Windsor House Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settled. Staff work closely with parents when children first start in order to support the settling-in process, and transitions between rooms are thoughtfully planned for.

They get to know the children and their families well, which helps children to feel safe and emotionally secure. Staff are attentive to children's individual needs and adapt their interactions to provide the right amount of support and encouragement. Children are keen to take part in adult-led activities and enjoy joining in singing with their friends.

They listen well to instructions and are eager to join in with the actions t...o familiar songs. For example, they 'put their left leg in' and laugh loudly as they 'turn around'. Children show confidence in social situations.

They tell visitors about the dough they are making and that by adding green food colouring, it makes the dough 'marbled'.Staff have high expectations of what children can achieve. They engage children in meaningful conversations and provide purposeful play experiences that incite their curiosity.

Children enjoy making independent choices about what they want to play with. For example, they use tweezers to sort and match different-coloured toy animals, and identify shapes, including 'rectangle' and 'triangle' as they complete puzzles.

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

Staff provide children with experiences that build on their prior learning and knowledge.

The manager has formed strong links with the local community and other early years settings in the area. Staff take children for walks to local parks where they enjoy playing on bigger equipment. They visit the local school and spend time getting to know the teachers, which helps to support their transition.

Children are learning how to care for themselves, such as washing their hands after using the toilet. They learn about oral hygiene and the benefits of brushing their teeth after eating. Staff teach them about keeping themselves healthy.

For example, they ensure children take part in physical activity each day and spend time playing outdoors. They sit with children at mealtimes and talk to them about making healthy food choices.Staff promote children's language and communication skills extremely well.

They embrace the languages spoken by families at home and provide bilingual support for parents and children. Staff commentate on what children are doing as they play, and introduce them to new vocabulary, such as 'kneading' as they make dough. Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported to develop the skills they need to understand and communicate fluently in English.

Children behave well. Staff encourage them to take turns in their play and to share. Children respond well to the positive praise and encouragement they receive from the friendly and caring staff.

When staff do have to intervene to defuse a situation, children respond well and this helps them to understand what is expected of them.Staff regularly assess and monitor children's progress. This helps them to quickly identify any gaps in learning and to ensure appropriate support is put in place.

Additional funding is used effectively to provide extra resources and one-to-one support where needed. All children make good progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work closely with other professionals and welcome advice to implement targeted strategies of support.

Parents speak positively about the nursery and the staff. They particularly praise the progress their children make with their social skills and confidence. Staff use daily conversations to inform parents about their child's day and the activities they have enjoyed.

However, they do not consistently support parents to continue their children's learning at home.The management team shows a commitment to continuous improvement. For example, the manager is currently undertaking training to become a speech and language mentor.

Staff comment that their well-being is taken into account and that they receive good support from the manager through one-to-one meetings and coaching. However, when evaluating staff's practice, the manager does not always precisely target what they need to do next to raise their practice to an even higher level.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a secure knowledge of safeguarding. They know how to recognise the potential signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect. Staff undertake regular training to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.

They have a good understanding of wider safeguarding issues and the 'Prevent' duty. Staff know what steps to take if they have concerns about the welfare of a child. Recruitment and vetting processes are thorough and ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

Staff implement effective risk assessments to help keep children safe. They are deployed well to ensure that children are supervised at all times.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: maximise opportunities to share information with parents to support and extend children's learning at home nenhance the systems in place for evaluating staff's practice and identify more precisely areas for development to help raise knowledge and skills to the highest level.