Seashells Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children settle with ease when they come to nursery. Staff have a tailored approach to ensure that every child is comfortable and happy.

They build good relationships with children. For example, children giggle and chat as staff play with them. Later, children cuddle up and share stories for a quiet time before lunch.

Staff deploy themselves well to offer good support for children's learning. Children are motivated and eager to take part in the activities on offer. For example, children relish the opportunity to splash in water and take part in mark-making opportunities.

Children enjoy the choice to play outsi...de throughout the day.Support for children's behaviour is good. Staff consider aspects that can impact on children's behaviour, such as the environment.

They carefully assess this to ensure they are meeting the needs of all children. For example, the pre-school room has recently undergone an overall review, with the needs of the children in mind, ready to welcome children in the new term.There has been a strong focus on curriculum development throughout the setting since the last inspection.

Staff have ongoing discussions to ensure that the sequencing of the curriculum is consistent as children move through the rooms. As a result, children gain the skills needed to help prepare them to transition between rooms and on to school.

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

The leadership team and staff are passionate and committed to ensuring that all children in their care receive the support they need to build on their skills.

They use additional funding well to help children strengthen their skills in key areas. The leadership team have recently had difficulty recruiting enough qualified staff, and temporarily closed their baby room as a result. However, they now have a full staff team and are able to offer care to all ages.

Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good support. In addition, staff work hard to ensure that children who require additional medical care are included. For example, there are risk assessments and care plans in place to ensure that children are able to be fully involved in the setting.

Consequently, the setting is fully inclusive. However, not enough information is known about children who speak more than one language. At times, staff are not sure about the language spoken when children are at home to be able to fully support their overall development and understanding of themselves.

Children are independent and know the routines of the setting well. They enjoy developing their physical skills and cutting up their own fruit. Younger children in particular like the opportunity to pour their own drinks.

Mealtimes are interactive as staff happily chat to children. Staff have good strategies in place to help children to understand what is happening next. For example, they show children picture cards when they have their nappies changed, and children respond well.

Staff share that they feel supported by the leadership team and are eager to develop their skills. They communicate well and discuss their practice and areas that they can improve within the setting. For example, room leaders have discussed how they can ensure that each room has a consistent approach to benefit children's development.

Parents share that the setting is good. They receive good information about their children's time at nursery and what they are learning. However, the partnership working does not consistently show enough positive changes to support children's understanding of healthy eating.

The leadership team and staff have an excellent understanding of the needs of the local community. They work closely with the on-site children's centre to help provide support for children and their families. As a result, support is gained quickly and is effective in helping children and families get access to external services.

Children show high levels of engagement in activities of their own choosing. Staff adapt activities well. They talk to children about what they are doing and encourage discussions between children.

For example, staff encourage teamwork as children work together to fill their buckets of water.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The leadership team and staff have a confident knowledge of local safeguarding procedures.

They have a secure system in place for staff to escalate their concerns about children. Staff know the importance of sharing concerns with the designated leads, who take swift action where needed. They consider a range of factors that could impact on children's safety.

For example, they have carefully planned their day during recent extreme weather to make sure that children can play safely and enjoy their time at nursery. As a result, risk assessments are effective.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen partnership working with parents to extend the support around healthy eating to support children's overall development build on the support for children who speak more than one language to gain a greater understanding of how languages are used within their home to support their overall development and understanding of themselves.

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