Tower Hill Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enter this welcoming nursery happily and quickly settle into the routines of the day.

They take part in activities eagerly and are keen to explore their stimulating environment. Older children enjoy role playing as characters from books in the well-stocked library. This helps to build a lifelong love for books and encourages their future reading.

Even the youngest children reach independently for books and turn the pages. Staff are attentive and make good use of stories to broaden children's vocabulary and language skills. Children delight in exploring the outdoor area.

They climb the geometric dome, ...balance on logs and pretend to be aeroplanes as they fly around the garden. This supports children's physical skills and provides opportunities for them to increase their heart rates. Staff encourage children to take appropriate risks, such as jumping off crates.

This helps the children to understand their boundaries and build self-esteem as they succeed with tricky tasks. Children generally behave well and play nicely with their friends. They learn to negotiate, share and take turns.

They play in groups on a large interactive tablet. Children work together to pop the number balloons on the screen. This helps them to understand early mathematical skills and to follow rules for safe use of technology.

Children are well prepared for their future learning and their eventual move on to school.

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

The new leadership team is motivated and keen to continue to make positive changes to the nursery. Overall, its members have a secure understanding of how to assess and improve the quality of teaching.

Despite the short time in post, they have already made effective changes and improvements, for example implementing a new digital application to help partnership working with parents.Leaders provide rich experiences that ignite children's passion for learning. Children have access to a sensory room, a soft play area, a library and a dedicated children's kitchen.

Children learn to use knives to chop pears for snack time, they pour their own drinks, and clean and tidy away. Staff support young babies to wash their hands at the sink. Older children demonstrate that they can squeeze the soap out of the dispenser and push the taps themselves.

These vital independence skills prepare them well for their future.Children make good progress in their learning from their individual starting points. The manager and deputy manager have a clear overview of the curriculum and what they want children to learn.

They support room leaders well to plan their environment and provide activities based on children's interests. They assess and track children's progress to ensure that any gaps in learning are quickly identified and addressed.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported.

The well-qualified special educational needs coordinator is passionate about her role and responsibility to help children, and families get the early support they need. She holds regular meetings with parents and works closely with other professionals. She assesses where improvements can be made and uses funding to provide children with additional staff support and resources.

Children make choices in their learning and follow their own interests and ideas. They move freely through the rooms. In pre-school, staff are fun and engaging.

They are warm and kind and children approach staff for cuddles and reassurance. Children show that they feel safe and secure. However, staff do not ensure that all children receive quality interactions consistently, to achieve the full potential they are capable of.

For example, sometimes the quieter children do not get the same level of interactions with staff as the more confident communicators.There is a strong focus on children's communication throughout the nursery. Staff make good use of songs and nursery rhymes to encourage new vocabulary and words.

Babies enjoy banging musical instruments as they sing. Staff encourage children to use their words and practise their speaking skills. However, at times, staff do not recognise when they need to adapt their teaching to further support children's listening skills.

For example, staff sometimes speak quickly or quietly when asking questions and children do not always understand what staff say to them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and staff fully understand their role and responsibility to keep children safe.

They have a good understanding of procedures to follow if they are concerned about a child's welfare. Leaders follow the correct procedure if there are allegations made against staff. The environment is risk assessed throughout the day and the premises are safe and secure.

Staff count children in and out of the rooms, so they remain safely accounted for. There are robust recruitment procedures in place and ongoing checks mean staff working with children remain suitable.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the support for staff's teaching skills so that all children benefit from opportunities for their play and learning to be fully enhanced help staff to adapt and adjust their teaching so that children are fully supported with their listening skills.