Rydal Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The manager and staff create a nurturing and vibrant environment where children are enthusiastic to play and learn. Staff warmly welcome children into the nursery, where they feel safe and secure. Staff provide children and parents with tailored settling-in sessions.

Staff visit children at home before they start, and gather information about their likes and interests. As a result, children settle quickly. Children are extremely content at the setting and make secure attachments with staff, especially their key person.

Children also form strong friendships with other children. Staff are positive role models and support... children's understanding of boundaries and positive behaviour. They teach children to share, take turns and be respectful towards each other.

Staff plan a variety of opportunities and experiences, which significantly promotes children's learning and development. For example, staff invite professionals such as dentists, nurses and animal specialists to the nursery to inspire and extend children's emerging interests. Staff have also established very good links with the local community.

For instance, children regularly visit the local residential care home and share their learning with those of a different generation. These meaningful interactions significantly enhance children's confidence and self-esteem. Staff take full advantage of the outdoor surroundings and often plan outings to promote children's understanding and knowledge of the local community.

For example, children benefit from exciting activities and learning on the nearby beach and woodland.

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

Parents are extremely complimentary about the staff and the setting. They comment on the excellent opportunities and experiences available to children and the high levels of progress their children have made since starting at the nursery.

Children make good progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide good support for children with SEND and work closely with professionals. Parents speak highly about the manager and her staff and they state that they feel very lucky to have such excellent childcare on their doorstep.

Parents are actively involved in their child's learning. Staff share information with parents regarding their child's progress and learning through a variety of ways, including parents' evenings.Children develop positive attitudes to their learning.

They show high levels of independence in their play as they choose from the variety of resources indoors and outdoors. Older children persevere as they practise balancing along the wooden beams. They work together to help their friends to successfully reach the end of each beam without stepping off.

Younger children show excitement as they find different-sized cars to push down the guttering. While staff do have high expectations for all children, they do not consistently make the most of their interactions with children to extend their learning and enable them to make the best possible progress.Children are confident learners and are eager to explore the activities on offer.

Younger children show curiosity as they explore the texture of sand on their feet. Some of them show delight as they explore the different marks they can make in the sand using their bodies. Older children investigate natural resources and test out their ideas as they cut materials to make bird nests.

They enjoy blowing the feathers from their hands and eagerly watch how far they float. While children do show good engagement, some of the daily routines, such as preparing children's sleep mats, take children away from their play and learning. Consequently, children become disengaged and restless.

The manager is passionate about her role and is committed to helping staff to provide the best possible care and education for children. The manager has recently changed their observation and planning processes, which supports staff to spend more time with children. Staff have received training and support to understand their role and the expectations of the new planning.

The manager has invited parents into the setting to ensure they are involved in the changes and have provided them with detailed information on how staff will monitor children's learning. While the manager and staff feel this is a positive move for the nursery, the manager acknowledges that there is still some work to be done.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff have a secure knowledge of the procedures to follow to protect children's welfare. They have a good understanding of child protection policies and procedures, including wider safeguarding concerns, such as radicalisation. Staff receive regular training to ensure their safeguarding knowledge is up to date.

The manager has robust recruitment procedures and ongoing checks to help to ensure the suitability of staff. New staff receive a clear induction before they start, to enable them to fully understand their roles and responsibilities.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of daily routines to ensure children consistently have opportunities to be fully engaged in their learning continue to develop staff's practice to help raise the quality of their interactions with children to a consistently high level.