Bear Hugs Day Nursery 2

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment for children. Children enjoy plenty of space to move and explore. Therefore, babies quickly develop good physical skills.

Staff have high expectations of children. All children display high levels of independence. Children develop close bonds with staff and have positive attitudes towards learning.

Staff support children's self-esteem by valuing their ideas and choices in play. Children play very well together, share and take turns. Children listen to adults and follow instructions well.

Staff recognise the various ways in which young children learn. They provide ...a wide variety of enjoyable activities, including messy play, listening to stories and singing. Leaders have taken steps to minimise internal and external risks to children.

They have agreed safety procedures for staff to follow should they need to isolate the building, for example. However, the method managers adopt to check staff's continued understanding of this procedure needs to be reviewed. This is because some of the more newly appointed staff have gaps in their knowledge of the most up-to-date arrangements.

Staff form good partnerships with parents. They gain information from parents to help individual children's needs. However, leaders acknowledge there is scope to improve parental involvement further in the setting's self-evaluation process.

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

Children enjoy a range of activities that support their learning across all areas. For example, they remain immersed in creative sand and water play indoors. Outdoors, they push buggies, climb and pedal ride-on toys.

Staff clearly narrate babies' actions and say key words for babies to copy, hence babies quickly move from babbling to using intentional speech. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are supported to develop language to express their feelings. Younger children learn to count and handle tools for writing well.

They learn to name colours and describe texture as they play with play dough. Older children learn to recognise letters and the sounds they represent. Staff provide challenging writing activities.

Children persist with activities they find difficult and do not give up easily. As a result, older children quickly progress from tracing the letters of their name to writing their names without the use of name cards.Children are deep thinkers.

Staff encourage this by addressing children's misconceptions. They remind children of previous learning and help them make connections. Children learn about other cultures and customs through multicultural event days.

Older children learn about inspirational people of historical importance, such as Garrett Morgan who invented the traffic signal. There is a sustained shared practice of promoting children's independence across the nursery. For example, young babies confidently remove their own shoes after playing outdoors.

Older children put on their coats and many younger children fasten their own zips and buttons. Babies are supported to serve their own food. They learn to independently climb up stairs.

Hygiene practices are strong. Babies know they need to wash their hands before mealtimes. Older children manage their own personal hygiene very well and know the importance of healthy eating.

Staff model positive interactions well and listen to children's views. Staff respond calmly to children. They thoughtfully communicate their expectations of behaviour.

Children who are in the earlier stages of understanding boundaries for behaviour are supported well. Therefore, children behave exceptionally well at the nursery. They spontaneously tidy up before going outside to play and show respect for the resources.

Staff receive regular supervision and training. Staff with skills in specific areas of childcare are encouraged to share knowledge with their colleagues, hence the quality of education is routinely good across the nursery.Leaders have successfully addressed the action and recommendations made at the previous inspection.

They have worked closely with local authority advisers to improve children's safety and the quality of teaching. However, supervision arrangements for staff need reviewing to ensure any gaps in staff's knowledge of some up-to-date safety procedures are identified more swiftly.Parents say they are very happy with the good quality care their children receive at the nursery.

Parents of older children feel they are well prepared for their move to school. They say staff are approachable and supportive of children's home life. However, too few parents respond to feedback questionnaires with their suggestions for improvements to the nursery.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff are clear about signs that suggest a child might be suffering from abuse. They have clear, agreed procedures to follow should they have concerns.

Leaders ensure staff receive training in safeguarding. Staff routinely complete post-training questionnaires to check their understanding of their ongoing safeguarding responsibilities. Leaders ensure appointed staff are suitable to care for children.

Regular risk assessments ensure that the premises are as safe as possible. There is a secure entry system in place, and staff monitor people who access the nursery.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review supervision arrangements so that any gaps in staff's knowledge of the most up-to-date safety procedures are swiftly identified and addressed seek additional ways to increase the proportion of parents providing feedback for suggestions on ways to improve the nursery.