Clockhouse Childcare

Inclusion: Urgent improvement

Leaders have not created an inclusive culture that meets all children's individual needs. This includes the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff do not understand how to assess what children can do, review their progress, plan meaningful next steps or address the barriers that limit their learning.

Leaders have failed to ensure that all staff know how to support all children in the nursery. Although leaders have applied for additional funding, they do not use it purposefully or accurately. They cannot identify how or why they applied for this funding, and staff cannot explain how the funding benefits children or reduces barriers to learning. Children with additional needs and/or disabilities often wander around without purposeful engagement from staff, which restricts their learning, development and affects their behaviour.

Leaders do not collaborate with relevant professionals to develop effective strategies or interventions that would help create a fully inclusive provision. This lack of partnership working further limits the support available to children and prevents staff from gaining the expertise they need. Overall, leaders' ineffective actions hinder children's progress and weaken the nursery's ability to meet the diverse needs of all learners.

Curriculum and teaching: Urgent improvement

Leaders' understanding of the curriculum is weak, and they do not have effective oversight across this nursery. Therefore, staff's understanding of teaching and learning is not effective to meet the needs of all children. For example, not all children have access to outdoor learning or age-appropriate outdoor equipment. Children who do go outside often do not have the skills they need to thrive. For example, they do not have the large-muscle control to power a large toy car.

Communication and language are not prioritised across the nursery. Some children are taught some single words in English. Other children are not spoken to in English at all. Some of staff's own understanding of English is poor. When English is used with the children, it is often incorrectly pronounced. This hinders children's ability to communicate. Mathematics is not sequenced across the nursery. Children are not exposed to numbers, counting and mathematical songs. Their early mathematical knowledge does not build over time.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not receive effective support. For example, often children are given resources that are not specific to their needs, and children learn by chance rather than by design. Leaders and staff do not identify children's starting points or build on what they know. As a result, learning is not sequenced or embedded. Children's understanding of their own personal, social and emotional needs is weak. Children rarely communicate with each other. Some become frustrated and cry when their needs are not met. Staff respond only to stop the crying, rather than supporting children to understand and manage their emotions.

Achievement: Urgent improvement

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not achieve well from their individual starting points. For example, babies are not nurtured or given appropriate resources to enable them to explore and learn. Staff do not provide important language during play with babies; therefore, babies do not pick up vocal patterns in speech.

Children typically are not taught in English. In some rooms, play is sometimes narrated with single words of English. Consequently, children mainly communicate by gesturing, tapping adults for attention or crying and screaming. Across the nursery, interactions between children are limited, with some only engaging in solitary play.

Some older children have a basic awareness of communication during tabletop activities and during mealtimes. Occasionally, children smile or wave at adults, and a few staff members vary their vocal tone to express praise and happiness. However, these positive interactions are infrequent. Typically, staff speak mainly to one another while organising the nursery day rather than engaging meaningfully with the children.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Urgent improvement

Leaders and staff do not promote attendance or punctuality at this nursery. Children's start and finish times do not match the session times. When children are absent, leaders and staff do not follow up, instead making assumptions around the lack of attendance. This does not promote children's wellbeing and does not prepare children for the next step in their education.

Parental partnerships are weak. Leaders do not engage with parents to ensure punctual drop off and pick up. As a result, children do not access their full entitlement, and this limits their opportunities to develop age-appropriate social and communication skills.

Routines are not fully embedded at the nursery. Lunchtime is loosely organised, but delays in preparation and arrival of meals mean that children are sat waiting for a long time. Staff do not meaningfully engage with children during this time, and this negatively impacts behaviour. Children begin to shout, scream and cry because they are hungry.

Leaders and staff do not consider the age and stage of the children in their care. For example, in the room for babies, children are put in high chairs one by one. Other babies are left to crawl along the floor under the staff's feet. On occasion, the babies drag their dummies along the floor and then put them back in their mouths. This increases the risk of illness and the spread of germs.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Children at this nursery do not develop their social and emotional skills at an age-appropriate level. They do not develop the skills to explain what they need to support their emotional health. Staff do not teach children how to form relationships with other children or cooperate with others. Children do not understand the routine of the nursery, and, as a result, do not develop independent skills they need for future learning. Children in the room for babies are often left to cry and self-soothe. Not all staff form warm, responsive relationships with the children. Very often, staff are preoccupied organising resources and mealtimes. They are reactive to children's needs only when children are already upset. Leaders have not embedded the key-person system. Therefore, some staff are unsure which children they are responsible for.

Leaders have not made sure that staff know and understand children's food allergies and intolerances. They have failed to ensure allergy action plans for managing children's known allergies and intolerances are kept up to date and shared with staff responsible for meeting their needs. Staff follow safer eating guidelines, but during mealtimes there are limited interactions between staff and children. Leaders do not check that staff understand their duties for children with medical needs. Staff awareness of medical policies and requirements for children is limited. On occasion, ratios are not adhered to, as staff are often asked to cover other rooms or clear up instead of engaging with the children.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

Leaders show poor knowledge and understanding of the statutory requirements. They do not run the setting well enough to ensure all children achieve, belong and thrive. Lines of accountability and oversight are unclear. For example, leaders have not made the outdoor area safe and accessible for all children. Leaders do not recognise all children's right to access an age-appropriate outdoor space to develop their skills and have fresh air daily.

Leaders do not ensure staff receive the training they need, such as about safeguarding. They do not carry out proper vetting or ongoing suitability checks. Some staff do not understand how to report concerns. Leaders do not identify when staff fail to follow policies and procedures or when children do not receive the support they need, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These weaknesses harm children's learning and development and have led to several breaches in requirements. Leaders have not engaged meaningfully with the local authority or other professionals, despite receiving visits and advice.

Staff supervision is ineffective. Leaders do not spot weaknesses or improve staff's practice because of poor monitoring systems and lack of quality training for staff. This allows weaknesses to persist unnoticed. They do not promote children's right to learn English. Leaders have not provided meaningful coaching or guidance to help staff improve. Staff do not receive the resources or training needed to do their jobs well. For example, staff in the rooms for babies do not have suitable resources to support babies' physical development.