Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery West Kensington

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children enjoy their time in this welcoming setting. They are greeted by kind and caring staff who help them to settle well. Children are becoming confident and independent.

For example, younger children take their coats off on arrival and hang them on individual pegs. Children show that they feel safe and secure. Babies and toddlers happily explore the indoor and outdoor areas.

Older children confidently speak to visitors and share their positive views about the setting. Overall, leaders have high expectations of all children. However, the quality of education is varied.

For example, staff do not ensure that all... children are engaged in meaningful learning as much as possible. There are inconsistencies in how staff teach children and help them to progress in their learning and development. This means that children's learning is not always maximised.

This hinders the progress that they make. Staff build positive relationships with children. However, they do not consistently help children to develop a secure understanding of the setting's rules or behavioural expectations.

This is because leaders do not ensure that all staff implement a consistent approach to support children to learn to self-regulate their emotions and behave appropriately.

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

Leaders design a broad curriculum and are clear about what they want children to learn. Although staff practice is regularly evaluated, targeted training, support and coaching are not yet fully embedded to ensure that teaching is always of a high standard.

Overall, staff understand the importance of supporting children's communication and language development. Some staff converse with children well and expand their learning. For example, they identify children's interest in 'space' and extend their learning through discussions, role play and building 'a rocket'.

In addition, some staff use children's home language to enhance their linguistic skills.The key-person system in place helps to ensure that staff take responsibilities to keep all children safe. Staff know children well and identify their next steps.

However, some staff do not differentiate activities to meet children's individual learning and developmental needs. This has a negative impact on how well children engage in their learning and hinders the progress that they make.Staff support children to develop their large-muscle and balancing skills while in the garden.

Children practise drawing with chalks, which supports their pre-writing skills. Children have opportunities to explore sand and other malleable materials, such as play dough. Younger children enjoy sensory explorations as they make marks with coloured ice cubes.

This helps to strengthen their finger muscles.Staff prepare varied and nutritious snacks for children and ensure that the cooked meals provided are well balanced. Staff teach children about the benefits of a healthy diet.

Staff follow good health and hygiene procedures. For example, they ensure that children know and follow routines, such as handwashing, consistently. Staff use mealtimes to build on children's awareness of healthy lifestyles.

Staff have yet to establish consistent behaviour management strategies. For example, staff ask older children to share toys with others or not to run with toys in their hands. However, at times, children ignore these requests, and staff do not effectively pursue this.

This gives inconsistent messages to children and does not help them to understand what is expected of their behaviour.Leaders work with other professionals when required and build on support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They regularly assess children's development and put some strategies in place to begin to close gaps in their learning.

For example, staff start to implement alternative methods of communication in daily practice to support children with SEND.Parents speak highly of the nursery and state that their children have formed positive relationships with staff and leaders. They comment that children are happy and like attending the nursery.

Safeguarding

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

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date provide effective and targeted staff training, coaching and mentoring to improve the implementation of the curriculum, and to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently good or higher level 12/12/2024 ensure staff tailor activities and opportunities for children to ensure that children's learning and developmental needs are met, and they make progress they are capable of 12/12/2024 implement behaviour management strategies, which support staff to be consistent in their approach, and which build on children's understanding of behaviour expectations.

12/12/2024