Watermead Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this inclusive and very welcoming nursery. They benefit significantly from the calm and highly productive atmosphere where staff meet their needs exceptionally well. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully included in all activities and experiences with their friends.

The nursery provides all children with an exceptional array of outdoor experiences. Children see adults sweeping up the leaves. They are very eager to help and delighted to get involved.

Staff show them how to safely use the broom and rake. Later, staff talk with them as t...hey watch more leaves falling from the trees.Staff have very high expectations for all children.

The planning of activities is highly effective. It takes full account of children's interests. This results in their experiences being very well supported and built on over time.

Children receive consistently strong and positive interaction from staff.Children are excited to take part in the excellent activities and become deeply engaged. Staff are highly successful in helping children be very confident to explore and be creative.

When children squeeze play dough, put their hands in jelly and feel oat bran run through their fingers, staff smile and provide wholehearted reassurance for them. All children are excited to take part because their relationships with staff are so positive. Staff help children to learn about the expectations for behaviour.

This is reflected clearly in children's exemplary behaviour.

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

The members of the management team work exceptionally well with the staff. They value staff as individuals, recognising and utilising their talents, such as art, music and crochet to build an exciting curriculum.

This enables children to make rapid and sustained progress in their learning. Staff are encouraged to keep their knowledge up to date through in-house, online and external training. This ongoing professional development is identified for each member of staff through highly effective supervision and monitoring of practice.

Staff are highly skilled in their teaching. They know each child very well and understand when to get involved in children's play. They help children to be confident to speak and pronounce words correctly by including a voice recorder in singing activities so children can hear themselves.

Children are fascinated when the recorder makes a noise, and staff talk to them about 'static' to widen their vocabulary.Children with SEND receive sensitive, individualised support, including one-to-one care. Activities such as forest school are risk assessed and adapted for children's specific needs to enable their full participation.

The nursery has highly effective partnerships with parents and other professionals who are involved. Detailed action plans ensure children receive a consistent approach to their care and learning.The highly successful planning of activities includes excellent opportunities for children to broaden their experiences.

Staff have a highly positive relationship with a local care home. Children visit the residents with the staff. They support children to develop confidence to talk to the residents and play games with them.

This involvement in the community helps children learn about people who are different to themselves. Staff make the best use of the nursery's location next to open countryside. They take babies on a walk and safely help them to pick up pebbles from a brook.

Back at the nursery, the pebbles are cleaned. Babies show awe and wonder as they play with them, broadening their experience of the natural world.All children clearly show the highly positive relationship they have with staff.

Babies giggle when staff smile and sing to them. Toddlers are cuddled and comforted if they are tearful when they wake from sleep. Pre-school children are confident to engage in detailed conversations with staff.

They listen intently to stories and enthusiastically join in with rhymes and dancing.Staff are excellent role models for children and are highly effective in supporting them to develop confidence and independence. Babies feed themselves using their fingers and choose from an excellent range of interesting play materials.

Older children choose their own play materials, lead their play, learn how to solve problems they encounter and are eager to help with tasks, including tidying toys away.Children work cooperatively together very well and develop secure friendships. Older children help their friends to get up the steps in the playhouse, so they can look out over the veranda.

Children make jokes and laugh with the staff as they play alongside them. Children persist at their chosen task, encouraged by the staff. They keep trying because staff are extremely supportive.

Staff help children to be successful, for example, when using scissors to cut felt to make a poppy wreath for a community event the nursery is participating in.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a secure knowledge of child protection procedures.

They are familiar with the policy and procedures for recording and reporting concerns. Staff are aware of the signs and symptoms of abuse and keep their knowledge up to date through training and discussions in staff meetings. Robust recruitment procedures are in place to ensure new staff are suitable.

Thorough induction and ongoing support from management ensure staff remain alert to their responsibility to keep children safe. Staff are vigilant in their supervision of children. Continual risk assessment of the play areas, inside and outside, promotes children's safety.