Green Gables

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The setting is a welcoming and safe environment for children, who arrive happily.

Children leave their parents at the door, settle quickly and are ready to learn. Staff organise the environment effectively. This helps children to make choices about their play and what they want to do.

Children are confident and show that they feel safe and secure at the setting. They talk with visitors, share their names and are keen to show them activities, such as the mud kitchen in the vast garden. There are exceedingly strong partnerships with parents in place at the nursery.

Staff implement effective two-way processes to ...gather useful information from parents about children's interests at home. They use this information to plan challenging activities. Children are keen to join in, and are focused and engaged in activities.

They have high levels of concentration. The experienced staff have good knowledge of all children, including their development, care needs and what makes them unique. Children are fully involved in making decisions, and their opinions and ideas are valued and respected.

Children readily share experiences with staff. For instance, older children use a wide range of vocabulary as they talk about their home lives with the staff.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff use positive praise and encourage children to have a go.

They are good role models and give children gentle explanations of how they expect them to behave. Children behave very well and enjoy the company of others. They play cooperatively, learn to share and take turns.

This helps to prepare children well for their next stages of learning and eventual move on to school.Overall, support for children's developing communication and language skills is good. For example, children learn words and phrases as they take part in conversations, and take part in singing and rhymes.

However, there is scope for staff to help children increase their vocabulary further. For example, staff, sometimes, do not give children time to think about the questions they are asking and, therefore, miss opportunities to encourage children to express more detailed responses.Staff provide children with a wide variety of literacy resources within the setting.

They encourage children to develop their fine-motor skills. For example, toddlers explore cornflour and paint with their fingers and older children learn about the sounds that letters make. Staff read stories with children who join in with the sentences that they know.

However, staff do not consistently plan opportunities for children to share stories, and encourage their thinking skills and imaginations further.The centre director is dedicated and ambitious. She wants the best for the children and families in her care.

The centre director is continually making improvements. For example, she is currently reviewing activities in the garden to make sure that staff provide resources which build on children's learning, such as a vegetable patch. The centre director is a strong leader and supportive of her staff team.

She conducts regular supervision sessions and ensures that staff's well-being is a high priority. Staff regularly updates their knowledge, through online courses and staff meetings.The large garden is well used.

All children have the opportunity to play outside each day in the fresh air. There is a wide range of resources, which meet children's needs well. Older children climb and swing, and carry out daily risk assessments to ensure that the garden is safe for play.

Children understand about risk and how to play safely.Staff plan a firm curriculum at the setting. They use observations to assess children's development and identify any gaps in their learning.

Staff also use extensive information from parents to create engaging activities, which target their children's needs exceedingly well. All children, including those with special education needs and/or disabilities, make good steady progress in their learning.Staff share ideas with parents about how their children can build on their learning further.

Parents speak highly of the nursery and staff. They value the open pathways of communication and daily feedback that they receive. Parents describe staff as 'amazing' and can see their children making progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of how to keep children safe. They know the signs which may indicate that a child is at risk of harm.

This includes knowledge of broader safeguarding issues, such as modern day slavery and the 'Prevent' duty. Staff understand how to report concerns. The centre director follows safer recruitment processes to ensure that staff are suitable and have the skills required.

Staff complete regular risk assessments to help to identify and minimise any hazards that may arise. They make clear records of any accidental injuries that children may have and share this information with parents.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nencourage staff to give children more time to think and respond to questions and use their emerging vocabulary to build on social interactions develop opportunities further for children to share books and stories with adults to support their love of reading, thinking skills and imagination.