Willow Tree Nursery Limited

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and confident at this nursery.

Staff enthusiastically welcome them at the door and they quickly join their friends to engage in learning. There is an ambitious curriculum for all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The curriculum sets clear expectations of what children need to know, and be able to do, so that they are ready for the next stage in their learning journey through the nursery and beyond.

Children's behaviour is generally good. There is an effective key-person system in place and relationships are positive and nurturing. Staff teach chil...dren the skills to support their independence and to persevere.

For example, they show children how to hold scissors effectively, showing them pictures so children can check their grip. Once children are holding the scissors correctly, they carefully snip along lines they have drawn, showing good concentration skills.There are regular opportunities for children to engage in small-group activities to promote their speech and language skills.

Younger children enjoy looking at photos of themselves and their families with staff and their friends. They name the people they recognise in the photos. Older children confidently name the day of the week and excitedly talk about the seasons.

They comment that in a few days it will be summer.

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

Children's physical well-being is well supported. Children understand that they need to wash their hands regularly, and they spend time outside every day, in the nursery garden and out on walks in the local community.

Children help staff to apply sun cream and talk about things they can do to cool down when it is a hot day. Staff encourage children to be aware of risks around them. For example, older children are involved in completing a risk assessment with staff before they go on a walk.

This supports their understanding of how to keep themselves safe.Early reading and writing skills are encouraged well by staff. Younger children engage in a range of activities to develop their fine motor skills.

For example, they squeeze paint bottles and mix flour and water to make play dough. Staff encourage them to explore the texture of the dough they have created. Children of all ages love looking at books with staff when they are indoors and outside in the nursery garden.

On the whole, staff support children's developing language skills well. Some staff are particularly effective at introducing new vocabulary to children throughout the day and using language that encourages children to engage. However, this is not consistent.

Sometimes, verbal interactions do not model conversation skills and are limited to giving instructions, which does not encourage children to engage in talk.Staff promote positive behaviour and teach children to be kind and polite. They use toys to support them to think about their feelings.

Children talk about things that might make them feel sad or happy and staff provide resources to help children to calm down if they are feeling overwhelmed. However, at transition times, some groups of children are expected to wait a long time for other children to be ready before they go outside. They have to wait on the carpet while staff help their friends apply sun cream.

This can take a significant amount of time, which results in some children becoming restless and struggling to manage their own behaviour effectively .Parental partnership is valued. There are opportunities for parents to come and see what it is like in the nursery for their children.

Parents report they are happy with the nursery and feel well informed about how their child is progressing. Parents of children with SEND feel the nursery meets their children's needs well and that staff are responsive.The manager has a clear vision for the nursery.

She is aware of areas for further development and shares actions with staff to drive these improvements. Staff monitor children's progress to identify any gaps in learning or development. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works closely with outside agencies to ensure that support is put in place for children where necessary.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to be aware of how they model effective communication and language skills to children, through all their verbal interactions, to ensure these are of a consistently high quality nimprove arrangements for transitions between some activities to ensure that children are not waiting for long periods while not actively engaged in learning.