Rascals Natural Learning

Rascals Natural Learning
Unique reference number (URN): EY547402
Address: The Old Brocklesby School, Brocklesby Road, Great Limber, Grimsby, DN37 8JS
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 16/05/2017
Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR
Registered person: MacFarlane, Sally Louise
Inspection report: 16 March 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
Safeguarding standards met
The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for
governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open
culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively
identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.
How we evaluate safeguarding
When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:
Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all
legal requirements are met.

Urgent improvement
Achievement Urgent improvement
Children do not make the progress of which they are capable. Younger children frequently
disengage from their learning because staff do not plan activities that interest or excite them.
This results in children lacking the sustained focus that is needed for new skills and
knowledge to become embedded.
Older children show some of their achievements by recognising and naming the plants that
they find outside, for example moss. This display of learning is self-initiated and not
expanded upon by the staff. Children who face barriers to their learning and development do
not make sufficient progress. Their communication development is hindered by staff's
uncertainties and inconsistencies in using external experts' suggested teaching strategies,
such as simple sign language.
Children who face barriers to their learning make minimal progress from their starting points.
Leaders and staff do not have sufficient oversight of children's development over time. This
means that, overall, children do not reach their full potential, as staff are not always aware of
any learning that may have been gained.
With staff supervision and prompts, children practise some skills that they can use for when
they go to school, such as washing their hands. Their ability to undertake this self-care task
independently is still developing.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement
Leaders have low expectations of how children should behave. Staff spend their time
dealing with the fallout of managing children's negative behaviours instead of focusing on
their teaching and delivery of the curriculum. Staff's behaviour management strategies are
not effective. This pattern of practice continues throughout the day. Leaders do not support
staff to maintain a well-organised and well-resourced play environment. This further
contributes to children's poor attitudes to learning because they do not always have access
to resources that keep them occupied. Children's behaviour starts to deteriorate because
they lack focus and engagement in learning. Over time, specifically, younger children
become bored.
Leaders hinder children's regular attendance due to their poor planning when there are staff
shortages. This means that for some children, their routines are disrupted without notice,
and they are turned away from the setting. This significantly impacts on children's capacity
to benefit from their early education entitlement.
Staff do not give children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) the
support that they need to engage in the routines of the day and to be involved on a social
level with their peers. For instance, during tidy-away time, children with SEND continue their
play because staff do not help them to understand what is happening around them or staff's
instructions to help.

Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement
Leaders' management of children's health and hygiene is ineffective. Staff provide activities
where children share resources that they operate using their mouths without appropriate
cleaning between uses. Additionally, staff do not notice or support children to recognise
when their noses need to be cleaned. Such lack of care from leaders and staff greatens the
risk of infections spreading.
Leaders' arrangements for the key-person system are not implemented successfully. Some
children, including disadvantaged children, do not benefit from the close attachments with
staff that they need to maintain a secure sense of emotional wellbeing. Some staff do not
know the names of the children they are caring for, which lessens their ability to offer quality
emotional reassurance when children need this.
Staff do not notice quickly enough when children become upset or frustrated. When they do,
they offer children care and compassion, but there is an unnecessary delay in staff helping
children to manage their emotions.
Leaders provide nutritious food for children, and staff supervise them well when they eat.
Leaders act on children's medical needs. The organisation of the setting sees children
predominantly playing outdoors, where they have access to fresh air and the opportunity for
physical activity if they choose. These parts of the provision go some way to promoting
children's welfare and wellbeing, but children are mostly exposed to practices that
jeopardise this aspect of their development.
Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement
Leaders acknowledge that the curriculum does not meet the needs of all children, but they
fail to address this. This has a negative impact on all children, but most significantly on
those who face barriers to their learning and development. Staff pay little attention to
children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They do not tailor
learning experiences or provide appropriate activities to help children with SEND to make
progress.
Staff do not know enough about children's individual learning goals to adapt their teaching
appropriately. Weaknesses in the key-person approach mean that for some children, there is
not a clear understanding of what they need to learn now and next. Staff do not always
target activities at the correct developmental level for the children participating, even though
staff's basic assessment of what children know and can do is accurate. For example, young
children are encouraged to use a pen to trace lines before they are developmentally ready
to be introduced to this learning. This limits children's chances of making secure and
sequenced progress.
Some children learn and socialise through their independent play and exploration. Staff
provide resources outdoors that children use to practise their balance and coordination. For
instance, children step from one log stump to another. Staff go some way to supporting
younger children's communication and language development through singing songs,
though this is inconsistent. However, overall, staff do not implement the curriculum to an

acceptable standard, and elements are not sufficiently planned for, such as the teaching of
mathematics.
Inclusion Urgent improvement
Leaders and staff know the children who need extra support. However, leaders do not check
that these children make adequate progress in their learning and development or that their
needs are met. Those who hold responsibility for children with special educational needs
and/or disabilities (SEND) do not fulfil their roles effectively. Leaders and staff fail to use the
knowledge they have gained through training. This means they do not secure better
outcomes for children, including those who are known or previously known to social care.
Leaders take advice and guidance from external support agencies but do not make sure that
staff implement their suggestions, such as how to support some children's communication
and language development effectively.
Leaders lack sufficient oversight. They do not monitor the quality of provision on offer to
children with SEND. As a result, staff are not supported to plan and implement an
appropriate and tailored curriculum. Staff do not make adaptations to enable children with
SEND to actively and purposefully interact with their peers and engage with the routines of
the day. Children with SEND receive very minimal interaction from staff that benefits their
learning and development.
Leaders use additional funding appropriately to help transport children to the setting who
may not otherwise be able to attend.
Leadership and governance Urgent improvement
Leaders have met the actions that were raised when Ofsted last visited the setting, but
further breaches to the statutory requirements have been found during this inspection. A
reoccurring weakness, partly attributed to high staff turnover, is a failure in how leaders
organise the key-person arrangements. This has a negative impact on children's care and
learning. This finding shows that leaders do not have the capacity or ability to make or
sustain improvements. Leaders recognise this weakness.
Those who hold a specific responsibility for supporting children with special educational
needs and/or disabilities (SEND) lack sufficient oversight. This means that failings in the
care and education provided for children with SEND are not identified and addressed. This
puts children with SEND at a further disadvantage. Leaders are working with some relevant
support agencies, such as speech and language services, but staff do not consistently
implement their suggested strategies when caring for children with SEND. Leaders
acknowledge that their poorly implemented curriculum is impacting on children's
engagement and their behaviour, and, furthermore, that some practices do not promote
children's welfare and wellbeing.
The current staff team report that they feel supported by leaders. Staff complete training to
help them keep children safe, such as paediatric first aid and safeguarding courses.

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements
This setting has not met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
Voluntary Childcare Register requirements
This setting has not met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
What it's like to be a child at this setting
The experiences that children receive at this setting are poor. This is most notable for
disadvantaged children, including those who are known to social care, the youngest children
attending and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Children do not benefit from sustained improvements to the quality of the setting. For
example, even though children are now assigned a named key person who is responsible
for meeting their care and learning needs, there is no positive impact from this. Leaders'
arrangements for children's care and learning are not effective. For instance, when children

arrive upset, leaders place them in the care of staff who do not know their names. This
means that some children do not receive the quality emotional support that they need to
settle, and their arrival into the setting is a turbulent experience for them.
Leaders have failed to ensure that staff accurately assess children's learning. This results in
staff providing next steps for children that are not always age appropriate. Staff fail to
support children's progress from their starting points effectively. The quality of teaching is
poor. Leaders do not plan an appropriate curriculum or support staff to provide learning
activities that sustain children's interests. Children fail to thrive when surrounded by the
setting's disorganised environment. Their behaviour starts to deteriorate, and those who
need extra support in their learning and development wander with no purpose. At times, staff
focus their time on managing children's behaviour and conflict rather than providing quality
learning and development experiences.
Children's health and hygiene is not consistently promoted by staff. Children share
resources where there is a risk of cross-infection, as they use their mouths to blow through a
plastic bottle to create bubbles. Staff do not notice when children have runny noses, and
they are left for long periods of time without having this personal care need addressed.
Next steps
The provider is not meeting the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and
Childcare Register and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action.
We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to have taken the
following actions by the assigned date:
Action Completion Date
ensure that there are effective arrangements in place to
support children who have special educational needs
and/or disabilities so that they can progress in all areas
of their development
11/05/2026
ensure that staff give children appropriate and effective
support to help them develop positive behaviours
11/05/2026
ensure that there are effective key-person
arrangements in place so that children's individual care,
learning and emotional needs are met at all times
11/05/2026
ensure that risks to children's good health and hygiene
are mitigated
11/05/2026
To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the
provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:
Action Completion Date

Inspectors:
Charlotte Whalley
Hayley Ruane
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY547402
Address:
The Old Brocklesby School
Brocklesby Road, Great Limber
Grimsby
DN37 8JS
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 16/05/2017
Registered person: MacFarlane, Sally Louise
Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR
Action Completion Date
plan a curriculum that supports children's progress in all
areas of learning and development and is tailored to
their individual needs, interests and abilities
11/05/2026
ensure that staff delivering the curriculum have the
appropriate knowledge, skills and a clear understanding
of how children learn
11/05/2026
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners and the special educational needs
coordinator during the inspection.
We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the
quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The
registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for
children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 17:30
Local authority: Lincolnshire
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 16 March 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 11
Total number of places
68
Our grades explained
Exceptional
Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.
Strong standard
The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of
them.
Expected standard
The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are
following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional
standards expected of them.
Needs attention
The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary
improvements.
Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of
education and/or care.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects
services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects
and regulates services that care for children and young people.
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