Culverdene Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

Weaknesses in risk assessment procedures compromise children's safety. Despite this, children are happy in the nursery and show a sense of security. Babies snuggle close to staff for comfort and reassurance.

Toddlers giggle when they splash in foam during a creative activity. Pre-school children show resilience when they try hard to build houses with bricks.Due to changes in the staff team, leaders are aware that staff are under a degree of pressure.

Although appropriate ratios are maintained, staff report that they struggle to make intended changes, to improve the care and learning experiences provided. They are... very aware of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the learning and development of some children. They assess children's abilities and are able to identify those who are not achieving well.

However, they do not consistently use this knowledge to inform their practice. Their expectations of pre-school children, during some activities and routines, are beyond children's capabilities. This has a significant impact on children's learning and behaviour.

Some children are not supported well enough to make the progress of which they are capable. That said, staff have successfully put in place a number of strategies to support children's communication and language development. Plans, made in collaboration with other professionals, help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to make good progress.

Provision for younger children is stronger. Staff's warm approach and skilful interactions support their overall learning and development well. Activities for two-year-old children are unhurried, giving children plenty of opportunities to practise new skills such as turn-taking.

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

Although some risk assessments are carried out, leaders and staff do not adequately manage some aspects of practice that pose a risk to children's safety. Gates are not always kept secure to prevent children from having access to the stairway, and from the garden to the car park. Staff do not assess the danger of some activities and resources.

For example, children continue to play with glass jars, bowls and mirrors. This is despite previous incidents where glass has been broken and, on one occasion, a child was cut by the broken glass.Some aspects of teaching, most notably in pre-school, do not support children's learning.

For example, staff try to continue to read stories to children, many of whom have not developed the necessary listening and attention skills for this activity. This impacts on children's behaviour. Children move away, throw toys and shout.

Staff repeatedly try to get children to sit and listen, unsuccessfully. This disrupts the learning of other children in the group who want to participate.Staff working with pre-school children do not manage children's behaviour effectively.

Children struggle to regulate their emotions and are in frequent conflict with one another. This sometimes results in children being hit, pushed, and prodded by others. Staff fail to understand the reasons that children behave in this way.

They do not support children well enough to manage their feelings, and to understand the impact that their behaviour has on others.Some routine activities, such as lunchtime and preparing for outdoor play, are disorderly. At these times, pre-school children do not listen to staff or follow their instructions.

They throw cutlery, and climb on and under the tables. Hygiene standards are compromised because children use utensils that have been on the floor, eat with their hands and take food from one another's plates. This compromises children's safety and well-being.

Children are, overall, keen to learn. Babies are curious and eager to explore. They enjoy spreading paint on the floor with their hands.

Toddlers play imaginatively as they pretend to get dolls off to sleep. During self-chosen play, pre-school children concentrate well at activities. For example, they transfer dried rice between containers.

The manager prioritises getting to know families and understanding individual children's experiences and needs. Arrangements for gathering information from parents, when children first attend, help to ensure that support for children with SEND is arranged quickly. Parents say they appreciate the 'effort and care that staff put into relationships'.

They say staff are the strength in nursery and that they have helped their children to develop confidence.Additional funding for disadvantaged and vulnerable children is used well. Staff have developed a 'communication zone' filled with resources that support children's communication and language development.

Children who speak English as an additional language are supported well. Staff use words in children's first language alongside English. Children learn new words quickly, and their English vocabulary and understanding is developing very well.

Staff are kind and caring. They know that some children have had little experience outside of the home, prior to starting nursery, due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. They focus on helping children to feel secure and happy.

For example, they share photos of children's families and talk about people who are important to them at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.Weaknesses in risk assessments and behaviour management mean that children's safety and well-being in nursery are not assured.

Despite this, staff have appropriate knowledge of the signs that can indicate children are at risk from abuse of harm, at home or elsewhere. Procedures to record and report concerns for children's welfare are effective and ensure that children get the help they need quickly. Staff attend regular training.

Leaders keep their own knowledge up to date, through access to relevant websites and network meetings in the local authority. Recruitment procedures include appropriate checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date ensure that risk assessments take account of all potential risks and that these are removed or minimised as well and as swiftly as possible 18/11/2022 ensure that all staff understand and follow risk assessments, to keep children safe in their care 18/11/2022 consider children's current abilities and stage of development when planning activities, and consistently provide good-quality learning experiences that match the needs of the children taking part 18/11/2022 train staff to manage children's behaviour effectively, so that staff's expectations are appropriate and consistent, and children learn to manage their own behaviour and understand the impact it has on others 18/11/2022 improve mealtime arrangements to ensure that children's health is protected by effective hygiene procedures.

18/11/2022