The Old Station Nursery - Moseley

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children who attend this nursery arrive happy and settle quickly into the routines of the day.

They develop lovely relationships with staff and their friends. They behave well and learn to share and take turns. Children demonstrate that they feel safe as they seek staff out for a cuddle or to involve them in their play.

Children are confident to try new activities and have a go. For example, when they struggle to balance on low beams, they immediately try again till they achieve their goal. Children develop high levels of self-esteem.

They continually receive praise and encouragement from staff. Older children... are chosen on a rota basis to act as leaders for the day. They proudly show the badge they wear that tells everyone that they are the line monitor or lunchtime helper.

Children eagerly participate in activities and make choices about what they want to play with. Younger children investigate the sounds that musical instruments make as they bang and shake drums. Older children enjoy a visit from the animal zoo.

They listen intently as the visitor explains about the animals and wait patiently until it is their turn to hold the snail and centipede. Toddlers enjoy listening to stories. They eagerly repeat familiar phrases and anticipate what will happen next.

Overall, children make good progress. They are well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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

The nursery benefits from a strong, tiered management team, who have a clear vision for the future.

There are currently renovations taking place that will further enhance the premises and the quality of provision for children. During this time, robust procedures have been implemented to ensure the minimum disruption to children and to maintain their safety at all times.The manager has a clear understanding of the curriculum and what she expects children to learn at each stage of their development.

A new system of planning has recently been implemented to complement children's interests and incorporate this with their next steps for learning. However, this is not yet fully embedded, and some staff have a better understanding of how to incorporate this into their practice. As a result, children's learning is not continually extended to help them make the very best progress possible.

Children enjoy the time they spend outdoors. They eagerly hunt for bugs, carefully lifting leaves and twigs to see what they can find hidden underneath them. They use magnifying glasses to look at the insects and staff encourage children to recall the names of them.

This helps to develop children's love of nature and their thinking skills.Children learn about similarities between themselves and others. They learn about different cultures and the festivals they celebrate as they visit a church at Harvest, a mosque during Eid and a temple during Diwali.

They dress up in national costumes and try food from around the world. This helps children to learn respect for other people and their beliefs.Older children learn to tell the time.

They know that they come to nursery at eight o'clock and go to bed at seven o'clock. However, on occasions, activities are not organised well enough to ensure all children gain the most from their learning experiences. For example, while some toddlers explore musical instruments, others are asked to tidy away, even though they want to join in the music activity.

As a result, some valuable learning opportunities are missed.Children are prepared well for the move on to school. They visit local schools for special events.

Teachers visit children in nursery and staff share pertinent information to help ensure consistency in children's learning. Staff help children to gain important skills in readiness for school, such as dressing and undressing, independence, and confidence.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive one-to-one support from staff who know them well and are aware of their individual needs.

All staff attend specialised training and implement what they learn into their practice. The special educational needs coordinator is knowledgeable and supportive. Any issues are dealt with swiftly and action plans implemented to ensure all children benefit from a safe and inclusive environment.

Parent partnerships are strong. Information is shared daily, so that parents know what their child has been doing and what they are working towards. This helps parents to continue to support children's learning at home.

Parents comment positively on the support they receive from the manager and staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers and staff have an extremely good knowledge of safeguarding.

They are aware of the signs that may indicate that a child is being abused. They attend safeguarding training, and the manager asks safeguarding questions to further embed this knowledge. Managers and staff fully understand where to report any concerns, including about a member of staff.

Risk assessments are robust. The manager implements these stringently, especially while current renovations are taking place, to ensure children are safe at all times.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support all staff to fully implement the new planning into practice, so that children's learning is continually extended consider the organisation of activities, to enable all children to fully participate and make the most of the learning opportunities available.