Hillside House Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy the time they spend at the nursery and form close bonds with staff, who are attentive to their needs.

Staff are positive role models and manage children's behaviour well. Children know what is expected from them. They develop good social skills and play happily with their friends.

They show kindness to others, for example by helping a friend or a younger child. Children make good progress in their learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They acquire a wealth of useful skills that prepare them well for the future.

Pre-school children have a secure foundation ...for when they start school. They develop confidence in their own abilities, and plan where they will play and what they will do. Older children eagerly help with everyday tasks, such as setting the table for their friends and clearing the food from their plates after lunch.

They learn to manage their personal care routines well. Staff help younger children to build the skills they need to manage mealtime routines, such as progressing them on to using an unlidded cup when they are ready. Children develop a good mathematical understanding.

Younger children develop their awareness of shape and space as they pour and fill containers of water. Pre-school children recognise and understand the value of numbers.

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

Leaders reflect effectively on the provision and have a clear understanding of how they would like to further develop the nursery.

Leaders support the ongoing professional development of staff well. Although the manager monitors the quality of teaching, this has not been fully effective to maintain the highest level of provision. There are some aspects of staff's practice that need further refinement to achieve the best possible learning experiences for all children.

Leaders and staff monitor the progress that children make thoroughly. Staff know children well and the manager has a good overview of the needs of the children who attend the nursery. Staff skilfully plan interesting activities that children enjoy which are based on their interests and next steps in learning.

Babies eagerly explore a range of sensory play activities, such as crunching dried cereal and cooked pasta with their hands. Pre-school children enjoy interesting role-play activities and explore the diversity of food from around the world. However, staff working with children in the 'Acorns' and 'Oaks' rooms do not give the fullest consideration to how they use some indoor areas to maximise children's interest and engagement.

Staff work closely with parents to involve them in their child's learning. They gather detailed information about children when they first start, to help plan well for their learning from the onset. Children enjoy taking books home to share with their parents.

This helps to support their continued learning at home.Leaders and staff implement effective strategies to help children with language delay to become confident communicators. Leaders make good use of additional funding to provide activities that enrich children's experiences in different areas of their learning, such as dance, movement and outdoor learning.

Children develop a good understanding of the world. They enjoy sharing books and singing songs about animals. They eagerly investigate a collection of feathers and natural materials.

Children have clear ideas about what they can use the materials for and decide to stand a stick in a piece of clay to represent a tree.Staff support children's physical development well. They provide babies with the opportunities and encouragement they need to take their first steps and build confidence as they climb and negotiate obstacles.

Older children benefit from activities that help to build their strength and sense of adventure. This includes using large climbing equipment and building towers with large crates. Staff also plan well for children's finer muscle movements, such as using tools to shape clay and tweezers to extract gems buried in sand.

Staff follow good hygiene routines and support children's good health well. Effective systems are in place to manage children's food allergies. Staff plan activities that help children to learn about dental care, and children discuss healthy and unhealthy food.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and staff have a good knowledge of child protection matters. They understand the various signs of abuse, including those linked to wider safeguarding issues and how to report these.

Staff are aware of the procedures in place to act on any concern about a member of staff. Leaders and staff complete thorough risk assessments to ensure that children can play safely. They have clear procedures in place for managing any accidents that children have.

The manager monitors these carefully. Leaders implement safer recruitment procedures to check the suitability of all staff.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: monitor the quality of teaching more precisely to identify where the organisation of some planned activities and daily routines can be refined to provide children with the highest quality of learning experiences review and enhance the learning environment for children in the 'Acorn' and 'Oak' rooms to further captivate their interest and imagination.