Puddleducks Daycare Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

Children's safety is not assured.

This is because staff and managers do not properly understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They have failed to recognise when children may be at risk of possible abuse. Consequently, safeguarding policies and procedures have not been followed.

Referrals to other agencies about possible child protection concerns have not been made in a timely way, which leaves children at risk of harm. Furthermore, record keeping is poor. The manager relies on their memory to recall details of safeguarding concerns and incidents.

They do not recognise the importance of the accurac...y of information in order to safeguard children.Children generally enjoy their time at the nursery. They join in with a varied range of activities and experiences, which staff plan and provide.

Children delight in playing outdoors. They practise their physical skills as they pedal on bikes and climb up different structures using steps and ladders. Staff deploy themselves closely to children to supervise them and minimise potential safety risks, such as when children climb to higher levels.

Children are keen to learn about the world around them. They observe tadpoles and listen intently to staff who talk about how the tadpoles are growing into frogs. Children are excited to show new people the caterpillars they have found in their garden.

That said, staff do not vary or adapt activities and learning opportunities that children access to challenge children and extend their learning even further.

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

Staff, including the manager who is the lead practitioner for safeguarding, lack knowledge of their role to keep children safe. They have failed to identify signs that could indicate children are at risk of abuse or harm.

While staff and managers know how to report child protection concerns to other professionals, they have failed to implement an effective safeguarding policy and procedure to do this when concerns have arisen. This means that children are not safeguarded.Information and record keeping is weak.

Child protection records are unclear because they lack vital information and detail. While the manager is able to recall some of this detail, they do not recognise the importance of maintaining accurate evidence. This impacts on the safe and efficient management of the setting and the safeguarding of children.

The manager has worked with staff to design a curriculum that sequences children's learning. This is implemented well to support children to become prepared for their transition to the next age group, and for their eventual move to school. Staff plan and provide a varied range of activities that help children to make progress in their learning.

However, on occasions, activities planned are not matched closely enough to the developmental stages of children. For example, younger babies are provided with some resources that they do not yet understand how to use. As a result, they do not fully benefit from the learning intended.

There is a knowledgeable coordinator identified to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work closely with staff and parents to address any delays in children's development. The coordinator helps to devise plans to provide children with the support they need to close gaps in their learning.

They understand how and when to seek help from other professionals so that children receive the help they need.Children generally behave well. They follow requests to tidy up, and staff join in to model their expectations.

Children are supported to share resources and take turns during activities. However, sometimes transitions between activities and routines takes a very long time. During these periods, some children get bored or frustrated.

This has some negative impact on children's behaviours and reduces the amount of time available to continue their learning.Parents speak positively about the nursery. They welcome the information shared with them about their child's care and learning through daily handovers.

For those children who speak English as an additional language, parents comment about how well their child's communication and language has developed.Children develop their independence and self-help skills. They put on their own coats and shoes before going outdoors.

Older children help to give out cutlery to their friends at mealtimes. Children who bring their own packed lunches learn how to open their food packaging.

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 that all staff, including the lead practitioner for safeguarding, can identify signs of possible child protection concerns and understand the procedures to report these in a timely way 29/04/2024 implement an effective policy and procedure to safeguard children 29/04/2024 ensure that all information and records are clear, sufficiently detailed and effectively organised in order to keep children safe.29/04/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review transitional times in routines to reduce the amount of time that children spend waiting support staff to develop their teaching skills to consistently stretch and extend children's learning further look at the planning for activities and experiences so that these are matched more closely to children's developmental stages.