The Bourne End Day Nursery and Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement The recently appointed manager has implemented changes to the setting to ensure that children are happy, safe and well cared for by staff.

Staff create a friendly and welcoming environment for children and families. They develop strong bonds with children and their interactions are kind, warm and respectful. Staff offer children reassurance, support and comfort when needed.

This helps children to settle quickly and feel safe and secure. However, although children make progress in their learning and development, this is not always planned and coordinated effectively. This is particularly evident for children with special e...ducational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Children are eager and enthusiastic to join in activities, and have fun as they play with their friends throughout the day. For example, they enjoy building a fire in the garden with leaves and logs. However, some adult-led activities are not planned well enough to maintain children's interest.

This can result in children quickly flitting from one activity to another and minor disputes and incidents occurring. In addition, activities do not extend what children already know and help them to develop the skills that they need to learn next. At times, staff complete simple tasks that children are capable of doing for themselves.

This does not consistently build their growing independence or prepare them for the next stage of learning.

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

The manager recognises the strengths of the setting but is clear that improvements are needed. She has been focusing on prioritising children's safety and staff's knowledge of safeguarding, which is evident in practice.

However, this has prevented the focus from being on the quality of the early years curriculum. Overall, staff's understanding of how to plan effectively to meet the children's specific needs requires improvement.The setting has a well-established staff team, who are motivated and work well together.

The manager has reinstated regular supervision and is beginning to implement systems to monitor staff practice. This will help to raise the overall quality of teaching, but is yet to have an impact on children's learning.Children benefit from support to develop their communication and language skills.

Staff engage children in conversations, rhymes and action songs. For example, staff talk to children about the origins of the Christmas tree and the traditional gift sent by the King of Norway to the King of England each year and why. Children are eager to answer questions, and use new words in their play.

However, children who speak more than one language at home do not have opportunities to hear and use the other languages that are important to them. This does not fully support their language development or promote other children's understanding of diversity.In general, staff support children to help them to behave well.

Staff act as good role models. However, there is a lack of established clear routines so that children know what is expected of them. In addition, staff lack the knowledge and understanding required to support children with SEND and emerging additional needs.

Some children lose interest in activities as they do not receive enough support to take part. This affects their attitude to learning and behaviour at these times.Staff have a strong focus on promoting children's physical development.

Children enjoy daily outdoor play and practise their skills, such as using balance beams or hoops. Children enjoy parachute games and playing bat and ball with their friends. Babies have ample space in the baby room to move, crawl and walk.

Staff understand how to encourage children's developing mobility. Very young babies are able to recognise their own water bottles and frequently refresh themselves during the day. They carefully replace the bottles on their picture placemat, developing their sense of self-identity.

Parents value the care that their children receive. They feel well informed about their children's learning and development. Parents are confident that their children are happy and safe in the setting.

There are a number of parents' events held throughout the year to promote partnership working. However, there are less-well coordinated and secure arrangements to support those parents of children with SEND. There has been some delay by the provider and manager in working with parents to identify where individual children may need additional support and making referrals to relevant professionals.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers follow robust recruitment procedures to make sure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff receive a rigorous induction in the setting's policies and procedures.

Staff have developed their knowledge of safeguarding and risk assessments. For example, they have introduced new measures to ensure that children are safely managed when moving between areas of the premises, such as from the upstairs classrooms to the outdoor play area. Staff can identify a wide range of possible signs of abuse or neglect.

They understand what to do if they have a concern about a child, or a colleague's behaviour.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date develop a challenging and ambitious curriculum that helps all children to build on what they already know and can do, and support staff to understand and implement this effectively 08/01/2024 put in place effective arrangements to provide consistent support for children with special educational needs and/or difficulties.08/01/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to be consistent in their behaviour management strategies, to build on children's understanding of behaviour expectations support all children who speak English as an additional language to use their home languages in the setting.