Flower Pots Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children of all ages thoroughly enjoy their time in this friendly nursery. They are excited to arrive and separate from carers with ease.

Room leaders and staff work hard to create exciting, age-appropriate learning environments. For example, babies develop essential physical skills in the soft-play area and their own outdoor space. Older children delight at exploring various role-play opportunities in the playhouse in their classroom.

Children demonstrate high levels of curiosity in their play. Babies are eager to explore the contents of sensory baskets with their key staff. Pre-school staff use children's curiosity t...o plan activities to support their development.

For example, children notice that the giant magnet does not stick to plastic. Staff are swift to encourage them to investigate what other items attract or repel magnets.Children behave well in the nursery.

They are polite and cooperate well with one another during activities. For example, during a sensory farm activity, young toddlers pass animals to one another, giggling at the noises they make. Staff are good role models.

They consistently demonstrate good manners and are respectful towards children and adults. Older children are highly skilled at managing disputes. For example, they independently set timers to regulate the time they spend on activities.

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

Staff support children's growing independence in age-appropriate ways. For example, toddlers use scoops to pour cereal into their bowls at breakfast. Older children pass serving dishes to one another at mealtimes.

They confidently help themselves to food using spoons and tongs.Managers and staff place a sharp focus on developing children's language and literacy skills. All rooms have cosy reading areas, where children explore a variety of age-appropriate books.

Staff have developed a 'Book of the Month' initiative and families access a library in the lobby area.Staff are highly skilled at supporting children's progression through the nursery. They are sensitive to children's specific needs and carefully plan individual settling-in sessions.

This supports children to adapt swiftly to their changing environment and make good progress.Children of all ages are developing a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They enjoy nutritious, home-cooked meals and snacks and have access to fresh drinking water throughout the day.

Children have plenty of opportunity for physical exercise in the well-equipped garden as well as in their spacious rooms.Children of all ages demonstrate high levels of confidence and are extremely sociable. Staff support this by facilitating high-quality group activities.

For example, children pretend they are visiting the farm on a train. They welcome their friends into their play by adding more chairs onto their train carriage. Enthusiastic staff join in and encourage children to sing songs and discuss the animals they hope to see.

Staff establish highly effective means of communication with families. Parents and staff share essential information regarding children's development and routines via an electronic journal system. Parents attend regular consultation sessions to discuss children's progress.

Staff use this as an opportunity to offer ideas on how to extend children's learning at home.Staff know the children in their care well. They use this information to support their learning in both planned and child-led activities.

This is particularly evident with older children. In a phonics exercise, children sound out two letter words. Staff skilfully identify the most-able children and support them in sounding out three letter words.

Older children are skilled at managing risks in the environment. For example, they know to remove bicycles from the garden after using them. Children understand that they could be dangerous for babies and toddlers.

However, staff do not consistently support younger children in understanding why some behaviours are inappropriate. Children are not always reminded of the impact their actions may have on themselves and others.The provider and manager have well-established methods of monitoring staff performance.

They conduct regular appraisals on staff to highlight additional training opportunities. However, methods of coaching are not yet effective in consistently identifying areas of improvement in staff practice.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Management and staff understand their role in keeping children safe. They are aware of the signs and symptoms which could indicate that a child is at risk of harm. Staff complete comprehensive risk assessments of all areas of the nursery to ensure they are safe for all children.

The provider has robust recruitment and induction procedures in place. This ensures all staff are suitable to work with children and have sound knowledge of their role in keeping children safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support younger children to manage risks and understand the impact certain behaviours can have on themselves and others nenhance methods of coaching to support all staff in raising the quality of their teaching to the same high standard observed in the pre-school and classroom areas.