Ashbridge on Ribble

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff gather and make good use of information from parents to meet each child's care, health and dietary needs. They ensure that sleep and nappy changing routines are appropriate for each child.

They help children to develop good self-care skills and take steps to be independent. For example, babies hold their own spoon at lunchtime and begin to feed themselves. Toddlers confidently find their own basket containing their coat before going outside.

Babies explore outdoors every day. In addition, staff frequently take babies to experience the sights and sounds of nature in the local area. Outings include walks by the riv...er and trips to the local farm and park.

Visits such as these help babies to begin to make sense of the world around them. Babies develop secure relationships with their key person and are emotionally secure and happy. They confidently explore a broad range of toys and activities.

Staff adapt activities as children play to build on what each child already knows and can do. Children learn new sounds and words as they play. For example, a toddler makes the noise of a monkey while listening to a story and holding the toy animal.

Overall, children develop good skills in listening and speaking, which are necessary for them to become active talkers.

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

Each baby has an identified member of staff who knows them well. This key person meets their care needs effectively, monitors their development and promotes their personal and social skills.

Staff use information from parents, along with their own observations, to identify each child's abilities when they start, and to help them to take their next steps.Staff plan interesting, well-linked activities. For example, themed around a familiar story, children enjoy the sensory experience of feeling leaves and then explore outdoors as they go on a 'bear hunt'.

The manager tracks the progress of individual and groups of children. Where any gaps in learning are identified, staff plan activities to help to close them.Children sit closely with staff to look at books.

Some books contain photographs of children's family members. Staff talk about the photographs, which helps children to feel emotionally secure and fosters their sense of belonging. This is a useful strategy towards children learning about the similarities between themselves and others.

All staff have recently completed training specifically in the care of babies. Some staff are less skilled at narrating what children are doing to help them to link words with actions, for example as they play. However, they plan activities for individual or small groups of children to encourage good listening skills and communication.

Parents spoken to at inspection and written comments provided express how pleased they are with their children's care and progress. They have access to comprehensive information on the website. Parents are kept informed of their children's progress through the sharing of information, both verbally and through an online application put in place since the last inspection.

They can view their children's learning record and increasingly contribute to their children's assessment by sharing information from home.Children make a smooth transition when they move up to the next room. Their new key person makes good use of information about their interests and abilities provided by their previous key person, to ensure continuity in their care and learning.

Staff support children to develop well physically. Babies have plenty of space to crawl and practise walking. Toddlers learn to balance and coordinate their movements as they ride on wheeled toys and negotiate different levels as they walk along wooden blocks in the garden.

In the newly built soft-play area, children learn to manage risk in a safe and secure way.The strong senior leadership and management team evaluate all aspects of the nursery. They have a clear vision and take on board the views of children, parents and staff to plan for the future.

Staff take key responsibilities to evaluate specific aspects of the curriculum and to share good practice across the nursery. For example, staff evaluate the resources and planning for equality and diversity and the support for children who speak more than one language at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The building is kept secure at all times and access is carefully monitored by staff. Required staffing ratios are met. Staff follow comprehensive policies and procedures to keep children safe.

They know the signs that may indicate a child is at risk of harm, and understand how to identify and report concerns. They regularly refresh their training to keep their knowledge up to date.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nensure staff make consistently good use of opportunities to narrate what babies are doing and help them to link words with actions nenhance the good ways to support children's sense of identity to promote their awareness of similarities and differences between themselves and others.