Bright Horizons Northcote Road Day Nursery and Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

All children are happy and enjoy the busy, calm and highly stimulating learning environment. Children display good levels of emotional development. Babies who are new to the setting seek out familiar adults for cuddles of reassurance when they become unsettled.

All children become deeply involved in a variety of inviting, interesting and engaging activities. Babies maintain high levels of engagement and enjoyment when playing with water and pretending to wash dolls. Toddlers giggle with excitement while trying to blow and catch bubbles.

Older children maintain good focus and concentration as they use construction block...s to make shapes. Children talk confidently and use a good range of vocabulary. Some of the youngest children can express themselves in full sentences and engage in meaningful conversations.

Children develop a good understanding of mathematical concepts in preparation for their move on to school. Some older children know the properties of shapes and can differentiate between a pentagon and a hexagon. In addition, they can count and understand the value of a number.

Children feel safe and secure in the nursery. They learn the expected behavioural boundaries and staff continually support and praise children who are learning to share and take turns.

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

The curriculum intent for physical development is implemented well.

Children have good opportunities both indoors and outdoors to build on their large- and fine-motor skills. Staff encourage babies to move around, crawl and practise walking in the safe learning environment. Staff support older children to take age-appropriate risks in their play.

They competently jump in and out of tyres and take large steps on plastic crates. Children confidently climb steps to access the tree house and learn to negotiate bends successfully while riding bikes and cars. In addition, staff build on children's understanding of healthy eating through planting and role-play activities.

Staff engage children in exciting activities that encourage their curiosity. For example, staff mix flour and water to form gloop and babies enjoy exploring and watching it drip from their hands. They join in as staff sing nursery rhymes to them.

They respond confidently by clapping and humming along. Toddlers enjoy rolling and kneading dough, pretending to make a pizza.Overall, staff make regular observations of children's learning to help them identify potential gaps.

However, staff do not always use the children's next steps in learning to inform their planning. At times, some staff are unable to explain what they want children to get out of the learning experiences they provide.The manager and staff work closely with parents.

Staff use the online system and face-to-face communication well to keep parents informed about children's care and learning. In addition, they seek and act on the views of parents to help identify areas to improve and drive improvements. Parents are kept up to date with staff changes and other welfare matters through emails.

Parents say they feel their children are happy and well cared for and know what the children have been doing each day.All staff are good role models who help children learn how to behave well, share resources, and take turns. Staff use highly engaging discussions and emotion books to teach children about different feelings and how to manage these to help support their mental well-being.

Moreover, staff treat the children as individuals and value them. They always ask for the children's consent if they want to offer assistance during their play and learning. However, staff do not always use their strong teaching skills to help children to become independent in attending to their self-care needs and understand the importance of good hygiene.

For example, some older children who can talk confidently, walk around with their noses uncleaned.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff use risk assessment well to ensure that the premises are safe and suitable for children.

Staff understand the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm and know how to report their concerns. They also know the correct procedures to follow if they have concerns about the behaviour of their colleague. The manager and staff attend regular safeguarding and child protection training to ensure their knowledge remains current.

The manager deploys staff well to supervise children's learning and help to keep them safe. The provider follows robust recruitment and vetting procedures to ensure that staff working with children are suitable.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove staff's knowledge and understanding of assessment, particularly how to use this information to plan effectively and identify next steps for children's learning provide opportunities for older children to learn about and develop an understanding of good personal hygiene, so they become independent in managing their self-care needs.