First Steps Nursery School (Dore) Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children are extremely happy and busy during their time at the nursery. New children settle swiftly into the creative environment and secure routines. Well-organised procedures ensure each child receives one-to-one support from staff from the moment they start.

This includes careful attention to all their initial learning and development needs. Children are engaged by the highly imaginative activities that sharply match their interests. Whether a child attends one day a week or five, they are known and valued by all the nursery's well-qualified staff.

Staff are extremely positive role models. Children are very w...ell behaved, polite and thoughtful as a result. They handle the pet guinea pigs with care and are very knowledgeable about their habits and needs.

Children are sociable. They enjoy looking after visitors and giving them written invitations to join them at snack time. Children take their turn in group games and follow instruction very closely.

They learn to play safely and know that they are well cared for. The manager and her team have extremely high expectations and support every child to achieve the very best they can. Children leave the nursery with self-awareness, curiosity and enthusiasm.

This helps them to make a smooth start to the next stage of their education.

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

Parents hold the nursery in very high regard. They appreciate the warm and caring attitudes of the staff and the excellent sharing of information, guidance and resources for learning at home.

The very well-qualified and experienced managers are proactive leaders. They set a very positive example for staff to follow in the quality of teaching, the organisation of the curriculum and standards of care. There are well-established procedures for developing all aspects of provision, which are constantly reviewed and enhanced.

For instance, training on inclusive language development and philosophy for children has a positive impact on the confidence and communication skills of all children, including those with social and emotional concerns.Children learn in an extremely bright, well-organised and stimulating environment. Activities are skilfully planned to meet the needs of children at different stages and focus on their identified next steps for learning.

For example, children developed their mathematical and creative skills when they matched toy animals to designs based on their skin patterns. They developed this skill further when creating very complex, repeated bead patterns.Procedures to observe and assess children's progress are very clear and effective.

Staff have precise roles and responsibilities for monitoring progress and planning learning. This supports consistently high expectations for what all children can achieve and the early identification of any learning delays. Staff have excellent relationships with other agencies, such as speech therapists and professionals who support children's emotional needs.

This helps staff to act speedily to address any gaps in children's achievement.Children develop their speaking and early reading and writing skills extremely well. They hear well-told stories during the day which are carefully tailored to their age and ability.

Staff weave stories into many of the activities they plan. Children recognise their own names from a very early stage because they use name cards to register at the start of the day and at snack time, and to write cards and letters and fill in forms in their role play.Staff's interaction with children is a constant strength of the provision.

They speak clearly and purposefully and listen closely to all children. They adjust their questions to the children's needs and interests very effectively.The nursery strongly promotes children's awareness of diversity and differences in modern life.

For example, staff work closely with parents to recognise and celebrate aspects of their lives and cultural features from around the world. Children produced exciting boomerang designs or learn about Sikh, Hindu and may other faiths through art, food and role play.Children's personal development is rigorously promoted.

They are very physically active as staff challenge them to find new ways to move along the climbing frame, practise yoga movements or dance to action songs and rhymes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There are extremely robust policies and procedures to ensure that children are kept safe from harm.

Staff have an excellent understanding of the possible signs that children may be at risk of abuse and neglect. All staff know the local procedures for who to inform if they have a concern and the records they need to maintain. Staff are constantly vigilant.

There are outstanding systems to check that children consistently play in a safe environment. Record-keeping is thorough and very well maintained. Children learn to manage many aspects of their own safety, such as working with sharp knives or following road safety routines.