Loveland Daycare

Loveland Daycare

Unique reference number (URN): 2861929 Address: RCCG Life Start Connections, St. Clements Close, Northfleet, DA11 7RU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 15/10/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Loveland 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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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Staff do not have a secure understanding of their key children. For instance, they are not adhering to the plans developed by leaders to assist children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Additionally, details about the children's backgrounds and family situations are not communicated to key people. This prevents staff from fully grasping the needs of their key children, their next steps in learning and the most effective ways to support their development. This affects children's motivation and their positive outlook towards learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

However, staff understand and have appropriate expectations for children's behaviour and how to support children to understand these. Children are learning to play together. Although due to activities not meeting children's needs, they are not showing sustained levels of concentration. Staff give praise to children and reinforce positive behaviour. Generally, children settle well and leave their parents with confidence when they arrive. Overall, children adapt well and confidently part from their parents upon arrival. They demonstrate they have formed connections with the staff, and they readily seek hugs or comfort when necessary. For instance, children easily drift off to sleep after receiving cuddles from trusted adults.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Leaders recognise how crucial attendance is and reach out to parents when children miss their scheduled sessions. This helps ensure children's wellbeing and addresses any obstacles that might be keeping them from attending.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders do not have effective oversight of the environment to ensure that children are progressing and that teaching consistently meets all children's needs. For instance, weaknesses in the curriculum and teaching result in staff not planning adequately for each child's individual learning or for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders do not currently have plans in place to address these weaknesses and improve staff's knowledge and understanding of how to support children and their next steps. However, leaders have some knowledge of how to monitor children's progress and identify any concerns. For instance, they are starting to reach out to external agencies for support and guidance regarding children with SEND and have effective communication with parents about growing concerns. Even though leaders are dedicated to ensuring that every child is included, their actions lack urgency and coherence. This means adjustments are not made quickly enough to support children with SEND or barriers to their learning, to ensure every child flourishes in their learning.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders are clear regarding how they would use additional funding to support children with SEND or those who face barriers to their learning, to help bridge gaps in their learning and development.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Weaknesses in the curriculum and teaching mean children are not supported to make consistent progress. While children show an interest in familiar activities and occasionally engage in tasks, their engagement is not consistent enough to positively influence their development. Children's achievements are impacted, and they are not prepared fully for their next stage in learning. For example, staff lack sufficient knowledge about their key children and do not apply strategies to support children's speech and language development effectively. Staff do not give children time to think or respond to questions or introduce new words as they play. Furthermore, teaching of mathematics is weak, and children are not learning about numbers, shape or space even when they show an interest in these.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Nonetheless, children are gaining knowledge about relationships and the appropriate ways to behave and share resources. They are also learning about the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and developing self-help skills.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Leaders have failed to ensure that risk assessments are thorough enough to safeguard children. Staff are not efficient in identifying risks in the environment and address them, so they are not impacting on children. For instance, while playing outside, staff overlooked that the gate was unlocked, there were inappropriate items in the play area, such as discarded sparklers and stagnant water, and the first-floor windows were opened beyond their safety locks, creating a potential hazard for children. Additionally, children are given opportunities for edible sensory play, but these activities are not sufficiently supervised and monitored to prevent choking hazards. These failings compromise children's physical health and put children's safety and wellbeing at risk.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Generally, children have developed bonds with staff, and their individual care needs are supported effectively, such as eating at mealtimes and settling down to sleep. Children show that they understand when to wash their hands and ask for help. They enjoy daily opportunities to play outside, however weakness in teaching means children are not supported to develop new skills, such as learning to pedal the bikes. Leaders show that they have identified children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or barriers to their learning. However, this is not appropriately shared with key people working directly with children to ensure that strategies are consistently implemented.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Leaders have not ensured that the curriculum intent is ambitious and understood by staff, as a result this is not implemented effectively across the setting. Staff's interactions often lack purpose and do not sufficiently support children's understanding and development across the 7 areas of learning. Activities are not set up with the needs of the children in mind, and staff do not know how to engage children effectively or introduce them to new experiences to build on their learning and development. Planning for children's next steps in learning is weak, and children who require targeted support for their communication and language development are not supported effectively or consistently. For example, staff members pose questions to children in rapid succession, and resources, such as books, stories and songs, are not used to expose children to new language. Staff do not support children in acquiring

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

new skills. For instance, when children are seated on bikes, staff tend to push them instead of teaching them how to use the pedals and develop the skills needed to do this on their own. Furthermore, mathematics is not explicitly taught to children. Staff occasionally use numerical language, but this is often incidental. As a result, children are not supported or motivated to explore more about numbers, shapes and spatial concepts.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage are consistently met. Weaknesses in leadership mean that staff lack clarity about how to ensure that the environment is safe for children. Leaders do not ensure that staff have a full understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Although leaders and staff are quick to rectify risks when they are highlighted, they are not confident or proactive at identifying risks and ensuring that effective risk assessment procedures are followed. This directly impacts on children's safety, welfare and wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Staff lack understanding of the individual needs of their key children and do not implement a curriculum that is ambitious and inspiring. Leaders do not recognise the weaknesses in staff's practice and have no plans in place to address them. They have not identified that staff need regular support, training and guidance to implement an ambitious curriculum and ensure that their teaching is effective. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is not yet effective. This has an impact on how well children achieve.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Despite this, staff indicate that they feel their wellbeing is supported by leaders, who make sure that paperwork is not overwhelming and does not distract them from spending time with the children. Leaders can identify when children are not making the expected progress and have recently contacted the local authority for additional support.

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

Breaches to the requirements of the early years foundation stage impact on the wellbeing and safety of children at this setting. Risk assessments are ineffective and do not ensure that hazards are adequately managed. For example, thorough checks are not completed on the spaces used by children, resulting in stagnant water collecting in the garden and gates are not appropriately secured when children are playing outside. In addition, windows are open past their safety locks and choking risks are not considered when children are accessing sensory play. This compromises children's safety.

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

Children's daily experiences at the setting are inconsistent. Staff interactions lack purpose and do not promote children's learning and development. Activities are planned but staff do not introduce these to children or engage with them to spark their interests. The curriculum is not inspiring or understood by staff. Typically, children spend time at familiar activities without meaningful engagement from staff. Furthermore, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not supported effectively. For example, weaknesses in the key- person arrangements mean that staff do not know enough about the individual needs of children. They do not recognise swiftly enough when children are not making progress, which impacts on the support children receive and the progress they make.

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

Despite this, children behave well, are kind to their peers and are starting to understand turn-taking. Staff are consistent with their approach to behaviour management and remind children of the setting rules, such as walking inside. Children listen and respond to staff's requests and show that they have built relationships with their key person. They have their needs met regarding personal care and are learning self-help skills, such as washing their hands before eating and how to stay hydrated.

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Next steps

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

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Action Completion Date

ensure effective risk assessments are implemented and staff understand how to identify and remove any risk or hazard so that babies and children remain safe 25/02/2026

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Action Completion Date

implement effective key-person arrangements so that information about children is used to tailor care and support their individual needs 25/03/2026

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Action Completion Date

plan and implement a broad and ambitious curriculum that builds on children's existing skills and knowledge 25/03/2026

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Action Completion Date

provide staff with effective support, coaching and training to improve knowledge of the curriculum and ensure teaching fully supports children's learning and development. 25/03/2026

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Address:

RCCG Life Start Connections, St. Clements Close Northfleet DA11 7RU

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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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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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator, volunteers, children and parents 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. This data is from 10 February 2026

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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. 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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