Snowflakes Day Nursery And Montessori

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive at the nursery happily, and quickly settle into their daily routine. Staff welcome the children warmly.

They take time to get to know children well and understand their needs, likes and dislikes. Staff gently support children to learn new skills and offer them lots of praise for their efforts. Staff are good role models for children.

They support children to understand what good and safe behaviour is. Children are provided with a secure and well-organised environment where a wide range of interesting activities are attractively laid out. The activities provided ignite children's curiosity and invite the...m to play and learn.

Children have access to good-quality play equipment that supports their enjoyment and learning. They share their delight in exploring resources, such as shaving foam and glitter, with visitors to the setting. Children develop high levels of social confidence and become motivated to learn during their time at nursery.

For example, they learn lines for the Christmas play to perform for parents. Children show kindness towards those around them, including visitors. For example, they show the inspector how to clear away her plate.

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

Older children develop a strong understanding of their own cultural backgrounds and how this makes them special. Staff support children to learn about their own culture as well others. Children talk about 'being vegetarian' or how their 'Mummy wears a headscarf'.

Children who speak English as an additional language have opportunities to use and hear stories in their home language.Children learn to become independent from an early age. Very young children enjoy clearing away their own plates after mealtimes with gentle support and encouragement from staff.

Older children learn to become independent in preparation for school. Managers have formed strong partnerships with the local community, including schools, and this ensures that local schools receive information to support children's transition to the next stage in their learning.Children demonstrate an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves healthy and safe.

Staff teach children good hygiene practices. During circle time, children were keen to share their knowledge of handwashing techniques. They demonstrate washing the heel of their palm and discuss how soap is the best for handwashing with comments such as 'the germs will come off' and 'we'll get sick'.

Children demonstrate how to sneeze into their elbow. Additionally, staff allow children to learn about taking small risks. For instance, they help children to climb a tree in the nursery garden.

Parents speak positively about the nursery. They value the online application and the support they receive from staff that enhances the learning opportunities they can provide for their children at home. Parents remark on the good progress their children have made in their learning.

Managers provide effective leadership for the staff team. Staff express how well they feel supported in their roles and speak enthusiastically of the many opportunities available to them to improve their professional practice. However, more experienced staff have not been deployed evenly throughout the nursery.

On occasion, this means that opportunities for more recent employees and trainees to benefit from their expertise are not fully utilised.Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well and, as a result, children make good progress. This is especially important given that the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has meant children have not benefited from the support that might have been made available to them.

Older children demonstrate sound knowledge of phonic sounds. For instance, during the inspection, one child sounds out the inspector's name and the word 'Ofsted' from her identification badge. Children apply their mathematical knowledge to everyday contexts.

During mealtimes, children discuss how they have two pieces of watermelon each and together this makes four.Children show their knowledge of simple scientific concepts. They patiently problem-solve as they experiment with melting ice to release the frozen toys from ice blocks.

Furthermore, toddlers comment during snack time that they are eating apples and they are from a tree.Managers have devised a broad curriculum for the children to support their learning and development. However, they have not yet considered how they might integrate internet safety into their curriculum for children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures and understand their responsibility to keep children safe. Staff know how to identify, respond to and manage any signs that may suggest a child is at risk of harm.

Managers and staff attend training to ensure that safeguarding knowledge is kept up to date. Managers monitor accidents and make the necessary safety adjustments to the environment to keep children safe. Staff supervise children well and provide appropriate care.

Managers implement secure procedures for recruitment and suitability checks.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: consider the deployment of staff to ensure that opportunities to develop staff practice are maximised.nexplore ways to help children develop a greater understanding of how to keep safe when using internet and digital technology.

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