Jack In The Box

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are greeted by kind and caring staff.

They have adapted well to changes to arrival arrangements, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Children are confident and content to leave their parents at the main door. They settle quickly and are soon engaged in their chosen activity.

Children build strong relationships with staff, who support them to become confident and independent learners. They access resources easily and show curiosity in the activities on offer. Children are encouraged to be independent as they self-serve their lunch and pour their own drinks.

They show that they feel comfortable as they play a...longside adults or enjoy sitting with them when listening to stories.Young children are keen to use their senses. For instance, they investigate how different items feel, such as compost, as they plant their sunflower seeds.

Staff promote children's language skills. They provide children with narratives of what they are doing and repeat words to help children to pronounce words correctly. Children of all ages develop good physical skills.

For example, children confidently use slides and crawl through tunnels. Older children use more-challenging apparatus, such as climbing equipment and an obstacle course. Children show good coordination skills as they climb stairs and steps.

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

The provider has a clear vision for the nursery and works with staff to reflect on the quality of the provision in order to identify areas for improvement. He considers the well-being of staff and avoids unnecessary burdens on the team. There are effective plans in place to ensure the continuous improvement of the nursery environment.

Staff are clear about what they want children to learn and they plan a broad curriculum that supports children in making progress from their starting points. Staff observe children as they play. They plan how to support children's emerging interests to extend their learning.

Staff take effective action to support any children who might be falling behind in their learning.Staff plan interesting activities for children. Overall, adult-led times, such as circle time, are engaging for most children.

Older children who have experience of the daily routines stay focused. However, sometimes, staff are not deployed effectively enough to support very young children to fully engage in the learning opportunities offered to them.The staff know the children well.

They encourage children to investigate. Children relish exploring the properties of sand and water. They swirl sand around and strengthen their fingers and hands as they pour the sand to fill buckets and containers.

Staff encourage good manners and are good role models. Children behave well and play cooperatively with others.Children develop a love of books as they listen to familiar stories.

Staff create cosy areas where children can happily relax with favourite books. Staff read with enthusiasm and encourage children to join in with phrases and words. Babies point to familiar objects they see in pictures.

Staff understand the importance of singing songs and rhymes to support children's language skills.Staff provide good opportunities for children to extend their understanding of mathematical concepts. There is a strong focus on children developing their problem-solving skills, such as building towers or identifying two- and three-dimensional shapes.

Staff quickly identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff use strategies suggested by speech and language therapists to support children. Staff also engage with the local authority to get advice when needed.

Their expectations for children with SEND are high. As a result, all children make good progress.Parents comment positively about the nursery and how their children are settled and making good progress in their learning.

Parents appreciate the support that staff give their children. They receive daily feedback and work with staff to provide consistency for their children.The manager holds supervision meetings with staff, and staff talk about the purpose and benefit of these.

However, performance management is not sharply focused on developing consistency in teaching practice, to raise the quality of the overall provision further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff, including the designated safeguarding leads, clearly understand their role in safeguarding children.

They know the procedures to follow should there be a concern about a child's welfare. They know where to find contact details for the local safeguarding partnership and who to contact in the event of an allegation against a colleague. Staff understand the importance of recording injuries and whether these occurred at nursery or home.

Staff are knowledgeable about wider safeguarding issues that may have an impact on children's welfare. Leaders implement effective measures to ensure that there are thorough safeguarding procedures for the recruitment of new staff.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the arrangements in place for staff supervision, and ensure that all staff receive consistent coaching and professional development opportunities to help to improve their quality of teaching to the highest level nensure that all staff are consistently deployed so that their time is spent with children and focused on their learning.