Cedar House Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The outdoor environment is truly inspirational. Children can completely lose themselves safely in the wild and inviting, free-growing foliage. They can explore and extend their imaginations on and in the strategically placed resources, such as wigwams or vehicles.

Children sit at a steering wheel and eloquently recall a recent trip they took on an aeroplane to New Zealand. Children are happy and thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. They form excellent relationships with the staff who look after them.

This is particularly evident in the baby room where young children who have recently started show very secure emo...tional attachments to staff. Throughout the nursery, there is an extremely homely and enjoyable atmosphere. Staff encourage babies to explore freely, which allows their curiosity to blossom.

Babies show awe and wonder when they splash in water filled with glitter. Older children have superb opportunities to investigate an extensive range of flowers, water, containers and cereal to make instruments or conduct an experiment to make 'potions'. Children behave well and show respect for the environment, their friends and staff.

They have high levels of confidence and self-esteem. This is supported by staff, who have high expectations of them and offer plenty of continuous support and praise for their achievements. For example, older children persevere and work together to complete a puzzle.

Staff show they are genuinely impressed by their efforts.

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

The providers, manager and staff team have a genuine passion about their roles and how they can support children's ongoing learning and development. Staff work well together.

They speak highly of the nursery and how they love working there. This is very evident in their interactions with children. Monitoring of staff's practice takes place.

However, targets are not as strongly focused on how to build on the quality of education.Teaching in the pre-school room is exceptional. The staff in this room are enthusiastic and highly driven.

They consistently build on what children already know and can do. However, very occasionally, especially in the toddler room but not exclusively, children's independent play can be slightly hindered by routines and accessibility of resources.Staff implement a broad and well-planned curriculum that covers all aspects of the early years foundation stage.

They make focused observations and use accurate assessments to demonstrate the excellent progress children make. The manager has a very good overview of children's learning so that she can identify any gaps that occur and address them quickly.Staff appreciate the role they play in helping children to broaden their experiences and to learn skills that will help them in future life.

For example, there is a wealth of opportunities for children to explore and investigate messy and sensory play. Furthermore, staff take the time to support children as they play with other children and to learn rules and boundaries, such as sharing and taking turns. As a result, children have a positive attitude to learning and respond well and quickly to requests from staff.

The manager and staff support children very well as they settle in at the nursery. This promotes children's emotional well-being. Staff provide initial short sessions to help children to quickly feel secure.

Equally, key persons help to settle children when they change rooms within the nursery.Reading and a love of books are given high priority. Each week an adult, whether that be the provider, the manager or a volunteer, comes and shares a book with individual pre-school children.

They talk about the book, the structure of the story and share valuable time together. This promotes early literacy skills and contributes to developing intergenerational relationships children might not have at home.Staff develop children's communication and speaking skills well.

Those working with babies consistently smile, look them in the eye and talk gently and clearly. Staff repeat the sounds babies use. Each room has a 'word of the week'.

Staff introduce activities that help children associate the word to its meaning. For example, toddlers learn the word, 'blow'. They are introduced to party blowers and bubbles to link an action to the word.

The nursery has developed excellent partnerships with parents. Parents who were not present during the inspection went to great lengths to ensure the inspector heard about their utmost satisfaction with the nursery, for example by sending in emails. They talk about the excellent progress their children have made and that this can only have come from the nursery staff.

They describe how settled and happy their children are and say the staff are 'fantastic' and 'go above and beyond'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff ensure that children's welfare is a priority.

They have strategies in place that help children and parents understand the risks of technology and how to keep safe online. This is delivered in a child-friendly way. Staff have a very good understanding of the signs that indicate a child may be at risk of harm, including from radical and extreme views.

The manager and staff have a secure knowledge about the signs and symptoms of abuse. They know the procedures to follow if they are worried about a child or adults caring for them.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: focus monitoring of staff's practice even more incisively on feedback that can help develop the quality of education to an even higher level nallow children more time to explore independently without the restriction of routines and accessibility.