First Steps Private Day Nursery (Pennington)

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents

This provision is goodnThe management team and staff are a very committed team.

They successfully create an inclusive, welcoming and safe environment. Children do well at the nursery and make good progress in their learning from the outset.nParents speak highly of the nursery.

They state that staff interact very well with their children and help them to settle in quickly. Parents comment that staff support children's speaking skills well and give parents ideas to continue this learning at home. For example, parents engage children in singing songs and rhymes at home.

nThe management team and staff form positive partnerships with parents. They evaluate the provisi...on well and have recently worked hard to strengthen the sharing of information with parents. For example, staff now encourage parents to actively share more information about their child's interests to enhance their play experiences in nursery.

nChildren arrive in good spirits and are eager to learn. They form strong bonds with their individual key person, who gets to know them and supports them in the nursery. Staff ensure that children's emotional needs are met well.

nStaff use information from communication training well. For instance, staff use different tones in their voices to ignite babies' interests in stories. Babies join in and practise saying new words.

Younger children talk with staff about the 'pitter-patter' of raindrops they hear on the roof. Older children use props and recite familiar verses from poems. All children develop good language skills.

nStaff working in the early learning room do not fully consider how they deploy themselves, particularly during nappy-changing routines. This means that younger children do not consistently benefit from the high-quality learning they normally receive during the rest of the day.nSometimes, staff do not use opportunities to help to enhance children's understanding of what foods are healthy and the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle.