Sylvan House Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children thrive in this nursery. The sound of excitement permeates throughout the nursery as children play, laugh and have fun. The atmosphere is supportive and attentive.

Children quickly form special bonds with their key person. This supports their emotional well-being. The children are happy, content and engaged.

They feel safe and secure and are confident to share objects with visitors to the nursery, in an attempt to initiate play. Children benefit from a stimulating curriculum that is exciting and designed to build on their interests and individual learning needs. Enthusiastic staff skilfully teach children to ap...proach activities with high levels of curiosity.

Children develop positive attitudes about mathematics, as they count confidently and explore number recognition, while searching for lost dinosaurs. Staff encourage children to have a go. They skilfully support children when they do not always get it right.

These same expectations filter throughout the nursery, where new vocabulary, such as 'tentacle', is used when children are exploring an octopus. This is a very positive learning environment, where children are exceptionally well behaved. Children follow rules, simple instructions and help others when needed.

They use their manners, speak respectfully and work together to solve simple problems, such as how to reach an object that is too high for them. All children make exceptional progress from their starting points, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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

Leaders have failed to notify Ofsted of a significant event regarding a member of their staff.

They have not provided Ofsted with the relevant information to enable them to carry out their regulatory work in a timely manner. Leaders have not demonstrated the highest level of professional curiosity and outstanding leadership and management, due to the lack of notification and speed in which they respond to emerging recruitment issues. However, during this time, children's welfare was not compromised given the stringent induction arrangements in place for new personnel.

High-quality teaching, with an ambitious and challenging curriculum, is consistent throughout the nursery. There is a clear connection between what children learn from one room to the next. For example, children learn to identify their feelings and explore what is happening in their bodies.

This enables them to make connections and allows for sequential learning to take place. Children are constantly building on what they already know and can do.Staff are passionate about teaching children about the environment and sustainability.

Children collect litter while on walks. The nursery has a committee that meets to propose future changes that children and staff can make, to care for the environment.Babies enjoy sharing books with staff, older children enjoy visits to the library and parents and staff read stories in home languages, as well as English.

This broadens experiences and helps children to learn about the world around them. Children's love of books is evident throughout the nursery.Children and staff enjoy singing spontaneously during play, as well as when they join together for group activities.

Young children copy the actions to, 'Miss Polly had a Dolly'. This supports their listening skills and helps to further their early language development. Staff sing songs with children in different languages, such as Hungarian songs.

This helps to promote children's cultural well-being and understanding.Staff have formed exceptional links with local primary schools. They liaise with staff when planning the curriculum.

This ensures that when children leave the nursery they are ready to begin their journey to school. Children learn to recognise their own name and are very independent, confident learners. They attend to their own personal-care needs by self-serving their lunch and using eco wipes and a mirror to wash their own faces.

Leaders and managers have high aspirations for all children and staff at this nursery. Self-evaluation is effective and the nursery constantly strives to improve by coaching and training the staff team. There is an exceptional training and support package in place.

The nursery is a positive place for staff and children to be.Parents discuss the progress that their children have made since attending the setting and describe how staff tailor children's experiences to them. For example, staff teach children the correct terminology for body parts during lessons.

This supports children to make excellent progress across all areas of learning and development.Parents describe nursery staff as, 'going above and beyond'. Staff have been incredibly proactive in researching children's individual needs.

They educate themselves to ensure they are meeting children's needs to the absolute highest level. The nursery has been actively involved in charity work to raise awareness of different conditions among the community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a high level of knowledge about safeguarding. They identify signs and symptoms of abuse and take proactive measures to protect children if they believe they are at risk of harm. Leaders implement arrangements to ensure that new staff pass the required competencies before being left alone with children.

This helps to ensure that children are not placed at risk of harm. The nursery has a first-aid award that recognises that a high percentage of the staff team has paediatric first-aid training and are able to respond in emergencies.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen leadership arrangements to ensure information sharing is implemented in a swift and effective manner at all times.