St Thomas’s Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive happily at the nursery and separate from their main carers with ease. They know where to put their belongings and show strong independence skills as they take off their coats. Children are very confident communicators; this includes the many children who speak English as an additional language.

Young children enjoy baking activities, where they learn and practise new words, such as 'squishy'. Pre-school children happily chat to visitors and are keen to talk about what they enjoy doing at nursery. They report they are happy and that the staff always look after them.

Children are developing a positive att...itude to learning in preparation for school. Young children enjoy activities based on favourite books and show a good understanding of the sequence of events in stories. Pre-school children are learning how to use books to gain information from.

Staff help them to find out about garden birds, such as by reading out statements from factual books. Children are well behaved. Staff model how to be kind and respectful to others.

When children occasionally struggle to manage their behaviour, staff calmly intervene to meet children's needs.

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

The manager and staff have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn. They plan a curriculum that is based on children's interests and adapted to meet their learning needs.

Robust procedures for monitoring children's development help staff to swiftly identify and address any gaps in learning. All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their individual starting points.Children are developing strong literacy skills.

They readily use books for pleasure and to gain information from. Staff help children to learn how text carries meaning as they read out numbered steps from recipe cards. Young children enjoy using pens to make marks and are beginning to give meaning to their drawings.

Many pre-school children can write their names and are interested in how words are formed.Parent's comments about the nursery and staff are positive. They state that they feel well informed about their children's development and know how to support their learning at home.

Parents are highly appreciative of the additional support they receive when their children are diagnosed with having SEND.Children's health and well-being are given high priority. Staff talk about how having snack available over a period of time helps children to listen to their own bodies and eat when they are ready.

Children access the outdoor area to get fresh air and exercise their large muscles by balancing and jumping. Staff support children to wash their hands at appropriate times throughout the day and discuss the need to remove germs.Overall, children show good engagement levels and are motivated to learn, particularly in group activities.

For instance, children concentrate intently for long periods when making bird feeders. However, there are some occasions when children's, especially boys', free play becomes boisterous and lacks purpose. Some staff actively support these children to challenge their energy into more meaningful learning, however, this is not consistent with all staff.

Staff value and support each child as an individual. They are aware of children's cultural backgrounds and what languages children speak at home. However, staff do not use these wonderful opportunities to help children to celebrate what make them unique and help them to learn what they have in common with others.

The staff team is well qualified and consistent. The manager regularly evaluates their practice and staff undertake continuous professional development to enhance their knowledge and teaching skills. Staff report they feel valued and supported, both professionally and personally.

They are highly motivated and are keen to continually develop their skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a clear understanding of their role and responsibility to protect children from harm.

They know how to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and extremist behaviour. Staff understand the procedure for reporting any concerns and are confident to contact other professionals as needed. They regularly complete safeguarding training and give high priority to ensuring children are safe.

The provider has rigorous recruitment procedures in place to help ensure staff are suitable to work with children. A robust induction procedure enables new staff to fully understand their safeguarding responsibilities.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to identify when boys' energy and enthusiasm needs re-directing into more meaningful activity and learning provider further opportunities for children to understand and celebrate what makes them unique and what they have in common with others.