St Olave’s Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy their time at the nursery. They separate from parents and settle quickly after staff greet them warmly.

Staff value children's voices. They encourage children to make choices as they play. Staff set up the environment so everything is easily accessible to children.

This helps to support children's creativity. For example, children create an elaborate story about going to the airport on a plane. They independently gather resources from all areas of the nursery and use the props to continue their imaginative play.

Staff ask children for permission before they carry out intimate care routines. This... helps to create a culture where children are respected and where they can feel safe and secure. Staff support children to share and take turns.

Children know the 'golden rules' of the nursery, which they helped to create. They remind each other to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Children learn to cooperate with routines.

For example, they wash their hands immediately after entering the nursery. Staff use children's interests to plan how to deliver the curriculum. For example, they set up a sensory mark-making area with oats to support children's literacy skills.

Children are engaged in this and spend a long time using paintbrushes and other tools to draw circles and lines. This helps children to develop their concentration and positive attitudes to learning.

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

Overall, leaders and managers support staff well.

Staff work happily together and say their well-being is valued. The manager ensures that staff access regular training. Staff complete peer observations and receive some coaching and mentoring.

However, managers do not schedule supervision sessions regularly with staff. This means that staff do not have regular opportunities to reflect on their skills and abilities and identify how to extend their practice to a higher level.Staff have high expectations for children's learning.

They scaffold children's thinking well. For example, when talking about bodies, staff ask children what would happen if they did not have any bones. Children make their own connections and act out being like 'jelly', falling to the floor.

However, on occasion, staff's teaching is not developmentally appropriate for all children. For example, staff teach some children using a phonics scheme, when children are not ready for this.Staff use strategies, such as visual prompts and words from other languages, to include all children.

The special educational needs coordinator uses accurate assessments to identify any gaps in children's development. She works in partnership with other professionals to support children. This helps all children to make good progress.

There is a strong focus on teaching children the language of feelings. Staff explore how characters in stories might be feeling. They encourage children to pull different facial expressions to match different emotions.

Staff role model using different strategies when they are feeling sad or angry. This helps children to learn what feelings are and how to regulate themselves.Children delight in being outdoors.

They relish exploring the natural world. For example, children dig for worms and shout excitedly when they find a baby worm. They sing a song to the worm and know that they must handle it gently.

Other children enjoy going on a bear hunt, re-enacting the story using the different features of the garden. They walk around the garden in different ways, stamping, tiptoeing and running. These play and learning opportunities in the garden spark children's imaginations and help them to develop balance, strength and coordination.

Parents speak positively of the nursery. They receive regular updates and have a clear idea of how to support their children's learning at home. Parents are very happy with the care that staff provide.

They say that they can see how much progress their children have made since joining the nursery.Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They know how to escalate safeguarding concerns beyond the managers if necessary.

Leaders and managers have robust recruitment and induction procedures. They check staff's ongoing suitability. This helps to maintain children's safety and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the arrangements for staff supervision to support staff to reflect on their skills and abilities and develop their practice to an even higher level review the approach for teaching older children literacy to make sure that it is appropriate for their stage of development.