Acton Day Nursery & Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

Managers and staff do not complete effective risk assessments to ensure children's safety and well being. They have information on children's dietary requirements and parents are made aware of this via an online app. This details what they can send in for their children to eat.

However, procedures are not robust and professional curiosity is not used when staff are preparing lunch to ensure that potential harmful ingredients are not present in children's lunches. In addition, staff do not have the resources they require to follow adequate hygiene routines. For example, soap and towels are not available at all times to ena...ble children to become independent by completing routines, such as handwashing.

Staff intentions are to plan activities that they know children will enjoy. They can generally identify what they want children to learn. However, the activities are not well thought out and implemented.

Group activities are provided in the same area. This means that children do not have the space to move about freely. In addition, children's attention is not kept and behaviour not managed consistently.

This is because interactions between staff and children cannot be maintained due to the level of noise in the confined area.Children presenting as requiring additional help or those with additional needs are identified. Contact has been made with the local authority area special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) team, who have provided training at a recent training day.

Staff state they would like more training as they do not feel skilled enough to introduce activities to support individual children.Parents report children are eager to come to nursery. The talk about their friends and what they like to play with.

They say how supportive staff are and how they have worked together to support their children with toilet training and independence in preparation for the move on to school.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff generally plan to sequence children's learning. Children learn the letters of their name as they are included in songs and rhymes.

Toddlers identify their peg using a picture and older children self-register using the picture and their name. Children preparing for school select their name card and place it on the board to let everyone know they are in nursery.Children turn take and share with support from staff.

However, at times of change children quickly become upset. For example, when preparing for snack time or when it is time to go outside into the garden. Staff do not ensure that daily routines are structured and embedded for children to confidently know what they need to do.

Managers do not ensure staff carry out robust daily checks to ensure children have what they need to promote good self-awareness and independence with health and hygiene routines. Children wash their hands prior to snacks and meals and after using the bathroom. However, hand towels are not always available and children return to the playroom with wet hands, unable to complete the routine.

Staff complete regular observations and assessment with the intention that children have tailored next steps identified by their key person. However, adult-led activities to support next stage learning are not well organised. Children do not have space to move freely and they become easily distracted as they have a long wait to take a turn.

As a result, they lose interest as the level of noise is high and they cannot easily interact and see what other children are doing.Safeguarding is not effective. Managers and staff demonstrate an understanding of child protection issues and know what to do if they are worried about the welfare of a child.

However, the systems to support daily health and safety and how to meet children's care needs are not robust. Staff do not have knowledge and a thorough understanding of how they need to maintain the setting's policies and procedures to ensure prohibited foods remain outside the setting.Parents explain how they feel up to date and in touch with their child's learning as they can log onto the app to see the activities children have been participating in.

The say how working together to achieve key skills made toilet training easy. Parents say they feel confident to raise any concerns they have as they describe staff as very helpful and supportive. Staff plan activities parents enjoy attending, including to celebrate Mother's Day or when children leave to go to school.

The new manager uses some strategies to support staff practice, such as peer-on-peer observations to ensure there is some overview of areas for development. However, staff would like further training on how they can support children who need more help. This includes how to identify emerging additional needs and what they can do to support children and work with their families to ensure children make good progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.There is not an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must: Due date ensure daily health and safety checks include the provision of soap and towels for children to complete hygiene routines 06/09/2024 put in place effective procedures to ensure all children's individual allergen and dietary requirements are adhered to 06/09/2024 support staff to consistently and effectively manage children's behaviour 06/09/2024 support staff to implement the curriculum that considers how they will consistently teach children to ensure all children make good or better progress 06/09/2024 ensure information and strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are shared with all staff to meet children's needs and support their progress 06/09/2024 ensure staff have training and support to plan and organise activities for children to enable them to remain fully focused and highly engaged in the learning taking place.

06/09/2024

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