Holyrood Day Nursery Princes Dock

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy attending this warm and welcoming setting.

They arrive eager to begin their day and are cheerfully greeted by staff. Children are motivated to learn and demonstrate good curiosity as they enjoy exploring the well-resourced environment. For example, children squash and squeeze dough, developing the muscles in their hands in readiness for writing.

They paint pictures and concentrate intently as they fill and empty containers in the sand tray. Children explore natural materials, such as blocks, wooden rings and fabrics. Older children are able to express their thoughts and ideas as they explain to staff tha...t they want to make a tent, and staff help them to gather the resources that they need.

The nursery is a busy yet calm environment, where children are happy, settled and secure. Children behave well. They understand what is expected of them and are learning right from wrong.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have focused teaching on supporting children's emotional and social development. As such, children are developing their confidence in social situations. They are learning how to play alongside others, share resources and take turns.

Children are resilient and are becoming skilful communicators as they smile at the inspector and share their toys.

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

Staff know the children well. They accurately assess what children need to learn next and quickly identify where children may need additional support.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Knowledgeable staff implement strategies to help close any gaps in children's learning and secure the support that children may need. However, planning for children's activities outside is not consistent throughout the nursery.

This means that opportunities to extend learning for those who prefer to learn outside may be missed.There is a considerable focus on children's well-being and emotional resilience. For example, staff have created opportunities and dedicated spaces for children to regulate their feelings and behaviour.

Children enjoy yoga and have space to relax and calm down, should they need it, throughout the day. This is having a very positive impact on children's readiness for learning and their ability to manage their emotions and develop empathy for others.Overall, staff support children's emerging communication and language skills.

They identify vocabulary to enhance children's language. For example, as children enjoy creative activities, staff model words, such as 'bright' and 'colourful'. This helps to ensure that children hear a rich variety of vocabulary.

However, staff working with younger children do not always model the correct pronunciation of words. Furthermore, staff do not always recognise how dummies can interfere with children's language development.Staff create a love of literacy.

Young children enjoy selecting books and snuggle together with staff to listen to their favourite stories. Staff encourage toddlers to point to the pictures and turn the pages independently. Older children talk about familiar tales, such as 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'.

They discuss the characters and what happens, sharing their thoughts and ideas as they use their recall skills. Staff have implemented a lending library for both adults and children. This enables families to access and enjoy books at home.

Overall, partnerships with parents are good. Staff worked tirelessly during lockdowns to maintain relationships with families. They recorded videos for children and sent home activity packs so that the momentum in their learning was not lost.

The majority of parents state that they feel very well informed about events in the nursery and the progress that their children are making. However, occasionally, some parents report that they would like to receive more timely information.The new interim manager has a clear vision and improvement plan for the nursery.

She is supported effectively by senior leaders, who offer day-to-day support. Staff are developing well as a team, despite some initial challenges in recruiting and fulfilling staff vacancies. They are offered regular training and are able to access many online courses to help further develop their knowledge and skills.

Staff are passionate and dedicated practitioners who strive to provide the best possible experiences for the children in their care.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff and leaders have a very secure understanding of their responsibilities in keeping children safe.

They complete regular and detailed training to ensure that their knowledge and skills remain up to date. All staff confidently describe the action they would take if they had concerns about a child's welfare or the practice or conduct of a colleague. Staff are deployed effectively and supervise children well.

They continuously check the environment to ensure that it is a safe place for children to play. There are robust recruitment and vetting arrangements in place to ensure that all staff are suitable to carry out their duties and remain suitable to do so for the duration of their employment.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff in ensuring that those children who prefer to learn outdoors have daily opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills further in their preferred learning environment help staff to understand how to further extend children's growing vocabulary and communication skills develop a more consistent approach to ensuring effective communication with all parents.