Stoneycroft Children’s Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The nursery is a hub of excellence. Children are incredibly confident, independent and happy.

The passionate leaders are extremely successful at conveying their vision to the whole staff team. Children benefit from the language-rich curriculum. They enjoy an inspiring and varied selection of well-organised activities.

This ensures children develop a passion for life-long learning from an early age. Staff provide an extensive range of exciting activities in the outdoor play area. Children are enthralled to explore and investigate the range of opportunities available.

Babies are captivated as they dig for... vegetables outside. Staff introduce children to vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots. They encourage children to count how many they have found.

Younger children investigate the concept of sinking and floating in the water tray. Staff extend their learning by introducing new vocabulary, such as 'full' and 'empty'. Children confidently pour water into different containers as they sing nursery rhymes.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. Staff teach children feeling words. This helps children to express their emotions effectively.

Older children become engrossed in their daily mindfulness session. They practise breathing and perform peer massage exercises with their partner. This helps children to regulate their emotions and to calm their bodies down after lunchtime.

Children are becoming very independent learners. Babies cut their own bananas at snack time and wait patiently as the pieces are shared out. Younger children hang their own coats up and put their own shoes on when they come in from outside.

Older children carry their own hot lunch from the serving counter to their tables in the hall. They use cutlery confidently to eat their lunch.

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

Staff establish incredibly positive relationships with children.

They have a deep understanding of children's starting points and the experiences and skills that they arrive with or without. Staff are incredibly passionate and enthusiastic. They skilfully provide children with the skills they need to succeed.

This includes children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.The management team provides inspirational leadership and gives the highest priority to staff morale and well-being. It is knowledgeable about factors that may have an impact on this.

The management team promotes a culture of openness, where staff feel very well supported and work excellently as a team.Children's behaviour is exemplary. They have a clear understanding of what is expected of them.

From a young age, children interact with their peers with kindness and tolerance. They actively take turns and share equipment. Staff consistently praise children for their positive behaviour.

Children flourish in the extensive outdoor environment. They have ample opportunities to be physically active and show good control in both small and large movements. Their physical development is even further extended by their weekly physical-education sessions in the school hall.

The nursery's partnership working is worthy of sharing with others. Staff establish extraordinarily good partnerships with a range of professionals. They liaise with professionals on a daily basis to ensure children's needs are met.

Staff go above and beyond to create seamless transitions to subsequent rooms and then on to school. Children have exceptionally strong relationships with their new teachers well before it is time for them to move. This promotes children's emotional well-being and provides a strong foundation for their future learning.

Parents are actively involved with every aspect of their child's learning. They extend children's learning at home in all areas of the curriculum, using the vast bank of ideas given to them on the parent app. The nursery has an open-door policy.

Parents work with children for activities such as phonics workshops. Parents attend courses to promote signing with children at home. They are full of praise for the outstanding service this nursery offers.

They comment that staff are 'fantastic' and praise them for their continued help and support.The quality of teaching is outstanding. The manager works alongside staff and provides ongoing evaluation, coaching and support.

She makes careful plans for the development of each member of staff, which builds on their teaching skills and professional knowledge.Staff provide children with excellent opportunities that help them to understand the importance of helping others who are less fortunate than themselves. For example, they are actively involved with a range of charities in the local community.

Children go on trips to buy items from local grocery shops and attend the library for story-time sessions. This further enhances their knowledge and experiences of people and the community that they live in.Mathematical development is embedded throughout the nursery.

Younger children use tape measures to measure how long objects are. Older children count out loud as they transport ducks from one water tray to another, using drainpipes. They use positional language successfully as they describe where the teddy bear is hiding.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have an excellent understanding of what constitutes a safeguarding concern. They understand the procedures to follow to protect children from harm.

Staff keep their knowledge up to date through attending training courses, accessing online training and holding staff meetings. Good recruitment procedures and rigorous background checks ensure that children are always cared for by suitable adults. Risk assessments are completed to minimise any risks to children.

Children are supervised well. The intercom system enables staff to check a person's identity before letting them in. Consequently, children are protected.