Meadgate Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy. They are chatty and friendly, and display a positive attitude to learning. Children form strong and warm relationships with the staff, who support their emotional well-being and resilience.

For example, when children arrive at the setting, they remove their shoes independently and put them in a special place. This helps support their self-awareness, independence and emotional development. Children navigate around the setting with joy and enthusiasm, choosing activities that spark their curiosity and interest.

Younger children enjoy completing inset puzzles with staff. This helps build on their hand-...to-eye coordination, concentration and mathematical skills. Older children have fun building large structures, focusing intently to balance the blocks effectively.

This supports children's imaginative skills, listening and attention skills, and understanding of the world. Children develop social skills needed to interact with their peers effectively. Children also enjoy exploring the messy tray filled with various colourful and natural resources.

They feel the textures and observe the colours intently to enhance their sensory experience. Children find ways to mix the resources and are fascinated with the results. This supports children's critical thinking, problem-solving and cognitive development.

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

Staff offer a rich environment with plenty of meaningful learning opportunities. For example, children have great fun exploring a junk modelling activity. They sort the resources in categories, working well as a team.

Children use the resources available to create aeroplanes and cars. They concentrate well and use glue and other tools with good control. Children feel very proud and accomplished and this helps to boost their self-esteem.

This also promotes children's imaginative skills and creativity.Staff model language well and engage children in conversations. They use open-ended questions and introduce vocabulary such as 'tennis' and 'recycling'.

However, staff do not use all opportunities to encourage younger children, or those requiring further support, to repeat new words to secure their knowledge.Children's natural curiosity is fostered through engaging them in stimulating activities. For example, children are fascinated to explore the 'water wall'.

They look with great interest at how water pours through pipes and watering cans and into a large bucket. They discover and understand the cause and effect. Children use pipettes and spoons with good control to fill cups with water.

This helps to support their fine motor skills and understanding of the world.Children have good opportunities to stay active and build on their gross motor skills. In the garden, they operate swings, slides and climbing equipment to build on their balance and coordination.

Weekly swimming sessions help develop their stamina. Children also enjoy books and develop a passion for reading. They listen intently to their favourite story about a zookeeper.

Children look at the pictures with curiosity and giggle with excitement.Younger children enjoy singing their favourite nursery rhymes. They use special puppets and props and quickly become engrossed in this activity.

Knowledgeable staff use Makaton sign language to promote good communication and language skills and facilitate children's understanding.Staff are warm and nurturing. They have good knowledge of children's learning and what they need to learn next, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

They use information from their observations of children to guide their planning. However, on occasion, staff do not identify when children need more challenge to extend their learning further.The leaders' vision for their setting is ambitious.

They continuously strive to improve the quality of care and education to benefit all children. Leaders value their team's career growth and well-being. They organise regular meetings and training to ensure that they keep their knowledge current.

Staff report that are very happy to work at this setting and are supported well.Partnership with parents is effective. Parents praise the inclusiveness of leaders and staff.

They feel supported and involved in their children's learning and appreciate the remarkable progress their children have made.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff and leaders have good knowledge and understanding of safeguarding.

This includes wider aspects, such as female genital mutilation, county lines and the 'Prevent' duty. They have accurate and effective policies and procedures in place to guide them, which they review regularly and share with parents. Staff and leaders understand the importance of following the correct procedures to report any concerns to relevant professionals to protect children from harm.

Staff and leaders complete regular training to keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date. Staff carry out regular risk assessments to ensure the setting and garden are safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the quality of teaching and education to ensure that all children are suitably challenged and benefit from extensive learning opportunities provide opportunities for children to hear and learn a wider range of new words to extend their vocabulary, particularly for younger children and those who require extra support.

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