Nurtureville Nursery Loughton

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The provider and staff have brought about rapid improvement at the nursery. There is now a well-qualified and settled staff team, who are motivated and enthused. The provider has introduced a balanced and effective curriculum.

The intent of the curriculum is understood by all staff, who implement it effectively. Staff quickly identify any gaps in children's learning and ensure that the curriculum focuses on supporting them. There is a greater emphasis on developing children's communication and language skills.

Staff introduce children to new words as they play, and value babies' early attempts at talking. Overall, staf...f model language well, holding conversations with children as they play together. Staff greet children warmly when they arrive and children show great interest in their learning.

Children enjoy role play, where they talk about their understanding of doctors, dentists and hairdressers. By immersing themselves in children's play, staff effectively build on what children already know but give them freedom to use their own ideas. Children enjoy close relationships with the staff who care for them.

Key-people arrangements are well organised and effective in supporting children's emotional stability and well-being. Children who are new to the setting receive individual care and attention. Staff are readily available to provide them with comfort and affection if they become unsettled.

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

Staff focus on supporting children to be independent, confident and curious. There is a strong focus on encouraging children to develop a love of books. This is threaded well through the curriculum.

For example, children visit a local community library, there is a book borrowing project where children can take books home to read with their families. Each activity is set up with books for reference. In the home corner, pre-school children can look at recipe books.

Babies look at books about farms as they play with wooden animals and puppets. Their frequent walks in the local area include visits to a local field where horses live. They observe the size of the horse and the noise they make, bringing their learning to life.

Staff understand what children are learning and how they can support them. Learning is sequenced and organised well for children. Staff reflect on prior experiences and activities to help children to build on what they have learned before.

For example, babies pretend to mix ingredients together having previously learned about making pancakes.Staff promote children's communication and language skills well. However, occasionally, they do not encourage all children to actively participate and join in to share their ideas and answer questions.

Quieter children in the group do not always have enough support to share what they know with the group.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress. Staff know children well and understand their needs.

There are coherent plans for children, that are well informed by close work with other professionals. Although staff's support is generally effective, during changes in the routine, such as mealtimes, children with SEND do not always experience consistency. This leads to them becoming unsettled and affects their readiness to sit and eat.

Staff show a great deal of patience and understanding of children and their needs. This is especially the case when children have SEND and find it more difficult to regulate their behaviour and emotions. Staff support children's behaviour well, giving them explanations about expectations and helping them to calm down if they feel upset and overwhelmed.

Staff use effective measures, such as taking children for quiet time in a sensory tent or distracting them through singing and dancing.The provider does not always ensure that every child is provided with healthy, balanced and nutritional meals that are fully suitable for their age. Information is not shared effectively with parents about minimising foods that have high salt and sugar content and ensuring that meals from home are safely prepared for children to eat.

Consequently, children do not receive consistent messages about healthy eating.There is now extensive support, supervision and coaching for staff at all levels. Staff morale has radically improved.

The staff team are developing their practice and confidence. Through taking responsibility for different areas of the curriculum, staff are gaining a greater sense of responsibility and understanding for how children learn. This has a positive impact for children, who benefit from staff injecting enthusiasm and new ideas into their teaching and the physical environment.

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: promote more opportunities for less confident children to express themselves and share their ideas, views and feeling, especially during group activities nextend the good support for children with SEND across all periods of the day so they experience consistently effective teaching nexpand the curriculum to encourage all children to receive clear messages about healthy, nutritious and balanced meals.