Todmorden Children’s Centre Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children feel happy and secure in the nursery environment.

They demonstrate this as they sing to themselves and invite visitors to join in their play. Children are highly skilled communicators. They hold extended back-and-forth conversations with each other and adults.

Staff frequently introduce new vocabulary to the children. For example, children discuss different ways to cook eggs as they play in the home corner. Staff introduce cooking vocabulary, such as 'scrambled', 'fried' and 'boiled'.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported. Staff attend to children's medica...l needs with care and sensitivity, and support their communication with strategies such as signing. Children have lots of opportunities to fulfil their sensory needs, exclaiming with delight as they feel resources, such as paint on a foil surface.

All children are treated equally. Babies thrive from the caring interactions that take place and they quickly settle in. They laugh as they use their muscles to climb to the top of the bridge and smile when staff cheer at their early walking steps.

Children concentrate for long periods and keenly take part in activities. Staff observe children's interests and build on their ideas. Older children become interested in blowing bubbles in the water tray and staff encourage them to test out their ideas.

Children explore whether they can create bubbles with different types of tubing and straws.

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

Staff frequently build children's mathematical skills. Children count their fingers, the number of children and the amount of cups and plates they need for lunch.

Older children quickly problem-solve and work out simple addition calculations. They calculate they need six more plates to make ten. Staff working with younger children promote mathematical language using words such as 'big' and 'small' as they build a train track.

Parents say that they feel welcome and well supported to develop their children's learning at home. The nursery provides parents with a wealth of information to help keep children safe, such as healthy eating, oral hygiene and staying safe online. Parents are very pleased with the progress their children make.

Children develop an interest in rhymes and books. Younger children listen attentively to stories and begin to name animals and characters in the book. They begin to get a sense of rhyming words.

Staff miss out end words from familiar rhymes and children attempt to fill them in. This develops their language skills. Older children choose books independently and staff often burst into song with children, singing a range of familiar rhymes.

Younger children begin to understand the behavioural expectations in the nursery as staff encourage them to take turns in simple games and begin to share resources. Staff working with younger children quickly address any unacceptable behaviour in sensitive and effective ways. However, staff working with older children do not consistently help them to develop a deeper understanding of expectations, such as listening carefully to staff as they read a story to the group.

Children demonstrate their independence. For example, they wash their hands before snack and lay the table for lunch. They register themselves in class as they arrive and gradually learn to serve themselves food at mealtimes.

Staff find out what children can do on entry to the nursery and use assessment effectively to identify any possible gaps in learning. Leaders and managers devise a carefully sequenced curriculum that builds on children's skills. However, staff are not fully involved in this process, to help them develop a deeper understanding of how to support children to make even higher rates of progress.

Children find out about life in modern Britain by celebrating a range of festivals throughout the year. For instance, recently, children held an Eid party. They read stories about this festival and created cards.

All children had opportunities to experience mehndi patterns.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and managers give high priority to children's safety and welfare.

Staff members confidently talk about the signs and symptoms of abuse. They know what to do if they are worried about a child and who they should report their concerns to. Leaders quickly identify children and families that need additional support and provide a comprehensive package of help through their family support team.

Leaders work with the local authority and headteachers of local schools to identify areas of need within the local community. They try to address these needs in their annual action plans.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nensure that staff working with older children consistently apply the agreed high expectations of behaviour and conduct, in order to support children's listening and independence skills support leaders and managers to monitor the implementation of the intended curriculum aims throughout the nursery, to ensure children are consistently challenged and their learning is extended.