The Nest

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children respond happily to the friendly welcome staff provide. Toddlers show great delight as their friends arrive and run to greet them. Children settle easily on arrival and quickly gain confidence, exploring the toys and activities with interest.

Staff get to know children well and respond sensitively to their individual likes and dislikes. The management team provides strong leadership and supports staff well to continue developing their knowledge and skills. For example, staff have raised their awareness of the early help available for children who would benefit from additional support.

Staff understand younger c...hildren's levels of ability and development well overall. Staff set clear expectations for children's progress and support them well to make positive achievements. Staff provide purposeful, interesting activities that promote children's individual learning and encourage their participation.

Children interact well with others and benefit from the frequent praise and encouragement staff give them. Parents speak highly of staff and say their children are happy at the setting and make good progress.

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

The management team and staff monitor children's progress regularly and identify their individual stages of learning.

Staff plan motivating activities to support children's interests. Consequently, children make positive progress from their starting points.Children learn well through their play and are keen to investigate the variety of toys.

They carefully balance soft bricks to build a tower and begin to count one, two and three with staff. Children start to use their imagination and pretend to feed a toy cat.Children develop good self-esteem.

They listen to staff sing the hello song and smile as they hear their name. They learn the names of their friends and play happily together. Children begin to recognise some daily routines well.

Older children independently find their coats before going outdoors. However, at times, staff introduce new activities without warning. This sometimes leaves children unsettled and does not help them learn how to manage change easily.

Staff help children learn how to keep safe from a young age. Toddlers climb carefully up the steps of a climbing frame and learn to sit on their bottoms when going down the slide. Staff help children behave well and encourage them to be kind to others.

For example, older children help their younger friends to find their shoes when going out to play.Staff promote children's early language well through their positive interactions. They repeat the sounds and words younger children make.

They help older children start to put two- and three-word sentences together. However, at times, staff miss opportunities to support children's early understanding more effectively. For example, to help children make connections with their previous experiences, such as when they collected nature items with staff.

Staff liaise well with parents and outside agencies to support children's well-being. They keep parents well informed of children's daily activities. Staff share children's identified next steps of development with their parents to support their play and learning at home and provide a consistent approach.

The management team and staff continually evaluate practice to support ongoing improvement. This has helped staff improve snack time routines to encourage children's independence more effectively. Younger children quickly learn to feed themselves using a spoon.

They choose the food they want to eat at snack time and sit happily to eat with their friends.Children benefit from a range of experiences that broaden their awareness of the world and promote their future learning. They have fun walking with staff across a wooden bridge and through fallen leaves in the school grounds.

They look for the school guinea pigs and learn to stroke them carefully. Children eagerly explore pots of ice containing frozen leaves, twigs and conkers. They hold the ice and laugh as it slips out of their hands.

Toddlers show great excitement using interactive microphones and work out how to switch these on and off, smiling as they hear their voice recording.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The management team and staff have a clear awareness of their responsibilities to protect children's welfare.

They continually update their knowledge of safeguarding and understand procedures to follow in the event of a concern arising. The management team monitors any concerns raised and liaises with statutory safeguarding agencies, promoting a cohesive approach. The management team and staff implement operational policies and procedures effectively to support children's good health and well-being.

The management team continually monitors the effectiveness of procedures to support children's safety. For example, there are security systems fitted at the main school entrance and classroom to help prevent unauthorised persons entering. Visitors' attendance is recorded and checked.

Staff have reviewed procedures for ensuring the cleanliness of toys and play areas to help prevent the spread of infection. Staff supervise children well and check play areas daily to minimise the risk of accidents.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen ways to enable younger children to recognise and manage changes of activity more easily make more use of opportunities to support younger children's understanding of their previous experiences more effectively.

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