ABC Castle Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement The manager is passionate and has a clear vision for the setting. However, current pressures mean that she is often undertaking many different roles.

This negatively impacts on her time to support her team and develop their quality of education practice.The manager and staff clearly understand what they want babies and young children to learn, including how to achieve this. However, not all staff have the skills to implement this in practice.

Staff do not consistently provide the quantity and quality of interactions children need to build their knowledge and skills to a good level. The manager has ensured that staff under...stand the importance of children hearing lots of words to support the development of their communication and language skills. Staff sing songs, read stories, and talk to babies and children as they play.

However, staff provide fewer opportunities for children to practise and extend their developing language through high-quality back-and-forth interactions. Overall, staff support children's personal, social and emotional development well. Settling-in sessions are used well to help staff get to know children and their families.

Staff ensure that key information is shared so that children's care needs can be met by all those who care for them. This helps children to quickly settle in. Staff provide reassurance, comfort and cuddles when needed and give consistent messages that help children learn what is expected of them.

However, staff are sometimes too quick to step in and do things for children they are capable of doing themselves. For example, staff do not encourage children to wipe their noses, hang up their belongings, or serve themselves at the table. For older children, this hinders the skills they need to be ready for school.

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

Despite receiving limited support from the provider, the manager has an accurate understanding of the strengths and areas she wishes to develop. She knows what good-quality care and education looks like. The manager does, where possible, provide support and provides some opportunities for the staff to attend training.

This is helping secure improvements. However, more needs to be done to raise the quality to a consistently good standard across the whole team.Staff are extremely kind, and caring and are good role models for children.

They provide consistent messages that help children understand right and wrong. Staff help children to develop patience and understanding. For example, they use a sand timer to help children understand the need to wait for their turn.

Due to the staff's consistent approaches, children are considerate and have good manners.Staff do not always focus their attention on those children who may need support to join in. In addition, staff often move children on from activities too quickly and do not consistently encourage children to do more for themselves.

This means there are periods when children wander around with no purpose. During these times, children's learning is not fully extended. This, at times, has a negative impact on their behaviour.

For example, children fall out and squabble over toys and resources.Staff value the manager's commitment to their professional development and support for their well-being. They access training that is helping to develop their knowledge and skills.

For example, sign language training is used well with toddlers to help reinforce their understanding of language. This, in turn, is supporting their ability to make their needs known and, as such, limit frustrations. Staff attend regular staff meetings.

This helps them to keep up to date with any changes in policies and procedures and keeps them in line with the manager's vision for children.The manager and staff build very good relationships with parents. From the outset, they engage them in the setting and their child's learning and development.

Regular newsletters, assessment sheets and updates on social media ensure that key information is shared, and achievements celebrated. The manager and staff understand the needs of the families who attend and consider this when developing the curriculum.Staff support children to undertake safe risk and challenge and develop their large physical skills, for example they encourage and support children to be able to climb to the top of the climbing frame.

Additionally, toddlers use large brushes and water to make marks on the outdoor wall. Pre-school children use a variety of different-sized pens and pencils to draw and make meaningful marks, such as the letters of their names. These experiences help to develop the skills needed for later writing.

Staff weave mathematical concepts through children's play and during routines. For example, older children are challenged to count out how many skittles they knock over and identify different shapes in the environment. Babies and toddlers sing and take part in number rhymes with the staff.

As a result, children develop particularly well in this area of their development.All staff have a robust understanding of safeguarding and child protection. The premises are clean, safe and secure.

Staff implement effective hygiene procedures. These further ensure children's safety and well-being.

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, the provider must: Due date provide support and train staff to implement all aspects of the curriculum to ensure children make good progress.06/06/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop high-quality interactions between adults and children across the staff team to help deliver the curriculum, particularly for communication and language provide more opportunities for children to have a go and do even more for themselves and develop their independence even further.

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