Alpha & Omega Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

The breaches in the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the early years foundation stage have a significant impact on the learning, safety and well-being of children.

Leaders and staff do not fulfil their roles effectively enough to ensure that children are kept safe at all times.The quality of education is weak. For example, staff do not plan well enough to fully take account of the children's individual needs and what they need to learn next.

This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff do not sustain children's interest to ensure that they make the progress they ...could. They do not provide high-quality interactions.

Staff's poor planning and teaching skills have a negative impact on children's attitudes towards learning and their behaviour. Children are often left unattended to wander without aim or purpose. Staff are not consistent in ensuring they support children emotional well-being and self-regulation.

They do not provide children with clear and consistent behavioural expectations.Parents praise welcoming staff. They say children want to come into the nursery.

However, staff do not ensure that all parents know who their child's key person is. This shows weaknesses in key-person arrangements and does not ensure continuity of learning for all children.

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

Leaders do not ensure that all staff have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues.

Staff, including designated safeguarding leads, do not understand their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe. For example, leaders and staff do not identify and act on all inappropriate behaviour that their colleagues display. This has a negative impact on children's emotional well-being, and their safety in the setting is compromised.

Leaders do not accurately evaluate the quality of practice in the setting. They do not swiftly address gaps in staff's understanding of how children learn and develop. Overall, there is a lack of effective support for staff.

This means that staff are not equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to fulfil their roles and meet children's needs, including their need for good-quality early education.Although there is a basic key-person arrangement in place, staff do not have a good enough understanding of their role as a key person. Some key persons do not demonstrate an appropriate understanding of how to support children to achieve their next steps in their development, including children with SEND.

Staff do not deploy themselves effectively to promote children's safety and well-being. For example, during mealtimes children are not well supervised even though adults are nearby. This lack of effective supervision of children means that children's safety is compromised.

Staff do not fully consider how to promote children's good health. For example, staff do not ensure that children wear sun hats, and sun creams are not applied during hot and sunny days. Although drinking water is accessible, staff do not ensure that children drink enough to keep them hydrated.

This does not support children's good health.Staff's messages about behaviour expectations are not made clear to children or applied consistently. For example, staff ask children not to run out to the garden, but when they do run, staff do not follow up on this behaviour.

This does not help children to learn what is expected of them and recognise right from wrong.Staff, including the special educational needs coordinator, have insufficient understanding of children's individual needs. They do not implement effective strategies to support children's development.

This means that children who require additional support do not make the progress they are capable of, and their care needs are not met. These weaknesses have a negative impact on children with SEND.Leaders and staff do not take sufficient steps to identify hazards and protect children from risks to their health and safety.

For example, staff do not remove plastic bags from children's reach. In another area of the setting, sharp staples stick out from a radiator cover that is accessible to young children. Leaders and staff fail to identify and remove risks independently.

This places children at risk of harm.Leaders and staff do not fully understand their responsibilities to maintain records and share information with relevant colleagues. For example, key staff, including some leaders, have no knowledge about children's medication needs or where the medication is stored.

This compromises children's health and does not support continuity of care for children.

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?

The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action.

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to: Due date improve arrangements for identifying and responding to inappropriate behaviour from practitioners 09/08/2024 provide staff with targeted coaching and mentoring to improve their knowledge of the curriculum and to raise the quality of education to a good standard 09/08/2024 improve the effectiveness of the key-person arrangements to ensure that children's individual needs are consistently met 09/08/2024 ensure staffing arrangements meet children's needs and ensure their safety, including while eating 09/08/2024 ensure that the deputy manager is capable, skilled and knowledgeable enough to competently and confidently fulfil her role, and to take charge in the manager's absence 09/08/2024 improve practices to promote children's good health, particularly ensuring that they are protected from excessive sun exposure 09/08/2024 ensure staff have the knowledge and skills to understand, support and manage children's behaviour in an appropriate way 09/08/2024 have effective arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) 09/08/2024 ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure children are not exposed to risks 09/08/2024 ensure that leaders and staff understand their responsibility in effective recording and sharing relevant information with one another, parents and other agencies when appropriate.09/08/2024 To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date improve the delivery of the curriculum to support all children to make good progress in their learning and development.

27/09/2024

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