Newbury Park Daycare and Afterschool Club

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children and parents receive a warm welcome from the friendly staff as they arrive. Children are excited and eager to start their day at nursery.

They show that they feel safe and secure as they quickly settle down to play. Children enjoy being physically active and spend lots of time playing outdoors. They practise and refine their large- and small-muscle movements.

Babies become confident walkers and imitate the hand movements to songs and rhymes. Older children practise climbing, balancing and running. They learn to throw a ball accurately during games of skittles and manipulate clay to create model animals.
.../>Children behave well and use good manners. They learn to share, take turns and respect each other. Staff have high expectations for all children and want them to achieve all that they can.

There is a strong focus on literacy. Children of all ages enjoy looking at books and listening to stories. They are keen to borrow books from the nursery's library to share with their parents at home.

Staff adapt activities for older children to suit their different ages and abilities. For instance, children with less coordination practise making large marks in sand or with paintbrushes. There are also pens and pencils to cater for children who are ready for writing.

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

Leaders have a secure understanding of what they want children to learn. They continually review the provision and seek new ways to enhance children's experiences and learning. Staff receive regular training to improve their professional skills.

Leaders encourage staff to share their interests, such as music, dancing or cooking, with children to further enrich the education programmes.Children each have a key person to cater for their individual care and learning needs. Key persons speak about the children with genuine affection and interest.

They monitor children's progress and plan for the next stages in their development. Staff talk generally to parents about their children's care and the activities they have enjoyed. However, not all parents know that their child has a key person, to help them support their children's learning at home.

Staff speak to children throughout the day and introduce new words to extend their vocabularies. Staff provide visual aids, such as pictorial displays of the nursery's daily events and 'golden rules'. These help children to understand the nursery's routines and boundaries.

Staff teach children who are developing their speech to express their needs using objects or gestures. All children, including children with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress with their communication skills.Children are eager to learn and persist with activities that they enjoy.

Babies concentrate intently as they discover how to twist, push and pull the levers and buttons on activity toys. Older children are eager to expand their knowledge of the world. For example, in the garden, they look at books and explore resources about the life cycle of frogs.

They use magnifying glasses to examine objects more closely and recall their learning, talking about the 'slimy frogspawn' and 'wiggly tadpoles'.Older children enjoy real and meaningful experiences, which enhance their play. For example, in the home corner, children develop their small-muscle control and learn about safety as they chop vegetables or crush lemons with a pestle and mortar.

They practise measuring as they make play dough, adding fresh herbs to vary the smell and texture. These experiences stimulate the children's senses and enrich their learning. However, staff do not ensure that babies have access to an equally exciting range of materials and textures in order to enhance their learning experiences.

There is good emphasis on promoting healthy lifestyles for children. Children enjoy nutritious snacks and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated throughout the day. Staff talk to children about making healthy choices and keeping their teeth clean.

They also share information with parents to help them support children's health at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff understand and know how to follow the nursery's safeguarding policies and procedures, should they have concerns about a child's welfare.

They know what to do if there is a concern or an allegation made about an adult working with children. All staff receive regular training to ensure their knowledge of safeguarding is robust. This includes awareness of wider issues, such as radicalisation and online safety.

Leaders use recruitment procedures that include a good range of checks to help ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff assess risks to children indoors and outdoors to provide a safe and hygienic environment.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the communication between parents and children's key persons to support continuity in children's learning between home and nursery develop further the opportunities for babies to explore a wide range of textures and materials to enrich their play and learning.