Bright Horizons Chigwell Day Nursery and Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

All children make good progress in relation to their individual starting points. They have a positive attitude to learning and, overall, enjoy the good range of activities staff provide. Babies explore paint with their hands, watching as it drips off their fingers onto the paper.

Older children take staff on a garden bug hunt to look for spiders and slugs. Children respond confidently to staff's questions and show concern when they decide a slug looks 'poorly'. They find it a leaf which is carefully placed close by for the slug to eat.

Toddlers find endless fascination in water play. They use containers to pour water i...nto small bottles before emptying them and starting over. Staff are close by to offer support.

They talk to toddlers about what they are doing, introducing new words to help extend their language. Children are happy, confident and settle quickly. This is partly due to the staff's focus on promoting children's personal, social and emotional development.

All children have good relationships with their key person and other staff. Babies and toddlers enjoy reassuring cuddles from staff as they wake up from their naps. Pre-school children enthusiastically share their thoughts and ideas with staff.

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

Staff make effective use of technology to show children how to find information. For example, when pre-school children ask how the sea fills up with water, staff help them to search for the answer. Children make dough which they use to create models of puffer fish, based on pictures seen on the internet.

Others make dough models from the popular children's book about a rainbow-coloured fish. However, on occasions, staff do not give children enough resources and opportunities to express their creative ideas.Children develop a love of books and enjoy listening to stories.

Toddlers eagerly go and fetch their favourite books, which they give to staff. Children sit and listen as staff read, joining in with sentences they are familiar with. This helps to support their literacy skills.

Staff constantly acknowledge and praise children for their achievements. Babies grin cheekily at staff when they manage to pull themselves up against furniture. Toddlers build train tracks and confidently tell staff what they have done.

Pre-school children use complex words to ask staff probing questions and to share their thoughts. For example, they explain to staff how they could build 'leaf-world' to keep slugs safe.Children behave well and older children, generally, know what is expected of them, especially during daily routines.

However, sometimes, the organisation of mealtimes, means that toddlers who have to wait for their friends to finish become fidgety and lose concentration.The manager provides good opportunities for staff to improve their professional knowledge and practice. Regular supervision meetings enable staff to discuss their key children and request any training that they wish to complete.

A thorough induction programme helps new staff to become familiar with their individual roles and responsibilities, as well as the policies and procedures.Staff help children to learn how to keep themselves and others safe. At mealtimes, children recognise what foods their friends can or cannot eat from the different coloured plates and cups.

Children also learn about the differences and similarities between themselves and their friends. Staff provide a good range of activities and resources, which helps children to respect and value each other's cultures.The manager has a good oversight of the progress different groups of children make.

This helps to identify any emerging gaps in their learning. Staff understand how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and when to seek guidance from professionals outside of the nursery.Since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, parents have been unable to enter the nursery.

Despite this, parents are very complimentary about the partnerships with staff. They comment that they are looking forward to being able to drop off their children in their nursery rooms in the near future. Daily updates between parents and staff help to share children's achievements and their changing care and learning needs.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a good understanding of the signs and symptoms which could indicate a child is at risk of harm or abuse. They complete regular child protection training to keep themselves aware of current guidance, such as what to do should they suspect a child, their siblings or parents are at risk of radicalisation.

The manager frequently checks staffs knowledge as she asks safeguarding questions during staff meetings and when she goes into the nursery's rooms. Staff know what to do if they have any concerns about a colleague's practice, including the manager.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to understand how to promote children's creativity review and develop staff's organisation of some daily routines, particularly mealtimes, to keep children fully engaged.