Knowle Nursery School Limited

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The exceedingly passionate and highly driven managers successfully create an atmosphere that celebrates each child as an individual.

This helps children to develop a true sense of what makes them unique. This is evident as children's expressive self-portraits look down at you from the walls, proudly demonstrating their differing features. The managers and the staff gel together to form a wonderfully nurturing and enthusiastic team.

As a result, children feel extremely safe and secure in the setting and cannot wait to get inside when the doors open. Newer children seek comfort from the extremely strong relationsh...ips they have formed with their key persons. They become deeply engrossed in play with beaming smiles on their faces.

Staff speak about the wonderful achievements all children make with immense pride. They have exceptionally high expectations of what children can achieve and continue to move them forward even when they meet the typical outcomes for their ages. For example, they cleverly support toddlers to understand the meaning of the mathematical vocabulary they use to describe depth.

Children demonstrate a huge desire to explore and learn. They approach their play with extremely high levels of determination and confidence. For example, older children eagerly accept the challenge to spin hula hoops around their body for longer durations of time.

They focus intently and keep trying until they improve upon their previous achievements.

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

Staff use meticulous planning and exemplary teaching to ensure children develop great early literacy skills. For example, children enthuse over the stories that staff share with them.

They recite lines and understand the content of the story exceptionally well. Older children demonstrate this when they eagerly act out stories such as 'The Three Little Pigs'. Toddlers explain basic story lines from books they choose to look at and know who the characters are.

Managers understand exceedingly well the levels of development that children go through before they can become writers. They provide rich and meaningful activities for children to build up their physical strength and hand control in preparation for their future learning. For example, children carefully transfer rice from one container to another using small tongs and make shapes in the air using pom-poms.

Children become confident and fluent users of language. Staff support language development with exceptional skill. They ensure that all interactions are of a high quality, modelling language with precision.

Where children's language skills are lower than expected, staff apply highly effective action to close gaps in progress. They make sure that children can communicate with high levels of confidence.Staff use rigorous assessments to monitor children's progress.

Consequently, they know exactly the areas of learning where children need more support. Managers ensure that any concerns about children's progress are noticed as early as possible. As a result, they take prompt action to help children meet their full potential.

Parents receive high levels of support from the staff team to ensure continuity in care. For example, staff have taught them new techniques to help towards managing their children's behaviour. Parents now feel more equipped to support children to manage their feelings.

Managers form strong partnerships with a range of professionals that they use extremely effectively to support children's progress and to ensure the welfare of families.Staff benefit from excellent support to build on their already exemplary practice. They feel wonderfully supported by the managers, who give them regular praise and suggestions for improvement.

Managers ensure that staff receive meaningful training opportunities that they use to further improve the setting. For instance, after learning more about how children cope with different emotions, they have created a cosy quiet area where children can go to gather their thoughts. Managers strongly value their staff team.

They successfully ensure that they have manageable workloads to enable them to feel continually happy and motivated in their roles.Children thrive in the setting. They become independent and confident.

For example, they follow routines aimed at helping them to manage when they go to other settings, such as school, with ease. Children help each other eagerly. Toddlers take their friends' favourite toys to them and older children initiate games.

Children work together as a team to follow the rules and to make sure everyone is equally involved. They learn to care for each other and develop excellent social skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Managers plan safeguarding procedures with precision to ensure that staff can follow them with ease and discretion. Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of the signs that may indicate that a child's welfare is at risk and know precisely how to act if they have a concern. Managers prioritise children's welfare over everything.

They provide great support to families and aim to prevent safeguarding issues by doing this. Managers follow robust recruitment procedures to help ensure that staff are suitable for the role. They continue to monitor staff's ongoing suitability rigidly in order to ensure children's ongoing safety.

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