North Islington Nursery School and Childrens Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy close and affectionate bonds with staff, who know them well and are responsive to their needs. Therefore, children feel happy, safe and secure at the nursery. They settle quickly and are eager to explore the stimulating environment.

Children independently access the resources and are confident to speak to visitors and staff. They show positive behaviours and respond well to staff's gentle guidance.Children thrive in the highly inclusive environment.

Leaders and staff value each child's unique background and abilities. They work hard to give them the best possible start to their education. This includes h...ighly focused teaching within the nursery and support from other professionals where appropriate.

As a result, all children, including those who receive additional funding and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points.Children are keen to explore and thoroughly enjoy the wide variety of experiences on offer. Babies are confident to investigate the spacious indoor and outdoor areas.

They progressively develop their strength and coordination as they practise crawling, cruising and walking. Toddlers hone their physical skills further with simple tools. For example, they use rolling pins and cutters to shape play dough.

They are keen to display their mathematical knowledge as they talk about sizes and shapes.

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

Leaders and staff provide a clear and ambitious curriculum for children. This is based on the belief that happy and confident children are best equipped for learning.

Consequently, there is a strong emphasis on supporting children's emotional well-being. For example, key staff visit their children at home prior to them joining to initiate trusting bonds between them. Therefore, children develop secure foundations upon which to build their learning.

Children benefit from a language-rich environment, where staff speak, sing and read with them throughout the day. Staff skilfully adapt their speech and incorporate additional support strategies to meet children's differing needs. For instance, they use picture cards and Makaton sign language, to help babies communicate their choices long before they can talk.

Staff celebrate the cultural diversity of children and families throughout the curriculum. They ensure that children who speak English as an additional language can hear and use familiar words and phrases alongside English. Therefore, children's English language skills develop rapidly.

Children are enthusiastic and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They set their own challenges and show satisfaction in their achievements. For example, toddlers practise until they are confident to balance along a raised plank.

Once they have mastered this, they challenge themselves further by jumping off at the end.Staff are positive role models and treat children with kindness and respect. They gently teach children about the routines and expectations.

However, they could do more to help them explore their feelings and the possible consequences of their behaviour.Children enjoy nutritious meals and snacks at nursery. Staff encourage them to try new foods and are vigilant about their dietary needs, including allergies.

This helps to keep children safe and healthy.Overall, staff support children to become independent with their personal care. For example, toddlers are encouraged to serve their own food at mealtimes.

However, at times this support is inconsistent. For instance, some staff encourage children to use cutlery, while others allow them to eat with their hands.Staff say that they are well supported by leaders and other colleagues.

They are passionate about early education and motivated to improve their professional skills. For example, staff describe how they have adopted 'In the moment planning', which helps them to foster children's emerging interests and fascinations.The manager is an effective leader and works hard to foster a happy nursery community.

She maintains strong partnerships with other professionals, including services within the children's centre where the nursery is based. This provides a robust network of support for children and parents.Partnerships with parents are a strength.

Parents speak highly of the staff. They are confident that their children enjoy attending and are making good progress. Parents value staff's efforts to include them in their children's learning, such as a lending library to encourage reading with children at home.

They enjoy nursery events, such as 'Fun Fridays', which help to strengthen their understanding of the curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and staff are aware of their responsibilities to keep children safe.

They receive regular training to refresh and strengthen their safeguarding knowledge. Leaders and staff are familiar with the indicators of abuse and know how to report any concerns about a child's welfare. They understand how to respond to concerns or allegations about the conduct of a colleague.

Staff use risk assessments and daily checks effectively, to help ensure that the environment is safe for children. There are safer recruitment processes in place, and a thorough system for checking the ongoing suitability of staff.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: help staff to further support children's understanding of their emotions and the possible consequences of their behaviour nensure that staff provide consistent support to help children become independent with their personal care.

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