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 21/09/2017 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Ashbourne Day Nurseries Limited

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Needs attention

Any progress children make cannot be attributed to their experiences at the nursery due to the poor quality of the curriculum and teaching. Little is put into place to help remove barriers children face in their learning when they experience disadvantage or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children do not have consistent strategies in place to help them to build on their communication skills and as a result, this affects their ability to make connections with others. Children quietly sit at tables rather than engaging or taking part. They often wait or watch instead of being active in any form of learning. Other children wander or roll on the floor without showing any interest or enjoyment in their learning. Children do not make the progress they are capable of.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

The provider does not ensure that staff use strategies and tools, such as communication boards and picture timetables, provided by other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This does not help these children to understand when there will be a change of activity in daily routines or the expectations for how to behave in the setting. Nevertheless, on the whole, children do behave well and staff support positive behaviour well. Staff talk kindly to children and give them praise when appropriate.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Children do not show the positive dispositions and attitudes they need to be successful in their learning. This is because the environment for learning is uninspiring and staff do not have the skills and confidence to motivate them. Although children share the same space, there is insufficient teaching or activities that encourage them to play and learn together well. The provider is introducing better ways to encourage children's attendance at the nursery, for example, by strengthening relationships with families. The new manager has plans to introduce additional ways for staff to help promote children's good behaviour, but has yet to fully implement these.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not adequately receive the support they need. Staff recognise when children's development does not meet expectations. They take action to gain additional help from professionals, but do not consistently follow the strategies they suggest to support children. As children do not receive targeted support, they do not make swift progress. This has previously been identified as a weakness, but practice has not improved.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders do not use funding, resources and staff time effectively to help children who may be disadvantaged in any way, to succeed. The ineffective curriculum and weak quality of teaching further compromises children's ability to learn new things and build on what they already know. The previous lack of management and oversight means that there is little coordination in organising support for children. Staff are aware of children who are known to children's social care and monitor their experiences. The newly appointed manager has started to take appropriate action to work more collaboratively to assess and support children's needs.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

A lack of communication between staff and failure to adhere to safe supervision and policy and procedures, led to an incident occurring where a child was out of sight and hearing for a significant period of time. This placed the child at risk of emotional and physical harm. Staff were not alert to the child being missing, indicating that the key-person arrangements are not effective.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

The provider does not ensure that care practices meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Relationships and information sharing with parents are not effective in promoting children's individual needs and fostering children's sense of belonging. The newly appointed manager has started to put some new procedures in place to ensure that staff adequately monitor children at all times, including as they sleep. Staff understand they need to encourage children to learn about different emotions, but in practice, they do not help children to find ways to talk about how they are feeling. As a result, children do not receive the support they need to feel settled, safe and secure at the nursery.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

The curriculum design is weak and leaders have not had sufficient oversight of what children are learning. Without an effective manager, staff lost confidence in their abilities and cannot explain sufficiently how their teaching and activities help children to progress. Staff are not always clear on what they expect children to learn. This means that children do not experience teaching and activities that help them to build on what they already know. Sometimes, they lack meaningful engagement and enjoyment in their learning. Without direction from leaders, staff become anchored to the spot, merely overseeing children rather than teaching and engaging with them. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not experience suitable adaptations to support their development and so they do not gain skills to help them to move forward in their progress. Staff talk to children and understand they need to support them with their communication

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

and language skills. Staff sometimes sing songs and rhymes that include aspects of counting and books are available for children to look at. Babies have space to move around as they begin to become mobile.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Since the previous inspection, the nursery has had a rapid decline in quality. Ofsted has raised previous actions for the provider to make improvements. However, the provider has not addressed the weaknesses in the setting to bring about the change needed. Staff morale is low and they do not receive the support, coaching and mentoring that they need to be effective in their role. This leads to staff feeling overwhelmed and unable to meet children's needs.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The continual changes to management have affected relationships with parents. The provider does not ensure that information about children's welfare and safety is shared with parents and this further undermines parents' trust in the nursery. Links with other professionals are not effective in supporting the most vulnerable children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This inspection was prioritised following an incident when a child was out of sight and hearing of staff for a significant period of time. This demonstrates poor supervision, risk assessments and overall management of the setting. There is a very newly appointed manager in post who is beginning to review the provision and draft plans for improvement. It is too early to determine the effectiveness of any plans.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has not met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Continual changes to the management at the nursery have had a detrimental impact on children's day-to-day experiences. Staff deployment and supervision do not adequately meet children's needs and children are not making the progress which they are capable of. Too often, children do not show they enjoy their learning because the curriculum is weak, not well implemented and does not inspire them to feel motivated. The changes in management and lack of strong leadership have undermined parents' confidence in the nursery and affect continuity in care for children. Staff who work directly with children generally know them well and children are fond of their key person. They show they are pleased to see them when they arrive and generally settle well.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

There have been occasions where children do not experience adequate supervision and this compromises their wellbeing and welfare.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Although children play in the same space, they are not supported to form close relationships with each other. At times, they wander around and show little interest in what is on offer to promote their learning. Staff do identify and know about children who face barriers to their learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not, however, receive the support that they need to enable them to thrive.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Staff are kind and caring. Overall, children are confident and starting to become independent. However, often staff complete tasks for children that they could easily complete for themselves, especially at mealtimes.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the quality manager and external professionals, and environmental health inspectors who visited during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this.

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Address:

Fenny Stratford 11-13 Watling Street, Bletchley MILTON KEYNES MK2 2BU

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Ashbourne Day Nurseries Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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