Rocking Horse Kindergarten

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy their time at nursery. They feel safe and secure and form strong bonds with staff, seeking them out for cuddles and reassurance when needed.

Children enjoy engaging in a range of activities that are well matched to their needs and interests. Staff have high expectations for behaviour, and behaviour is consistently good. Children always use good manners, share toys and take turns.

There is a wealth of opportunities for children to develop their independence. For example, children tidy up after themselves, clean up after snack and choose their own resources in play. Older children pour their own drinks and... cut up their own snacks.

Children develop their communication skills well. They enjoy joining in with a range of popular nursery rhymes and listening to stories throughout the day. Staff support children to develop their personal and emotional skills.

Children read stories about feelings and use their 'feeling's duck' to talk about their own emotions. Opportunities for children to develop their physical skills are excellent. Children benefit from a range of climbing equipment on offer.

For example, babies enjoy climbing up steps and ramps as they practise their crawling. Older children develop their smaller hand muscles by using scissors, glue and pens to create pictures.

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

The manager and staff work closely with parents to find out what children know and can do when they start attending the nursery.

Once children are settled, staff use a rigorous assessment process to ensure any gaps in learning are swiftly identified and addressed. This means that children make consistently good progress from their starting points.The manager has a clear intent for the ambitious curriculum and plans it in a sequential way.

Staff are flexible and reflective. They adapt activities to meet children's needs and interests and use additional funding effectively. This means that children are engaged in activities that are well planned to their age and stage of development.

The manager places a high priority on fundamental British values. Staff teach children about respect and celebrate similarities and differences. Staff support children to learn about a range of cultural beliefs, festivals and family backgrounds through discussion and stories.

Staff invite relatives to celebrate special events with children, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day.Children benefit from a range of opportunities to practise their communication skills with adults. For example, staff ask children a range of open-ended and engaging questions and talk to children about what they are doing in their play.

They also use visual aids and signs to support communication. However, staff's teaching does not fully support children to engage with other children in their play as well as they do with adults. Children often choose to play on their own and do not talk to their peers in play.

This means that pre-school children do not always have the opportunity to form strong friendships with their peers.The key-person system is extremely effective. Key persons know their children well and are attuned to their individual needs and interests.

They plan activities to bridge any gaps in learning and support children's next steps. Key persons build strong relationships with parents, which helps parents to support their child's learning at home.Parents speak extremely highly of the nursery and say children are happy to attend.

They praise the staff for the support they provide and say their children make good progress. Parents say that any suggestions they put forward to the manager are quickly put into place. Parents praise the regular communication staff offer that keeps them informed of their child's learning and progress.

The manager is highly reflective and has already made a range of positive changes to the nursery since she started. She understands the importance of professional development. However, not all staff have yet had the opportunity to upskill their knowledge and enhance their professional development.

This means that teaching is not always of a consistently high standard.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff understand their responsibilities to protect children from harm.

They know signs and symptoms that are potential indicators of abuse. Staff know the procedures they must follow should they have concerns about a child's welfare. They know the procedures to follow should a concern arise about the conduct of a colleague.

The manager follows robust recruitment and induction procedures to help to ensure the suitability of staff who work with children. Staff meticulously check all areas of the nursery to ensure they are safe and suitable for children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nenhance teaching to provide further support to pre-school age children so that they learn to play collaboratively and form friendships with one another provide staff with professional development opportunities to raise the quality of teaching to an even higher level.