Royston Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Important changes have been made since the last inspection. There is now a strong management team in place and staff recruitment and retention are improving. However, due to the recent nature of these changes, the positive impact is not fully established.

The key-person system is not fully effective. Sometimes, leaders require staff to move rooms to meet the requirements of the 'Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage'. This means children do not benefit from consistent support for their learning and development needs.

Despite these challenges, staff meet children's care needs well. If children become ups...et, staff comfort and reassure them kindly. Overall, staff know the children they work with.

Children behave well and staff interact positively with them. Staff help children to resolve minor disagreements and the oldest children help one another with activities. For instance, children complete jigsaw puzzles together, discussing where the different pieces may fit.

Leaders and staff have worked hard to design a curriculum that is broad and purposeful to support children's development. However, some staff do not implement it effectively. As such, while children receive some meaningful learning experiences, staff interactions with children are not consistent enough to support all children's good progress.

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

Leaders are very clear about the progress they have made to improve the nursery since the last inspection. They have a clear and ambitious vision for the future of the nursery, both in the long and short term. This provides them with a solid basis to build on.

However, staffing arrangements are not fully effective to ensure that children receive consistent support in their learning and development.Improvements to the learning environment have a positive impact on children's time at the nursery. Staff ensure that resources are positioned appropriately to help children to build on the skills that they want them to develop.

For instance, in the baby room, equipment is placed so that babies can build their core strength and pull themselves up to standing. They learn to walk successfully as they cruise around the furniture, which is at an appropriate height for them to hold on to.Staff feel well supported in their roles and leaders monitor staff practice regularly.

They provide a range of training to help staff understand how young children learn. However, further work is required to upskill staff to consistently help all children achieve the best possible outcomes. For instance, staff do not implement effective strategies consistently to fully benefit those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

While staff understand what they want children to learn next, the activities they plan are not always delivered effectively. Sometimes, the learning intentions are too broad or too narrow. Staff do not consistently follow children's lead during activities, such as when they are keen to continue with an activity or experience.

This leads to some children not gaining an in-depth understanding of the subject matter being taught, as staff do not build on what children already know and can do successfully.Leaders and staff recognise the importance of children becoming strong communicators. Children delight in joining in with familiar songs and rhymes from a young age.

Staff introduce relevant vocabulary to babies as they explore. The oldest children speak confidently about the different varieties of milk as they discuss allergies while eating their lunch. However, there are occasions where some children, particularly those who speak English as an additional language, do not receive effective support from staff to practise using their emerging vocabulary.

This limits the progress they make in being able to communicate verbally.Parents recognise the positive changes made since the last inspection. Leaders and staff have worked hard to engage parents in their children's care and education.

They have held open days and have recently sent out forms to gather more information about children's home lives. Although the changes to the key-person system are still being embedded, all parents acknowledge that their children are warmly cared for.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date ensure that staffing arrangements allow staff to provide consistent modelling and support to children so that they can achieve the best possible educational outcomes 05/07/2024 support staff to deliver the curriculum to a consistently good standard so that all children build on their learning over time and make at least good progress 05/07/2024 ensure that the key-person system is fully embedded so that children can build attachments with staff and their learning and development is supported effectively.05/07/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: guide staff to provide rich opportunities for children to build on their language and communication skills, particularly those who speak English as an additional language strengthen the programme of professional development for all staff to help them deliver consistent support and interaction for children, including those with SEND.