Surestart Whitley Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy playing in the spacious rooms and gardens provided for them. For the majority of the time in nursery, they can freely choose whether to play indoors or outside. Children have warm bonds with staff and demonstrate they feel happy, safe and secure in their care.

They play happily with their friends and are very keen to take part in their activities. Children show a thorough understanding of their routines. They cooperatively help during 'tidy up' times and are very well-behaved during transitions into group sessions or lunch.

Overall, children develop knowledge across all seven areas of learning. They bene...fit from a curriculum that promotes independence, language and communication well. For example, babies thoroughly enjoy their explorations outdoors.

They investigate with curiosity the produce, pots and pans in the mud kitchen. They are intrigued about the toy mini-beasts and edible goods that form part of an adult-led learning opportunity, designed to help them be more inquisitive in sensory play. Babies develop good language acquisition, as they regularly hear staff repeat keywords and phrases during purposeful interactions.

Children learning English as an additional language are supported well. For instance, many staff speak the home languages of the children and the nursery has sourced dual language books for use in the nursery and at home.

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

The provider uses robust systems for the recruitment, vetting and induction of staff.

Staff speak passionately about their employment and the support they are provided with. The manager is extremely conscientious. She and her senior management team lead staff very well.

Staff implement a curriculum that is well-planned and sequenced. This curriculum focuses on helping children to be confident in their abilities and gain the necessary skills to develop their communication effectively. In particular, staff implement group times that enhance older children's awareness of listening and attention.

Staff benefit from purposeful training opportunities that help them to gain new skills. For example, training on interactive story telling has helped them to promote children's engagement in literacy. Children in the toddler age room, for instance, take an active part in a story about a zoo.

Young children demonstrate understanding of the story without the use of a book. They confidently call out that the monkey eats the bananas. They understand that the noise of a drum used by staff represents the 'stomp' of the elephant.

Overall, children are provided with a good start to their education, including those who are disadvantaged. Provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is ambitious for most children. For example, senior staff are proactive in how they work with external professional agencies to help ensure children receive timely support and/or additional funding as required.

Sometimes, however, staff do not show enough confidence in how they react to children's individual needs. For example, some staff are less confident in how they interact, provide resources for distraction or implement the use of the sensory room.Staff help children develop healthy lifestyles.

Regular opportunities for outdoor physical play help to achieve this. Staff follow babies' home routines for sleeping and eating. Toddlers are helped to gain independence for handwashing, serving themselves at lunchtime and pouring drinks.

Pre-school children enjoy opportunities for finding out more in regard to lifecycles, for instance, when they observed chicks hatching. Additionally, through effective supervision by staff, they learn to use the computer and gain an understanding of online safety.Children show a good attitude to their learning.

They play cooperatively with their friends. Older children demonstrate an awareness of being respectful to others. For example, pre-school children acknowledge staff as they learn more about the consistency of moulding dough and how to knead this into shape.

They show interest in what their friends are saying and making.Pre-school children show pride during their graduation party, as they collect their certificates and watch friends collecting theirs. The children celebrate together later with photos wearing their graduation gowns and mortarboard, and enjoy a celebratory special tea.

Partnerships with parents are established well. Staff provide parents with essential information about care routines, including oral health. They offer a book library and a home learning challenge for reading, to further support children's literacy.

Parents are positive about the care children receive. They acknowledge the smooth transitions between age-group rooms and the strong relationships children have with their key person.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff demonstrate a very good understanding of all aspects of safeguarding and how to protect children. For example, staff understand the procedure if an allegation is made against a member of staff. They are aware of the signs that may indicate a child is at risk of harm or abuse.

Staff understand the procedures to follow if they identify a family at risk of radicalisation. Secure systems are in place to support senior staff if working alongside external agencies.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nenhance staff skills in order to be more consistent when interacting with children who have possible and identified SEND to improve their outcomes even further.

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