Pippas House Nursery

Inclusion: Urgent improvement

Leaders and staff do not swiftly identify children who require additional support and early help. Leaders' key-person arrangements are ineffective. This means that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are not supported well enough. For instance, children with SEND do not receive consistent care by their key person or other staff caring for them. This means that any tailored learning plans are not put in place, which reduces children's learning opportunities. At times, children's learning is incidental rather than intentional.

Children who face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing are often left without adequate support for their learning and development. For example, children who speak English as an additional language are not supported well enough to develop their confidence when communicating with others. This makes it harder for children to participate fully and to confidently express themselves. Leaders have not made certain that staff's teaching is of high quality for all children. This impacts, in particular, on the achievement for children with SEND and those with barriers to learning.

Staff carry out regular reviews of children's learning, such as the progress checks at age 2, which helps them to understand where some children need support. Leaders and staff liaise with parents and carers and other professionals when making referrals to external agencies.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders do not have a clear oversight of staff's understanding of the curriculum. As such, they have not recognised inconsistencies in the quality of staff's teaching and knowledge. Leaders have taken some action to improve the curriculum and teaching for children. While leaders' actions are appropriate to help children build on their skills, this is not fully rooted in staff's practice and understanding. Although some staff know the children well, leaders' ineffective key-person arrangements mean that other staff are not best placed to offer tailored care and learning to the children. In these circumstances, children do not receive purposeful learning experiences that help them to further deepen their knowledge.

Staff provide some meaningful learning activities for children to engage in and enjoy. For example, staff provide wheeled toys for children to ride around the nursery garden and tunnels to crawl and slither through. This improves children's physical agility as they learn to move their bodies in a variety of ways. Staff sing songs and read stories aloud for children to join in. They develop children's love of books and help them to understand that print carries meaning. Staff support children's early mathematical skills, such as to encourage them to count coloured cones in the garden. Staff praise children well when they correctly identify the different colours.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not receive sufficient opportunities to develop their knowledge across all areas of learning. Children make some progress from when they start at the nursery through activities and play of their choice. However, their learning is not promoted well enough by a curriculum that is fully understood and delivered reliably by staff. At times, children are not supported well enough to build on what they already know and can do. As such, they do not develop positive attitudes to learning to support their future development.

Children are inquisitive and have a desire to learn. They are comfortable in their surroundings and seek play and engagement with their friends. Children use their strength and coordination well, such as to push down on the lever of large paint bottles to release the paint. They learn about early science, such as when they use paint brushes to mix paint colours together and talk to each other as they watch how the colour changes. This helps them to learn about what happens and why. Children develop their communication skills as they share back-and-forth conversations with others.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Leaders have not made sure that staff's delivery of the curriculum helps children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to develop positive attitudes to learning. Children receive inconsistent experiences and teaching, which does not support them to deepen their thinking and focus intently on what they are doing. This has a negative impact on children's eagerness to learn. Leaders and staff's expectations for children's behaviour are appropriate for their age and stage of learning.

Children follow consistent nursery routines, which helps them to feel secure and understand what is happening next. They are supported well by staff, such as when they transition through different aspects of the day. Staff and leaders promote children's attendance effectively. They recognise the positive impact that regular attendance has on developing children's secure foundations for routines. This supports children's emotional security.

Mostly, children behave well. They are polite and follow directions. For instance, children respond positively to staff and willingly bring objects off the shelf when asked. Staff use supportive praise well to encourage children's responsible behaviours. Staff support children to share resources and take turns. They encourage children to be kind and caring to each other. Children learn to recognise the feelings and emotions of others.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Leaders and staff do not assess and manage risk to children at the nursery effectively. Leaders and staff fail to notice gates left open and doors that do not close properly. This demonstrates ineffective risk assessment and poor knowledge to recognise hazards that pose a risk to children. Leaders do not put in place effective key-person arrangements that help children to develop secure relationships. This does not support children's emotional security or help them to successfully build on their skills. Too often, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not have their individual care and learning needs met.

Leaders' poor planning and lack of oversight mean that staffing arrangements do not ensure that children are cared for by qualified staff across the nursery. Leaders' ineffective staff deployment means that too often, children's needs are not met.

However, staff have appropriate knowledge of how to keep children safe while they are sleeping. Staff support children to develop positive hygiene routines, such as when washing their hands before eating and after using the toilet. Staff supervise children well during mealtimes and help them to learn positive table manners.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

Leadership and governance are not effective. Leaders have failed to follow the nursery's policies and procedures for keeping children safe, such as to make referrals to outside agencies in a timely manner. Although referrals have since been made, leaders' delay prevented adequate risk assessment being made to protect children quickly enough. They have not ensured that they remain compliant with the statutory requirements as they should. For example, leaders do not ensure the environment is safe and secure for children as they play and learn. The lack of oversight from leaders means that hazards are often overlooked, such as stagnant water in the play areas and broken doors to the nursery. Leaders do not equip staff well enough to identify and minimise risks.

Leaders fail to ensure that the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are suitably met. The weaknesses in leaders' oversight result in ineffective organisation across the nursery. This hinders effective management and the smooth running of day-to-day practice. Consequently, staff lack direction, which has a negative impact on children's overall care and wellbeing. Leaders do not effectively identify and appropriately address gaps in staff's knowledge and understanding. Leaders do not recognise inconsistencies in some staff's skill to deliver a well-structured curriculum across the nursery, particularly in the older children's rooms. Staff do not receive the professional learning to help them improve their personal effectiveness. These weaknesses mean that children do not benefit from consistently high-quality learning experiences that promote their learning well enough.

Leaders and staff value parents and carers as partners and seek their opinions. Parents are positive and receive information from staff about what their children learn while at nursery.