Goldsmiths Community Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children settle happily and make good progress at this stimulating, caring nursery. Staff help babies to feel secure, for instance by finding out about familiar home care routines. They incorporate this into daily practice and babies feel secure and happy.

Staff take time to get to know each child as an individual and value each child highly. They have high expectations of children.The curriculum is varied and stimulating.

Staff support children's understanding of the world in effective ways. Staff teach children about how things change and grow, such as from caterpillars to butterflies. Staff plant a range of vegetabl...es with children and teach them how things grow.

To support their understanding of the world further, staff teach children how to care for the pet chickens in the garden and teach them how they live. Children have good understanding of the world. Staff support children's physical development well.

They provide space for babies to crawl and pull themselves up on low apparatus. Older children enjoy climbing in and out of holes and staff teach children how to use bats to hit balls. Children develop good physical skills.

Staff teach children about difference successfully. For example, they discuss and learn about special events, such as Hanukkah and Chinese New Year. Staff provide children with books, toys and resources that reflect different races and cultures.

Children gain good understanding of the world.

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

Staff support children's mathematical development well. For instance, they take every opportunity during nursery routines to secure children's counting skills, such as counting the number of chairs at mealtimes.

Staff teach children mathematical language as they use tape measures to measure the height of models they build with play bricks. Children gain good mathematical skills.Children enjoy a stimulating and vibrant range of creative opportunities.

For example, they carefully select from a range of materials, such as real flower petals, tissue paper, card and glue, to make collages. Babies enjoy exploring the texture of paint, sand and water using their hands. Children have good creative skills.

Staff support children's communication, language and literacy skills well. They introduce children to new words during activities, such as 'bright' to describe the colour tone of a flower. They read stories and sing songs with children and this supports children's language skills further.

Children gain good communication, language and literacy skills.Children gain good independence skills. Children learn how to do things for themselves as they serve themselves at lunchtime and pour their own drinks.

Babies learn to feed themselves as they get older, with staff offering supervision and support as needed. Children learn to share and take turns, for instance as they speak and listen to each other.Staff have very effective links with parents and help them to support children's learning at home.

For example, staff provide learning bags for children that contain resources for activities to support their understanding of the world. Staff provide parents with regular updates on children's progress effectively.The manager provides good levels of support to staff.

She ensures staff have regular opportunities to meet with her to discuss their work and provides support where needed. The manager is keen to continually develop staff skills and knowledge. For instance, staff attended a course on supporting children with special educational needs to promote best outcomes for children.

The manager has good knowledge of what the nursery does well and where improvements can be made. She sets relevant goals, such as plans to continue to enhance children's physical development opportunities.Staff are vigilant about children's safety.

They have robust risk assessments regarding caring for pet chickens in the garden. Staff check all parts of the nursery, indoors and outdoors, to keep children safe from hazards. The manager performs a series of background checks on staff to ensure suitability for their roles.

Staff promote children's awareness of oral hygiene well. For instance, they have informative discussions with them and children practise toothbrushing on tooth and gum models. The nursery provides low sugar foods and fresh drinking water to promote healthy teeth and gums.

Staff manage children's behaviour successfully, for instance by being fair and consistent in their approach. Children behave well.During some whole-group sessions, such as story time before lunch, younger children aged two years sometimes get distracted and lack concentration.

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 further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review group organisation at story times to enhance learning of children aged two years.