Castle Lane Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy their time at the setting.

They excitedly talk about going to forest school and share their experiences of using a trap with a camera in to see images of animals that visit the site at night. Children behave well and there are clear expectations in place. For example, children are reminded to walk down the steps sensibly and safely to access the outdoor area.

Children have strong attachments to staff and go to them when they need reassurance throughout the day. Younger children settle quickly when they arrive. They give beaming smiles to staff as they wake up from their nap and when staff praise them..../>
Activities are planned for children which follow their interests and meet their next steps. Children explore the environment with confidence and older children help themselves to the resources they need to expand on their play. Children explore mark making with paintbrushes and delight in showing staff the picture they have made.

Young children access sand and use moulds to make different shapes. They watch carefully as staff show them how to use a scoop to fill a mould with sand and tap the top before lifting it up. Children smile and clap their hands as they successfully do this for themselves.

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

Before children start at the setting, staff find out about children's likes and dislikes and the experiences they have at home. They sensitively consider this when planning activities to continue to broaden on children's experiences. For example, staff take young children who show an interest in zoo animals to the zoo.

Children find out about different animals and where they live. Older children are curious about different forms of transport and visit the local railway station and travel on a train. They tell visitors about their trip to a local college to look at a plane.

Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents feel well informed about their children's development and know what they can do at home to support them. The setting provides additional support to families that need it.

Parents feel able to speak to the setting if they ever have any concerns. They receive a daily handover from their child's key person and find out what activities their child has taken part in. Parents comment that all staff know their children well as individuals.

Children's early language skills develop well. Young children act out the story of 'The Gruffalo' with a member of staff and then take on different roles in the story. Staff read books to babies and praise them as they explore different textures on each page.

Staff model language to children well and increase their vocabulary by talking to them during their play. For example, they provide cereal for children to feed to pretend animals. Staff introduce new words such as 'crunchy' to describe the different textures.

Children begin to copy the words adults use.Children are provided with opportunities to develop their early mathematical skills. Inside, they enjoy pouring different liquids and making pretend cups of tea.

Outside, they run around and find different shapes in the outdoor area. Staff talk to children about the shapes they can see on objects and ask them questions. However, sometimes staff do not provide children with adequate time to respond to questions before they move on.

Older children are encouraged to develop their independence skills. At mealtimes, there are clear routines in place. Children know to line up and collect their knife and fork.

They carefully pour water to drink and carry their tray of food to their seat. Children put their coat and shoes on independently. However, opportunities are missed for younger children to develop their independence skills.

On occasions, staff tend to help them before letting them have a go first.Funding for children in receipt of early years pupil premium is used effectively. Staff consider the needs of individual children.

Children are provided with the opportunity to attend forest school. Suitable clothing is purchased to enable children to do this. Funding for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is used well to provide extra adult support.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a secure knowledge of effective safeguarding practice. They know who they would report their concerns to.

Staff receive regular updates to safeguarding at staff meetings, which means their knowledge is always kept updated. For example, they have recently focused on increasing their awareness of wider safeguarding issues. There are clear procedures in place for reporting accidents and ensuring parents are informed.

Children are supervised well and regular risk assessments are undertaken, which means children are kept safe. Managers have a robust system in place to recruit new staff and an induction process is in place.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen staff interactions to ensure children have time to consider their responses provide opportunities for the youngest children to develop their independence skills.