Home from Home Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Leaders have considered carefully what they want children to experience each day at the nursery. They have established simple routines to help build familiarity for the children. For example, when children keenly press the doorbell, staff welcome them warmly.

Staff make clear that they have been eagerly awaiting each child's return to the nursery. Children feel noticed and valued by staff which builds their self-confidence. Leaders want the best for children.

They have established a well-thought-out and organised curriculum for each area of learning. Staff help children to learn much new knowledge. Children are prepare...d well for the next stage of their education.

Staff know the needs of individual children well. They talk with children about how they feel. Staff support children to make friends.

Children are happy and feel safe. Staff expertly model the behaviours that they expect to children. For example, they demonstrate to children what kind hands, kind feet and kind words look like.

Staff help children to recognise when it is time to stop playing, tidy up and be ready to listen and learn. Children, including two-year-olds, learn how to be kind and to behave well. They look after the toys and equipment that leaders provide.

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum that meets the needs of all children from babies to four-year-olds. They have carefully identified the key knowledge that children should learn and in what order. Children become confident and social, ready for their future lives.

Mostly, staff model language well. They can be heard having back-and-forth conversations, which helps children to become good communicators. However, at times, staff do not help children to understand some words that they need to know.

This means, for example, that when children practise singing action songs, they do not connect their actions to specific words.Children develop an in-depth knowledge about stories from the high-quality books that staff read to them. For instance, children can easily recall the storyline and plot from several books, such as 'The Helpful Hedgehog' and 'The Little Red Hen' when learning about being helpful to others.

Children know and remember important information from books.Overall, staff support children's independence well. However, at times, staff are too eager to rush through parts of the nursery day, such as when getting ready to go outside.

They overhelp children when putting on their wellington boots and puddle suits. Children do not learn how to persist at completing tricky tasks.Staff are clear about implementing the leaders' curriculum, for example, to develop children's physical skills.

They provide children with meaningful learning experiences which build on what they already know. For example, staff help children to develop scooping actions with their arms, using tools in the sand. When children have secured this important knowledge, staff then provide children with opportunities to use the same action to pour their own drinks.

Children develop confidence in their physical ability.Leaders are passionate about providing children with healthy meals and drinks, including avoiding unnecessary sugar. They use their detailed knowledge of healthy eating to ensure that meals such as home-made cottage pie and soup are on the menu.

The smell of these wonderful meals wafts through the nursery and children eagerly eat what leaders provide. Children learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle.Leaders and staff work in respectful partnership with parents and carers.

They consider carefully what the parents explain about children's learning and experiences at home. Parents commend leaders and staff for the high-quality advice that they receive. This helps them with their children's learning at home.

Overall, staff work skilfully to support and extend children's learning and children learn well. Leaders support the work of staff but do not give enough guidance and support to help them to know how to refine the quality of their work even further. This means that leaders are not making certain that the nursery continues to improve over time.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff help children to act safely, such as when climbing the staircase at the nursery. Children learn that holding the banister keeps them steady.

They also learn about safe behaviours towards one another. Leaders provide staff with important training about safeguarding and child protection procedures. Staff know the signs and symptoms that may indicate possible abuse or neglect.

They are clear that they must report any concerns they may have about a colleague's behaviour towards children. Leaders ensure that staff are deployed well so that they are able to supervise children effectively.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove knowledge of how children learn language to further extend their growing vocabulary strengthen understanding of how to develop children's independence so they become resilient to persist at completing tricky tasks provide staff with greater support so that they know how to refine the quality of their work.