Shining Stars Nursery (Appleby) Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The atmosphere at Shining Stars Nursery is warm, welcoming and lively. The bright, spacious and well-resourced rooms provide children with plenty of space to explore and encourage them to lead their own play and learning.

Children show high levels of curiosity and concentrate for long periods of time on specific tasks. For example, children carefully connect cogs together and try different combinations to create a flow of movement. Staff offer lots of praise, celebrating children's achievements and promoting their self-confidence.

Staff show high expectations of children's behaviour as they offer gentle reminders about... the nursery rules. As a result, children's behaviour is excellent. Children promptly follow instructions and requests from staff and confidently tell visitors about the nursery rules and why they follow them.

Staff continuously show children that they are valued and important. They ensure good eye contact and listen carefully to what children have to say. Staff encourage children to learn from one another, suggesting they listen to each other's ideas and experiences.

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

Staff are well qualified and experienced. They have a good knowledge of the curriculum and implement all areas of learning well. They use their good knowledge of children to decide what children need to learn next.

This helps to keep children motivated to learn and impacts positively on their good progress.Staff support children's thinking and speaking skills very well. They ask questions that are well posed and open ended and carefully listen to children's answers before forming another question.

Children gain an excellent understanding of letters and the sounds they represent. For example, staff working with toddlers introduce brief group sessions. Children enjoy identifying letter sounds and copying the associated actions for each letter.

Pre-school children show exceptional listening skills as they become entirely absorbed during story time. Staff read slowly and clearly, helping to ensure all children can follow. They use excellent intonation and tone of voice to differentiate the characters, building on children's enjoyment.

Children confidently answer questions about the story and share their own comparative experiences.Staff working with babies are caring and attentive. They ensure routines from home are well known and followed.

This helps babies to develop strong attachments. Babies show they feel safe and secure. They approach staff for comfort and confidently engage with visitors to the nursery.

Babies enjoy lots of sensory stimulation. They enjoy exploring textures as part of themed activities, supported well by staff who join in and act as good role models.The nursery manager, who is also the provider, is skilled and knowledgeable.

She provides good support for the staff team through role modelling and feedback on teaching and practice. However, current systems for performance management do not provide the manager with in-depth evaluations of all areas of staff practice, in order to raise the quality to the highest levels.All staff contribute to self-evaluation and, along with the manager, act swiftly to implement agreed changes.

However, the manager has not focused her commitment and passion to engaging in evaluation that is incisive and highly challenging to gain a more in-depth understanding of where enhancements can be made.Children have wonderful opportunities to learn about the world around them and to develop an understanding and appreciation of difference. For example, children thoroughly enjoy waving at the horse-drawn carriages en route to the annual town horse fair.

Staff provide a wide range of activities for children to join in with that further promote their understanding of the event and help to explore differences within their own and the traveller community.Partnership working is strong. There is a good two-way flow of communication and information sharing in place.

Parents spoken to share that they feel involved in their children's learning and are supported to continue learning at home. There is an equally well-established partnership working with local schools and settings the children also attend. The manager is proactive in finding effective ways to share information.

This helps to create a collaborative approach to children's learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff demonstrate a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

They are aware of signs that may indicate a concern about a child's welfare and the appropriate action to take. Staff are also confident in taking action should they be concerned about a colleague or member of the management team. There are regular training opportunities to support staff in their ongoing knowledge and understanding of child protection as well as wider safeguarding issues.

For example, staff receive formal face-to-face training at least every three years and revisit various areas of safeguarding at every staff meeting. Clear recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove self-evaluation, including of the impact of staff practice, to identify more precisely areas that can be further enhanced.