Newlife Nursery and Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Leaders have made many improvements since the last inspection. They have improved the planning of the curriculum so that it takes account of what each child needs to learn next to help them make better progress. Staff follow children's interests and use these to help them work towards their next steps of development.

For example, staff acknowledge that the toddlers and pre-school-age children love dinosaurs. Therefore, staff plan and create an activity tray with leaves, pumpkins, conkers and dinosaurs. The toddlers and pre-school-age children show motivation to investigate the autumnal items using dinosaur toys.

Staff des...cribe what happens to trees and leaves during autumn. Accordingly, these children broaden their knowledge of the seasons and the world around them.Children do not make as much progress in their communication and language skills.

Leaders are working towards improving the curriculum for this area of learning, but it is not fully embedded. For example, at times, staff do not repeat incorrect words back to children so they can hear the correct vocabulary.Children have positive relationships with their key persons.

As such, all children arrive happy and settled. They wave goodbye to their parents and go to a familiar adult for a cuddle. Children show that they feel safe and secure with staff that know them well.

However, staff deployment is not always effective. At times, staff are not on hand to extend children's learning and support them in their personal development.

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

Staff encourage babies to express themselves.

They copy babies' facial expressions, and the babies smile back. However, there is not an ambitious curriculum that supports all children's communication and language skills. For example, staff often use long and complex sentences with babies, who are not able to process what staff say or respond appropriately.

At other times, staff do not engage in enough back-and-forth conversations with toddlers and pre-school-age children. As a result, some of these children do not develop their listening and attention skills effectively.Leaders have begun to monitor staff's practice and support their professional development.

Following training from leaders, staff are more confident in planning for children's individual needs. Staff work closely with the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator and swiftly identify children who may require additional support. However, leaders do not always deploy staff to enhance children's well-being and extend their learning further.

For example, staff carry out other jobs at snack or tidy-up time. During these periods, some toddlers and pre-school-age children can become frustrated or upset. In the baby room, babies show an interest in making marks on paper.

However, staff are busy carrying out other tasks and are not able to build on babies' developing their finger and thumb dexterity.Staff widen toddlers' and pre-school-age children's knowledge of mathematical concepts. They draw a pretend road on the playground with chalk.

Toddlers and pre-school-age children add traffic lights and houses. Staff and children count how many houses and what shapes they can see.Babies enjoy being active.

They strengthen their upper body muscles as they climb up a small slide. Staff support them to do this and they reach the top. Younger babies gain confidence in walking.

Staff offer encouragement by holding their hands. They praise babies when they begin to take their first steps.Staff help children to develop an understanding of their emotions.

For example, toddlers and pre-school-age children listen to a story about monsters. Staff talk about how the characters feel. Toddlers and pre-school-age children identify that the characters may be 'scared' or 'happy'.

This helps these children to understand how they and others may feel sometimes.Children are curious. Babies explore sand outside and watch it fall between their fingers.

Toddlers race cars down guttering in the garden. They adjust the height of the guttering with staff and watch the cars go faster. Pre-school-age children want to know how things work.

They use magnets to pick up items. Staff encourage them to guess which ones may be magnetic and which ones are not.Parents comment that their children make good progress in their physical development.

They notice that their children's mobility and hand-eye coordination skills have improved. However, staff do not routinely inform all parents about their children's next steps to help them make more progress in their learning and development outside the setting.

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 improve staff deployment to enhance children's well-being and extend their learning further 21/11/2024 implement an ambitious curriculum that supports all children's communication and language skills.28/11/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: share children's next steps of learning with all parents to help children make more progress in their learning and development outside of the setting.