Manor Wood Children’s Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children thrive in this nursery, where they are highly respected as competent, capable learners.

Staff's expectations are consistently high. The ambitious, child-centred curriculum is securely embedded and supports every child to flourish. Staff working with babies focus on developing their language and forming secure relationships.

They encourage babies' exploratory skills and resilience. When children reach the age of two, staff strive to support their independent play skills, curiosity and motivation to learn. Staff in the nursery prioritise a high-quality learning environment as part of the curriculum.
<...br/>Children are consistently absorbed in inspiring activities and experiences. Their incredibly positive attitudes to learning contribute to their high achievements.There is a strong focus on community.

Staff get to know children and their families well. They have in-depth knowledge about children's routines, preferences and experiences outside of nursery. This helps them to meet children's individual needs and assure their happiness and safety.

Partnerships with parents, other professionals and the on-site school are particularly effective. There is a holistic approach, which helps to ensure that every aspect of children's care, learning and development is supported as well as possible. Leaders faced the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic with determination to maintain support for children.

For example, they made garden visits to families and continued working together with other professionals to get families any help that they needed. This helped to ensure that there was minimal impact on children's learning, development and well-being.

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

The strong leadership team has a clear vision that puts children at the heart of everything it does.

Its commitment to reviewing practice and staff's development leads to further strengthening of practice. For example, staff's confidence in teaching mathematics has grown following training and mentoring. Children show an increasing awareness of numbers and their values, and use mathematical language frequently during their play.

Across all areas of learning, many children achieve beyond the typical expectations for their age.Teaching is consistently strong. Staff's in-depth knowledge of individual children's needs, and of how to deliver an effective curriculum, helps to turn every experience into a learning opportunity.

They embrace children's ideas and weave them into play. They know when to give children prompts and suggestions to shape their learning, and when to allow them to develop their ideas independently. Children lead their own learning and set themselves challenges.

For example, they add more difficult obstacles to the course they build in the garden. They focus on tasks and are keen to learn and discover more.The curriculum is progressive.

Staff plan carefully to build up skills and knowledge during adult-led activities. For example, children enjoy working on 'projects' based on their ideas and interests. They build a 'monster' from boxes and create a story of their own around him.

Each time they come together, staff encourage children to add a new part to the story, teaching them new words and encouraging their imagination. They support children to recap what they have learned, and children's prior knowledge is evident. Children remember their learning and build on it very successfully.

Staff support children to understand and manage their feelings. For example, when some children feel overwhelmed during an activity, staff talk to them and reassure them. They teach them words to describe how they feel.

Children are able to articulate their emotions, allowing staff to support them appropriately. This contributes to children's positive behaviours and relationships. They learn to negotiate, work collaboratively and are helpful.

For example, they bring along a box to help a friend to get down when climbing.Parents speak of positive relationships with familiar key staff. They welcome detailed information about their children's learning, and ideas from staff about how to support this further at home.

These partnerships contribute to the rapid progress that children make. Alongside this, leaders have established a network of support with other professionals. This helps to ensure that any additional help or support that children and families need can be sought swiftly.

For example, children have faster access to speech therapy services due to partnerships with the on-site school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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