The College Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children thrive at this friendly and welcoming setting.

They wave goodbye to parents, and staff offer gentle support to those who need it. Children are excited to see their friends and settle into an activity straight away. Staff provide children with sensitive and responsive interactions.

This means children feel safe in their environment and benefit from meaningful interactions from staff. Children's behaviour at the setting is good. Staff provide children with clear boundaries and they are reminded of these before activities begin.

Therefore, children know and understand what is expected of them. They respo...nd well to adults and follow instructions. Each room provides staff and children with prompts about expected behaviour.

For example, they remind children to share with their peers. Children respond to boundaries set and develop a sense of right and wrong. Children develop strong relationships with staff through the well-established key-person system.

This means that children feel happy and safe in their environment and have a strong foundation to begin their learning. Staff support children's transitions very well, both with going to school and moving through the different rooms in the setting.

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

The setting has implemented a curriculum that is focused on children's independence and preparation for school.

Staff provide children with a range of opportunities to develop their self-care skills. For example, children choose their own resources, serve their food, wash up and use the toilet independently. Developing children's independence begins with the youngest children and extends through the setting to help prepare children for school.

Staff know the children very well. They discuss in detail what children know and can do. Key persons plan important experiences for children, focusing on their interests and what they are learning next.

Staff have an excellent knowledge of child development and therefore plan sequenced and meaningful learning opportunities.Staff promote children's communication and language skills through reading and conversations. Children choose books independently and look at the pictures.

Staff talk to children about what they can see and read stories with enthusiasm and expression. Therefore, children develop a love of reading.Some aspects of teaching are outstanding.

Staff challenge children to think for themselves and ask open-ended questions. However, the monitoring of staff teaching is not precise enough to identify where some staff need further support and guidance. Occasionally, staff do not encourage children to remove their dummies, which may hinder their developing communication and language skills.

The setting has robust procedures in place for dealing with food allergies and intolerances. Food is checked by numerous staff before being served to children. Coloured placemats and plates are used for easy identification, and children are closely supervised when eating.

This helps to ensure children are kept safe.Partnerships with parents are well established and valued by staff. Parents speak very highly of the setting and the care that their children receive.

They also comment on the exciting ways the setting supported families during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as reading bedtime stories online and putting in place a platform for children to stay in touch. The setting provides home learning resources and regular parent consultations to give parents informed feedback about their children's learning and progress. This means children benefit from continued learning, both at the setting and at home.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Parents comment that the manager's organisation and support for families are exceptional. The manager ensures all families are given support from the setting and are provided with regular meetings to discuss any concerns and ongoing progress.

Staff work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure children receive the best support possible. Therefore, all children make progress and thrive at the setting.The manager is keen to support staff's well-being and has attended additional training to enable her to do this successfully.

She has put in place a compliments board for staff, to share feedback from parents and visitors. The manager plans to review the supervision process to include a well-being supervision for all staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The setting has a robust safeguarding procedure in place. All staff have an excellent knowledge of how to protect young children from harm. They attend regular safeguarding training as well as training around wider safeguarding issues such as county lines and the 'Prevent' duty.

Staff can discuss in detail a range of abuse and the signs they may see in young children. The manager has implemented a whistle-blowing procedure that means staff have clear guidance to follow should they have concerns about a member of staff at the setting.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: monitor staff practice even more closely to raise the quality of teaching to the highest level.

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