Noah’s Ark Under Fives

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy attending this friendly nursery, where leaders and staff place a strong emphasis on providing a safe and secure home-from-home environment.

Children arrive happily and staff patiently support new starters to settle with cuddles and reassurance. They work hard to help those children who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to recognise and regulate their emotions in preparation for school. Children particularly enjoy exploring in the large well-equipped outdoor area and older children show confidence as they move independently between indoor and outdoor play spaces.

Babies enjoy looking at books with st...aff in a cosy den. Staff know children and families well. They carefully assess children's starting points, progress and interests and use these as the basis for their planning.

They are clear what they want each child to learn and the curriculum is ambitious for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children make good progress. Older children develop independent skills, such as serving themselves at lunchtime, and children aged two to three ably feed themselves.

Children of all ages are engaged and curious. For example, one-year-old children explore porridge oats with different utensils and older children practise using scissors to cut cooked and coloured spaghetti.

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

Managers have a clear vision for the nursery, which they have been working towards steadily.

They now have a strong team of staff in place and changes to the provision are embedding well. There is a strong focus on professional development and staff well-being. Staff report that they enjoy working at the nursery and feel well supported.

Staff share a clear understanding of what the children need to learn and how to move them on to the next stage of their learning. They are all involved in assessing children's progress and planning to help them make good progress. Staff follow children's interests to engage them fully.

For example, children have been fascinated by flowers in the outdoor area so staff have added real flowers to the water tray to add a new dimension to their exploration. Staff generally use effective teaching practice but there is some inconsistency in their ability to extend children's learning further.Staff consistently remind children about golden rules and boundaries.

The children aged two to three have 'superhero rules' to help them learn about expectations for their behaviour. Staff do a lot of work to help older children to regulate their emotions and to take turns and share. Children build strong friendships and show affection and care for one another.

Staff support children's communication skills well. They interact effectively with children of all ages and there is lots of talk across the nursery throughout the day. Older children develop confidence to speak in small groups as staff encourage them to tell a story based on picture cards.

Staff make good use of visual prompts to help those children who have speech and language delay or who do not speak English as their first language.There is a strong focus on health and well-being and managers want children to be fit to learn. Children enjoy healthy and balanced home-cooked meals.

The cook meets with parents to ensure that she gets first-hand information about any allergies, intolerances or other requirements. Her cooking is so popular that she has produced a recipe booklet for parents.Managers are keen to foster links with families and support them as well as their children.

There is a good two-way flow of information about the children and their progress. Parents have the opportunity to share what children are achieving at home and discuss any concerns they may have. They have opportunities to get involved at the nursery.

For example, they attend events such as a garden fete.The nursery welcomes a diverse range of children and families. Managers and staff have been working to acknowledge and value their cultural backgrounds and home languages but this process is still not fully embedded.

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 further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: take further steps to acknowledge the diversity of the children attending to help them feel valued and provide further support for those that speak English as an additional language nimprove the consistency of staff practice, with particular regards to developing their ability to further extend children's learning.