Salisbury Street Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Improvements have been made in the nursery since the last inspection. The play environments have been adjusted to meet the specific and current needs of the children attending.

As a result, children confidently access the resources that interest them. This has helped to increase their engagement in purposeful play experiences. Consequently, children's behaviour is much improved.

Children are happy and settled in this nursery. They build close relationships with staff, who are nurturing and warm towards them. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

Children have fun while they play. For example, babies use... their senses to taste and feel textures that are safe for them to access. They use spoons and other tools to transport the mixture to various pots and bowls.

Older children learn how to make play dough. They discuss with staff how the dough feels and know they must add flour to prevent it from feeling sticky. All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), show positive attitudes to learning.

Children acquire the knowledge and skills they need to prepare them for their next stages in learning and the eventual move on to school.

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

The nursery curriculum is well designed and ambitious. Staff have a clear intent for what they want each child to learn and achieve in all areas of the nursery.

They use information from observations to assess learning and plan for what children need to learn next. However, when children first start, information from parents is not yet gathered effectively to inform staff of what children already know and can do so that they can plan to build on this learning from the outset.Staff promote communication and language well.

They use a range of regular songs and rhymes and have lots of interesting conversations to engage children, build their vocabulary and increase their speaking skills. For example, young children enjoy playing with staff. They use spoons and other tools to move cereals and dried pasta from bowls to plates.

Staff use clear speech and gently repeat words, which helps children to hear and learn new words in context, such as 'scoop', 'full' and 'empty'.Children develop increasing independence. For example, babies learn to feed themselves with appropriate cutlery, while older children are keen to help tidy away and dress themselves while managing their own personal care needs.

Children behave well. They understand the behaviour that is expected of them and respond well to staff's gentle reminders to use 'kind hands' and to wait for their turn. Children routinely use good manners and receive lots of praise from staff for positive behaviour.

This helps to raise children's self-esteem.Leaders and managers have worked hard to provide a programme of training, mentoring and support from the local authority early years team to improve staff's teaching and interactions with children. This has helped to raise the overall quality of the provision for learning.

However, there are times of the day, particularly before lunchtime, when the organisation of routines does not support children to engage as well because they wait to wash their hands and then wait again to receive their lunch.Children with SEND and those in need of additional support receive the tailored learning they need to make the progress they are capable of. This is because staff are proactive in seeking advice and support at the earliest opportunity to enable them to work effectively with these children and help them to feel included.

Children enjoy being active and engaged in play outdoors. They have fun as they master their use of wheeled toys. Children build with a range of blocks and other resources to make their own obstacle courses to walk along.

This helps children to use their problem-solving skills and develop their balancing skills. Babies have safe spaces to crawl, practise walking and use ride-on toys.Parents speak highly of the nursery and say how well their children are learning.

They say their children look forward to and enjoy attending. Parents comment positively about the updates they receive about their child's development and what they are currently learning. They say that staff and managers are supportive, friendly and approachable.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff, including leaders and managers, understand their duty to protect children from harm. Staff identify signs and symptoms that indicate a child may be at risk of abuse.

They know the local procedures to report concerns about the welfare of a child or when an allegation is made against a colleague. Staff know how to escalate their concerns if required. Procedures for recruitment are robust.

This includes the background checks that must be carried out to ensure that staff are suitable to work in the nursery. The premises, activities and additional security measures are routinely checked to ensure that children are safe to attend the nursery.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the information that parents provide when children first start to attend the nursery, to ensure that staff have the information they need to support children's learning needs from the outset nensure that the daily routine, specifically before lunchtime, enables children to continue to engage in purposeful play and learning.