Our Lady's First Steps Pre-School

Inclusion: Needs attention

There are inconsistencies in the procedures for supporting some children who are at risk of falling behind. Although staff accurately identify concerns about children's development, at times they are slow to respond. These concerns are not explicitly shared with parents at the earliest opportunity, which means support strategies are delayed. This has a negative impact on the learning of younger children.

Support for older children identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective. Leaders initiate referrals and work closely with outside agencies. They use strategies, such as objects of reference and one-to-one intervention, to support children's learning. Staff responsible for providing one-to-one care for children with SEND get to know them well. They have a good insight into their individual needs and how they learn. These staff attend targeted training in autism and sensory processing to develop their knowledge and skills. Older children with SEND make some progress from their starting points.

Curriculum and teaching: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not have oversight of the curriculum or its implementation. The curriculum is poorly designed and does not cover the breadth of the early years foundation stage. Sequencing is ineffective and does not help children to build on what they already know. For example, children leaving for school are taught to count low numbers that they already know, such as 'one to three', while younger children are taught to create repeating patterns. This means, at times, children become frustrated with learning and disengage. Staff assess children's development each term. However, this is not used to inform the curriculum or what they plan. This prevents children from extending their existing knowledge and skills.

The quality of teaching is very inconsistent. Although staff's interactions with children are engaging, they lack a real purpose. Staff do not take into account children's next steps in learning during conversations and therefore they are unable to build on previous knowledge. This does not help children to get the most from their experiences at nursery.

Staff make some appropriate adaptations for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, they recognise when some children are unable to cope with whole-group activities. They plan separate one-to-one sessions based on activities that help these children to engage. This works well and helps to ensure children with SEND access a curriculum.

Achievement: Urgent improvement

Children are not supported to develop age- and stage-appropriate skills and knowledge across all areas of learning. Although children demonstrate some skills, such as riding a bicycle, playing football and using climbing equipment, this is incidental learning and not by design. Children spend a lot of time in free play, which lacks a focus on their next steps and, as such, purposeful learning is limited. Key skills, such as using manners consistently, are not embedded. This does not help children to make sufficient progress in preparation for school.

Sometimes, older children enjoy taking part in story time. They chat about the content of the book and answer questions posed to them. Some children are confident to share their thoughts and ideas, demonstrating some recall and understanding. Older children enjoy creative activities. They work together with their friends to create structures with cardboard boxes. Sometimes, children engage well with activities of their own choosing. However, the lack of ambitious curriculum does not ensure that children achieve well across all areas of learning, nor are they prepared well for their next stage of learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Although leaders know what they expect from children's behaviour, these are not always implemented well enough. The curriculum for personal, social and emotional development is unclear and, consequently, this creates mixed messages for children. For instance, not all staff reinforce good manners for all children. Staff give instructions at tidy-up time but then do not follow through when children do not listen. This does not help children to have a sound understanding and a positive attitude to what is expected of them at nursery.

Leaders support all children to access their full entitlement to nursery, particularly those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They use additional funding, received to provide one-to-one support, to help children with SEND to attend the nursery. This helps to provide consistency and routine for these children.

The key-person system is effective, and staff form strong relationships with children. Staff are kind and nurturing towards children. They get to know them well and provide a warm and inclusive environment. Staff recognise when children with SEND need some adaptations to the routine and implement these effectively.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not establish policies and practices that support children's welfare and wellbeing. Risk assessments are not well devised or implemented. Staff continue to put children to sleep in pushchairs despite recent government guidelines indicating this is unsafe. The procedures for moving children around the nursery are not effective. Children are not sufficiently supervised when transitioning from the garden to the dining room. As such, children are left unsupervised for a short period of time without staff noticing. This compromises children's health and safety.

The procedures for keeping children safe at mealtimes are particularly weak and result in a chaotic environment. Leaders do not ensure that children are in sight and hearing of staff when they are eating. Several children sit with their backs to staff. This means staff may not be able to respond to children when they experience silent choking and therefore puts children at risk. Some children share cups and chew on their knives during mealtimes, putting them at risk of injury and allergic reaction. Furthermore, despite leaders having identified that the nursery menus do not comply with government guidance, no action has been taken to address this. This does not promote children's good health.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

There are significant failings at this nursery. Leaders did not ensure that the requirements of their legal entity were fulfilled until the day of inspection. The nursery has been operating without a committee for several years and lacks strategic leadership and governance. Leaders are not supported in their role. They do not demonstrate a secure understanding of the legal requirements or a capacity to improve the quality of the nursery. Despite identifying breaches to the legal requirements, these have not been acted upon. This is not in the best interests of children. Furthermore, the provider failed to notify Ofsted of a significant event as required under their registration.

Procedures for staff induction and supervision are not in place. New staff do not receive a thorough induction when they first start work, or access the mandatory training required to fulfil their role. The arrangements for staff coaching and mentoring are not in place. As such, there are weaknesses in the quality of teaching. Although staff report feeling supported, they do not have any targets for development to help them build on their skills and knowledge. This means there are inconsistencies in staff's practice across the team.

Partnership working with parents is inconsistent. Not all parents receive ongoing and up-to-date information about children's learning. They are unaware of children's next steps or how they can extend learning at home. This does not provide consistency in children's care and learning.