Moreton In Marsh Playgroup

Inclusion: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not take the action needed to reduce barriers to children's learning. They do not ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge they need to help to reduce gaps and help children to make better progress.

Staff identify some children who require additional support, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Some children with identified gaps in their development have support plans in place, and staff recognise that these children require additional help to make progress. However, the support plans are not implemented effectively, and children do not benefit from the targeted support that they need. Leaders do not ensure that staff assess children's progress effectively to identify barriers to learning. Furthermore, the required progress checks at age 2 are not completed. As a result, staff do not have an accurate understanding of all children's developmental needs and do not identify emerging gaps in learning swiftly enough. This means that children do not receive timely support to help them make the progress they are capable of.

Leaders do not ensure that they work with parents or other professionals in a timely manner to put support in place when they recognise children are not progressing with their learning. Furthermore, leaders do not ensure that additional funding is used for the children it is intended for, to help reduce barriers and improve children's outcomes.

Curriculum and teaching: Urgent improvement

Leaders have not designed a curriculum that adequately accounts for what children need to learn. They do not have high enough expectations for what children can achieve and lack the knowledge needed to sequence learning effectively. As a result, children are not supported to build their knowledge and skills over time.

Staff do not understand how their planned activities link to learning outcomes. Although staff set out resources to cover the 7 areas of learning, these are uninspiring, and expectations for children's learning are not high. For instance, during a mathematics activity using a number puzzle that staff say is intended to support children's number recognition, staff do not use the resource purposefully to promote learning. Children are seen to play with the puzzle independently, with little interaction or encouragement from staff to recognise, name or order numbers. Children are not supported in developing a secure understanding of numbers or in building mathematical knowledge in a meaningful and sequential way. In addition to this, staff do not recognise how to extend children's learning as they play alongside them. Interactions do not support children in developing their thinking and problem-solving skills. Although staff are friendly and welcoming, weaknesses in curriculum and teaching mean that children do not acquire the knowledge and skills they need for future learning.

Achievement: Urgent improvement

Weaknesses in the curriculum and in teaching mean that children do not gain the skills they need for future learning. Children do not receive the support required to make progress from their starting points, and those with barriers to learning are not given the focused help they need, particularly in communication and language and in their personal, social and emotional development. As a result, many children struggle to understand and follow behavioural expectations and do not develop the skills needed to manage routines. For example, older children do not learn to remain at the lunch table to eat with their peers, leaving the table to play instead. Younger children with delays in communication and language continue to use dummies during play, which further restricts their opportunities to develop their speech, vocabulary and social interaction.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to support children when they struggle to manage their feelings and behaviour. Children do not receive help to recognise their emotions or develop effective self-regulation strategies. As a result, some children become frustrated, which occasionally leads to incidents where others are hurt. Although staff model positive behaviour and encourage children to play cooperatively and take turns, they rely mainly on reminding children of the rules. Staff are responsive when situations occur rather than providing the deeper emotional support children need to understand and express their feelings appropriately. At times, staff find it difficult to gain children's attention, and when children become overexcited, their play can escalate into physical altercations.

Staff record attendance accurately and contact parents when children are absent to check the reason for non-attendance. However, they do not work closely enough with parents or other professionals to ensure children can attend and access their full entitlement of hours at the nursery.

Children develop warm, trusting relationships with staff and enjoy spending time with them. They are beginning to learn how to collaborate and play alongside others. However, they are not consistently supported to develop the skills needed to manage sharing, taking turns and getting along with their peers without support from staff.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure that staff consistently implement the setting's policies and procedures to promote children's welfare and wellbeing. For example, when children play outside, staff do not always make sure that they are wearing hats or appropriate sun protection. Although a shaded area is available, staff do not talk to children about staying out of direct sunlight, which limits opportunities for them to learn how to keep themselves safe.

Staff follow hygiene routines, but these are carried out in a way that does not help children understand the purpose of good hygiene. For instance, children's play is interrupted as staff take them individually to wash their hands before snack. Children are then told they may return to play while they wait for their turn to eat, which causes further disruption and does not support them to develop independent hygiene habits.

Children form warm and trusting relationships with staff and their key person. Staff talk with parents at drop-off to help children settle. At times, staff support children's developing independence well. Children pour their own drinks and confidently serve their own food at snack time.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not have a thorough oversight of all aspects of the provision or an understanding of their responsibilities. This lack of effective monitoring means they do not meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage statutory framework.

Leaders do not ensure that staff understand and consistently follow the policies and procedures designed to keep children safe and promote their wellbeing. As a result, staff do not always act on information that indicates a child's safety or welfare may be at risk. In addition, leaders do not fully understand their responsibility to monitor the ongoing suitability of staff or to take prompt action when concerns arise.

Leaders do not ensure that staff receive the support they need to carry out their roles effectively. For example, some staff do not receive an induction to help them understand their roles and responsibilities, and there is limited ongoing training, guidance or supervision. For some staff, the workload is not manageable, and this affects the overall quality of the provision. For instance, staff do not complete or provide parents with the statutory progress check at age 2, which limits parents' understanding of their child's development and any emerging concerns.

Despite these weaknesses, staff work closely with the neighbouring school, and they invite teachers in to meet children as they prepare to start their transition to school. Children appear to be happy, and parents say that their children enjoy attending.