Hill West Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff work extremely well with the staff from the on-site school and place a high priority on children's school readiness.

Staff in the pre-school room prioritise children's emotional well-being during this transition period. For example, they plan plenty of opportunities for children to become familiar with the school building and their teachers. All children understand the routines in place and instinctively follow them.

For example, they behave well, quickly get ready for meals and line up to go outdoors. Staff provide ample opportunities for children to be physical outdoors. For example, they support toddlers to in...crease their confidence as they use a challenging range of climbing equipment.

Staff have high expectations of children. The children often persevere during activities and show high levels of engagement. For example, pre-school children independently work in groups as they make elaborate structures, and others use shapes to create new shapes on the lightbox.

Staff use interesting books and visual aids to capture children's interest quickly during story sessions. Children in the pre-school room are interactive as they take part in a story, and children in the toddler room fondly ask for a second story.

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

A rich educational programme is successfully delivered to support children to acquire the skills they need for their next stage of learning, including school.

The curriculum provides opportunities for children to learn about the changing seasons and cultural festivals, and it incorporates topics and books that motivate children. Staff in the pre-school room creatively incorporate all areas of learning into activities. They place a high focus on supporting children's literacy development.

Many children excel in their understanding of phonics, and girls in particular excel in their writing skills.Partnerships with the on-site school are strong. Staff recognise that some children are more vulnerable than others during the transition process to school.

They work hard to ensure children are resilient and prepared well for this transition. The manager engages in constant professional dialogue with the Reception teachers from the school to ensure they are informed about children's care and educational needs.Staff have a good understanding of the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

They swiftly identify any children who may benefit from additional support and work well with other professionals involved to help support children's learning. These children make good progress from their starting points.Staff place a strong focus on supporting children's communication and language development.

There are effective systems to support children who speak English as an additional language. Staff support children to use English confidently during conversations. They provide an inclusive environment and help children to value other languages.

For example, children enjoy counting in Spanish, and staff use key words in children's home languages to help them settle. Staff provide rich opportunities for children to learn about communities different to their own. For example, children listen to cultural music as they learn about a variety of different festivals.

Parents are kept well informed about the nursery curriculum and upcoming events. They are positive about the progress their children make and report that staff are nurturing and their children enjoy attending. Staff carefully make observations of what children enjoy most, monitor their progress and identify their next steps in learning.

However, staff do not frequently share this information with parents to keep them up to date and to help them further support their children's learning at home.The manager and deputy manager work alongside staff in the pre-school room daily. These staff benefit from daily monitoring, coaching and mentoring to help to consistently extend their practice and raise the quality of their teaching.

However, staff in the toddler room do not benefit from the same high level of monitoring and coaching. The manager has not identified that staff do not focus precisely on what they want each child to learn from some adult-led activities and make them enticing enough. Therefore, on these occasions, children lose interest and staff do not support them fully to help them make the best possible progress.

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: strengthen the systems for sharing information with parents about children's progress and next steps in learning to keep them better informed and to help them further support their children's learning at home support staff in the toddler room to focus more precisely on the learning intent during adult-led activities to help strengthen the planning and implementation of the curriculum.

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