Toad Hall Day Nursery (Bicester) Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The entire nursery team shares a consistent and firm understanding of its curriculum intent to support each child's individual learning journey. Staff meticulously identify children's next steps in their development.

They plan an ambitious individualised curriculum to help give children the knowledge and skills they need for their future learning. Supporting this vision, staff focus on developing children's emotional well-being, helping them to be confident communicators and independent learners. Staff share consistently high expectations for every child.

They monitor children's progress precisely and take swift... action to address any gaps in their learning. Managers closely track the development of the most disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They successfully support staff to observe and review progress.

They establish exceptional partnerships with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists. This helps them to support children with SEND superbly. Since the last inspection, the management team has successfully expanded its provision and embedded its outstanding practice across all age ranges.

Managers have created a highly impressive indoor and outdoor environment to support children's learning. Children become absorbed in their play and have consistently positive attitudes to their learning. They are safe, happy and highly motivated learners.

They are exceptionally well behaved.

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

Staff ensure that children benefit from meaningful and exciting experiences which give them the essential knowledge for their future learning. This is demonstrated when a dentist visits.

Children learn how to brush their teeth and about the impact of food on dental health. Staff reinforce learning and demonstrate good brushing each day. Children now brush their teeth confidently after mealtimes and can identify healthy and unhealthy foods.

This is helping them to manage their own health and self-care.Leaders ensure that the curriculum is inclusive. For example, they collate information about languages spoken and cultural backgrounds.

They plan opportunities for children to learn about other cultures, and children enjoy being read to by parents in different languages. This helps children to develop high levels of respect for others.Children are excellent communicators and confident speakers.

For instance, they introduce themselves to visitors without hesitation and tell them about their play. Staff recognise the value of igniting children's interest in reading. This is demonstrated as they read stories to younger children who bring books to them and snuggle up.

Older children enjoy listening to stories with the 'listening bear' and retelling the storyline enthusiastically using puppets.Staff develop highly effective partnerships with parents. They help parents to support their children's learning at home superbly.

For example, staff lead workshops to teach parents about 'messy play'. Parents use these ideas and send photographs that show their children enjoying exploring materials such as shaving foam and pasta. Staff hold parents' information sessions about how they teach letters and sounds.

They create a lending library and parents borrow books to take home. This further encourages a love of reading.Staff provide outstanding opportunities to help children to become independent learners.

This is demonstrated when they give children responsibilities, such as 'helper of the day'. Children listen and respond to instructions attentively in their role. They count the children who are staying for lunch and then set out cutlery, plates and cups.

Children talk to the inspector about their helper role. They explain that they check outside each day to make sure that the gates are shut and the outdoor area is safe. This demonstrates how children are consistently learning to manage their own safety.

Children show an excellent awareness of rules and boundaries during their self-chosen play. For instance, without prompting they approach the mud kitchen and put on wellington boots and gloves before going on to dig and scoop, making soup for visitors.The management team fosters an excellent culture of continuous improvement in the setting.

Managers seek and consider the views of staff, parents and children, and create robust action plans for improvement, for example increasing awareness of how to keep safe online. They provide exceptional support to staff and organise meaningful opportunities for them to develop their subject knowledge, such as through letters and sounds training. This gives staff the essential knowledge to help them to teach this accurately.

Leaders act with integrity and respect staff's well-being. For example, they talk to staff about their workload and arrange additional planning or preparation time where needed to help staff to complete the requirements of their role within their working day.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The management team ensures that staff keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date. For instance, managers test staff's knowledge in regular safeguarding quizzes. All staff have an excellent understanding of how to deal with concerns about children's welfare.

They are familiar with the whistleblowing policy and local safeguarding procedures for reporting allegations. They have an exceptional understanding of the signs and symptoms which may indicate that children are at risk of harm. Managers ensure that recruitment procedures are robust and that staff are suitable to work with children.