Munchkins Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The manager and staff provide a calm and nurturing environment where children feel safe and secure.

Children confidently enter the nursery and settle easily. Staff offer a warm and friendly welcome to children and their parents. They know the children well and provide for their individual needs.

Information on progress is shared regularly. The nursery is particularly effective at supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those children in receipt of funding. Children develop strong bonds with key staff.

They happily explore and investigate the wide range of resources tha...t help to stimulate their interest and promote the development of their skills. Children's emotional well-being is promoted well. Staff engage in many positive interactions with children, who receive constant praise and encouragement.

Staff model good relationships with each other, and children respond by using good manners. Children show care and respect for one another and learn to share and take turns. For example, older children invite their friends to join them on the computer and offer to help them.

Overall, staff support children's communication, literacy and mathematical skills effectively. They model language well and teach children new vocabulary as they read stories, sing songs and take part in activities. For example, children learn to use number names and count while singing songs.

Their understanding of language linked to weight and calculation is further promoted while transferring stones and shells between containers.

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

Since the last inspection, the manager has worked very hard to improve the quality of the provision. She has worked closely with the local authority to successfully address each weakness raised.

Staff are well qualified and hold paediatric first-aid qualifications. They receive effective coaching and supervision to ensure they meet the requirements of their roles. Staff are supported to raise the quality of their teaching to the highest levels.

The manager has a strong drive to continuously improve the provision. She has a secure knowledge of the staff's strengths and areas that they could improve on to sustain consistently good practice in the setting. Staff report that they access a good range of training opportunities.

They are encouraged to use their new knowledge to develop their teaching skills. They incorporate their ideas into the environment, to support children's learning to an even higher level.Children are active learners and play and explore with confidence.

They enjoy the freedom to self-select resources from the wide range of activities on offer. All children make good progress from their starting points. Children are well behaved.

They listen and follow instructions and are beginning to manage their own feelings and behaviour.Staff work positively with parents and other professionals to support children with SEND. They contribute to assessments and attend multi-agency meetings to help promote the best outcomes for children.

Staff provide a well-balanced curriculum based on what children already know, what they can do and what they need to learn next. Children make good progress, including those with SEND. Staff provide children with opportunities to mark make and to develop skills that support writing.

For example, children access a range of tools that help to develop these skills. Babies enjoy making marks in flour, while older children practise letter formation while writing their names. Children develop their creative and imagination skills well.

For instance, they explore a range of sensory resources and join in role play. Staff engage in conversation with children during activities. They extend children's vocabulary by introducing new words and explain processes.

However, staff occasionally do not give children the time they need to respond to questions, to help them extend their thinking skills even further.Parents are very complimentary about the nursery. They talk positively about their time at the setting and the help and advice they receive to access funding and extra support for their children.

Parents say the staff are approachable and do their best for their children. They appreciate the links that staff have with the local school to enable a smooth transition process when children are ready to move on. Staff engage with parents daily to share children's experiences and progress.

However, opportunities to further encourage parents to continue to enhance children's learning at home are not fully implemented.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff have a good understanding of the procedures to follow should they have concerns about a child's welfare.

They have attended training to support them in recognising the possible signs and symptoms of abuse, and confidently describe the action they would take. This includes knowledge of wider safeguarding concerns, such as female genital mutilation and the 'Prevent' duty. Staff implement effective risk assessments that help to ensure children can play in a safe and secure environment.

All the required checks are in place to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. Staff deployment is managed well and supports children's safety effectively.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide children with the time that they need to think, respond and talk through their own thoughts, ideas and decisions strengthen the already good partnership with parents and further encourage parents' involvement with their children's learning at home.