Castle View Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and form very close attachments with their key person.

Staff help children to be familiar with the daily routine. Children display a strong sense of belonging at the nursery. Children move around freely to explore and play with the resources accessible to them.

For example, they enjoy dressing up in different costumes and use their imaginations during pretend play. Staff encourage children to take part in physical activities, such as riding a tricycle and completing obstacle courses. This helps children to keep active and strengthen their mobility, coordination and balance.

Staff provide ple...nty of opportunities for children to interact with adults during their play. They support children to develop their speaking and listening skills effectively. Children demonstrate a good understanding and follow simple instructions well.

Staff help children to develop their personal, social and emotional skills well. Children learn to wash their hands independently and make healthy choices about the food to eat. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive regular support from the special educational needs coordinator and other professionals to develop their skills.

Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They support them to manage their feelings and teach them right from wrong. Subsequently, children behave well and treat others respectfully.

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

Staff observe and assess children's learning effectively. They use this information to plan stimulating activities for children to develop their skills. Children make good progress with their development, helping them move on to the next stage in their learning.

Staff provide exciting opportunities that promote children's curiosity and support their learning. For instance, children use a spoon to mix ingredients together to make a dough. They then use their hands and imaginations to explore the dough in various ways.

Staff support children's communication and language skills effectively. For example, they encourage children to answer questions, talk about their experiences and use a wide range of vocabulary.Staff provide good opportunities for children to develop their literacy skills.

As a result, children develop a keen interest in stories and talk about the images and characters in the books. In addition, children practise making marks, which helps them to develop their writing skills.Children demonstrate high levels of confidence and independence.

They show an understanding of simple boundaries and consistently display positive behaviour. Children are kind, caring and helpful towards other children. They learn to manage small tasks, make decisions and take turns effectively.

Staff provide good opportunities for children to develop a healthy lifestyle. For example, children learn about healthy food, and they plant vegetables in the garden. Children develop an awareness of oral health, and they brush their teeth after eating lunch.

Staff work in close partnerships with parents to help children settle easily and to extend their learning at home. For instance, they carry out a home visit for each child at the start of their placement to help them to form relationships, build trust and gather information.Key persons, parents and other professionals work closely to support children with SEND.

They adapt activities for them to achieve their targets and make good progress. For example, children with gaps in their speech learn to express themselves well.The manager completes regular supervision meetings with staff to review their well-being and practice.

Staff recognise their professional development needs, and they complete relevant training to keep their knowledge and skills current.The manager considers the views of staff, parents and children when evaluating the nursery. She identifies the key strengths and areas for improvement, and she works with the team to continuously strengthen the nursery.

Staff know that some children have gaps in their mathematics skills. However, they do not provide consistent opportunities during children's play to encourage them to practise counting and sorting.At times, staff plan for children to learn about their own cultures.

However, they do not extend opportunities for children to learn about different people living in the local community, such as their roles, religions and cultures.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager has a robust safeguarding policy in place and procedures to ensure that children are safe.

Staff complete the required training, such as safeguarding and paediatric first aid. The recruitment process includes checks to ensure that adults employed are suitable to work with children. The manager completes appropriate risk assessments and puts measures in place to ensure children's ongoing safety.

Staff are familiar with the signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect, and they are aware that children may be exposed to extreme views. The manager and staff know the procedures for reporting concerns and allegations to the relevant authorities.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: make better use of children's play to strengthen their mathematical skills nincrease opportunities for children to learn about the similarities and differences of people in the local community.