The Right Track Children’s Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children are not consistently provided with a curriculum that challenges and extends their learning and development.

The quality of interactions between staff and children is variable. On occasion, staff overlook opportunities to extend children's interests and to build on what they already know and can do. This does not help all children to make good progress.

Nevertheless, children are warmly welcomed on arrival by staff, and they settle happily at the nursery. Children behave well and develop close attachments with staff. Staff use suitable strategies to support children's understanding of appropriate behaviours.
<...br/>Staff help to develop children's communication skills. Young babies hear nursery rhymes and demonstrate their understanding and enjoyment of these as they join in with the corresponding actions. Older children hear new language.

For example, during a game, staff introduce new words, such as 'walrus' and 'tusks'. They explain to children the differences they see in the animals. This supports children's language development and their understanding of the wider world.

Staff encourage and support children's personal, social and emotional development. Young babies are given appropriate cuddles and support, such as when they are tired or in need of comfort. Children make friends with their peers.

They negotiate and take turns well, such as when children decide on the order that pieces will be placed in the puzzle they do together.

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

The provider ensures that staff recruitment and induction procedures are implemented appropriately. Suitable checks are carried out to ensure that children are not left with unchecked adults.

This helps to keep children safe. The provider and deputy manager have undertaken appropriate safeguarding training, enabling them to identify, understand and be able to respond appropriately to signs of possible abuse and neglect. This enables them to support staff effectively if concerns arise, and it promotes children's welfare.

Older children explore a range of activities and experiences in the outdoor area. Staff engage them in games, and children happily enjoy the interactions. However, not all children are given daily opportunities for physical exercise.

Children in the room for under twos do not have daily opportunities for outdoor activities. Nor do they have regular opportunities to develop their larger motor skills indoors. This does not help to promote young children's physical development or the skills they need to progress.

Partnerships between staff and other professionals are effective. For example, staff communicate with school teaching staff. This helps to support effective transitions for children moving on to school.

Staff's relationships with parents are strong. Parents speak warmly and positively about their children's key person, and they are consistently updated about what their children are doing at nursery. For example, staff communicate with them regularly when they drop off and collect their children, as well as through an online system.

This supports parents to extend their children's learning at home.On occasion, children engage well. For example, staff help children to think imaginatively to create ramps for their cars.

Staff encourage children to share their thoughts and ideas about how they can improve the ramps they make. However, the quality of staff's teaching is not consistent. For example, during a painting activity, children dip tubes in paint and make pictures.

Staff do not extend this. There is no discussion or teaching to enhance children's learning. As a result, children move on to something else.

This variable teaching means children's engagement and opportunities to make good progress are not consistently supported.The on-site nursery chef ensures that children eat a suitable range of healthy and nutritious meals and snacks, made freshly each day. Children's individual dietary needs are known to staff, and staff take appropriate safety measures when serving and handling food.

Mealtimes are a sociable time for children, with appropriate staff supervision. In the room for under twos staff encourage young babies to try to feed themselves. Older children talk with staff about the food they eat and are supported to cut up their own fruit.

This helps to promote children's independence.The provider has taken action to ensure that children are not exposed to risks and hazards. Regular risk assessments are completed, which enables the provider to attend to hazards and resolve issues swiftly.

The required information and records are maintained. However, staff do not always record children's accidents and injuries in a timely way. Staff do not inform parents at their earliest convenience.

This does not support children's good health.The provider supports staff's continuous professional development. Regular supervisions and staff meetings are held to help staff look at and reflect on their own learning, training and development.

Appropriate support is given to ensure that staff are able to carry out their roles and responsibilities sufficiently. The provider reviews staff rotas to ensure that required staff-to-child ratios are adhered to, and she ensures that sufficient numbers of qualified staff are working daily. This helps to promote children's safety.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must: Due date provide daily opportunities for all children to enjoy physically active play, both indoors and outdoors 19/01/2024 ensure that accidents and injuries are recorded and shared with parents in a timely manner 19/01/2024 improve the quality of staff's teaching and implementation of an ambitious curriculum, to help all children make good progress in their learning.

16/02/2024