The Boulevard

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settled from the very start.

Staff are caring and affectionate towards them. They are approachable, know the children well and have high expectations for their learning. Children enjoy spending time with staff developing their social skills and confidence.

Children behave well. They respect each other, take turns and listen to simple instructions during play. For example, they help to set up the table before mealtimes and pour water for each other.

Children enjoy imaginative and creative play. For instance, they spend long periods pretending to cook in the Chinese kitchen, at the same ti...me learning about and celebrating this culture and its costumes. Children learn to have healthy lifestyles.

They enjoy a wide variety of nutritious meals cooked by the chef and take part in physical activities in the neighbouring school playground. For example, children ride bicycles, balance on blocks and play with balls in the garden. Staff are good role models and teach the children to develop social skills with each other.

Children's attitudes to their play and learning are consistently positive.

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

Manager and leaders are dedicated and lead their team well, overall. They motivate staff, provide guidance and set high expectations to help them to progress in their careers.

Staff have some support from managers to manage their workload. However, this is not always effective and occasionally affects the quality of some planning and assessment documentation.Children are progressing and learning well through the range of stimulating activities available.

They use paint, involving different shapes, texture and numbers. Older children learn about animals that live in the garden by digging soil and looking for worms. They use magnifying glasses to explore and look at the worms closely.

This helps children to learn how to care for animals and for the environment.Literacy and language development are given strong priority in the educational programmes. For example, arrangements such as parents borrowing books from the nursery help to extend children's literacy at home.

Children explore books in every area of the nursery, including outdoors. They learn French and sing new songs in this language. Staff extend children's language further by engaging them in meaningful conversations.

For example when they find a worm in the garden they teach the children about how many hearts the worms have.Children are helped to become independent learners. They take part in tasks such as setting up the table for mealtimes.

Children of all ages explore all activities that are available for them. For example, they play with puppets and explore during a play dough activity. Staff use every opportunity to introduce mathematics as children play.

For instance, they count money in the role-play area, count objects in the garden and measure the size of toys.Children learn about personal hygiene. They wash their hands throughout the day, before mealtimes and after outdoor play.

Staff ensure the environment is safe and clean for the children by carrying out effective daily risk assessments.Parents speak highly of the nursery and they are happy with the progress their children make in their learning. The manager and leaders are available if parents have any questions.

Parents extend their children's learning at home. For example, the nursery provides parents with creative art material to use at home with their children. Managers recognise that communication with parents could be improved, as parents occasionally miss events and are not swiftly updated with staff changes.

Children behave well, they help each other take turns and listen to simple instructions. Children are fully engaged in the activities and are inquisitive to explore their environment. They are confident and happy as they cooperate with each other during play.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have good safeguarding knowledge. They know how to identify any child who may be at risk of harm.

They know who to report to and how to escalate any concerns. Recruitment procedures are robust, to ensure the suitability of staff working with children. Managers and leaders support staff to attend safeguarding training with the local authority.

Safeguarding is part of an effective induction programme. Staff ensure the environment is safe by carrying out effective daily health and safety checks.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: continue to find ways to engage with parents to ensure they are continually informed about their children's experience in nursery help staff to manage their workload to enable them to continue to improve the effectiveness of their teaching.