Squirrel's Den Daycare

Squirrel's Den Daycare

Unique reference number (URN): 2757571 Address: Barnham Community Hall, Yapton Road, Barnham, Bognor Regis, PO22 0AY Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 28/11/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: Squirrels Den Daycare Ltd

p.1

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.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

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

p.1

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.

p.1

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Overall, children behave well. Leaders and staff create a generally positive and welcoming environment, with clear expectations for behaviour. When minor disputes arise, staff typically respond appropriately, offering simple explanations to help children understand how their actions impact others. However, there are occasions, such as whole-group morning circle time when rules and boundaries are shared to set the tone of day, where many children become disengaged and do not benefit from the important messages. Despite this, some older children implement strategies they have been previously taught, often without prompting, to support turn-taking and sharing. For instance, when they want a resource that another child is using, they use a sand timer, wait patiently, and then seek support from an adult when needed.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff act as positive role models and provide more consistent support for children who need additional help to manage their own behaviours. Extra funding has supported children to provide resources and calm, cosy spaces where children can relax and practise self- regulation techniques. With babies, skilled staff introduce language linked to emotions, for example through sharing picture books.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children of all ages enjoy playing together, especially outdoors. Staff with a secure understanding of the curriculum are quick to identify quieter children and support them to develop their ideas. For instance, they encourage children to draw simple plans before creating models with construction toys, helping to share and extend their thinking.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders work collaboratively with parents and carers to emphasise the importance of regular attendance and punctuality. This has a positive impact, ensuring children benefit from the full range of learning opportunities available.

p.2

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Care routines and practices are generally effective, particularly in the baby room. Staff working with babies implement well-established routines and maintain high expectations for eating, sleeping and nappy changing. They encourage babies to feed themselves at snack time, which they do with increasing confidence. In addition, babies settle down to sleep with ease, demonstrating that they feel secure and familiar with daily routines. During nappy changing, staff interact with babies in a warm and sensitive manner, talking to them throughout and modelling appropriate language.

p.2

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders, staff, children and parents develop trusting relationships. For example, staff greet children warmly on arrival, and some children embrace them with hugs. In general, children are supported to express their emotions and begin to understand how their actions can affect others. Older children, especially, enjoy taking on roles such as the 'helper' for the day. They carry out these responsibilities with pride and happily share how this makes them feel valued. Children are encouraged to develop independence, for example by washing their hands before eating and after using the toilet.

p.2

Needs attention

Children benefit from opportunities to learn about healthy eating and the effects that food, exercise and hygiene practices have on their bodies. For instance, older children confidently explain that washing their hands with soap removes germs. Furthermore, children learn about themselves and others. Staff sensitively introduce different cultures and traditions, such as sharing their own experiences of Eid, as well as children's home cultures. They help children to develop a sense of belonging and an appreciation of similarities and differences between themselves and others.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive swift and generally well-targeted support. Leaders with oversight of SEND provision across the setting ensure that monitoring systems help to identify and reduce gaps in these children's development. This begins with detailed information gathered from parents and carers to establish clear starting points. Ongoing assessment is typically used to identify children who need extra support. Leaders and staff work in collaboration with parents and external professionals to implement targeted programmes and gather evidence for referrals, such as speech and language therapy.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders, staff and parents regularly review the impact of interventions on children's outcomes for those with SEND, which are then adapted if needed. Tailored support includes individual and small group language sessions to promote children's focus, attention and communication skills. These personalised programmes are implemented using agreed strategies. However, sometimes next steps in individual education plans for children with SEND are too broad and not broken down into smaller, achievable targets. While targeted support is mostly effective, inconsistences in the quality of teaching and staff's understanding of the curriculum mean that children with SEND do not yet benefit consistently.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Additional funding is used effectively to enhance experiences for those children who receive it. For instance, external professionals deliver music and movement sessions, which particularly benefit children who may have fewer opportunities for physical play at home. Children engage enthusiastically and leaders, as well as staff recognise the positive impact of these sessions. Leaders and staff successfully build on this by incorporating similar activities into daily practice, such as using large gym balls to support children's self- regulation.

p.3

Achievement Needs attention

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make appropriate progress overall. These children and younger ones in particular struggle at times when staff teach a large, mixed-age group with a wide range of abilities and needs. Leaders do not place sufficient emphasis on ensuring that high-quality teaching is consistently tailored to each child. For example, during morning circle time, when staff revisit rules and expectations, many children lose focus and become disengaged. On these occasions, staff do not adapt their approach effectively to maintain children's interest or meet their differing needs.

p.3

Achievement Needs attention

Despite this, most children generally make progress from their initial starting points across the curriculum areas, particularly those with SEND or barriers to their learning. This is supported by ongoing assessment processes overseen by leaders and the secure knowledge that key persons have of each of these children and their needs. For instance, children identified as requiring extra support with speech and language typically benefit from appropriate interventions and strategies delivered by leaders.

p.4

Achievement Needs attention

Overall, children are suitably prepared for their transition to school. They develop the ability to work with others, communicate their needs and grow in independence, particularly in managing their self-care skills. Leaders provide targeted support for children with SEND and their families, including planning multiple visits to prospective settings and accompanying families to help determine the suitability of specialist provision. This approach supports children's social and emotional development well, helping them to understand what to expect and to become familiar with their new environment and teachers.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The quality of teaching is variable across the setting and is more consistent in the baby room. Some staff demonstrate a clear understanding of how to deliver a well-sequenced curriculum, resulting in more effective outcomes for children. For example, staff in the baby room plan and adapt teaching precisely to meet babies' individual needs. However, leaders have not ensured the curriculum is sufficiently sequenced or communicated effectively so that all staff understand and implement it consistently to a high standard. As a result, some staff lack confidence to interact purposefully with children and build on their existing knowledge and skills. At times, staff focus on routine tasks without their interactions with children meaningful and enriching. For instance, during snack time, conversations are not always used effectively to extend children's knowledge and language appropriately.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Although leaders expect staff to plan activities across the curriculum based on their key children's interests, the intended learning is too broad. This leads to inconsistent interpretation and limits opportunities for children to make the best possible progress. Leaders do not yet observe practice rigorously or provide sufficiently precise, personalised feedback to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently high level. Consequently, professional development is not sharply focused or closely monitored to address individual needs of staff.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Nevertheless, leaders have identified the need to strengthen the teaching of mathematics. Staff provide daily opportunities for children to engage with mathematical concepts, and some deliver this effectively. For instance, during playdough activities, children create 'worms' of different lengths and are introduced to comparative language such as 'long', 'short', 'longer' and 'shorter'. Leaders' firm understanding of the local community also informs purposeful planning, including activities that promote oral health and healthy eating.

p.4

Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders evaluate the quality of the provision offered. They speak confidently about the setting's strengths and the successful measures already implemented, such as developing stronger and more secure partnerships with parents and carers. While some areas for development have been identified, such as improving mathematics opportunities, action plans remain at an early stage and their impact is not yet fully embedded across the provision. In particular, leaders have not accurately identified key priorities related to the design of a more sequenced curriculum that is clearly understood by all staff, alongside the need to embed consistently high-quality teaching. Consequently, these areas have not been addressed with sufficient precision. This includes, not monitoring staff's individual practice rigorously enough or highlighting weaknesses in their knowledge and skills to inform a more tailored programme of professional development. Despite this, their previous training that

p.5

Leadership and governance Needs attention

focused on promoting children's positive behaviour, is showing steps in a positive direction. With this in mind, leaders demonstrate the capacity to secure further improvements going forwards.

p.5

Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders have worked tirelessly to develop a secure understanding of the needs of the local community. They build trusting and respectful relationships with parents and carers, as well as external professionals with success. As a result, they give careful consideration to how best to meet the individual needs of children and families, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who face barriers to their learning. For example, promoting good oral hygiene and encouraging children to eat a varied, nutritious diet are given importance. In this way, leaders recognise their fundamental role in helping children develop lifelong healthy habits for the future.

p.5

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

Children's quality of learning is inconsistent and largely dependent on the quality of staff interactions, which vary across the setting. As a result, some children do not achieve to the best of their abilities. For example, some children receive minimal interaction from staff who do not fully understand the curriculum and how best to deliver it. While activities planned for children are often engaging and spark their curiosity, such as hiding and searching for dinosaur bones in soil, staff do not always build effectively on what children already know and can do. This leads to minimal progress. Nevertheless, some staff demonstrate a firmer understanding of a sequenced curriculum and teach knowledge and skills in a clear, step- by-step way. This is particularly beneficial for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face elements of disadvantage in their lives. These children and

p.5

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

their families are supported well by leaders, including helping them access external services that they may not be aware of and accompanying parents and carers to visit specialist provisions to inform future transitions to school. Overall, most children make steady progress from their individual starting points.

p.6

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

Children form warm, nurturing attachments with leaders and staff. This is evident in their eagerness and excitement to attend and settle quickly into activities. Children of all ages seek out friends and typically engage confidently in the range of experiences available. New children are supported sensitively by kind and attentive staff, helping them feel more secure and comfortable. Overall, key-person systems and bespoke settling-in processes contribute to children's sense of safety and belonging. Information gathered from parents and carers before children start is used effectively to understand their individual needs, interests and any barriers to learning. This is particularly evident in the baby room, where they show high levels of confidence and independence. Across the setting, children typically display high levels of wellbeing and enjoyment, for instance when taking on responsibilities to help staff

p.6

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

and completing the tasks with maturity, pride and commitment.

p.6

Next steps

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

p.6

Action Completion Date

Leaders must create and fully implement a sequenced and sharply focused curriculum to ensure all children make strong progress across all areas of learning. 01/06/2026

p.6

Action Completion Date

Leaders must fully embed robust monitoring, feedback and supervision processes to support all staff's professional development to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently high level. 01/06/2026

p.6

Action Completion Date

Leaders must strengthen and fully implement procedures to evaluate the quality of the provision to achieve lasting improvements in all aspects of the setting. 01/06/2026

p.6

About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, special educational needs coordinator, children and parents during the inspection.

p.6

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

p.6

Address:

Barnham Community Hall Yapton Road, Barnham Bognor Regis PO22 0AY

p.7

Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

p.7

Address:

Registered person: Squirrels Den Daycare Ltd

p.7

Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 15:00

p.7

Facts and figures used on inspection

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

p.7

0 to 4

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.

p.7

Exceptional

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

p.8

Strong standard

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

p.8

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.

p.8

Needs attention

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

p.8

Urgent improvement

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

p.8

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.

p.8

Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.8

Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk . Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Urgent improvement

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

p.9