Archway Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children form close and trusting bonds with staff who support them closely in their transition through the nursery to feel safe and secure.

Babies benefit from a calm and nurturing environment in which staff meet their care routines sensitively. Toddlers explore freely and develop good independence, such as feeding themselves at meals. Staff encourage and praise children to build their confidence.

Older children use their imaginations well, such as pretending the stones they dig up are dinosaur teeth and acting out favourite stories. Staff know the children well and provide activities to support their learning and pers...onal interests. For example, they encourage children to sing their favourite songs with props and use their interest in the cars to build ramps to roll cars down and to balance walking down.

This positive interaction helps children to engage well and enjoy their learning. Children of all ages develop a love of books which they choose for staff to read and borrow to enjoy at home. Children develop positive behaviour and attitudes.

Staff help them to learn what is expected of them, such as modelling how to walk indoors and to play kindly. Older children work together amicably and develop skills to resolve disputes for themselves. They learn the impact of inappropriate behaviour on others and how to keep themselves safe in play.

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

The management team has made many improvements since the last inspection. This includes strengthening procedures, risk assessments and safety measures to help ensure children are safe, secure and supervised well at all times.The management team provides a programme of staff training.

This has helped staff to develop a good understanding of how babies and young children learn, and how to help them make good progress. Staff are clear what they intend children to learn and plan a broad curriculum to support them in achieving their learning goals. However, on occasions, staff do not use the activities as intended to support some children's goals.

For example, children miss out learning about floating and sinking concepts while staff are busy cleaning up spilt water.Staff interact with enthusiasm in children's play. They provide challenges to help children learn more.

For example, they encourage babies to explore new sensory materials and introduce number language to toddlers. Staff make the most of spontaneous opportunities to enhance children's learning. For example, toddlers become fascinated by a spider they find.

Staff help them to learn more about the creature using their observations, books, and to express how it feels on their hands.Children gain skills to support their transition to school. They develop good independence and a motivation to learn.

Staff support children's language development effectively. They model language well, and ask questions to encourage children to think and speak. Children continually learn new words to build vocabulary.

Older children develop good critical-thinking skills, such as persevering to construct balancing beams with crates and wooden planks to walk across.Children develop healthy lifestyles. They benefit from lots of physical play and outdoor learning.

Children enjoy healthy meals and snacks, and older children learn to manage their personal hygiene well. Staff build positive partnerships with parents, who they keep closely informed each day of their children's care, well-being and progress.Staff use their assessment effectively to identify when a child is not making expected progress.

They work effectively with parents and external professionals. This enables them to provide targeted support for children who have delays in their learning or special educational needs and/or disabilities to make the progress they are capable of. Leaders and staff use any additional funding for children in order to have the most impact on their learning.

The management team has a good oversight of the setting and vision for developing the quality of provision even further. Managers work with children, parents and staff to gain their feedback. From this, they prioritise and make meaningful improvements, such as changes to the meal plans and making activities more accessible to parents.

Staff have a good understanding of their safeguarding roles, responsibilities and the risks to children. They know the procedures to follow in the event of a concern about a child or adult. The management team values and nurtures staff 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 further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove staff interactions during planned activities to provide more targeted support for children to achieve their next steps for learning.