Rocking Horse Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy spending time at the nursery.

They develop strong bonds with staff, who value the individual personalities of the children they care for. Children quickly settle into the nursery and are happy, safe and well cared for. Babies and toddlers are developing good physical skills.

They develop good attitudes to trying new things and staff support them well. For instance, younger children enjoy trying new fruits. They learn how to feed themselves independently and develop good hand-to-eye coordination skills.

Children behave well and are kind, caring and respectful towards staff and their peers.Childre...n benefit from a curriculum which supports them to make good progress in their learning. Staff have developed a 'nursery library' where children can choose books to share with staff and their parents.

This helps to support their growing interest in literacy. Children concentrate well during activities that interest them and develop good listening and attention skills. Pre-school children develop good mathematical skills.

They learn to count confidently and use numbers purposefully in a variety of activities. Children for whom the nursery is in receipt of additional funding are supported well. Staff use funding to target areas where their development needs extra support.

For instance, children have benefited from hands-on cooking activities to broaden their knowledge of healthy eating. Parents comment on how their children enjoy making and trying new foods at home, as result of learning that has taken place at the nursery.

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

The manager and her staff worked closely with parents during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic lockdown.

They kept in contact with parents and supported key children to attend the setting. Staff adapted settling-in routines for children and gathered more information about home routines, to help babies settle happily. The manager and staff recognise the negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children's personal, social and emotional development.

Staff have prioritised this and are successfully helping children to learn how to play cooperatively and develop friendships with other children at the nursery.The manager leads her team well. Staff are passionate about providing children with good-quality care and learning opportunities.

There is a happy and harmonious environment within the nursery, which contributes to children's good learning experiences. Staff say that they enjoy working at the nursery and feel valued and respected by the management team. Staff benefit from regular coaching, supervision and support to develop their knowledge and skills.

The manager recognises that there is more that she can do to continue to build on the professional development of her staff, particularly extending their knowledge of how to develop children's speaking skills.Children make good progress in their physical skills. Staff encourage children to develop confidence in their growing abilities.

For example, in the garden, older children enjoy pushing themselves along on ride-on bicycles and tricycles as they navigate confidently and safely around their friends. Toddlers learn how to climb steps to the slide. Staff praise children when activities are more challenging.

This helps children to develop a can-do attitude to learning.Staff work well with parents and other agencies involved in children's care. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from the regular and precise sharing of information, to support a joined-up approach to the care and learning experiences they receive.

Parents speak highly of the nursery and staff. They value the regular sharing of information about their children, to keep them informed of their key achievements and ongoing progress.Opportunities to develop children's communication and language skills are supported well, overall.

Staff introduce and use a wide range of vocabulary with children. Babies and toddlers benefit from staff talking to them as they play and during daily routines, such as mealtimes and snack times. Staff plan activities to support older children's communication skills.

For instance, as children recall caring for caterpillars in nursery, they talk about how caterpillars turn into butterflies. Staff capture this opportunity to model new language, such as the word 'cocoon'. They help children to repeat the word back clearly and explain what the word means.

However, sometimes, staff do not consider how to encourage and support quieter and less-confident children to share their ideas, views and wishes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff create a safe environment for children to play and learn.

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe. They know how to identify and report concerns about children's welfare to the appropriate agencies, and how to escalate these concerns, to keep children safe. Staff know how to identify the dangers posed to children from extreme views and behaviours and how to report their concerns.

They know how to respond to allegations about another member of staff. Recruitment procedures are used to ensure that staff are suitable to work in the nursery, including on an ongoing basis.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the professional development of staff to develop their knowledge of how to support and extend children's speaking skills nexplore more ways to encourage quieter and less-confident children to communicate their wants, needs and ideas more consistently.

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