Hollies Country Park Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settled at this warm and welcoming nursery. They enjoy many learning experiences in the nursery, outside and when on outings. Staff promote a friendly and secure environment where children engage in their play well.

Staff plan interesting and exciting activities to encourage children to explore and have a go. Staff place a strong emphasis on supporting children's sensory development and their free expression in artwork throughout the nursery. Babies enjoy exploring with flour, making marks with their fingers.

Toddlers use a range of brushes and squeeze paint from spray bottles as they make marks ...on different surfaces. Pre-school children relish their time out in the forest with staff as they collect twigs and leaves. On their return, children paint sheets of material using their imagination and recall the names of the different colours they have seen in the forest.

Children learn how to use tools and resources safely. Pre-school children ride balance bikes around the obstacles outside without bumping into their friends. Babies learn to take safe risks as they climb up ramps and slide down.

Toddlers learn about how to balance safely on balancing ramps. Children behave well and clearly understand what is expected of them. Staff are good role models and help children to use good manners.

Children regularly use words such as 'please' and 'thank you', and have a good attitude to their learning.

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

Leaders and managers have a good overview of how to support staff morale and their well-being. They are all very passionate about making improvements so that children continually benefit.

Leaders and managers coach and monitor staff effectively. This helps them to identify what training needs staff require. As a result, children receive good-quality childcare and education from an experienced and enthusiastic staff team.

Leaders and managers have worked hard to ensure that all staff are knowledgeable about delivering an ambitious curriculum. Children are offered plenty of different activities and experiences that they build on at home. They enhance their knowledge and skills, such as learning to play with children of a similar age.

Children have access to plenty of fresh air and exercise, and new experiences within the local community.Key workers know their children well and know what they want these children to learn next. However, when assigned key workers are absent, some remaining staff have not been provided with sufficient information to fully understand the children's development needs.

Consequently, these children's precise learning intentions are not fully met.Overall, pre-school children are articulate and engage well in conversation between themselves and with the staff. They excitedly share their experiences after visiting the local forest to find the 'grizzly bear'.

However, some children who require extra support for their language development are not consistently encouraged to practise and develop their speech.Partnership with parents is very good. Parents spoken to on the day of inspection provided positive feedback about how well the nursery staff team support and help to develop their child's confidence.

They comment on how well they are kept up to date about their child's day at nursery and their individual learning. Parents also comment on how well the nursery maintained communication with them and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. They report on the wide range of activities and ideas to help them to continue their child's learning at home.

Children's behaviour is good. They play cooperatively with one another from an early age. Older children share toys and resources and take turns during their play.

Staff praise children on their achievements. For example, staff clap and cheer babies as they use rockers to rock backwards and forwards. This helps to raise all children's self-esteem and confidence from an early age.

All children have secure attachments with staff. Babies happily give and receive cuddles and are quickly reassured and comforted by the caring and warm staff team. Toddlers engage in meaningful conversations about what they are drawing with the staff.

Older children encourage staff to join in with their games. Children use pipettes and water to squirt and they have lots of fun together.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff complete regular child protection training. They understand what policies and procedures they must follow should they have a concern about a child in their care. The staff who are designated safeguarding leads are clear about their role and responsibility.

They make sure that all staff are up to date in their knowledge and understanding of all safeguarding practice. This includes protecting children and their families from extremist views and ideas. Staff keep children safe.

They supervise children closely and deploy themselves effectively. Risk assessments of the premises and for outings are completed thoroughly by staff to promote children's health and safety.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: build further on the way information is shared and exchanged between key workers to help all staff meet the identified learning needs of children support staff to identify when to engage more with children who require extra support to help them to continue to develop their language and communication skills.