The Old Bank Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are visibly happy and settled at the friendly nursery. They develop caring relationships with the nurturing staff, which helps children to feel safe and secure.

Children have a good sense of belonging and positive levels of well-being and self-esteem. Children make good progress from their starting points. They display high levels of engagement, and are self-motivated and excited to learn.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. They share, take turns and tidy away toys without being prompted by staff. Children are warm and kind to each other and happily play together for long periods.

Staff consistently p...raise the children for their positive behaviour. All children are supported to develop feelings of empathy and an understanding of their emotional intelligence. For example, staff encourage older babies to talk about and model happy and sad faces.

Children are supported to develop their early literacy skills. Staff read to children in a way that excites and engages them, which fosters a love of books. Children confidently answer questions about stories and predict what is going to happen next.

Children recognise rhyming words and count the number of crocodiles they see in the book.

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

The dedicated manager, ably supported by his deputy manager, leads the team well. The manager undertakes staff supervision and appraisal meetings that help to provide support for their professional development.

The manager and staff have a good knowledge of how children learn and develop.Staff know the children well and are fully aware of any gaps in their learning. They skilfully weave what children need to learn next into their play.

Staff engage children in meaningful conversations and introduce new words into their growing vocabulary. Staff identify those children who need extra support with communication and language, and implement specific activities based on their interests.Staff help children to develop some independence skills.

Older children learn to put on their coats and manage their personal needs. Babies are supported to feed themselves during mealtimes, which helps to develop their hand-to-eye coordination. However, staff have not fully considered how the environment supports children to make independent choices during their play to promote their independence skills even further.

All children thoroughly enjoy themselves as they take part in group singing time. They become excited when a staff member plays the ukulele and make requests for songs they would like to sing. Children use their memory and recall skills as they repeat actions and words to their favourite tunes.

Children and babies have opportunities to engage in physical activities outside in the fresh air. Babies have lots of fun searching for pictures of hedgehogs in a large pile of autumn leaves. Older children enjoy taking part in a jumping race while trying to hold a balloon between their knees.

Children and staff laugh together as they race to reach the finish line. However, staff do not always consider how they can fully utilise the outdoor areas to further enhance children's learning and development.Staff support children's understanding of diversity and the wider world through discussions and activities that build their awareness of cultural celebrations and events during the year.

Children have opportunities to learn about the local community. For example, they visit the church to take part in harvest and Christmas celebrations. They use their creative skills to make models of significant buildings where they live.

Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff discuss children's care and progress with parents. Staff offer ideas so that parents can continue their child's learning at home.

Before children begin at the nursery, staff gather key information from parents. This helps staff to plan activities and build on what children already know and can do. Staff are professional and passionate about their work, which helps them to provide a welcoming and happy environment for the children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The management team and staff understand how to identify the signs and symptoms that could indicate a child is at risk. They understand how to report any concerns about children's welfare or the behaviour of another adult.

Staff are mindful of the 'Prevent' duty, including the risk to children and their families of being drawn into extremism. Robust recruitment procedures ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Thorough induction and ongoing training and support from the manager ensure that staff remain alert to their responsibility to keep children safe.

Staff are qualified in paediatric first aid and food hygiene. This helps to ensure that children's safety is paramount.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review and enhance the learning opportunities in the outdoor environment to support children's development across all areas of learning, particularly for those children who prefer to learn outdoors review the organisation of resources to allow children to make more independent choices and decisions during play.