Bright Horizons Kenton Day Nursery and Preschool

Inclusion: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not identify, assess or respond to children's additional needs effectively. They do not have clear systems to identify children's needs, plan support or review the impact of actions taken. As a result, some children with emerging special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not receive the help they need at the earliest opportunity.

Leaders and staff do not have a clear understanding of what support is in place for some children. They cannot explain how children's needs are being met or how support helps them make progress. Parents raise concerns with leaders about their children's development. However, leaders do not ensure that appropriate plans or interventions are in place. Nor do they adapt provision sufficiently to support children's individual needs. Children who face barriers to learning do not receive the support they need to take part fully in activities and daily routines. Staff miss opportunities to support children's communication, engagement and learning. As a result, some children spend long periods without purposeful interaction or targeted support.

Leaders do not seek help from relevant professionals quickly enough. They also lack oversight of children with SEND and children who may be vulnerable. Consequently, children do not receive the timely support they need to reduce barriers to their learning, development and wellbeing.

Curriculum and teaching: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not provide effective oversight of the curriculum. They do not ensure that staff understand what children should learn or how to build on what children already know and can do. Staff often supervise activities rather than teaching children through play. They do not use children's interests, prior learning or next steps to move learning forward. Staff miss opportunities to develop children's communication, thinking and understanding. For example, some staff provide resources for activities but offer little discussion, questioning or challenge to extend children's learning. Children show interest in activities at first. However, staff do not maintain children's engagement or involvement in learning. Children lose interest quickly and do not sustain their attention or concentration.

Staff do not adapt activities well enough for children who face barriers to learning, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, some children spend long periods without meaningful interaction or support. Leaders have not identified or addressed weaknesses in teaching and curriculum delivery. Consequently, children do not benefit from an ambitious curriculum or effective teaching that helps them make good progress. Although some staff support children to develop physical skills and explore resources, this practice is not typical across the setting.

Achievement: Urgent improvement

Children do not develop communication, language and thinking skills well enough. Some children spend long periods without meaningful interaction and do not develop the skills they need to communicate, express their ideas and make sense of their experiences. Children often show interest in activities at first. However, they do not sustain their engagement, involvement or concentration in learning experiences. As a result, some children do not make the progress of which they are capable.

Children play alongside their peers and develop some early social skills through shared activities and routines. They enjoy opportunities to listen to stories, join in with songs and take part in physical play. However, they do not develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they need across the areas of learning. Consequently, gaps in some children's learning are not narrowed quickly enough. Children are not well prepared for the next stage in their learning and development.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not provide effective oversight of staff practice in relation to behaviour, attendance and daily routines. They do not monitor attendance and punctuality closely enough to identify concerns or take appropriate action when children are absent or arrive late. Staff do not establish clear routines or help children, including those with barriers to their learning and wellbeing, understand what is expected of them. They do not prepare children well for changes in daily activities. As a result, children become unsettled and struggle to understand boundaries and routines.

Leaders do not ensure that staff help children understand expectations or manage their behaviour effectively. Staff tell children to stop unwanted behaviour or to use 'kind hands'. However, they do not explain expectations, model positive behaviour or help children to manage their feelings. Children push, snatch resources and struggle to take turns. Staff miss opportunities to develop children's social skills and self-regulation. They give children mixed messages about expectations and do not adapt routines or behaviour strategies to meet their individual needs. As a result, children become distressed or disengaged.

Children enjoy some shared play experiences with their peers. However, they do not develop the social and emotional skills they need to understand expectations, manage their behaviour and build positive relationships. Consequently, children do not develop the skills they need for future learning.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not provide effective oversight of children's welfare and wellbeing. They do not identify or address weaknesses in how staff support children's emotional wellbeing, individual needs and sense of security. Leaders do not ensure that staff understand and implement the key-person role effectively. Staff do not adapt care and support to meet children's needs. Children who face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing do not receive the support they need to participate fully in daily experiences. Staff do not consistently respond to children's emotional cues, choices or routines.

Children do not consistently receive care and reassurance from adults who know them well. Some children become upset, seek comfort or follow staff for reassurance. However, staff do not always respond appropriately. Staff also prioritise routine tasks, such as nappy changing, over responding to children's emotional needs. As a result, children do not always receive the emotional support they need to feel safe and secure.

Children benefit from fresh fruit, nutritious meals and a clean environment. Staff supervise children appropriately during mealtimes and support some independence. However, weaknesses in care practices mean that some children do not receive the comfort and reassurance they need to feel safe and secure.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

Leaders and those responsible for governance do not provide effective strategic oversight of the nursery. Recent leadership changes have created a fragile leadership structure and reduced leaders' capacity to monitor practice. Although leaders recognise some weaknesses, they do not act swiftly or successfully to address them. As a result, significant weaknesses in teaching, safeguarding, children's welfare and support for children with additional needs remain. Leaders do not evaluate the quality of the provision accurately. They do not provide staff with sufficient supervision, support or accountability to ensure that expectations are understood and implemented. Senior leaders are regularly deployed within ratios, which limits their capacity to monitor practice, support staff and drive improvement. Leaders do not ensure that staff have the time, support and guidance they need to fulfil their responsibilities effectively. Consequently, leaders do not identify weaknesses in the quality of practice quickly enough or take effective action to secure the necessary improvements.

Leaders do not manage concerns and complaints effectively. They cannot demonstrate that they engage effectively with concerns raised by parents or use feedback to improve the provision. Leaders recognise the weaknesses identified; however, they have not secured improvements to prevent the negative impact on children's experiences.