Childwall Valley Day Nursery Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settled at this bright and welcoming nursery. They develop close attachments with staff, who help children to feel safe and emotionally secure.

Staff have high expectations for children's progress and plan a broad curriculum that follows their interests. Children display positive attitudes to learning and behave very well. Children relish their time in the outdoor environment and play confidently and happily together.

Children squeal with excitement as staff kick balls high into the air, and they become out of breath racing to see where they land. Children learn to carefully negotiate obstacles, ...showing consideration for where their friends are playing. Staff teach children new skills, such as skipping, building their confidence and resilience, and giving them a sense of achievement when they succeed.

Children develop an understanding of number and mathematical concepts as they count, measure and compare. Staff are skilful in their teaching. They engage the children in discussions on the properties of ice and water, and talk about the characteristics of different shapes.

Children use excellent problem-solving skills and dexterity as they mould dough to the correct size and corresponding number. Staff encourage children to use mathematical language, such as 'longer', 'taller' and 'three-dimensional', as they do so.

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

Staff are positive role models and deliver a purposeful curriculum that supports children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well.

Children make good progress and become increasingly confident and independent. However, leaders do not ensure oversight of the use of additional funding. They do not fully explore the best way to utilise this funding.

Furthermore, they do not fully understand the impact it is having.Partnership working is a strength of the nursery. The established links with various external professionals help to ensure that all children, including those with SEND, receive the relevant support and intervention to help them to make good progress.

Staff understand the importance of reading books and singing songs to support children's developing language skills. They read with enthusiasm and encourage children to recall what comes next. Story times are delightful and well delivered.

Children are learning to listen carefully and enjoy using new words, such as 'blurb' and 'title'.Children gain an excellent awareness of good oral health and healthy eating habits. Visits from dental practitioners teach children about the sugar content in familiar foods and drinks.

This helps the children to recognise what is good for their teeth and what is 'just for a treat'. Staff reinforce this during their conversations at mealtimes around healthy choices, and the children are eager to point out 'this melon is good for us'.Staff promote equal opportunities well.

Children relish their visits from people who help us, such as the police and fire service. Staff are skilled at celebrating each other's differences and challenging gender stereotypes, such as during the children's dress-up role play. This helps children to understand what makes them unique, promoting respect for different people.

Self-evaluation is reflective and ambitious, and accurately identifies areas for continuous improvement. The manager recognises the importance of well-being and has implemented targeted training to support both staff and parents with their emotional health. Staff say that they feel appreciated and supported, and work diligently to ensure that the children make good progress.

However, less-experienced staff are not always clear on how to implement the curriculum in order to extend children's learning so that they are challenged to find things out for themselves.Parents speak highly about the nursery and the 'friendly and approachable' staff team. They appreciate the daily feedback that they receive and comment on the progress that their children have made.

The nursery shares information with parents via a secure online app, and parents can add comments and observations from home. This two-way communication helps to ensure that the children make good progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a thorough understanding of how to keep children safe and protected from harm. They have completed safeguarding training and fully understand their responsibilities to record and report any safeguarding concerns. Leaders adopt stringent procedures for the recruitment of new staff and carry out robust checks to ensure their ongoing suitability.

Staff teach children about keeping safe and potential hazards, such as when the ground is icy. This allows the children to begin to manage their own risks and learn to keep themselves safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the effectiveness of supervision for leaders to ensure that those with oversight fully understand how additional funding has been utilised and the impact it has on children continue to develop less-experienced staff's knowledge of how to implement the curriculum, so that children are supported to explore different play resources and challenged to find things out for themselves.