Beechwood Childcare Limited

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

Breaches to the safeguarding and welfare requirements have a significant impact on the safety and well-being of babies.Leadership and management of the nursery are poor.

They do not ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills they need in order to fulfil all aspects of their role. Consequently, the nursery's procedures are not fully understood or followed by staff to promote children's safety and welfare. For example, staff's understanding of safe sleep practices is weak, which puts babies at risk of harm.

The experiences that children have at this nursery differ considerably depending on their age. Staff do ...not consistently deliver a broad and challenging curriculum for all children, or understand what skills they need to learn next. For instance, staff working with babies do not ensure they benefit from regular and quality interactions.

As a result, babies do not engage in meaningful play and spend prolonged periods of time on their own. That said, toddlers and pre-school children receive some positive interactions from staff. They are eager to join in with activities that build on their interests and experiences, such as yoga sessions.

They demonstrate they are independent learners and are keen to have a go. However, staff do not always know how to adapt activities effectively for younger children to extend their learning further. As a result, some children are disengaged in their learning and do not focus for long during activities.

Nevertheless, staff are generally positive role models for children's behaviour. Children are settled and familiar with the nursery routine. They respond well to staff and follow simple instructions.

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

Weaknesses in leadership and management have an impact on all areas of the nursery. While staff have regular supervision meetings, these processes are not successful in swiftly identifying and addressing poor practice and teaching skills. The feedback that staff receive does not support them to raise the quality of provision and education due to the gaps in knowledge of leadership and management.

Leaders and staff understand the signs and symptoms of abuse and how to report any concerns. However, leaders do not have a secure knowledge and understanding of all statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage. Staff are not familiar with or confident in the latest government safety guidance in relation to safe sleep practices.

Not all babies are placed in an appropriate bed or cot, which has a significant impact on their safety. Staff allow some babies to sleep in a baby bouncer, which means they cannot lie flat. This can impact on their breathing and physical development.

The inconsistency of staff's understanding and teaching skills, particularly those working with babies, means that the curriculum lacks focus and purpose. Staff join in with children's play, but do not recognise how to successfully adapt their teaching to extend children's learning further. That said, staff working with toddlers and pre-school children use some effective strategies to support their communication and language development.

Toddlers and pre-school children enjoy listening to familiar stories. They repeat key vocabulary and respond to questions that support their critical thinking.Not all staff are confident to recognise and understand how children learn.

Staff working with babies do not understand how to support their development and progress. They fail to plan and deliver a range of experiences that build on their interests and meet their individual needs. Babies are not motivated to play and learn.

They frequently wander around their environment aimlessly and do not benefit from positive or meaningful interactions. Because of this, babies do not develop the skills they need to prepare them for the next stage in their learning.Staff have access to a range of professional development opportunities and complete mandatory training as part of their induction.

However, this knowledge is not always retained, particularly in relation to the safeguarding and welfare requirements. This means that not all staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to safe sleeping practices, which has a significant impact on children's safety.The nursery is inclusive and supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Staff generally work well with parents and external agencies to ensure that children with SEND receive the support they need.The nursery provides healthy, balanced and nutritious meals. Children thoroughly enjoy the food that is prepared and served to them.

Staff manage allergies and dietary requirements well.Overall, parents comment positively on the friendly and supportive staff team. They report that their children enjoy their time at the nursery.

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 arrangements for sleeping children are in line with the latest government safety guidance 22/08/2024 ensure all staff have the knowledge and skills required to fulfil all aspects of their role 12/09/2024 implement a well-sequenced curriculum to support children's learning across all areas of the early years foundation stage 12/09/2024 ensure there are effective systems in place to swiftly identify and tackle poor practice and weaknesses in teaching, to raise the quality of education across the nursery 12/09/2024 strengthen staff's understanding of the curriculum and how babies learn, so they have access to high-quality care, interactions and learning opportunities to support their progress.

12/09/2024