Step By Step Nursery

Step By Step Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): EY295902 Address: 2 Park Avenue, BUSHEY, WD23 2DD Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 17/02/2005 Registers: EYR Registered person: Step By Step Nursery Limited

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that adequately protects children from harm. Leaders have not addressed all of the actions raised at the recent regulatory visit. They have put in place a new procedure for staff to raise concerns about colleagues, but this is ineffective. Some staff do not know the new procedure, and this information is not shared with agency staff. Not all agency staff are inducted appropriately, or informed of who to raise concerns to if needed.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders do not monitor children's attendance effectively and do not recognise that attendance issues may be a safeguarding risk. Those who hold lead safeguarding roles do not demonstrate professional curiosity in relation to child protection, or a secure knowledge of the local safeguarding procedures to follow. They do not feel confident in their safeguarding duties.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Staff demonstrate an understanding of possible signs to be alert to that a child may be at risk of harm. They are aware of the process to follow to raise these concerns and know how to access appropriate local safeguarding agencies if they have concerns about children. Leaders now have appropriate processes in place to monitor staff mobile telephones to safeguard children.

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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 Urgent improvement

Children are not suitably prepared for the next stage in their learning. They do not secure the skills they need to be ready for school. Sometimes, children develop skills in one room, but these are lost when they move on. Toddlers learn to complete tasks independently. However, older children then have limited opportunities to develop their independence further as staff complete tasks for them as it is quicker. Some children become effective communicators. However, those who face barriers to their learning do not receive appropriate support to secure the skills they need.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Children's progress is not monitored accurately, and it is unclear what they should be working towards next. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make little progress. They often wander around without purpose. They explore resources that interest them, receiving minimal interaction from staff and appearing to be forgotten.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Ineffective monitoring of children's attendance does not assure their welfare. While leaders discuss with parents the importance of their children attending, any periods of absence are not appropriately monitored. Leaders do not recognise how this monitoring contributes towards safeguarding children effectively.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

There is variation in how staff support children's behaviour. Some staff use positive reinforcement and praise, but this is not consistently implemented by all staff. There is no clarity about strategies to use across the nursery to promote positive behaviour. This does not provide children with consistent messages or promote high expectations for them. Sometimes, staff speak to, or handle, the youngest children in ways that do not promote care and kindness. They are not always positive role models.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Due to low staffing levels, routines are inconsistent and children spend a great deal of time waiting. Transitions between areas of the nursery are sometimes chaotic and lead to children becoming confused and upset. Leaders do not consider the impact that this disruption has on children's behaviour or emotional wellbeing.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Some children begin to develop positive attitudes to learning. Toddlers focus as staff read them stories, while babies explore with curiosity. However, staff do not consistently respond to these cues to build on children's concentration further.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Staff interactions are not always sensitive and responsive to children's needs. The key- person system is ineffective as staff are frequently moved around or away from their key children. This does not fully promote children's wellbeing and progress. A lack of communication between staff means that strategies and information to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or those who face barriers to their learning, are not shared. Therefore, frequently children do not receive the support that they need to make progress.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Staff deployment in the garden is poor and leaders have not given enough consideration to the possible risks outdoors. Due to being busy or distracted, staff do not support children to explore and begin to manage their own risks while outside. Children move around the garden with little purpose and are frequently disengaged.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Despite toddlers gaining independence, this is not built on in the pre-school room. Older children have little opportunity to complete tasks for themselves as staff are rushed and do things for them, such as serving them their food and pouring their drinks. They do however learn to move between upstairs and downstairs safely. Children join in with a familiar song as they go downstairs while holding on to the banister, which promotes their understanding of safety. Appropriate action has been taken to ensure that food is safe for children. Food allergies and intolerances are well managed.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Overall, the interactions that staff provide to children do not promote children's learning effectively enough. They are too varied to securely meet all children's needs. The curriculum has not been carefully considered and there is no clear or ambitious vision for what children need to learn. While some staff consider children's individual needs and next steps when they plan, previous assessments and tracking are frequently inaccurate. This leads to inappropriate next steps that do not focus on the core skills children need to securely develop.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Story sessions in the toddler room are enjoyable and children engage and listen. Older children who are able share their experiences with staff and friends do so during periods while they sit waiting. However, this does not benefit children who are yet to develop the ability to communicate effectively. The overall support for children to develop their communication and language skills is poor and not a focus.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Leaders can identify when practice is weak. They have vision for what should be happening in rooms, but this is rarely delivered by practitioners as they are struggling with their roles and there is a lack of support from leaders. Training opportunities and targets set in supervision meetings are often generic, and leaders are unsure of the impact these will have on raising the quality of teaching across the nursery.

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

Support for disadvantaged children is ineffective. Leaders lack oversight and do not support staff to deliver inclusive interactions to children. Staff deployment is poor and key persons are not able to spend enough time with their key children due to having to complete other duties. This does not support children's wellbeing and development. Strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not implemented consistently or shared with other staff who work directly with children. This results in children frequently moving around the room with little purpose and minimal engagement from staff. Due to staffing pressures, those working with children are not able to fulfil their roles in supporting children's learning and development effectively.

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

Targets for children are often inaccurate and do not focus on enabling children who face barriers to their learning to secure the skills they need. For instance, targets focus on colouring-in, when children are not yet confident communicators. Some staff have received training to help them support children with SEND, however this has not been fully embedded or shared with all staff who work with children. Those with oversight of children with SEND and those who face barriers to their learning are overloaded. They do not have time to fulfil their roles effectively and receive little support to do this. Therefore, children do not make secure progress in their learning and development.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders and staff recognise the impact that staffing issues are having on the nursery. However, weaknesses in practice remain and not enough has been done to address the actions raised at the recent regulatory visit. Those who hold crucial roles in the nursery do not fulfil these effectively. There is a lack of ambition for children, due to unmanageable workloads and a poorly designed curriculum.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Staff supervision meetings remain ineffective. Training opportunities and targets are not focused enough to support staff practice to improve. Discussions about children lack any depth or meaningful identification of progress or issues in children's development. Inductions for new staff and agency staff are poor. Vital information is not shared with agency staff, and they do not always know what is expected of them when they work at the nursery.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

On the whole, parents speak positively about the nursery. However, parent partnerships are not fully effective. Some parents do not know who their child's key person is due to frequent staff moves. Inaccurate monitoring and tracking of children's progress does not give parents an accurate picture of their children's targets. This also impacts the information shared with other settings when children move on. Poorly organised and chaotic handovers at the start and end of the day mean that important communication between parents, carers and staff is often missed. This does not fully support children's wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Some progress has been made. Documentation is generally better organised and accessible and, on the whole, accident and injury forms are being more closely monitored and shared with parents.

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

Ongoing weaknesses in the leadership of the nursery have a negative impact on the care and teaching that children receive. A number of actions raised at the recent regulatory visit have not been addressed appropriately. The nursery is going through a turbulent time with staffing, and this means that they regularly use agency staff. Children do not receive personalised support due to poor staff deployment, with staff and leaders frequently having to complete other roles across the nursery. Interactions with children are mostly to meet their basic needs. Some staff demonstrate poor practice, and this is not identified or challenged by leaders, or other staff working in the rooms. Staff practice is too variable to have a positive impact on children. As a result, children do not achieve well overall or receive the education to which they are entitled.

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

There is little focus on communication and language. Occasionally, older children engage in discussions with staff. However, this is generally those who are more confident and have the skills to do so. This disadvantages children who are not yet able, as staff do not take the time to support their individual needs effectively. Assessment of children's progress is often inaccurate and therefore targets are not focused enough to support children to build their existing knowledge.

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

On the whole, children are settled at the nursery. Older children form friendships, singing songs to help them learn the names of their friends. Positive support is in place for them to learn how to move around the nursery safely, such as singing a song to remind them to hold the banister when coming downstairs. However, these positive learning opportunities are rare and are often disrupted by chaotic routines. For instance, some children become confused and upset as they pass through the busy main lobby on their way to the garden as other children are leaving for the day. Poor staff deployment at these times does not support their emotional wellbeing when they become distressed.

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Next steps

The provider is not meeting the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action.

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Next steps

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to have taken the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

ensure that those who hold designated safeguarding lead roles understand and can follow the local safeguarding procedures to raise concerns about children effectively 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that all staff, leaders and managers understand and follow the appropriate procedures to raise concerns about those working with children in line with local safeguarding procedures 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that leaders follow up on child absences in a timely manner and recognise that these absences may be related to child protection matters 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

deploy staff effectively to ensure children's individual and emotional needs are met, enabling them to form secure relationships with their key person 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

implement effective arrangements for staff supervision to provide all staff, including managers, with a purposeful programme of professional development and enable rich discussion about children's progress to best support their development 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

implement an effective induction process for new staff, and agency staff, to regularly review progress and 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

provide appropriate support and mentoring for them to fully understand and fulfil their roles

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Action Completion Date

provide appropriate support to the special educational needs coordinator to enable them to fulfil their role effectively, ensuring that formal plans for children requiring additional support are reviewed regularly so they can make sustained progress 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that all staff manage children's behaviour appropriately, recognising and responding to their individual needs and cues to provide them with positive and engaging support and interactions throughout the day 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that ongoing risk assessments are completed to minimise risks to children outdoors and that staff are deployed appropriately to reduce the risk of accident or injury and provide meaningful interactions to build on children's learning 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that all parents know who their child's key person is and establish a successful two-way flow of communication to share vital information about children 18/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

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

implement effective assessment systems to enable staff to accurately identify children's starting points and set purposeful and relevant targets for children to work towards 31/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

design and deliver a high-quality, purposeful curriculum that matches children's individual needs, interests and helps them to secure the skills they need to move to the next stage of their learning 31/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that the curriculum focuses on supporting children's communication and language skills so that all children can develop the ability to communicate effectively with others 31/07/2026

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Step By Step Nursery Limited

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Action Completion Date

provide staff with effective support to raise the standard of teaching to a consistently high level and help all children to achieve well 31/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

provide children with structured routines and well- managed transitions between learning opportunities to minimise disruption, support children's emotional development and help them to feel secure 31/07/2026

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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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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

The inspectors spoke with staff, leaders, parents and carers during the inspection. Register(s): EYR

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About this inspection

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

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