Oakmere Children’s Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children demonstrate that they feel secure and at home in this well-established nursery. They move confidently between activities.

Children readily seek the support and attention of the friendly staff. Children of all ages are encouraged to draw. They learn that the marks they make are important and that their ideas will be valued.

This promotes children's small-muscle development and their self-esteem. Pre-school children listen to stories. They then talk about the main parts and draw pictures to represent these.

Staff sensitively add children's own words to the pictures. Discussions about the books help chil...dren to remember and understand the story. Children learn that books are interesting and informative.

This prepares them well for early reading. The atmosphere in the nursery is busy and purposeful. Children are supported to follow the nursery rule about being kind to other people.

They begin to understand their own emotions and those of other people. Managers changed the arrival and departure routines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and carers now drop off and collect children from staff at the nursery entrance.

Staff ensure that parents are involved and informed about their children's time in nursery. They speak with parents every day. Staff upload photos of children onto the nursery app.

They write details of children's care routines into a notebook for parents. This promotes continuity in children's care and learning.

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

Managers have established a positive and harmonious nursery.

This helps them to retain a staff team that is highly qualified and experienced. Staff communicate well with each other. This is particularly helpful when children transfer between rooms as they grow.

Parents report that children are supported well and settle quickly into their new rooms.Managers have an annual development plan in place. They have identified that children would benefit from the use of sign language to further support their speech and language development.

However, this has not yet been fully embedded in staff training and practice.Staff help children to feel part of the local and wider community. They take children on walks around the environment.

For example, children visit the birds of prey centre. They talk to the falconry team and learn about different birds. Children take part in activities to raise money for the work of local and overseas charities.

This helps them to think and care about other people.Children play and learn outdoors for extended periods. This encourages them to become deeply engaged in ideas and projects of their own choosing.

This is demonstrated really well in the 'construction site'. Children apply and extend their knowledge of the world when they try out different tools and equipment.They develop strength and balance when they determinedly push the long-handled spade across the floor to collect the bark chippings.

Children eat nutritious, healthy food at nursery. They talk with obvious anticipation about lunch and say that the hotpot will help them to have strong bones. Children grow and eat food, such as strawberries and potatoes.

This helps them to learn where food comes from. They find out that fresh food is seasonal and that growing it requires effort, time and care.Generally, children learn the different meanings of words well.

Staff support younger children by matching words to their actions. However, not all staff apply this consistently across the nursery. Therefore, some children are not extending their vocabulary to the highest level.

Staff support parents to continue children's learning at home. For example, children borrow books from the nursery library. Parents and children share with staff what they liked about the stories.

Their feedback helps staff to learn even more about children's individual preferences and interests. Participation in the library supports children to form their own opinions. Children are becoming discerning readers.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers keep their knowledge of local safeguarding procedures up to date. They ensure that staff understand the nursery's safeguarding policy and know what to do if they are concerned about the welfare of children in their care.

Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of the types of abuse that children may be subject to. They give children and parents appropriate information about internet safety. This helps everyone to be vigilant.

Children are supervised well at all times. Staff carefully follow hygiene routines. This helps to minimise the risk of infections spreading.

Managers and staff maintain required records, such as written accounts of incidents and injuries. This helps to ensure that children's welfare is promoted.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: tailor staff training to focus more sharply on the areas for improvement identified in the setting's annual development plan support staff to consistently help children extend their growing vocabulary by modelling words that represent actions.