The Island Day Nursery - Sandown

The Island Day Nursery - Sandown

Unique reference number (URN): EY355567 Address: Fort Street, SANDOWN, Isle of Wight, PO36 8BA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 14/08/2007 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: The Island Day 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. They have not ensured that those who hold designated safeguarding lead roles demonstrate robust knowledge regarding their responsibilities. Leaders have not ensured that safeguarding policies and practices are clearly understood and followed by staff. Whistleblowing arrangements are not used appropriately and multiple concerns raised by staff have not been dealt with promptly, including the use of mobile phones and ongoing suitability to fulfil roles and responsibilities. Leaders have not followed the compulsory procedures to report allegations to outside agencies. As a result, safeguarding practice is ineffective and children's safety is not given the necessary priority.

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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

Children's achievement varies across the nursery due to inconsistencies in the delivery of the curriculum. While some children engage in purposeful activities that help them build new skills, others do not receive the same level of support. For example, some children, including those with barriers to their learning, wander around the room without staff noticing that they need help to re-engage. This lack of timely support limits readiness for children's future learning.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children show clear emerging skills, when they access activities suited to their age and stage of development. Children respond with enthusiasm to music, moving their bodies rhythmically and expressing joy as they dance. These moments help them to develop coordination and confidence. Older children demonstrate emerging independence during daily routines. They open food packets and manage simple tasks with pride, developing their self-help skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Leaders and staff do not implement fully effective strategies to help children learn the routines of the setting. Transitions are not always organised in a way that helps children feel calm and secure. Several children become unsettled when there is a lack of clear structure, especially for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. At these times, staff are often occupied with other tasks, such as preparing for lunch or reading to small groups, which reduces the quality of interaction available to children who need guidance. This creates a busy environment that makes it difficult for children to self-regulate their emotions and understand how to behave appropriately towards others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

At times, some staff understand the needs of children, including those with barriers to their learning. For example, they offer some one-to-one support when needed. However, this is not consistently applied across the nursery. Generally, staff support children to share and take turns, offering praise when they show kindness to their peers. They use clear communication to signal when it is time to tidy up, helping children understand expectations and build early social skills. Leaders and staff recognise the importance of children's regular attendance and follow up on absences, so children benefit from regular experiences.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have created a broad curriculum aimed at building children's confidence, independence and curiosity about the world. However, they do not give staff enough guidance and support to provide consistently effective teaching. Some staff are unsure about the curriculum expectations and the specific skills children need to develop next. This leads to variation in how learning is supported. Activities are not always matched well to children's ages or interests. For example, some older children are offered activities that do not build on what they already know and can do. As a result, some children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not remain engaged or receive the support they need to access learning at the right level. This limits their ability to make sustained progress.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

When teaching is delivered well, children benefit from purposeful interactions that extend their learning. Staff generally promote language development through conversations and activities. For example, older children enjoy familiar stories, and staff use repeated phrases to capture their attention and deepen engagement. Babies show curiosity during water play, exploring how containers fill and empty. These experiences help them investigate cause and effect and build early problem-solving skills. Staff introduce simple mathematical ideas through play, such as counting dinosaurs, helping children begin to understand number and quantities in an enjoyable way.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders have not ensured that inconsistencies in staff's practice, knowledge and skills have been addressed promptly, including for those children with barriers to their learning. Approaches intended to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not applied consistently. This results in some children moving around the room without meaningful engagement or direction. In addition, staff do not always use the known strategies in place to help children with SEND regulate and cope with changes in routines. For example, during transition, some children become distressed and withdraw from activities. Although staff offer reassurance, children's individual needs are not consistently met across the day. This reduces the impact of children's positive progress.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders responsible for SEND have a clear understanding of their role and work closely with parents and external professionals. They carry out regular assessments to monitor children's development and secure additional support and funding when required. Leaders

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Urgent improvement

outline specific targets and strategies on children's individual plans. However, leaders lack oversight and monitoring of staff practice, meaning that inclusion and progress remain uneven across the nursery.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

There are significant weaknesses in the arrangements to promote children's welfare and wellbeing. The arrangements for safer eating and sleeping practices are not secure. Babies are placed to sleep in temperatures significantly above the safe-sleep guidance. This poses potential risks to babies' wellbeing. In addition, staff leave the tables where babies are eating to interact with others elsewhere, leaving them unsupervised while eating. This creates significant safety risks, particularly choking hazards. Although leaders took immediate action, the incidents identify underlying gaps in staff knowledge, meaning risks may reoccur without sustained leadership oversight.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Leaders and staff do not carry out effective risk assessment or maintain sufficient oversight of the environment. They do not check outdoor areas thoroughly, leaving rubbish bags accessible and creating avoidable hazards. Indoors, staff do not anticipate risks from unstable equipment or stacked chairs, nor do they intervene when children become unsteady. In addition, staff do not remove items left on the floor, allowing trip hazards to remain, further highlighting gaps in staff vigilance and awareness. As a result, children are exposed to avoidable dangers.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure staff have the knowledge or confidence to carry out their key-person role effectively. They do not carefully deploy staff to enable them to build secure attachments with children, especially with the babies. Although some staff build warm relationships, many do not recognise babies' cues or understand why they are distressed. This limits babies' ability to feel settled, safe and emotionally supported.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders have not ensured effective oversight of the nursery. There are several breaches of statutory safeguarding and welfare requirements. The lack of oversight has resulted in many inconsistencies, including arrangements for safeguarding children, safer eating, sleeping practices and risk assessment. Staff morale is low. They do not feel confident to share concerns with leaders and managers as they fear retaliation or believe no action will be taken. As a result, children's health, safety and wellbeing are compromised.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders do not have effective systems in place for monitoring, coaching and supporting staff to ensure that they are sufficiently supported to understand their roles and responsibilities to remain suitable. Although they have opportunities to discuss their work with leaders, they are not given the training they need to improve their practice or provide high-quality care. For example, staff working with babies do not have the required training to understand and meet babies' developmental and emotional needs. Consequently, they are not equipped to deliver consistently secure, responsive care for the youngest children. Leaders have built positive working relationships with children's families. They ensure the communication between staff and parents is regular. Staff share information with parents about their children's progress and the activities they provide.

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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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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

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

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Register

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

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

Weaknesses in leadership and governance have a significant impact on the quality of care, learning and safeguarding that children receive. Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding. They do not respond appropriately to concerns raised by staff or take timely action to address the issues identified. In addition, leaders do not provide effective oversight of the nursery and have not ensured that weaknesses are tackled swiftly. Consequently, safeguarding policies and procedures are not implemented consistently in practice.

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

Children, particularly the youngest children, do not consistently receive adequate supervision during mealtimes, which puts them at risk of choking. Safer sleep guidance is not consistently followed, exposing babies to avoidable risks, particularly from the heat. Children's safety and welfare are not assured as leaders and staff do not demonstrate a secure understanding of risk assessment and fail to identify, minimise or remove hazards efficiently.

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

Key-person arrangements are ineffective. Children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not receive the consistent support they need to overcome barriers to learning and development. Weaknesses in the implementation of the curriculum, result in inconsistent teaching and learning experiences, which limits children's progress.

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

Children benefit from a welcoming environment, where they can access a range of indoor and outdoor activities. Children develop some physical skills through opportunities, such as pouring water and dancing activities. Babies and children enjoy sharing books with staff and engage in stories throughout the day. However, these experiences are not planned with sufficient intent or consistently used to build on what children already know and can do.

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Next steps

The provider is not meeting the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register 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 with lead responsibility for safeguarding understand and follow safeguarding policies, ensuring that any concerns by staff are acted upon and taken seriously by the leadership team 31/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure leaders create a positive safeguarding culture, in which whistleblowing is understood and embedded in practice, including supporting staff to have the confidence to raise any concerns immediately 31/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

improve leaders' oversight of staff practice and procedures to maintain children's safety effectively, including supporting staff in identifying potential hazards that may expose children to risks 31/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that children are always within sight and hearing of staff while they are eating, to reduce the risk of choking 31/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure safe sleep policies and procedures are fully understood and applied by all staff 31/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure at least half of all staff have received training that specifically addresses the care of babies 31/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that the key-person arrangements are appropriately embedded to ensure every child's care and learning are tailored to meet their individual needs 07/08/2026

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Action Completion Date

strengthen the support that is in place for all children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who face barriers to their learning, so that they have the right support at the right time to improve their outcomes 07/08/2026

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Action Completion Date

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

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Action Completion Date

improve the quality of teaching so that staff implement the curriculum consistently and provide purposeful learning experiences that supports children's progress 07/08/2026

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About this inspection

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

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Address:

Fort Street SANDOWN Isle of Wight PO36 8BA

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: The Island Day Nursery Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:45 - 17:45

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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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Children numbers

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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Children numbers

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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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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