Elm Lane Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children are greeted by friendly staff and given a warm welcome. This helps children to settle and explore the many different activities and resources on offer.

Staff form positive relationships with children, and this supports them to feel safe and secure.The quality of interactions between staff and children are variable. There are some inconsistencies in the teaching that children receive.

Staff plan activities based on children's interests, what they know and what they can do. However, these do not always excite and challenge all children. This can lead to some children becoming bored and restless, moving from one act...ivity to another with little engagement.

This does not promote children to feel positive about their learning all the time. As a result, children do not behave well all of the time. Consequently, this means that all children are not making good progress in all areas of development.

Children enjoy making choices about their play and experiment with the variety of resources on offer. They engage in activities to develop their physical skills. Babies are learning to be mobile and pull themselves up using low-level furniture and use this to cruise along and walk safely.

Toddlers and pre-school children enjoy running, climbing and balancing. All children use pens, chalks, pencils and paintbrushes to make marks. Older children are beginning to use tools such as scissors and cutlery.

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

Leaders have worked hard to address the safeguarding and welfare actions set at the last inspection. They have a targeted action plan that they are working towards to drive improvement. This has had a positive impact on ensuring children are kept safe at the nursery.

Staff know children well and use this information to plan activities that are relevant to their stage of development. However, teaching and interactions are variable across the nursery and not at a good level. The curriculum is not challenging for all children and not fully ambitious to ensure all children remain engaged.

This results in children not making the progress of which they are capable.Staff promote children's identity through dressing up, reading stories and having conversations with children about themselves. They are beginning to understand what makes them unique.

Children speak a variety of languages at home and use this at the nursery with their friends. However, leaders have not ensured strategies to support these children are delivered successfully all the time. This means that children who speak English as an additional language (EAL) do not make as much progress as they could.

Leaders work with partners and agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Key persons are aware of what children's needs are and implement strategies to support them. However, this is not consistent with all staff working with children and therefore not implemented effectively.

This means that levels of teaching for children with SEND are not consistently good and they do not make as much progress as they could.Staff interact warmly with children during care routines and transitions, such as nappy changes and washing hands. During sleep and rest times, staff gently soothe and pat children to reassure them.

This supports children's emotional well-being.Overall, children are happy and willing to have a go at activities available to them. Staff provide support to help children manage their emotions and be kind to their friends.

However, due to weakness in the teaching and interactions, children can lose interest quickly and do not remain fully engaged. This can lead to some children feeling bored and restless and showing unwanted behaviours, such as snatching and pushing. However, when seen by staff, this is addressed appropriately.

Children enjoy the healthy meals and snacks. Children enjoy playing in the outdoor area and developing their big muscles with climbing and balancing. Staff use these opportunities to teach children about how to be healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

At times, some staff do not use all opportunities to fully develop children's independence skills. For example, staff will put on children's coats, shoes, hats and gloves or serve children food at lunch and snack time.Parents describe staff as caring, friendly and approachable.

They like the daily feedback from staff about what their children have done. However, not all parents are aware of who their child's key person is, what their children are learning at nursery and their next steps for learning.

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 meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date implement a curriculum which is fully ambitious and consistently challenging for all children to ensure they make good progress 29/02/2024 improve interactions between staff and children to ensure they remain fully engaged all the time 29/02/2024 ensure all strategies for children with SEND are known and followed by staff working with them and implemented effectively 29/02/2024 improve strategies to support children with EAL, so they make good progress in their development.29/02/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen communication with parents to involve them in their children's learning.