Quaggy at Margaret Bondfield Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Parents feel welcome in the setting and have strong relationships with staff.

Information from home and the nursery is used to assess progress and set next steps. This results in clear plans for children's progress. The atmosphere in the main room is calm and organised, so children happily and safely explore the toys and resources they are most interested in.

They move freely from one learning opportunity to another, inside and outdoors. Staff value children's independence and this encourages lots of problem-solving, and working alongside each other. Behaviour is good.

Children with special educational needs a...nd/or disabilities (SEND) receive extremely high levels of support and make very strong connections with highly skilled and committed key persons. There are high expectations for these children to achieve, and they progress well. The nursery really values being part of the community.

It attends many local events, and welcomes local groups into the setting to work with the children. This gives children and their families a real sense of being involved in a diverse community and the life of the nursery.

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

Parents praise the staff and the nursery, and are very happy with the time their children spend there.

They are comfortable speaking to staff about their children, and feel their opinions are valued. Parents say that they receive good information about their children's progress.A highly committed team of CEO and senior leadership supports the nursery.

Their input ensures consistency of care for the children during management changes. The trustees provide the inspiration for some unique resources and good practice. One example is 'Halo the Hippo'.

Halo has his own social media page where families share his adventures after he visits them at home. Halo helps children to recognise emotions.The setting manager, staff, CEO and senior leadership team work closely with other professionals.

This results in clear and effective personal learning plans for children with SEND and those in receipt of funding. Additional funding is spent well on training for staff and specialist equipment. Children enjoy the sensory room and the specialist sessions that go on for those with a diagnosis of autism.

Staff talk respectfully to children and use effective teaching strategies to develop their knowledge and skills. However, teaching is inconsistent. Some staff fail to engage children's interests or extend their learning.

Sometimes, expectations of children are too high, which leads to inappropriate delivery of the curriculum. For example, children who have not developed the physical skills necessary to grip a pencil, are being taught to form letters.The nursery manager and senior practitioner are new to their roles and are still developing strong leadership skills.

This has resulted in some weak staff deployment. For example, of the three staff outside with the children, only one is based at the nursery. This member of staff's attention is on supporting a child with SEND.

As a result, children do not receive sensitive and skilled interactions from adults who know them well. Inside, younger children miss out on individual attention and teaching. This is because their key person is engaged in other duties.

For example, one member of staff is busy changing all nappies. Another spends most of the morning maintaining daily records, or delivering a large-group session. A third member of staff's time is dedicated to giving one-to-one support.

Staff contribute towards weekly planning of focus activities. This means that activity plans are based on the interests and needs of their key children. However, the key-person approach is not applied to care practices.

Nappies are changed using a rota system, and at lunchtime children do not sit with their key person or group. As a result, children do not benefit fully from these social times, which help to build their emotional security.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff talk confidently about actions they would take if they had concerns about a child. The trust early years lead is the designated safeguarding lead, and staff know how to contact her. Regular training supports their understanding of different types of abuse.

Children learn about risks and how to keep themselves safe. The manager follows up absences promptly, and is aware of appropriate actions to take if there are concerns.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove leadership skills and deploy staff effectively so that children receive focused adult interaction from the adults who know them best nincrease all staff's knowledge of how children learn, and develop a bank of teaching strategies which give all children challenging experiences.

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