Hollies Mapperley South Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children settle quickly at the setting because staff are nurturing and caring. Staff support babies to feel safe and secure.

They are attentive to their needs, offering reassurance, comfort and cuddles. Children develop positive attitudes to learning through good relationships with staff who know them well and understand what they are interested in learning about. Children are becoming independent in their play as they make their own choices about what they want to play with.

They then invite staff and other children to join in their games.There is a strong focus on children's communication skills throughout the settin...g. Staff provide activities and experiences to support children's language development from an early age.

Babies select books to share with staff. They help to turn the pages and start to repeat familiar words in the story. Toddler children enjoy taking part in circle time.

Staff provide them with props that represent a familiar rhyme. Children join in with the actions and clap with excitement at the end of the rhyme. This helps to promote children's listening and attention skills and builds their confidence in small-group activities.

Pre-school children use their recall skills during play. They chat with staff and friends about their morning at forest school and how they were searching for dinosaur footprints in the wood.

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

Children learn to be independent from an early age.

They have ample opportunities to practise and manage their self-care skills. For instance, babies are learning to drink from cups and to use a spoon to feed themselves. Toddler children remove their coats and wellington boots.

They hang up their belongings, which is recognised and praised by staff. Older children serve their own food and drinks. They also clear away plates and cutlery when finished with their meal.

Staff know their key children well and provide activities that support their learning. For example, following a visit to forest school, staff and children engage in a discussion about different footprints they saw in the woods. They then participate in an activity to make salt dough.

Children use their counting skills to ensure they have the correct amount of ingredients and relate the process to when they baked cakes. They select their favourite dinosaur and make footprints in the dough. This sequenced learning helps to stretch children's knowledge and understanding.

Leaders oversee the staff's assessments of children's progress. They work together to identify any gaps in children's learning or potential developmental delays. Overall, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported.

Staff liaise with parents frequently to share information to maintain a consistent approach. That said, strategies to engage parents with plans for supporting SEND children are not always successful.Staff are positive role models to children.

Children learn to take turns, share and cooperate with others. For example, during a water play activity, children patiently wait their turn to use a water shooter to hit a target. When successful, staff and children cheer and give a 'high five' to celebrate.

However, there are times that older children struggle to regulate their behaviour and staff are not always consistent in their approach. This can lead to children not understanding what is expected of them.Leaders provide strong and effective support for staff.

They seek out external services for them to use for advice and guidance. Apprentices comment how they feel well supported, and leaders arrange time for them to study and link with other learners. Regular supervision meetings are held between staff and leaders to discuss training needs and professional development.

As a result, staff morale is high, and they feel listened to and valued.Parents are complimentary about the nursery. They feel that managers and staff know their children well.

Parents comment that their children are making good progress and have increased their speaking skills and confidence.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff know their role and responsibility to keep children safe.

They have a thorough understanding of the signs which could mean a child is at risk of harm. Staff know the correct process to follow when raising safeguarding concerns. They are all aware of the setting's whistle-blowing procedure and how to report any allegations made against staff.

The manager follows safer recruitment processes to ensure all staff working with children are suitable. Risk assessments are thorough, and staff are vigilant when checking that the environment is safe and secure.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: build on the strategies that are in place to engage parents with plans to support children with SEND develop staff's awareness of how to provide children with consistent messages and support so that children understand and better manage their behaviour.