Westfield House

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children are curious, confident and ready to learn at this inclusive and friendly setting. They benefit from a wide range of activities and experiences that excite, motivate and challenge them.

For example, children take part in sewing, exploring with clay and woodworking sessions. They enjoy weaving, flower pressing and exploring with nuts and bolts. Staff continuously think of new ideas to excite and enthuse children's curiosity and creativity.

They encourage children to use and manipulate their hands in different ways, ready for later tasks such as early writing. Children practise skills such as using pipette...s and tongs as they mix herbs and water together to make pretend potions. They develop their strength as they grind ingredients with pestles and mortars.

Staff are excellent role models. They are respectful and caring and form strong bonds with children in their care. Staff provide outstanding support to children to help them manage their feelings and behaviour.

They encourage them to share and be kind to their friends. Staff provide very clear explanations about the impact of children's behaviour on themselves and others. During small-group activities, they support children to be ready to listen and learn.

Children are encouraged to be as independent as possible. They help staff set up activities, fetching their own water from an outside tap. Staff encourage them to turn on the tap independently and to estimate when the buckets are full enough but not too heavy to carry.

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

Staff plan an exciting, challenging and creative curriculum that clearly supports children's progression. Staff know children individually very well. They use detailed assessments of children's development to help plan highly effective support to embed and extend children's learning.

Children are enthusiastic learners who show high levels of focus, perseverance and willingness to try. Staff are highly skilled at modelling new skills and providing clear instructions.Staff use singing, stories and rhyme to help promote children's communication skills.

They encourage children to provide detailed responses to questions. This helps to develop children's language and to extend their vocabularies.Staff encourage children to think creatively and independently as they experiment with a wide variety of interesting resources and natural materials.

They encourage children to investigate the impact of mixing resources at the 'potion station'. Younger children explore with shaving foam, dough, corks, bobbins and reels.Children experiment with rolling or sliding objects down a wooden slope.

Staff encourage them to predict whether the objects will roll or slide. Children discuss with staff the surface and shape of the objects. They talk about the reasons why the objects fall in a particular way.

Support for children's physical development is outstanding. Children balance carefully on planks and stretch using their whole bodies as they climb in the nursery's spacious, enclosed garden. Children work cooperatively together as they roll a large tyre uphill.

They jump, twist and bend as they take part in indoor activities promoting music and movement.There is a strong focus on children becoming skilful at using a variety of tools. They use hammers, screwdrivers, saws and power tools under close supervision.

They make a variety of imaginative and useful objects, such as bird boxes.Staff use additional funding to support children's understanding of healthy lifestyles. Children benefit from a menu of balanced and nutritious home-cooked meals and snacks.

They learn about where food comes from as they study bees and honey, and grow vegetables such as courgettes, beans and aubergines.All spaces used by the children are extremely well planned and considered. Staff observe and continuously reflect on how spaces and resources are used.

They use this information to adapt and develop areas to support children's learning, interests and needs.Feedback from parents is excellent. Parents have high praise for the manager and staff.

They say they are very pleased with the variety of activities on offer and the progress their children make.There is excellent support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work very closely with partner professionals in health and education to provide a consistent approach to support for children.

This includes providing a smooth move for children on to school or the next stage in their learning.The experienced manager provides excellent leadership to her staff team. This includes support through meetings and observations of practice.

There are excellent opportunities for staff to develop professionally. For example, recent training on support for children's mathematical development has had a positive impact on staff practice.Staff work hard to create a home-from-home experience for children, who are at the heart of all they do.

The manager and staff are passionate about their roles and the service the nursery provides.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager has a thorough understanding of her role and responsibilities in relation to keeping children safe.

This includes a range of aspects of safeguarding. Staff complete training in first aid, safeguarding and food hygiene. The manager and staff know what might concern them about a child in terms of safeguarding.

They know who to contact and the processes to take to help keep children safe. Staff have an excellent understanding of how to keep children healthy and safe on a daily basis. For example, they teach children how to sensibly climb stairs and how to use cutlery and woodworking tools safely.