Jungle Junction Denton

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children display positive behaviours during their play. For example, pre-school children display high levels of engagement as they take part in adult-led activities, while other children remain focused during independent play.

Children are settled and secure. They receive lots of kind words from staff, which helps them to feel valued. Children are independent with their self-care skills.

For example, they wash their hands, without being prompted, when they enter the nursery.Children benefit from lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They have access to a spacious outdoor play area and a large 'indoor,... outdoor' environment.

Children enjoy exploring and looking for bugs in the garden area. They then come inside and draw pictures of the bugs they have discovered. This helps to develop their awareness of the wider world and their creativity.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress in their learning and development. They also benefit from a curriculum that is adapted to meet their individual learning needs. The staff have high expectations for all children and provide a curriculum that helps them to acquire lots of knowledge and skills.

Children learn lots of new words. They enjoy story time sessions, singing songs and learning interesting words, such as 'Arctic'. Babies babble tunefully and demonstrate that they are extremely contented in their nurturing environment.

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

Staff seek good information from parents about their children's starting points. They also observe children closely and carry out regular checks. This helps staff to quickly identify when children need additional support.

For example, staff assess children's early language skills and take prompt action to address any gaps in their communication and language.Staff plan a broad and challenging curriculum which helps all children to achieve, regardless of their individual circumstances. For example, staff use turn-taking games to support children's social and emotional development.

Children with SEND receive well-tailored individual support. Staff also work closely with outside professionals. This helps them to utilise their expertise, to help children to achieve their full potential.

At times, the curriculum is not always sequenced coherently. For example, pre-school children are encouraged to write their names, but some have not yet developed the skills to use a pen correctly. This does not help children to build their skills sequentially, which means this learning is too difficult for them.

Staff generally demonstrate good hygiene practices, for example by using appropriate personal protective equipment when serving meals and changing children's nappies. However, on occasion, staff do not follow good hygiene practices. For instance, they do not always wash their hands after wiping children's noses.

This can increase the spread of infection and does not consistently promote children's good health.Staff are attentive and caring. Children enjoy warm and positive relationships with the adults who care for them.

This helps them to feel emotionally secure.All children behave well, understand expectations and engage in activities with interest. Babies are eager to take part and concentrate.

For example, they play alongside each other and take turns to select objects from the sensory basket. This ignites their interest as they explore different materials using their senses.Children are physically active and benefit from opportunities to spend time in the large garden.

They eat a range of nutritious snacks and home-made meals, which are prepared on site by the nursery cook. However, at times, children are not given the appropriate cutlery or plates. As a result, this affects their self-care because they are having to use their hands to cut up their food.

Although the quality of education is good, there are some minor gaps. For example, some staff are not as confident in their teaching. As a result, children do not benefit from the same learning opportunities as others.

This does not help them to develop their skills as well as they could.Partnerships with parents are a strength of the nursery. Parents comment on how staff are responsive to their children's needs.

They also praise staff for the support they offer to meet the needs of children with SEND. Parents are happy with the new 'parent app', which allows them to receive daily notifications about what their children have been doing during the day.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The management team and staff have a secure understanding of how to keep children safe. Staff know the procedures to follow should they have any concerns about children or a staff member. Managers implement effective recruitment procedures to ensure that all staff working in the nursery are suitable.

The premises are secure and monitored by closed-circuit television. Staff carry out daily risk assessments to ensure that there are no hazards. They also keep children safe when they take them on trips in the community.

For example, staff ask for parental consent before taking the children out, and all children wear high-visibility coats. Children's safety is further enhanced because staff maintain adult-to-child ratios and do regular head counts, as an additional precaution.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: create an ambitious coherently planned and sequenced curriculum to support the learning and development of all children promote good hygiene practices to ensure that the personal needs of children of all ages are met appropriately support less-experienced staff to understand how children learn to enhance the teaching of the curriculum.