Bright Horizons Epsom Waltham House Day Nursery and Preschool

Inclusion: Urgent improvement

The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or who face barriers to their learning, is ineffective. Leaders do not sufficiently identify, assess and meet children's needs. At times, children's welfare and wellbeing are compromised. Although there are targeted plans in place to support children with SEND, and staff seek advice and guidance from relevant professionals, leaders have not supported staff to consistently apply individualised strategies. For example, staff do not follow these strategies to use visuals and timers to support children as they transition into different aspects of the routine. Children are not receiving the targeted support required to help reduce gaps in their learning and development.

Children with SEND spend long periods of time without the tailored support, interactions and guidance from staff and often wander around disengaged. In addition, children of all ages spend prolonged periods with their dummies in their mouth, reducing opportunities to develop their communication and language skills further. Consequently, children's learning needs are not always met. Children do not make the progress they are capable of. Leaders generally use additional funding that children may receive to buy suitable resources they know children will like and that support learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

The curriculum is not fully understood by all staff, which has a negative impact on its delivery. Staff do not always adapt their teaching to ensure children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive high-quality interactions that extend their learning further. For instance, staff watch children as they roll balls down lengths of guttering. Children clearly enjoy this, as they race to the bottom to pick the ball up, to place it at the top again. Staff tend to supervise and do not interact with children to build on their existing knowledge and skills. At these times, the children's learning and development are not fully supported. Children are confident communicators. They enjoy listening to stories read by staff and talk to each other and staff about their thoughts and ideas. However, on occasions, some staff do not always use the correct words when talking to children. This does not help children to learn and understand new vocabulary.

Staff sing songs with children, which they clearly enjoy. They sing loudly and join in with repeated actions and mimic staff. Older children begin to represent numbers with their fingers as they count during the songs, while younger children clap their hands in excitement. This promotes children's enjoyment of mathematics from an early age.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children, including those that face barriers to their learning, are not making the best possible progress. Children are not fully engaged and do not always gain positive attitudes to learning. This does not help prepare children fully for their next stage of learning.

The youngest children are well settled because their needs are met appropriately, and they form secure attachments with staff. They engage well when staff sing songs. They benefit from hearing repeated refrains that help to build their communication skills and self-esteem.

Children are polite, kind and explore in an environment that is spacious and inviting. Children respond well to praise, which gives them a sense of pride in what they do. This helps children to build trust in those that care for them. Children develop their fine motor skills as they manipulate play dough. They become engrossed as they mould the dough into different shapes.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Leaders have recognised weaknesses and inconsistencies in routines which do not promote children's behaviours well enough. While their actions are appropriate to improve practice, it is too early to determine any impact. In addition, activities are not organised well. For instance, at times, large group activities do not support children to remain focused and engaged. Long waiting times to explore objects mean children lose concentration and become distracted. This has a negative impact on children's attitudes to learning.

Staff sensitively support any minor conflicts and help children to resolve these calmly. Children begin to understand the feelings of others. They generally listen to staff's instructions. They help staff to tidy up, scrape their plates and put them away after they have eaten meals. Staff act as positive role models and treat children with respect. Children develop secure relationships with their key person and develop a sense of belonging in the nursery. Children play cooperatively with one another. For example, they help each other to put on dressing-up clothes, which supports their role play. This demonstrates kind and thoughtful behaviour, which is praised by staff.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Breaches to the requirements have a significant impact on the overall welfare for all children. Leaders and staff have not followed the setting's policies and procedures with rigour. For instance, records, such as existing injury and incident forms, are not completed and do not contain adequate detail. This means that the arrangements in place for leaders to monitor records and explore patterns and trends are ineffective. This demonstrates weak oversight to ensure that emerging concerns are identified and acted upon promptly. These failings do not promote children's emotional wellbeing and compromise their safety.

Children follow appropriate hygiene practice, such as washing their hands before meals and after using the toilet. Staff encourage children to do things for themselves, which helps them learn to manage appropriate hygiene routines. Staff talk to children about being safe and seek their opinions. For instance, staff ask children what they need to protect them in the hot weather. They hold discussions about wearing sun hats and keeping hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Children take part in wellbeing exercises where they focus on their breathing, while in a calmer environment. At these times, children are supported well to understand how to keep themselves safe and learn relaxation techniques that help regulate their emotions.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

There are significant weaknesses in leadership and governance, which mean that statutory requirements are not met. Leaders and those with designated lead roles to safeguard children have not acted in the best interests of children. Information and records have not been maintained. Although leaders have demonstrated awareness of some areas to be developed within the nursery and have taken some action, they have not accurately identified all weaknesses. For example, they have not identified significant weaknesses in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or children that face barriers to their learning. Leaders have not acted with precision to make the improvements necessary. The inconsistencies in staff's understanding of the curriculum weaken the quality of teaching. Staff do not always organise routines and activities effectively to ensure children remain engaged. This impacts on children's ability to participate fully and manage everyday expectations. These weaknesses have a negative impact on children's learning and development.

Immediately prior to the inspection, leaders notified Ofsted of significant incidents regarding child supervision and safeguarding policies and procedures. We are satisfied with the action they took and how they responded to these specific incidents.

Staff say that their workloads are manageable and that they are supported by leaders. They say that the recent training had has a positive impact on their practice. Most parents say that they feel informed about the activities their children take part in and that they have the opportunity to share their feedback with leaders.