Stonecroft Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff gather useful information about children before they start at the nursery.

This helps them provide a tailored approach to meet children's individual needs and helps children settle easily and quickly. Staff know the children very well and provide a warm welcome. Children arrive happy and eager to play with their friends.

They are thrilled to see their special key person and jump into their arms on arrival. Children behave well and are kind to each other. Older and younger children come together at different times of the day.

This helps them become familiar with all the staff who work across different roo...ms. The staff team is committed to providing the best possible care and learning for children and to keeping them safe. Staff have a strong focus on promoting children's language and literacy.

They take a genuine interest in what children say and allow them time to think and speak. This helps children become confident talkers. The premises are wheelchair accessible.

Staff actively welcome children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They provide excellent support for these children to ensure they make the best possible progress in their development and learning. Staff liaise effectively with other professionals to make sure that children have appropriate support to help them access the curriculum.

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

Parents are extremely complimentary about the wonderful support and consider the nursery as part of their 'extended family'. Parents value the information that is shared daily about their children's learning and development. They report that their children teach them songs and rhymes that they have learned at nursery.

Parents state that their children are always happy to go to nursery and that the staff are 'welcoming and genuinely caring'.The manager has an accurate view of what works well. She provides support and guidance for staff and encourages them to access training to continually improve their professional development.

Staff feel valued and appreciated by the manager and owner.There is a 'no outdoor shoes' policy in the baby room, which helps stop the spread of germs as babies crawl. Staff make sure babies' home routines are followed.

They are monitored when they sleep, and bedding is changed for each baby. The room is organised so that babies have plenty of space to cruise and move with walkers. Babies enjoy exploring sensory play, such as shaving foam.

Toddlers enjoy stories and singing songs in their 'cosy den'. Staff encourage children to be independent and support them to put on wellington boots and coats when they play outside in all weathers. Staff support children with their small-muscle skills when they use jigsaw puzzles.

Children benefit from ample opportunities to play with sand and water.Pre-school children learn good manners. They say 'please' and 'thank you' and wait their turn to speak at circle time.

Children learn about the different seasons and days of the week. They enjoy being the special helper each day, which boosts their self-esteem and gives them a sense of responsibility. Staff make sure children are well prepared for their move to school.

Children have strong attachments with staff. They go to them if they need a cuddle. Staff are kind and caring and are good role models.

Although staff provide children with interesting and exciting activities, they do not consistently interact with children to extend their learning even further. Some staff incorporate mathematics into children's learning. However, it is not consistently used in everyday activities to teach children about numbers, shape and measure.

The cook provides children with a variety of healthy and nutritious snacks and hot meals. She caters for children's likes and differing dietary requirements. All children eat together at lunchtime in a calm and social environment.

Babies take great delight in feeding themselves. Older children eat with 'proper' cutlery.Children benefit from opportunities to be physically active, both indoors and outside.

The older children enjoy moving their bodies to music. All children benefit from the large outdoor area. They ride on tricycles, balance on beams, jump on the trampoline and use their problem-solving skills as they master the large 'Jenga' blocks.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Significant improvements have been made since the previous inspection. The manager, who is also the designated lead for safeguarding, and staff have all completed child protection training.

This has helped improve their understanding of how to keep children safe. Improvements have also been made to the way staff identify, record and share information with other professionals if they have a concern about a child's welfare. The systems for recording pre-existing injuries have improved.

Staff ask parents for an explanation about how the injury occurred. Staff know the action to follow if a non-mobile baby has an injury.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nincorporate mathematics more to help children learn even further about numbers, shape and measure further improve staff interactions with children and seize opportunities to provide the best possible learning experiences.