Seesaws Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children and babies confidently explore the well-planned learning environment and make new discoveries.

They are motivated to learn. As a result, they make good progress and gain a secure foundation for their future learning. Staff use a good range of teaching strategies to help children learn through a balance of adult-led and child-initiated play.

Older children delight in self-chosen role-play games in the home corner. Staff help babies to investigate, play and experiment with real vegetables. Pre-school children learn to play cooperatively, solve problems and work together, such as when they act out the roles of nu...rses and doctors.

During outdoor play, toddlers confidently explore the exciting activities. They become engaged for sustained periods of time mixing mud and water into different consistencies in the mud kitchen. For example, they pretend to cook muddy soup for lunch.

Children are well behaved, kind and considerate. They take turns with others during play and demonstrate good manners. Staff are warm and sensitive in their interactions with children.

They help children to develop confidence and a positive sense of themselves. Staff gather some information from parents when children first start. They provide settling-in sessions to help them get to know children.

However, staff do not always consider ways to find out more from parents about their child's learning at home to contribute to their assessment information.

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

The management team is ambitious and has high expectations. Since the previous inspection, managers have worked closely with the local authority and have made a number of positive changes to improve practice.

They take into account the views of staff, parents and children when making changes.Action plans are used effectively to help staff make specific improvements that benefit children's care, learning, safety and welfare. The managers invest well in their staff and ensure that their workload is manageable.

Staff understand their key roles. They benefit from a programme of supervision and professional development to help them to continually develop their skills.Children are highly valued as individuals.

Staff provide teaching that builds on what children already know and can do. The curriculum reflects children's needs, interests and next steps. Staff are skilled at providing differentiation to ensure that each child is appropriately challenged.

However, at times, the noise level in the pre-school room becomes high and disrupts children's level of concentration and engagement in activities.Staff work with parents and outside professionals to ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. They use individual programmes to ensure that children receive support that is closely matched to their needs.

These children take part in all activities and display high levels of self-esteem as they play.Children develop good literacy, language and communication skills. They enjoy looking at books and sharing their favourite stories with props and finger puppets.

Staff read enthusiastically to children and encourage them to predict what might happen next. They talk to children, count objects, encourage them to sing songs and provide opportunities for mark marking.Staff provide a wide range of rich sensory experiences that enthuse and excite babies to learn.

For example, babies become absorbed and focused as they explore the wealth of items in a well-stocked treasure basket.Overall, good relationships are fostered with parents, who praise the nursery highly. Staff regularly share information with parents about their children's care and early learning.

For example, parents are invited to regular meetings, workshops and coffee mornings. However, staff do not always make the most of opportunities to encourage and support parents to share what they know about their child's learning. This means that parents are not always fully involved in the assessment process.

The key-person system is well established and effective across the nursery. Staff adapt children's routines according to their needs and promote their physical and emotional well-being successfully.Staff help children to adopt healthy eating habits.

Children learn about good hygiene routines, healthy food choices, and the importance of staying hydrated. Freshly prepared food supports children's health and well-being.Staff use the outdoor space creatively.

Children get lots of opportunities to explore the outdoor area. They make good use of the equipment to develop their physical skills as they balance and play games. This helps children to develop and use their small and large muscles.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff understand their responsibility to safeguard children. They describe procedures for working with relevant agencies to help protect children from neglect or harm.

They are aware of the procedures to follow if there was an allegation made against another staff member. There are robust recruitment and vetting systems to check that staff are deemed suitable to work with children. Managers ensure that all new staff benefit from a comprehensive induction, so they have a clear understanding about their roles and responsibilities.

Staff check garden areas for hazards every day before children go outside, including ensuring that they have thoroughly cleaned up after the nursery rabbits. This helps to promote children's safety and well-being.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: consider ways to reduce the level of noise, to further promote children's concentration and engagement in activities support and encourage parents to more consistently share what they know about their child's learning to enable them to play a more active role in their learning and progress.