Wonder Zone Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Leaders and practitioners greet children and their families with a warm and friendly welcome. Practitioners are attentive to children's emotional needs and give them reassurance and cuddles when needed.

This helps most children to settle and feel safe and secure. Children establish strong connections with all practitioners. Practitioners share essential information on children's arrival to address their individual needs throughout the day.

However, at times in the absence of their key person, children's individual needs are not always met. Children are happy and enjoy their time at the setting. Babies and toddlers confide...ntly explore their environment and share their toys and books with the inspector.

Pre-school children follow routines and play cooperatively with each other. Practitioners interact and engage well with children at activities. However, they do not always plan and provide quality learning experiences that keep all children engaged.

Although children generally behave well, leaders do not ensure that strategies are in place to promote this consistently. As a result, children sometimes struggle to learn how to manage their frustrations appropriately and understand the impact of their actions on others.

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

Practitioners generally know their key children well and identify how children's learning can be sequenced to support their progress, However, leaders do not ensure that the key-person system is effective.

Some children do not receive the consistent support they need when their key person is unavailable. For instance, practitioners do not consistently follow plans to support children's learning and behaviour in the absence of their key person. Leaders have not established contingency plans for these situations, resulting in insufficient oversight in monitoring of the support provided to individual children.

Overall, children behave well. They share resources and help to tidy up. However, at times, practitioners do not use consistent approaches and do not always explain to children what is right and what is wrong.

For instance, when children display unwanted behaviour, a number of practitioners use different strategies. This does not help children to understand why some behaviours are unwanted or how their actions make other people Leaders are clear about what they want children to learn. They use a curriculum that has a focus on communication and language, independence, self-care and school readiness.

However, practitioners do not consistently ensure that practitioners fully implement the learning intentions of the curriculum. Practitioners do not understand clearly about the learning outcomes expected from specific activities. This means that children are not always challenged in their learning and thinking.

Practitioners offer various activities to help children to improve their communication and language abilities. They teach new vocabulary, sing songs and read books together. During children's play, practitioners engage in conversation with children and describe their actions.

Practitioners support children who speak English as additional language to play and learn alongside their home languages. They gather key words to further support their communication skills.Practitioners aid and support all children to develop and build on their independence skills well.

Resources are at a low level to support children to make choices in their play. Babies learn to recognise their own belongings, such as their beakers and their shoes. Older children learn to wash their hands, wipe their noses and put on their own coats and shoes.

This supports children to develop the skills needed for their next stages in life.Leaders ensure that the setting has appropriate arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Practitioners support their individual children.

They work with parents, communicate with other professionals and follow targeted plans to support children's needs.Children can enhance their physical abilities through various activities. They love playing outdoors, where they can move around with ease and confidence.

Children of all ages can use resources, such as tunnels, walkers, bikes and slides to aid their physical growth. Practitioners help children to climb safely on different equipment, which contributes to building their larger muscles. Children are offered nutritious meals and snacks, and have access to fresh water throughout the day.

This promotes healthy eating.Practitioners help children to develop their small muscle skills and early writing by engaging them in activities, such as mark making, play dough and creating models with small construction materials. These activities strengthen the small muscles in their hands.

Leaders and practitioners collaborate with parents to engage them in their children's learning and growth. They provide daily feedback and hold face-to-face meetings to facilitate this involvement. Parents appreciate the strong connections their children form with their key person and the effective communication from the setting.

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 meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date ensure that there are arrangements in place so that each child has an identified person to oversee their care and progress in the absence of their own key person 30/11/2024 strengthen strategies in guiding children's behaviour, which support practitioners to be consistent in their approach, and build on children's understanding of the expectations for their behaviour and the consequences of their actions 30/11/2024 monitor practice and provide support for practitioners to improve their skills and fully implement the learning intentions of the curriculum into the activities and experiences they provide, to deliver high-quality learning for children.

30/11/2024