First Steps Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive happy and eager to start their day. Staff greet children warmly and sensitively, helping them to feel safe and secure.

Children behave very well. Staff share their high expectations for positive behaviour clearly and consistently. Children remember and discuss the golden rules with confidence and remind each other of their importance.

Children are quickly learning how to build good relationships based on respectful behaviour. These are important qualities needed for the next stage in their development.Communication and language development is a real strength throughout the nursery.

Staff use a ...lot of narration to expose children to a broad range of vocabulary. Babies learn new words, such as 'scoop' and 'pour'. Two-year-old children learn familiar phrases, such as 'ready, steady, go'.

Pre-school children are incredibly confident communicators. They talk at length about their experiences at nursery and things they enjoy doing at home.Staff support older children's mathematical development well.

Children learn to recognise numerals, count with one-to-one correspondence and make number sequences. Staff extend most-able children's learning further by introducing simple mathematical equations, such as addition and subtraction. This challenges children's learning and promotes good thinking skills.

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

Leaders have worked tirelessly since the previous inspection to improve the quality of the provision. They have introduced a range of new policies and practices to ensure children receive high-quality care and education. Leaders have a good understanding of what they want children to learn and share this with staff.

Children access a broad and balanced curriculum that builds on their existing skills and helps them to make good progress in their learning.There are clear procedures in place for monitoring children's development. Staff observe children to assess the impact of their teaching.

They use additional screening tools to support children's communication and language development. This helps staff to swiftly identify and address any gaps in learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported.

They make good progress from their individual starting points.Children have a good understanding of the daily routines and follow staff instructions well. They are eager to take part in 'tidy-up' time and know what is happening next.

However, the organisation of group circle time, particularly for younger children, is not always effective. Children sit for a long period, which is not appropriate for their age. Consequently, they become distracted, lose the motivation to learn and do not fully benefit from the experience.

Staff focus strongly on promoting good hygiene practices. They teach children about the importance of handwashing before eating and after nose wiping. Staff check children's knowledge of this throughout the day by asking them what happens before mealtimes.

This promotes children's good health and teaches them about self-care.Children are very confident in the outdoor area. They strengthen their large muscles when using the bicycles and climbing equipment.

Children show resilience and determination as they carefully navigate across the balancing posts independently. Although staff are close by to offer support if needed, they encourage children to have a go themselves first. This promotes children's independence and boosts their self-confidence.

Partnership working with parents is effective. Parents are happy and speak highly of the care their children receive. Staff share information about children's learning and what they are working on next.

They provide story sacks and activities and offer ideas of how parents can extend children's learning at home. This provides continuity in children's care and education and supports their good progress.Leaders have implemented new procedures for the supervision, coaching and mentoring of staff.

On the whole, this is having a positive impact on the quality of education. Staff receive feedback on their planned activities and access a wealth of training to improve their knowledge and skills. However, they are offered less feedback on their practice during free-play time.

Consequently, staff do not always consider the curriculum intent or children's next steps during these times. This means not all learning experiences consistently focus on what children need to learn next.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and staff have a secure understanding of their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe. They know the signs and symptoms of abuse and who to refer to if they have concerns. Staff are aware of how to refer any concerns beyond the leadership team if necessary.

Staff access a wealth of training to ensure their knowledge and understanding are kept up to date. The manager is aware of safeguarding issues within the local community, such as domestic abuse.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of circle times, particularly in the toddler room, to help children remain engaged and motivated to learn provide staff with more feedback on their practice to raise the quality of education to a higher level.

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