City Child Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children receive warm and nurturing care from highly attentive staff.

This helps them to be confident and make good progress in their learning and development. Children are confident to let staff know of their needs and wishes, and seek support from them when needed. Staff skilfully help children to develop their vocabulary by asking open-ended questions and engaging in conversations with them.

Younger children spend time with older children as they prepare for transitions between the rooms. Staff encourage children to help each other and consider how their actions affect their friends. This helps children to manage th...eir feelings and behaviour and create a culture of nurture and acceptance across the nursery.

Children move independently and with confidence in a well-resourced environment. With staff's support, they look after resources and tidy up after themselves. There is a strong focus on children developing their self-help skills.

For example, staff ask children what they need to do before and after eating, who remember they need to wash their hands. This helps children to develop good hygiene and self-care habits. Staff remind children to say please and thank you and to use 'kind hands'.

This encourages children's positive behaviour and helps them to develop social skills for the future.

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

Children receive warm and reassuring handovers from staff as they arrive. This helps them to separate with ease and make a confident start to the day.

Staff work closely with parents of children who are finding it difficult to separate.Staff know individual families well and are aware of any changes in children's lives. They use family picture books to help children to talk about what is happening at home.

Staff skilfully share the books with children, helping them to talk about their feelings and making emotional connections.Staff take time to learn key words in children's home languages. This enables them to use children's home languages during their play and learning.

Staff model key words and phrases, so children build on their spoken English.Staff use weekly visits to the local library to encourage children to develop a love of reading. Children learn to handle books with care and learn about the world around them.

At nursery, children enjoy spending time in the book area, choosing books and asking staff to read to them. They enjoy stories, listening intently and making links with what they know. For example, children talk about caterpillars turning into butterflies and that some insects can bite.

Babies receive warm and responsive care from staff, who they form secure relationships with. They listen to stories and move their bodies to songs and rhymes. Staff support their physical development as they prepare to take their first steps.

They help them to learn new words, such as through peekaboo games.Children use resources which help them to develop their strength, balance and coordination. With encouragement and support from staff, they walk along balance beams and ride bicycles.

However, sometimes staff intervene before children are able to learn to manage appropriate risks for themselves.Staff use children's interests to help them to learn through play. For example, staff provide activities, such as washing dolls, to help children to prepare for the arrival of a new sibling at home.

They talk about what the new baby will need and how they can help them. Children respond by taking great care of their 'babies' as they wash them and put their nappies on.Staff use lunchtimes as an opportunity for children to learn new words.

Children learn about 'yummy' and 'healthy' vegetables and how they make them strong. Staff encourage children to do things for themselves and try new foods. They use positive praise, so children take pride in their achievements.

Staff assess children's needs and work sensitively with parents to plan children's next steps in learning. They plan activities for children which are engaging and follow their interests, such as making a volcano. However, staff's learning intentions for some activities are not clear and do not consistently build on what children know and can do.

Parents' feedback shows they value the service they receive. They state that staff are caring and attentive, and offer their children personalised care. Parents praise the positive changes the manager has made since she started.

Staff request support from external agencies for children who have gaps in their development.The manager and deputy keep up to date with developments in the early years by accessing training through the organisation's own training offer, as well as that which is offered by the local authority. They know the team well and support their development and their well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support children to learn to manage appropriate risks for themselves continue to develop staff's knowledge so that the learning intentions are clear, sequenced and build on what children already know during all activities.