Springthorpe Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Respectful relationships between staff and children are evident. For instance, staff sing familiar songs to babies to enhance their play and learning. In response, babies smile and move their whole body to show their enjoyment.

Children develop kind friendships and demonstrate good behaviour. For example, at mealtimes, older children help their peers to cut up their potato, and babies practise vocalisation as they spontaneously 'babble' to one another. This builds children's early social skills.

Children feel safe and secure. For example, babies independently turn over a crate to make their learning more challenging. T...hey learn to step onto the crate and then back off.

As they become more confident, they start to jump off. This shows that, through participation and repetition, children gain greater control of their movements to be able take more risks as they play.Staff purposefully plan activities to strengthen children's developing skills.

For example, once toddlers are confident on a bicycle, staff encourage them to use the ramp to increase the level of challenge. Toddlers say 'weee' as they lift their legs up high and travel down the ramp at speed. Additionally, staff ensure that funding is spent to meet the needs of the children it is for.

For instance, when staff identify gaps in children's experiences outdoors, they purchase resources to extend children's interests outdoors. This helps to give children greater experiences.

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

On entry, all children are assigned a key person.

Parents say that key persons care about their children and inform them of their child's progress. However, children do not always benefit from time with their key persons. Although there are strategies in place to help staff to understand what all children need to learn, staff do not always use these to get to know children better.

This does not help children to make rapid progress in their learning.The manager highlights the impact staff retention has had on the nursery. However, she is strongly supported by other professionals in the company to provide all children with a good level of care and education.

Additionally, existing staff comment on the ongoing support they receive from managers to drive improvements to benefit children's routines and behaviours.There are consistent policies and procedures in place across the company to support staff to fulfil their roles. For example, to further support children with dietary requirements, the manager ensures that individual plates and bowls are colour-coded and place mats are clearly labelled to highlight requirements.

This means that all staff, including supply staff, are aware of allergens. This prevents cross-contamination and promotes children's safety.The manager is committed to building a cohesive and skilled team.

Training is prioritised to build on staff's knowledge and skills and to strengthen teaching and learning. There are thorough procedures in place to ensure that staff are deemed suitable to work with children. This includes a vigorous induction procedure to ensure that staff understand their responsibilities.

Staff support children in a secure routine to practise and develop their self-help skills. They encourage repetition of underpinning skills to help efficiency in children's learning. For example, after lunchtime, children wash their own hands and face, and staff oversee the routine to further encourage children to check if they are clean.

This helps children to reflect on their own health and hygiene.Staff plan the curriculum to help to prepare children for school. For instance, older children practise dressing and undressing themselves to prepare them for future physical education lessons.

Furthermore, children learn to take it in turns to speak in a group. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who benefit from 'bucket time' to develop their shared attention skills. This ensures that all children strengthen their listening and communication skills ready for a larger group setting.

Staff listen to parents' and carers' views to further engage children in a diverse spectrum of activities. For example, staff provide oral health packs for parents when toothbrushing at home becomes challenging, and they encourage parents to look at online blogs to further understand their child's development. Additionally, books are used with children to relay information about healthy relationships and families.

This helps to promote inclusion, security and positive well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff are knowledgeable about child protection and safeguarding issues, including female genital mutilation, cuckooing and county lines.

They have a secure understanding of the correct procedures to follow should they have concerns about a child's welfare. This includes how to whistle-blow. There are effective systems to monitor children's absences and accidents to identify patterns of concern.

Staff actively count children out of the building and take children's medication with them to ensure their safety outdoors. Staff benefit from regular training, quizzes and meetings to discuss safeguarding and child protection.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: build on existing strategies to strengthen staff knowledge of children, with particular focus on newly appointed key persons and supply staff.