Golders Hill Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

Leaders do not have sufficient oversight to ensure the safe and efficient running of this nursery.

Staff, including leaders, do not have the knowledge required to keep children safe. Additionally, leaders have not ensured that staff are recruited in line with safer recruitment guidance. This means it cannot be assured that all staff are suitable to be working with children.

Children enjoy making choices and playing cooperatively with their peers. Most staff engage with children in their self-chosen activities, and interactions are generally warm and reassuring. However, some staff sit with children but fail to in...teract or engage in their play in any meaningful way.

This inconsistent practice is seen across the nursery and has an impact on the progress that children make.Staff have inconsistent expectations of children's behaviour. Younger children participate successfully in group sessions as staff use effective strategies to keep them engaged and learning.

For example, staff hold up a numeral and children enthusiastically do the corresponding number of actions, such as clapping their hands. However, group sessions with older children are much less successful. For example, staff allow children to get up and leave story time to continue their play.

Staff do not build on prior learning and increase their expectations over time and this impacts on how prepared children are for school.

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

Leaders have not effectively monitored safeguarding knowledge to ensure all staff can identify potential signs of abuse and know the appropriate procedures for reporting concerns. This includes who to contact if there are safeguarding concerns about children or if allegations are made against adults working with children.

Leaders themselves lack understanding of areas of safeguarding, such as the 'Prevent' duty, and this limits their ability to effectively monitor the knowledge and understanding of their staff.Leaders do not demonstrate a secure understanding of how to safely recruit staff. This includes allowing staff to work unsupervised with children without completing the required background checks.

While steps have been taken to improve recruitment procedures, these are still not secure, and leaders demonstrate gaps in their knowledge that could impact on the safety of children.Staff generally support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. However, leaders lack oversight of children with SEND and do not work effectively with parents, or other professionals, to ensure a cohesive approach to meeting children's individual needs.

For example, leaders and staff do not consider how to prepare children with SEND for school or take any steps to support these important transitions alongside parents and other professionals.Leaders explain that an important aspect of their curriculum is taking children on outings, to broaden their understanding of the world around them. They describe trips taken in the past, such as to the science museum.

However, local trips have stopped happening due to behaviour challenges. While the safety of children has been prioritised in this instance, leaders and staff have not taken sufficient action to understand, support and improve children's behaviour. As such, children are missing out on rich learning experiences.

Staff encourage children to become more independent in their self-care skills as they move through the nursery. For example, pre-school children confidently self-serve their own lunch. However, staff fail to encourage children to problem solve or attempt things for themselves in other areas of the curriculum.

For example, when children want to make paper jewellery, staff make these for them rather than promoting scissor skills and encouraging children to try making these for themselves.Leaders do not have effective oversight of practice within the nursery. They are unaware that staff lack the knowledge required to keep children safe, signifying weaknesses in staff inductions and supervision sessions.

Leaders also fail to check that staff complete training in a timely manner and that training has the desired impact on improving knowledge and practice. In addition, weaknesses in staff interactions and their impact on children's engagement in their learning are not addressed, therefore poor practice continues.Leaders reflect on the weaknesses identified openly and honestly.

They are acutely aware that they have not taken sufficient action to ensure the safe and effective running of the nursery. However, they have recently expanded the leadership team in recognition of these weaknesses, and are open to support from other agencies, demonstrating a commitment and capacity for improvement.

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 all staff, including leaders, have a secure understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures 17/03/2025 ensure procedures for safer recruitment are fully understood and adhered to, to ensure all staff are suitable to work with children 17/03/2025 improve partnership working with parents and other agencies to ensure the individual needs of children, particularly those with SEND, are met 17/03/2025 ensure behaviour expectations are consistent across the nursery, and build over time, to help prepare children for their next stage of learning 17/03/2025 ensure leaders have oversight of practice within the nursery through effective inductions and supervision of staff, to improve the quality of the nursery.17/03/2025 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support children to be more independent across the curriculum, not just in their self-care skills.