Ab Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children enjoy the time they spend at this nursery.

Staff are caring and provide a calm and reassuring approach for children. They nurture children's well-being and encourage them to share and take turns. Children gain confidence and build positive relationships with staff and their peers.

However, the quality of education that children receive is not yet consistent across the nursery. Staff get to know children well and generally provide activities that will interest them. However, not all children benefit from a meaningful and effectively planned curriculum that supports them in their development.

Overall, staf...f do not have high expectations of what children can achieve. Consequently, children are not making the progress they are capable of. Staff generally have realistic expectations for children's behaviour.

Children learn to be kind and caring towards others and learn to follow simple instructions. For example, children confidently tidy away resources when they have finished and show care for the environment. Staff help children to learn about their local community.

Children visit the local library and enjoy trips to parks. This helps to build their understanding of the world around them.

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

Relationships between staff and children are caring.

However, the provider acknowledges that there is a need to recruit additional staff, and there are plans in place to address this. The provider works directly in the nursery, to meet adult-to-child ratios. However, at times the provider does not ensure there is the required number of qualified staff working directly with the children.

This is a breach in requirements.The provider generally supports staff well. They hold regular meetings to monitor staff practice.

However, these arrangements are not effective in identifying weaknesses and areas to improve their skills. Consequently, staff do not deliver effective teaching to support children to make good progress in their learning.Overall, children enjoy their time at the nursery.

They greet their friends with big smiles and enjoy playing with or alongside their peers. Staff are sensitive and kind when children are upset or in need of reassurance. They get down to children's level and offer extra support and comfort to help them feel safe and secure.

However, the weakness in planning means that children's individual learning needs are not consistently met. Although staff have identified children's interests and the next steps in their learning, the opportunities they provide do not consistently reflect these. This means that not all children receive consistently good interactions that fully meet their learning needs Staff ensure children have daily opportunities to hear stories and sing songs, to support their developing language skills.

They repeat words and encourage younger children to recognise pictures in books. Older children engage in conversations with each other and staff. They demonstrate a wide vocabulary and are confident to ask questions.

However, support for children who speak English as an additional language is less effective. For example, children have few opportunities to use or hear their home languages in their play and learning.The provider ensures the nursery has appropriate arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Staff work closely with parents and communicate with other professionals to follow targeted plans to help meet children's needs Overall, children behave well because they know what staff expect of them. Staff remind them of the nursery rules throughout the day, such as using 'kind hands' and walking feet.Staff provide children with clear daily routines, such as designated times for sleeping and meals.

While staff are aware of these routines, they often fail to ensure they are effectively organised. At times, children sit for long periods waiting for their lunch. The lack of organisation during daily routines impacts on children's behaviour at these times as they become bored and distracted, and miss out on meaningful learning experiences.

Children enjoy being outdoors. Staff provide opportunities for children to be physically active. For example, they learn to develop their balance and coordination as they ride bicycles, jump in puddles and use a climbing frame.

Children benefit from nutritious meals and snacks, and have access to fresh water throughout the day. This helps to promote healthy eating. However, hygiene practices are not always robust.

Younger children do not always receive the support they need to help them to learn about the importance of handwashing and develop their self-care skills. For example, some staff do not always ensure that younger children wash their hands before mealtimes.Staff inform parents of their children's experiences through daily updates and sharing photos on an online system.

Generally, parents are happy with the care that their children receive. They report that their children are happy and feel that they are making progress.

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 ensure at least half of all staff hold an approved level 2 qualification 20/12/2024 implement an effective system for staff supervision, coaching and mentoring, to ensure that weaknesses in staff practice are identified and addressed 20/12/2024 ensure the curriculum is fully ambitious and challenging for all children to help them make good progress in their learning.20/12/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide further opportunities for children who speak English as an additional language to use and hear their home languages in their play and learning norganise daily routines more effectively to ensure that they meet the individual needs of children at all times support staff to implement the nursery's hygiene procedures in relation to handwashing consistently.