Finlay Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children build positive relationships with the kind and caring staff, who know them and their families well. They enjoy attending the nursery and separate from their parents or carers with ease. Staff identify when children need extra support and offer reassurance and cuddles, helping all children to feel safe and secure.

Children access a spacious learning environment and independently access a range of inviting resources.The quality of teaching at the nursery is not yet good enough. Staff aim to plan a curriculum that considers children's starting points and focuses on developing their independent learning skills and self-regula...tion.

However, staff do not differentiate their intentions for children's learning between the toddler and pre-school rooms. They do not consistently sequence the curriculum to effectively build on what children already know and can do to help them make the progress they are capable of.Despite this, children experience some meaningful learning opportunities.

Staff help young children to improve their listening and attention skills through regular group story sessions. Children sit well because staff remind them of their expectations. They engage with staff, who encourage them to follow instructions and become involved in story time.

For example, they blow a kiss to the character to help spread kindness and defeat the 'baddies'. Staff support older children's imaginative play, participating in role play activities beside them. Children show care and consideration for a doll as they pretend she needs to visit the hospital.

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

The quality of teaching is inconsistent across the nursery and staff's engagement with children varies throughout the day. At times, staff react to children's individual learning needs rather than proactively supporting them to achieve their next steps in learning. For example, while staff aim to promote turn taking and self-regulation during free play, they do not set clear expectations at the start, leading some children to disagree and become frustrated before staff intervene.

Additionally, staff do not consistently use planned strategies, such as visual aids, to help children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to manage their behaviour and express their wants and needs.Staff plan a curriculum to help children develop the skills required for future learning, such as the move to school. However, they do not ensure the planned curriculum is effectively implemented and aligned with children's developmental needs and capabilities.

For example, during outdoor play in the forest area, which is intended to promote children's independent learning skills, staff focus their interactions on only a few children. Other children wander around and do not engage in purposeful play because they lack the skills to do so without meaningful interactions from staff.Staff help children understand the importance of healthy practices, such as handwashing before mealtimes.

They encourage children to independently choose snacks and select between milk or water. With staff guidance, children show good handling skills as they pour their drinks into cups. Staff encourage children to try new foods, modelling how to cut them so children know what is available.

Although interactions at snack time are generally positive, staff do not talk about the importance of healthy foods and drinks to deepen children's understanding of a healthy lifestyle.Partnerships with parents are a strength of the nursery. Staff regularly share information about children's learning and development through daily conversations at drop-off and pick-up, as well as via online learning records and the nursery's social media page.

They encourage parents to support learning at home through a 'lending library' that fosters a love of books and reinforces early literacy skills. Parents feel included in their children's learning and praise the warm relationships their children have with staff. They report that their children have grown in confidence since attending.

Leaders make appropriate referrals to outside agencies, such as the speech and language team and occupational health services, to support children with additional learning needs. They ensure additional funding is used effectively, such as purchasing sensory equipment for the soft play room.Leaders are open and honest about ongoing recruitment challenges and currently use agency staff to meet ratio requirements.

They are committed to building a consistent team and meet regularly with staff to talk about daily practice and their well-being. Staff are receiving additional training from the local authority to enhance their understanding of best practice. This training aims to improve their knowledge and skills, enabling them to better support all children in making the best possible progress.

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 ensure staff receive targeted support and guidance to improve the quality of teaching and consistently engage and support all children in their play and learning 20/12/2024 plan and implement an ambitious and sequenced curriculum that meets children's developmental needs, and supports all children to make the best possible progress in their learning and development 20/12/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide children with more experiences to learn about the benefits of making healthy food choices to further support their understanding of a healthy lifestyle.