The Friendly Fish Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

There are significant weaknesses at this nursery. Some staff do not receive inductions or tailored support, training and coaching to help them meet the needs of children. This means staff have significant gaps in their knowledge about how to plan and implement an effective curriculum for children.

Furthermore, staff have gaps in their knowledge about child protection issues and how to respond appropriately to keep children safe. This directly impacts on the quality of care and education afforded to children in their earliest years. Despite the weaknesses, staff offer warm and sensitive care to help children settle at the ...nursery.

They work hard to foster positive relationships with the children, which helps to develop secure attachments. As such, most of the time, children demonstrate they are happy and secure as they explore the play spaces set up for them. However, there are times when some rooms appear to be chaotic, with inconsistencies in staff practice that mean children are not given clear direction in activities or routines.

Consequently, their learning is often disrupted, and this directly impacts on children's ability to sustain concentration and apply themselves to purposeful learning. Staff make good use of the large outdoor play area to provide opportunities for all children to develop their physical skills in a variety of ways. This includes using resources such as wooden planks and tyres for obstacle courses to support children to practise their balancing skills.

Furthermore, staff take children on visits in the local community and beach to support children's learning about the natural world.

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

The new manager recognises the provision's strengths and weaknesses. However, as she is so new in post, she has not yet been able to address all the current and historic practice issues she has inherited.

Despite this, she is clear about taking steps to put matters right. The manager demonstrates a clear commitment to taking the relevant action required to embed and drive improvement so children and families receive good-quality childcare.Staff do not receive the required induction and subsequent training needed to help them understand how they can fulfil their roles and responsibilities effectively.

For example, staff are unclear about child protection issues and who they are to report their concerns to in line with local procedures. This does not safeguard children effectively.Supervision arrangements for staff are ineffective.

They do not accurately identify individual training and coaching needs to give staff the support they need so their practice continually improves. For instance, some staff have very limited knowledge about the educational programmes they must deliver to support children's learning and development. Consequently, activities are often generalised for children, without clear learning intentions.

As a result, children are confused and lose interest in what they are intended to learn and why.The key-person approach is inconsistent. This is due to some staff being given this responsibility without being equipped with the knowledge and skills required to fulfil all aspects of this role.

Staff do not know how to plan and implement a broad and balanced sequential curriculum. Consequently, children receive a narrowed curriculum offer that does not align to their age and stage of development.There are inconsistencies in the levels of support some children receive, particularly children who have been identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities.

For instance, staff do not know about or implement support plans for children who are non-verbal. Staff do not robustly embed alternative ways to support these children to be able to communicate so they can express their wants and needs. This does not help children to catch up.

Periodically, the daily routine and activities can appear chaotic and disorganised. This directly impacts on children's learning experiences and behaviours. Staff do not consistently have good oversight of what all children are doing.

This leads to children, who initially collaborate well in their play, losing interest in their activities. They wander off, escalating noise and disruption. Children themselves say that the room is too loud for them so they cannot listen to a story.

This does not help children to prepare well for their next stage of education.Parents comment favourably about the staff and how they work closely with their children to build their confidence so they are happy to attend nursery. Parents recognise there has been a lot of change at the nursery, but they feel that management and staff are responsive to their questions and queries and have no concerns.

However, while staff offer general feedback, parents do not always receive enough information about the progress their children are making and what they are focusing on currently. Furthermore, staff do not seek all the information from parents that is relevant to help them understand their cultural heritage. As such, details about what makes children unique are not considered, to tailor the care and support required to help their 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 improve all staff's understanding of child protection matters and how to raise concerns to agencies with statutory responsibilities in line with local procedures 01/07/2024 ensure all staff receive induction and effective relevant subsequent training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities 01/07/2024 ensure the curriculum is precisely planned and implemented to meet the individual needs and development stage of each child 01/07/2024 improve staff supervision arrangements to address gaps in professional knowledge and offer specific coaching and support to help raise practice 01/07/2024 take steps to strengthen staff's understanding of the role of the key person to help ensure that every child's individual needs are known and met continuously 01/07/2024 ensure staff consistently implement support plans for children identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities to help them make consistent progress 01/07/2024 improve the organisation of routines and activities so staff are clear about what they intend to deliver and why 01/07/2024 ensure parents and carers receive tailored feedback about their own child's specific progress and current learning.

01/07/2024