Oakdene Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children who attend this nursery are happy and confident. Parents say that their children 'love coming to nursery', which can be seen in their delight when they arrive. All children behave well.

Staff use a colour monster story to support children to manage their behaviour and develop an understanding of their emotions and how they can manage these. This will support children later in life with discussing how they feel and to be confident to share this with others. Staff praise and celebrate children's successes.

Children develop their self-esteem as they display their work with pride.Children enjoy listening to famili...ar stories and songs, which are built on to extend learning. Children enjoy a story about robots and discuss how they can make one.

Staff support children to build their own robot from a range of resources. Children build really strong friendship groups. They use their imagination to create fun and exciting games and seek each other out to join in with their play.

Independence is encouraged throughout the nursery, with lots of opportunities for children to try to do things for themselves before asking for help from staff. Children benefit from a curriculum that is planned well and delivered with confidence by an experienced staff team. Children benefit from learning through their interests, which encourages curiosity.

Staff build on children's imagination as they ask questions that allow them to think critically.

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

Leaders provide opportunities for children to learn about the wider world. Children learn about festivals and take part in events that teach them about the similarities and differences of people.

The manager ensures a happy and supportive work environment. Staff report how much they enjoy working at the nursery and say that they feel valued and supported by leaders.Leaders are reflective and strive for improvement.

They spend time in the rooms, modelling good practice and training staff to improve their interactions with children and the delivery of their curriculum. They consider the views of children and use information from parents to plan activities and close any gaps in learning.Children have created an 'acts of kindness' tree.

When children help others or carry out a kind act, staff recognise this by putting a pebble in the reward jar. This helps children to begin to understand the consequences of their actions.Children build strong relationships with their peers and staff.

This is demonstrated through play and when children seek out staff if they need comfort and reassurance.Hygiene practice across the nursery are generally good. However, staff working with younger children do not consistently implement handwashing procedures during mealtimes to promote children's understanding of good hygiene.

Children who require extra support are identified early. Staff implement effective support plans to help children catch up in their learning and make progress. They liaise with parents about children's learning plans.

Parents provide useful information from specialists to enable staff to plan activities based on children's individual needs.Staff understand the importance of developing children's communication and language. However, staff allow younger children to use dummies for prolonged periods of time, even when they are not needed.

As a result, younger children do not have the opportunity to use the language they have learned.Staff build on what children already know. They make learning memorable and fun.

Staff use familiar stories and songs and encourage children to join in with the actions and words they know. Children repeat the chorus and identify rhyming words in a story about a magic carpet.Staff support children's love of being outdoors with a well-equipped garden, which children explore excitedly.

Children are encouraged to transport water across the garden from the mud kitchen to the sandpit and use the steps to the slide to develop gross motor skills.Parents are exceptionally pleased with the standard of care and education at the nursery. Staff work closely with parents to support children's individual needs.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There are robust recruitment procedures in place to ensure that anyone working with the children is suitable to do so. Leaders ensure that all staff's safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training is kept up to date.

Staff have a secure knowledge of the signs to look for to identify any children who may be at risk of harm. Leaders have strong relationships with families, offering support when required to ensure that children are kept safe at home. Security is robust.

There is an intercom system which allows staff to identify who is at the door before letting anyone in. In addition, all doors are kept locked for extra security measures.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to implement effective practice that will fully enhance and extend younger children's communication and language skills review the handwashing procedures for younger children to ensure that they consistently promote good hygiene practice.