Bright Horizons West Dulwich Day Nursery and Preschool

Inclusion: Needs attention

Leaders and staff do not provide consistent support to all children, including those who may face barriers to their learning and those who have been previously known to social care. They share information about children's changing circumstances and about learning with parents. However, they do not use this information well enough to support children's achievement. This means that learning and development opportunities for all children are not sufficiently well matched to their needs.

Staff complete regular assessments of children's learning, including the required progress check for children between the ages of 2 and 3 years old. They share children's progress with parents and seek advice from other professionals, if needed, to support children with gaps in their learning. This helps them to arrange for early intervention when they decide it is necessary.

Leaders know how to apply for additional funding, if needed, and explain how they will monitor the impact this will have on children's learning and development.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders identify what they want children to learn. However, some staff lack skills to support children and help them build on what they already know and can do. They carry out regular assessments and identify children's next steps in learning, but do not use these when planning for children's learning. For example, leaders are working on developing children's vocabulary, but staff do not know how to support this. Some staff do not know how to model language clearly to help children develop secure skills in their communication and language development.

Leaders do not ensure staff are deployed effectively to support children's learning. Staff do not plan activities effectively to reflect the learning needs and developmental stages of all children. They do not use opportunities during play to build on and extend children's learning. Staff are not skilled enough to build on children's early mathematical skills. As a result, children do not develop the secure foundations for mathematics they need for the next stage of learning.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children are not supported to develop good communication and language skills. Their early mathematical skills are also not well supported.

Children, including those who face other barriers to learning, generally enjoy the learning environment available to them. For example, they explore natural materials outdoors and use their imagination while they make different constructions.

Children develop age-appropriate physical skills. For example, they master their physical skills using bicycles and wheelbarrows. Children build on their physical skills during obstacle courses, and this supports their balance and coordination. Young children learn to use cutlery during mealtimes and connect the train track with enjoyment.

Children typically develop the confidence and independence needed for the next stage in learning. For example, young children take themselves to wash their hands before mealtimes and after messy play. They learn about the importance of good hygiene routines. Older children develop social skills as they form friendships with their peers.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Leaders and staff do not implement effective teaching and do not have high expectations of what individual children can achieve. As a result, not all children are supported to develop positive attitudes to learning. There are occasions when young children wander around aimlessly and do not benefit from purposeful learning experiences.

Leaders and staff set age-appropriate expectations for children's behaviour. They respond calmly to any incidents of unwanted behaviour. For example, staff go to children's level and explain to them to use gentle hands and share with their friends. As a result, all children, including those who face barriers to their learning and those previously known to children's social care, learn positive behaviour and how to negotiate with one another. Staff encourage children to tidy up after activities. This routine helps children take responsibility for their environment and cooperate with one another.

Leaders have effective procedures in place to monitor children's attendance. They work with parents to reduce barriers to regular attendance.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure that staff are deployed effectively during activities to promote children's health and safety. For example, staff do not notice when children are unsafe, such as when they chew chunks of paper. This compromises children's health and wellbeing. Leaders' risk assessments during activities are poor. They do not identify potential choking hazards and infection risks. This compromises children's welfare.

Generally, staff are responsive to children's care needs. For example, they recognise that children are tired or need a nappy change. Young children show willingness to manage their personal care needs, such as by imitating handwashing.

Leaders work with parents to keep up to date with their family's changing circumstances and provide access to early education. They know how to remove some barriers to learning, such as by providing children with emotional support and encouragement. This helps children develop confidence and join in play with their peers.

Children develop positive relationships with their key person, who gathers appropriate information from parents before children gradually start to attend. This helps children settle quickly, when they first start. All children, including those who face barriers to learning, develop a sense of belonging in the setting.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

The inspection identified breaches of the early years foundation stage requirements, specifically in relation to staff deployment, risk assessments, staff training and skills and learning and development requirements.

Leaders are not successful in fully understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the setting. They failed to identify poor staff deployment and risk assessments during activities in the baby and toddler rooms, which compromised children's health and safety. Leaders do not adequately assess the quality of the curriculum and teaching practice and the impact this has on children's learning and development. Consequently, children's individual learning needs are not always met.

Leaders do not have effective arrangements in place to identify individual staff's training needs. Typically, staff do not access support and training to improve their teaching skills to ensure quality learning and development experiences for children. Leaders do not consider how staff are deployed when temporary staff work in the rooms. For example, staff who know the children very well complete tasks, such as preparing the room for lunch, while unfamiliar staff try to read stories to a group of children who they do not know and have difficulty engaging with.

Despite this, staff experience manageable workloads and personal support from managers, whenever they need it. This has a positive impact on staff's emotional wellbeing.

Leaders take steps to ensure staff are up to date with their safeguarding training and regularly check their knowledge and understanding of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about children or staff who work with children.

Leaders support parents with their child's move on to school. They welcome teachers into the setting and share effective information about children's progress to ease the change.