Jo Jo's Day Care Nursery - Canterbury Ltd

Jo Jo's Day Care Nursery - Canterbury Ltd

Unique reference number (URN): 2842937 Address: 40 Nunnery Fields, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3JT Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 27/05/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Jo Jo's Day Care Nursery - Canterbury Ltd

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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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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff ensure that children are provided with a safe and secure environment. They prioritise emotional security and build attachments with all children. The key-person approach allows staff to find out more about children's lives, including individual family circumstances. This helps staff to identify areas of support that children and families may need. Staff are effective at communicating with parents to ensure that routines are followed for the wellbeing of babies, such as sleeping and weaning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Typically, staff nurture children and provide a level of care that considers children's personal care needs. Staff are respectful to children; for instance, they ask if they can change their nappy and wait for a response. Babies cuddle close and hold onto staff as they are fed their bottle. For children with particular medical needs, staff are sensitive and careful to ensure they receive timely, effective care. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to wind down and regulate when staff recognise that they need additional support during their day. Staff use books and resources to help children to label their feelings. Children are beginning to recognise their emotions and how they feel.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children enjoy spending time outside. Babies have opportunities to go on a walk in the local area. Staff develop children's awareness about their safety, such as staying sitting down while they eat.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders show a proactive approach in identifying children who require additional support. Typically, staff are knowledgeable about how to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or other barriers to learning. This includes children known (or previously known) to children's social services. Leaders and staff work well alongside other professionals to ensure that care plans support children to make identified next steps. Overall, leaders monitor progress for children with SEND. They support key persons and parents to put support in place to help children catch up with any identified gaps in their learning and development, such as in their speech and language.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, is used to benefit children effectively. For example, the setting has created a sensory room with resources to support children to feel settled and safe in their environment. Children with SEND often spend time in this room where they receive calm, nurturing and effective support to regulate their emotions.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children do not consistently build on their existing skills and are not making the progress they could. Over time, children show that they know more and can do more, but they are not achieving as quickly as they could because expectations for their learning and development are not high enough. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported to make progress in their communication and language. They engage with pictures and simple sign language to support this. However, too often, other children do not receive support to make progress in their development. Children gain some skills that help prepare them for school. They become more independent and learn to do simple tasks for themselves. For instance, babies learn to feed themselves, and older children enjoy helping to set the table and serving their own food.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that staff implement a consistent approach to help children to understand the expectations for behaviour and routines across the setting. While staff's expectations are appropriate, they are not consistently confident in how to provide the boundaries and guidance children need. For instance, staff tell children what their expectation is for transitions at lunchtime, but children do not listen, and they run around and disrupt other children. Children receive limited support to understand the impact of their behaviour on others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

At times, children do not engage in age-appropriate experiences to support their progress. For example, older children become disengaged and display undesirable behaviour when they are expected to sit too long in group sessions. They do not receive appropriate encouragement to re-engage. Babies become upset while waiting for a long time to be taken out to the garden.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Despite this, staff build kind relationships with children, which help many to feel settled. They ensure they follow home routines for babies, to support their sleep and comfort. Overall, children get along with each other. Older children form friendships and enjoy imaginary play together. Staff help children to learn important social skills, such as sharing and turn-taking. Children practise using these skills as they play on the computer together. Children's attendance is monitored daily. Any absences are explored by leaders to ensure children are safe.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Breaches to the statutory requirements have a significant impact on children's learning and development. Leaders' oversight of the quality of teaching is poor. They fail to identify gaps in staff's knowledge and skills regarding how to plan and deliver a quality curriculum. This means that children are not benefiting from meaningful learning experiences. The design of the curriculum is not sufficient and does not identify an intent and impact for learning. While some activities are provided, staff do not use assessment effectively enough to identify what they want children to learn from them. Furthermore, staff are unable to link planned activities to children's prior knowledge or next steps. At times, activities provided are uninspiring and lack ambition. For example, similar activities are provided for babies and pre-schoolers. Staff are not confident in how to build children's language or vocabulary during play. Sometimes

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

they talk alongside them, but limited quality vocabulary is introduced to support them to make progress in this area.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Children enjoy spending time outside to support their physical skills. Some staff help them learn how to kick a ball and scoop and pour water. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported to have activities provided that they enjoy, such as sensory building blocks. Staff make reasonable adjustments to include these children in activities, such as stories. However, many staff are not confident in how to interact meaningfully with children alongside their chosen play.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders do not have careful oversight of all aspects of the provision, so they are not clear of the setting's areas to improve. Leaders have not accurately identified weaknesses in the quality of teaching and that staff lack a clear understanding of child development and how to sequence children's learning. They do not monitor staff's practice effectively enough to identify how to help staff develop their teaching skills. Currently, staff workload is unsustainable, and staff in positions of leadership and otherwise do not receive effective coaching to fulfil their roles appropriately.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The nursery is relatively new and has recently taken on a number of new staff members. There is not currently a room leader in all rooms, and leaders are having to cover numerous roles. Leaders are in the process of rectifying this. However, it is currently having a negative impact on the wellbeing and workload of practitioners. This, in turn, is impacting on the quality of the learning and development of the children.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Despite this, leaders take positive steps to help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to get the most appropriate and targeted support through outside agencies. Leaders work well with parents and carers to share ideas on what will help children to continue to develop their skills outside of the setting, such as developing their communication and language. Staff complete all mandatory training and are able to keep children safe and supported in their wellbeing.

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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

Leaders do not have sufficient oversight of the quality of the provision to tackle weaknesses effectively. The curriculum lacks ambition and breadth, which prevents children from building effectively on what they already know. Leaders do not have a clear understanding of how the curriculum is planned and delivered. Staff are not adequately supported and coached to fully understand their roles and responsibilities. Although children enjoy participating in some activities linked to current themes and topics, such as winter, staff are not clear about how these activities support children to learn more. Consequently, not all children make consistent progress in their learning.

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

Leaders and staff have created a welcoming space where children settle and feel safe. Staff have built warm relationships with children. Children and babies often enjoy cuddles, going to their favourite staff for reassurance and support. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well considered so that they feel included and part of the setting. They are supported to make progress from their starting points, and staff are responsive to their changing needs. Staff ensure they have regular contact with parents and carers to provide a continuity of care and to promote the importance of attendance. They are careful to follow routines from home to support children's wellbeing.

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

Children are generally happy to engage themselves in play and enjoy some of the resources provided. However, a lack of positive encouragement and engagement from staff means that children often become disengaged, wander aimlessly or become upset. This does not support children to learn the necessary skills for moving on, such as listening, focusing and

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About this setting

taking part. Children's individual interests and needs are not consistently recognised or used to guide their experiences, which limits how well they progress.

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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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Action Completion Date

ensure leaders' oversight of the curriculum and monitoring of practice is effective to identify and act on priorities for children's learning 17/02/2026

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Action Completion Date

implement a well-sequenced curriculum for all age groups that builds progressively on what children know and can do 17/02/2026

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Action Completion Date

provide effective supervision, training and support to leaders and staff to help them identify areas for improvement and raise the quality of the curriculum and teaching 17/02/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure staff understand and consistently implement behaviour policies and expectations to help children follow routines and understand boundaries 17/02/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners and the special educational needs coordinator 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. Unique reference number (URN): 2842937

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Address:

40 Nunnery Fields Canterbury Kent CT1 3JT

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Jo Jo's Day Care Nursery - Canterbury Ltd

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:15 - 18:30

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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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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