Pallett Drive Day Nursery Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the procedures to keep children protected from harm are robust. This is because evidence of the required checks to establish staff's suitability to work with children cannot be provided.

The manager designated to take the lead for safeguarding does not have a secure understanding of the local safeguarding procedures to follow in the event of an allegation being made against staff. Furthermore, the nursery's child protection procedures are not in line with the local safeguarding procedures.The experiences of children attending the nursery vary significantly between rooms.

...>The space available to play is limited for babies due to the arrangement of the environment and stored equipment. The curriculum for these children is narrowed. This is because staff do not always focus on what children need to learn next to enable them to make continual progress.

That said, toddlers and pre-school children enjoy the experiences that are planned for them. For example, they enjoy learning about colours and categorising vehicles by type. Older children use their imaginations to tell a story about each vehicle.

All children build warm relationships and are comfortable in the company of staff. They go to them for comfort and reassurance and receive cuddles and lots of smiles. This helps children to feel secure in their care.

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

The safety and welfare of children in the nursery is compromised. Some suitability checks are made when staff are newly recruited. However, because other required checks were not available to view at the time of inspection, Ofsted cannot be assured that these checks took place, or that the recruited staff are suitable to work with children.

The provider does not have an appropriate procedure in place to safeguard children when an allegation is made against staff. This is because the nursery procedures are not in line with the local safeguarding procedures. Although managers and staff can identify concerns about children's welfare and the conduct of staff, those designated to take the lead for safeguarding do not have a robust enough knowledge of the correct action they must take.

This impacts on the safety and welfare of the children attending.The nursery curriculum, in particular for babies, does not provide the sequence of learning that children need to build continually on what they know and can do across the areas of learning. Although staff know babies well, they do not use this knowledge effectively to decide and plan for what children are ready to learn next.

The arrangement of the play environment in the baby room does not support children's play and exploration. Children have limited space to develop their physical skills to move about. For example, babies who are ready to pull themselves to standing become frustrated when there is very little nearby support to help them to achieve this.

Children are provided with opportunities to use and develop their imaginations. For example, toddlers enjoy listening to stories, in particular about a favourite forest creature. Staff engage children to complete the familiar lines of the story and to recall who they will meet next in the book.

After the story, children continue this interest. They chatter to themselves and play with a forest scene, created for them by staff, which includes some of the characters from the story.Older children develop their communication and language skills.

This includes children who speak English as an additional language. They have opportunities to continue using their home language during play. Pre-school staff use open-ended questions when engaging with children.

This encourages children to use their developing vocabulary to talk through their thoughts and ideas.Managers ensure that staff receive the mandatory training they need. Staff say they receive the support they need from their managers and that they are approachable.

Managers provide staff with opportunities to access additional training to further their knowledge and skills and develop their roles in the nursery.Relationships with parents are positive. They say they are happy with the nursery and the information they receive about their child's care and learning.

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, the provider must: Due date ensure the required checks to establish staff's suitability to work with children are completed 26/03/2024 ensure records are available for viewing at the time of inspection, with particular regard to staff suitability checks 26/03/2024 ensure the nursery's child protection policy is in line with local safeguarding partnership procedures and is clearly understood and followed should an allegation be made against a member of staff 26/03/2024 develop the curriculum for babies to ensure it clearly focuses on what children need to learn next to enable them to make continual progress 30/04/2024 review and make changes to the learning environment for babies to enable them to explore and develop their emerging physical skills.

30/04/2024