The Orchard Day Nursery Kew

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive to a warm welcome from friendly and caring staff. The key-person system ensures that children form strong bonds and feel safe and secure.

Staff provide children with comfort and reassurance when needed. Leaders have high expectations for every child, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff skilfully support children's communication and language.

Children learn to become effective communicators. Staff question and talk to children during their play. This helps to build children's confidence.

Where appropriate, staff speak to children in their home langu...ages to support them to settle and to provide a sense of belonging.Staff promote children's physical development throughout the nursery. Babies use the low-level equipment to step up and down and crawl.

Toddlers develop their small muscles in their fingers while engaged in inviting activities, such as tearing and cutting paper. Pre-school children create their own obstacle course and kick and dribble a football. Their friends join in and adapt the obstacle to make it more challenging.

This demonstrates children's early creative and critical thinking skills. The manager has worked tirelessly to evaluate and improve practice in the nursery. The curriculum is ambitious, supporting every child to make good progress.

Staff engage children with good-quality teaching, which encourages their curiosity and engagement.

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

The manager has worked hard with staff to ensure that the learning intent within the curriculum is delivered in each room. Staff work with room leaders to ensure that they plan for children's interests and engagement.

The manager makes sure that staff's teaching is sequenced so that children learn each step before progressing to the next stage of learning.The manager values her staff and uses regular supervision sessions to identify opportunities for training and to discuss their well-being. She knows that happy staff create a happy environment for children.

Staff help children to be independent. Babies begin to feed themselves with spoons. Toddlers learn to wipe their place mats when they finish their meal.

Older children confidently use a range of cutlery at mealtimes. Children are taught how to put on and take off outdoor wear. This helps children to prepare for school.

Children learn about good hygiene and health practices from an early age. Young children learn the importance of washing their hands before mealtimes. Children take part in hygiene-related activities, such as exploring disposable gloves filled with water and covered in paint, in which they enthusiastically participate.

This helps children to visualise germs on their hands.Children are provided with freshly prepared, well-balanced snacks and meals. The chef brings out the food and talks to children about what has been prepared.

In addition, children can see their food being prepared through the open-plan kitchen. They understand where their food has come from and how it is made.Staff are positive role models and ensure that children understand their expectations.

Children are willing to try, and staff encourage children to persevere. Staff praise children's achievements and contributions. As a result, children have a good attitude to their learning and behave well in the nursery.

Parents speak highly of the setting and of the strong partnership they have with staff. They appreciate the regular communication they receive. The manager has enhanced home communication to provide updates on children's care routines and what they are learning.

Parents comment on how the settling-in process reassures them that their children are safe and well supported.Children learn about mathematics in a variety of ways. Babies hear counting during play.

Toddlers learn and talk about different shapes, such as square, circle and stars. Pre-school children take part in activities where they weigh fruit and vegetables. They make comparisons by using words such as 'light', 'heavy' and 'the same'.

Children begin to understand the meaning of the words 'more' and 'less'.Overall, staff promote literacy throughout the nursery through storytelling. Babies sit and listen to stories and giggle with delight at the pictures.

Older children listen and add their observations on familiar stories they hear. However, staff do not provide consistent opportunities for children to learn by exploring a range of books outdoors.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse. They know to whom to make a referral if they have concerns about a child. This keeps children safe from harm.

If there are concerns regarding the conduct of a staff member, staff and leaders know how and when to make a referral to the necessary agency. The recruitment process to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children is safe and secure. Ongoing suitability checks are in place to make sure that staff remain suitable to work with children.

Staff use effective risk assessments to reduce the likelihood of accidents. The environment is clean, in line with good hygiene procedures.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide further opportunities for children to enhance their literacy skills by expanding their enjoyment of reading.