Docklands Village Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The nursery's motto, 'Every child is unique and aims for the highest standards of personal care, warmth, safety and well being', is promoted well throughout the nursery.

Children cannot control their excitement as they find their friends and show high levels of self-confidence. As you enter each room, children are curious and eagerly engage in their learning. They are extremely inquisitive and enjoy exploring a wide range of stimulating shiny and natural resources.

Younger children learn lots of new skills from their older peers. They cannot wait to join in with them and take part in the interesting painting activities... on offer.Staff are kind and calm with the children and get to know them from the start.

They build strong relationships and bonds with them. They are sensitive to their needs and offer lots of positive praise and reassurance. Positive behaviour is constantly promoted by staff, and children get on well with one another.

A consistent approach to managing behaviour ensures children feel safe and secure and listened to. Children behave well and have good attitudes to learning. For example, they listen to instructions when it is time to tidy up.

Staff help children to understand about taking turns and to share toys from an early age. Children are well prepared for their next steps, including moving on to school.

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

Parents are complimentary about the service they receive.

They comment positively on the regular feedback they get from staff about their child's day. Staff work in partnership with parents to ensure their child's emotional well-being is supported effectively while they are settling into the nursery. This is achieved by providing a flexible settling-in process geared around the needs of the child.

Regular information from home is obtained to plan stimulating activities for children, and parents are encouraged to be involved in their children's learning. This takes place through questionnaires, parents' evenings and providing home-learning opportunities. Parents and children borrow the nursery's books to help develop an interest in stories.

Staff help children develop a love of books. Children listen to stories they have chosen to be read to them. Staff make the most of opportunities to enhance children's mathematical skills.

For example, they support children to count the pieces of fruit. However, noise levels are not always reduced to a minimum to enable children to get the best possible outcomes from the activities taking place. This results in children struggling to hear what is being read to them.

Children develop a good range of independence skills during their time at the nursery. For example, they wash their own hands and pour their own drinks. Even the younger children clean and prepare their own fruits for snack time.

Staff provide plenty of experiences for children to be physically active. Children delight in opportunities to climb, jump and balance on apparatus, indoors and outdoors. However, during children's free-flow play, staff are not always organised in a way that enables them to recognise when children require extra support and to attend promptly to their needs.

Managers have worked hard, together with the children, to ensure they maintain good standards and continually reflect on what is working well and what they need to improve. For example, children are involved in making changes to the layout of the room and conduct daily risk assessments of the different play areas. This teaches children valuable skills, including problem-solving and how to identify and manage risks.

Staff work well with other professionals to provide consistent support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They identify professional development opportunities, such as undertaking training, to assist them. This ensures that children make the best progress in their learning and development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a good knowledge of child protection issues and can identify the signs and symptoms which may indicate that a child is at risk of being harmed. Staff know who to contact if they have concerns about a child's safety and welfare.

The manager ensures that all staff attend safeguarding training to update their knowledge. Staff are fully aware of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities and maintain a safe environment for children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: consider how noise levels have an impact on children's learning, particularly during story sessions, to support children's listening and attention skills norganise staff more effectively during free-flow play in order to recognise when children require extra support and to attend promptly to their needs.