AppleKids Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Staff do not always have a clear learning intent for some of the activities they provide for children.

This means, at times, children do not always gain the most from activities. The quality of teaching is variable and not all staff are confident in extending children's learning so that they make the best possible progress. Consequently, not all the children engage fully in the curriculum on offer.

That said, children are happy. Most children separate from their parents and carers with ease. Staff are kind and nurturing and they give lots of reassurance to those children who may be unsettled.

This makes children ...feel safe and secure. Staff are very attentive to children who may feel under the weather, and children snuggle up to them and rest their heads.Staff gather detailed information from parents about children and what they like and dislike.

This is incorporated into the environment and continuous provision that is on offer. For example, children who like water play are offered activities that involve water as this is their interest. Children enjoy manipulating play dough with their fingers and this helps to strengthen their dexterity for later pencil control.

Staff interact alongside children in imaginative role play. Children enjoy making food and staff talk about money when they pretend to pay for their food.

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

The provider is currently experiencing struggles with staffing.

There is no full-time manager at the setting. There is a senior leader who is an exceptional practitioner and visits once a week. They have designed a curriculum to build on what children know and can do, and prepare them for their eventual move to school.

They have implemented new planning but, unfortunately, this is not always consistently applied as there is no constant leadership in place.The provider and senior leader have identified weaknesses in staff practice and are working hard to make improvements. Staff receive regular supervisions and access to training to support improvements in practice and raise the quality of teaching to consistently good.

Teaching is variable. Staff constantly interact with children in their play. That said, some of the activities that are planned do not always deliver the learning intention, despite the outcomes being in the planning.

Staff are yet to embed this into their practice. In addition, staff do not always give explanations to the children so they understand what is expected of them. For example, outdoors, staff try to create large bubbles using a hoopla hoop.

Children do not understand what is expected of them and just splash their hands into the bubble mixture.Children enjoy healthy snacks of fruit, milk and water. Staff talk to them about the importance of washing their hands to wash the germs away.

Lots of opportunities are provided for children to be independent. For example, they pour their own drinks. Self-care skills are promoted throughout the setting.

Children put their own coats on and off, and hang them on their pegs. They blow their own noses and then wash their hands.Parent partnerships are a real strength of the setting.

Staff work very hard to provide support for parents, which includes workshops that they can attend on a variety of topics. Parents comment that their children are very happy and staff are 'brilliant'. Lots of information is shared with parents about the progress that their children make, and they are supported to continue their children's learning at home.

Children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported when their needs are identified. The special educational needs coordinator works across different sites. They are very knowledgeable and work with outside agencies and parents to put in place targeted plans of support.

However, staff do not always identify swiftly enough the children who need extra support and, therefore, early intervention can be delayed.The curriculum for communication and language is clear. Children enjoy singing and action songs.

Those children who speak English as an additional language are supported by staff who can speak in the children's home language. That said, staff do not always implement the strategies for building on early language skills, and children are not always given enough time to practise speaking in more-complex sentences.Staff teach children an early understanding of maths.

They draw hopscotch with chalks outside for children to play. They count the numbers together. Head counts are conducted when transitioning from outside or upstairs, and children join in with the counting.

Nursery routines support children to understand what is going to happen next. Children enjoy tidy-up time and sing songs as they put their toys away. Children line up to go upstairs or outdoors.

However, this takes some time as children wait for others and for staff to be ready. Consequently, children lose engagement and their behaviour becomes more challenging as they start to push and jostle each other while they stand and wait.

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 support staff to embed the planning and implementation of the activities so they meet the learning needs of all the children 27/09/2024 help staff to more swiftly identify children who may need extra support, so early intervention can be obtained to help them make rapid progress 27/09/2024 ensure that staff implement the strategies for communication and language to allow children to practise their emerging language skills.27/09/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the nursery routines to ensure that children do not wait for prolonged periods of time where they are not accessing the curriculum.