Bright Horizons Raynes Park Day Nursery And Preschool

Inclusion: Urgent improvement

Staff lack the necessary skills to identify and assess children who may need additional support in this setting. This prevents them from monitoring progress, reviewing the assistance provided and evaluating its impact. This delays support for children with additional learning needs, including referrals to external agencies. For instance, although some staff have concerns about children's communication and language development, they have failed to take appropriate action to address these issues.

When professionals, such as occupational therapists, are already involved in a child's learning, staff have not fostered effective partnerships with them. This limitation hinders their ability to reduce the barriers these children face, preventing the curriculum from effectively meeting every child's needs. Disadvantaged children, in particular, often miss out on purposeful engagement or tailored support, which restricts their ability to fully participate in the curriculum and daily activities.

Staff do not recognise when the curriculum needs adjustments to accommodate the most able children. Some parents have raised concerns that their children are not well prepared for school. Staff have not acted promptly to share vital information with teachers from the schools to which children will transition. This oversight undermines children's preparation for the next stage of their education and affects their progress. Currently, no children are benefiting from additional funding.

Curriculum and teaching: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not fully consider the needs of all children, particularly those who are disadvantaged and face barriers to their learning, when designing the curriculum. The curriculum lacks ambition and is not well-sequenced to support children in acquiring the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. This has a negative impact on children's progress and behaviour. However, staff provide age-appropriate activities, such as exploration with malleable resources including lentils and porridge. They also encourage children to explore water play and practise their gross motor skills, such as by using ride-on toys.

While staff make observations and assessments of children's learning, these are weak and insufficient. As a result, they do not always know children's learning needs and how to support them. This results in ineffective teaching and interactions. Staff read age-appropriate books to children, which they enjoy. However, they do not consistently model language or ask questions that encourage communication. Additionally, staff do not support the most able children well enough, such as when they show interest in numbers during activities. This prevents the development and extension of children's mathematical skills.

Staff's curriculum for personal, social and emotional development is weak. They struggle to engage children in sustained interactions, leaving disadvantaged children to occupy themselves with little staff interaction. The lack of engagement has a detrimental impact on children's learning experiences.

Achievement: Urgent improvement

Children do not make the progress they should from their starting points. This includes children who are disadvantaged and face barriers to their learning. They do not learn about personal safety, as potentially hazardous electrical devices are left within their reach. Delays in referrals mean that children are not sufficiently prepared for the next stages of their learning, including school. Additionally, children do not develop their language skills as effectively as possible. This hinders children's ability to express themselves and build understanding. Children show interest in numbers but they do not receive sufficient support to build on and extend their mathematical skills. This impacts children's behaviour, as they become bored and restless.

However, children develop their imagination and creativity. Babies explore malleable resources that help promote their sensory skills. Toddlers engage in imaginative play, such as pretending to be firefighters. Older children engage in activities, such as sticking and painting. All children gain physical skills. For instance, babies crawl through a wooden tunnel or use ride-on toys, supporting their balance and coordination.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not always create a positive environment for children. This is especially evident during transitions or when daily routines change. This leaves some children, including those who are disadvantaged and face barriers to their learning, confused and unsettled. For example, at breakfast time, staff fail to notice when children become bored and restless. When they engage with children, this is brief or unsuccessful. As a result, children wander around the indoor environment aimlessly, which leads to higher noise levels. This affects children's behaviour and it has an impact on others. Staff do not consider children's ages and stages of development when setting expectations.

Leaders' approach to tackling children's attendance and punctuality in the setting is weak. This does not help children build positive school habits, especially older children.

While staff are generally kind to children and encourage them to play together, not all have formed a secure attachment with children. This limits staff's ability to settle and reassure children, such as when they are upset and distressed, which affects their emotional wellbeing and confidence.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Staff do not risk-assess the environment effectively, which does not ensure children's personal safety. For instance, they leave electric devices, such as fans, within children's reach. Children play with the fans unsupervised, which compromises their safety. Additionally, the morning routines are poorly organised, resulting in a noisy and chaotic environment. This confusion results in children, including those who are disadvantaged or face learning barriers, wandering aimlessly with little to no input from staff.

Although a key-person system is in place, this is ineffective. Staff lack the knowledge and understanding needed to support children's individual learning needs. During snack time, for example, staff interact too little with children to demonstrate established attachments. While staff show care for children when they are upset, they do not effectively organise settling-in periods. They do not quickly recognise when children struggle to manage their emotions. Babies cry for extended periods, negatively impacting their enjoyment and emotional wellbeing. Despite this, staff make efforts to follow children's feeding and sleep routines. They meet the required adult-to-child ratios.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

Recently, significant challenges have affected the setting's daily operations. This hinders leaders' ability to clearly understand the setting's strengths and areas for improvement. For instance, they have not recognised the need to promptly refer children with potential concerns to the appropriate agencies. In addition, leaders do not ensure that staff conduct effective risk assessments of the environment, putting children's safety and welfare at risk. There are also previously identified weaknesses in staff supervision, which remains weak. The recruitment and induction procedures are not robust. Staff practices in teaching and care are ineffective, including their approach to addressing children's attendance and punctuality issues.

Leaders responsible for governance do not always prioritise decisions that are in the best interests of children, including those who are disadvantaged. There have been instances where leaders failed to consider staff's health and wellbeing when making operational decisions. This does not promote a positive environment for staff and children. Following an incident, leaders reviewed their policy on safer eating practices. They reinforced the setting's traffic-light system, which addresses children's dietary requirements and allergies. There are sufficient staff who have completed paediatric first-aid training, who attend to children's accidents and injuries. Overall, parents are satisfied with the communication from staff. However, leaders do not engage with other professionals to help close the gaps in children's learning and development.