Broughton (Sevenoaks)

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are warmly welcomed into the nursery and with support, babies and younger children separate from their parents well.

They seek comfort from staff, who provide reassurance to help them feel safe and secure. Older children demonstrate high levels of self-esteem and confidence as they actively explore the activities and resources available to them. Great emphasise is held on children accessing outdoor play daily.

Children have space to practise their physical skills as they use walker toys to aid standing and movement, and ride tricycles and scooters. Pre-school children thoroughly enjoy their time at forest scho...ol, where they have the opportunity to take part in activities that they might not otherwise have access to. Children are inquisitive as they explore their surroundings.

They work together as they take part in scavenger hunts where they search for natural resources. Staff have high expectations of the children, who they encourage to take appropriate risks, as they learn to cook on open fires and practise using equipment such as saws. Children use sticks that they find in the woods as a spoon when mixing dough and then as a rolling pin to flatten it out.

Following COVID-19, staff have identified that many of their younger children have had limited interactions with others and this has had an impact on the already difficult transition that babies have when starting nursery. Children are developing confidence as they build relationship with their key people and develop their communication and language skills.

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

Leaders and managers have a clear vision for the nursery, which they share with their staff.

They understand the importance of having a well-trained team and support them in their professional development and well-being.The manager and staff have a good understanding of each child, their families and their individual needs. Staff have systems in place to obtain children's starting points on entering the nursery and can talk confidently about their key children's likes, dislikes and abilities.

The nurseries curriculum focuses on the three prime areas of learning. Staff understand that since the pandemic, children need further support in their personal, social and emotional development before being able to widen their learning to other areas. However, in some rooms, the curriculum intent is not always clear through the activities being implemented.

Overall, children benefit from engaging interactions with staff. Staff offer a narrative to children's play and encourage them to participate in action songs and rhymes, helping to promote their language skills. However, some staff do not give children enough time to think and respond before moving on.

All children have plenty of opportunities to access the outside play spaces, benefit from fresh air and build on their physical development. Children develop their gross motor skills as they learn to negotiate space and balance on ride-on toys, tricycles and scooters.Preschool children who attend forest school are enthusiastic to learn about the world around them.

They participate in scavenger hunts alongside staff and talk about seasonal changes in the environment around them. For example, children realise that leaves change colour from green to yellow to brown.Children learn about other cultural celebrations and traditions, including Thanksgiving and St.

Nicholas Day. When celebrating Thanksgiving, children learned about kindness and were encouraged to think about what this is for them.Children of all ages enjoy home-cooked, healthy and nutritious meals according to their specific dietary needs and preferences.

They sit together at mealtimes and are supported in developing their independence. For example, they pour their own drinks and use cutlery to feed themselves.The whole team has established positive relationships with parents, and this is a real strength of the nursery.

Parents speak highly of the staff and feel very well included in the children's learning. Parents' views were recently captured through a questionnaire, which led to the introduction of parents' evenings.During COVID-19, management kept in touch with parents and provided resources to help them support their children's learning and development at home so they would not fall behind.

The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. Staff use additional funding to purchase resources to further promote communication and language.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All adults are aware of their duty to safeguard children. Staff have completed relevant safeguarding training, including that of wider issues such as female genital mutilation, 'Prevent' duty and radicalisation. Staff are aware of the signs of abuse and neglect, and understand what they must do should they have a concern regarding a child or colleague.

Robust recruitment procedures ensure staff remain suitable. Effective risk assessments are completed on a regular basis to ensure the premises are safe and secure.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review and strengthen the nursery's curriculum intent, to ensure that the youngest of children have opportunities to build on their individual learning through purposeful play and activities further develop staff's use of interactions with children, to provide children with sufficient time to think and respond.