Alphabet Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children arrive happily and settle into the nursery, with the support of kind and caring staff. They have formed secure bonds with staff and benefit from cuddles and reassurance to help them feel secure.

However, teaching is variable as some staff do not have all the skills they need to help children make consistently good progress in their learning. The curriculum is not implemented effectively enough so that it builds on what children already know and what they need to learn next. Nevertheless, staff nurture babies well.

They comfort babies, holding them close when they are tired or while they are being fed. Children's ...behaviour is good, and they are beginning to show their understanding of the nursery rules. Staff explain the rules to children to help them understand why it is important to share.

However, some staff do not spend enough time supporting children's learning or encouraging them to persevere and try again. While staff understand the importance of challenging children, they do not consistently help children to gain the skills needed to support the next stage in their learning.

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

The new manager has an accurate understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement.

She knows what good-quality care and education looks like. The manager endeavours to provide support and some opportunities for staff's professional development. However, this is not focused on improving their teaching skills.

The monitoring of staff's practice is not robust enough to help them develop the knowledge they need to become skilful practitioners.Children do not benefit from a well-designed curriculum that builds securely on what they know so that they experience consistently good learning opportunities. Some staff do not understand the intentions for children's learning, which means they are not able to present the information in a way that offers the appropriate level of challenge for children.

Staff have a sound knowledge of their key children. They gather information from parents about their children when they first start at the nursery. This helps them to tailor the settling-in process according to children's individual needs.

Staff say they enjoy working at the nursery and feel well supported by the manager. At times, they focus on domestic routines and do not spend enough time talking to children. Their interactions with children are not sustained long enough to help each child to develop the language they need for thinking.

Staff promote children's good health and encourage them to be physically active. Children enjoy lots of outdoor play in the fresh air. They confidently climb large apparatus and carefully walk across the planks, holding out their arms to balance themselves.

Children follow sensible hygiene routines and understand the importance of washing their hands before eating. Some older children manage these tasks independently. However, at some mealtimes staff do quite a bit for children, which impinges on children's ability to do things for themselves, make mistakes and keep trying.

Babies enjoy moving their bodies and exploring what they can do, which helps them to develop their growing physical skills. Staff support them effectively as they begin to investigate. They help young children to understand about sharing and taking turns.

Staff identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities promptly and work with other agencies to decide how to support the children. Additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, is used to provide resources that meet children's learning needs.Children enjoy listening to stories and join in, saying the familiar words.

Sometimes, staff encourage them to think about what happens next. Children make marks and are beginning to recognise shapes and numbers.

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 ensure staff implement a curriculum that clearly identifies what it is that all children need to learn, reflects their individual learning needs and offers appropriate challenge, to help them make good progress 07/11/2024 focus professional development plans on improving staff's skills and knowledge that helps them to support children in building on what they already know and can do.07/11/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove the monitoring of staff practice to develop their knowledge and understanding of how children learn so that all children benefit from consistently good-quality learning experiences.