Zeeba - Royal Arsenal

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children settle well into the nursery and they enjoy a range of experiences and activities that support their learning. There are some wonderful examples of activities designed by knowledgeable staff that introduce children to new concepts. For example, in the pre-school, children work together using crates, planks and boards to construct a structure.

Staff introduce mathematical language, including shapes, numbers and measurement as children collaborate with their peers. Pre-school children carefully move and balance materials securely and explore how to keep themselves and their friends safe. However, children's understanding of... staying safe as they play is not consistent across the setting, particularly in areas where children are permitted to run around.

Recent changes to the curriculum and vision for the setting are ambitious. Leaders have considered all areas of learning and how children's emotional well-being is supported. This curriculum will take time to embed to provide consistent quality learning opportunities for all children throughout the day.

Some less experienced staff need more support to deliver the curriculum and a consistent approach to behaviour management to promote positive attitudes to learning.Staff support children's independence to a high level. Children confidently access water, tissues and the toilets throughout the day.

Children wash their hands before they eat and they learn, from an early age, to use cutlery. In most rooms, children self-serve themselves high-quality food freshly prepared on site. Children's dietary requirements and allergies are safely accommodated at mealtimes.

Children eat well and mealtimes are calm and offer children opportunities for social communication with their friends.

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

Children enjoy a range of engaging activities using high-quality resources throughout the day. Staff plan experiences for children using their knowledge of what children already know and can do.

Staff support children to expand their knowledge of communities and culture through craft activities, such as making seasonal decorations. This helps children gain an understanding of the world and make progress in their learning.Children can see and hear their older and younger peers in the large, open-plan setting.

This helps when it is time for children to transition between rooms. Staff are able to ask colleagues for help and information easily, which supports the smooth running of the setting. However, the noise level in the setting has an impact on children's ability to develop their communication skills.

At times, children have to repeat themselves and staff have to speak loudly to be heard. This reduces the quality of children's interactions with staff and peers and impacts negatively on children's acquisition of new language.Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is inconsistent across the setting.

Some experienced and knowledgeable staff teams identify concerns quickly and seek timely support. Other staff teams are less confident in their assessments of children's progress. Staff do not use the progress check at age two well enough to identify where children may need additional support.

This means some children do not benefit from timely strategies to support their development.Staff diligently complete regular indoor and outdoor risk assessments to minimise identified hazards. The setting is kept clean and tidy, adhering to the setting's policies and procedures.

However, staff are less confident assessing and addressing risks as they arise throughout the daily routine. For example, during the long wait for food to be served at mealtimes, children become restless and run up and down the nursery. Staff struggle to moderate this behaviour to ensure children understand how to move around the setting safely.

Older children have free-flow access to the garden and they love to play outside. They enjoy digging, role play, riding tricycles and other activities. Leaders have recently added new outdoor equipment and made changes to enhance children's privacy and security.

However, on the day of inspection, the youngest children did not visit the garden to access planned outdoor activities.The provider has made recent renovations, which have improved many aspects of the setting's environment. There have been changes to leadership roles and the setting's policies and procedures, which will take time to embed.

The provider is not making the most of staff supervision arrangements to identify areas of weakness and develop opportunities for continuous improvement. This means staff are not always developing the skills they need to deliver high-quality teaching and learning confidently and consistently.

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 and Childcare Register the provider must: Due date ensure the environment supports children's communication and language development through quality interactions with staff in a language-rich environment 24/01/2025 ensure arrangements to identify children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are effective 24/01/2025 ensure risk assessments inform practice so that staff have a secure understanding of how to manage children's behaviour and reduce risk, particularly in relation to how children move around the nursery 24/01/2025 ensure all children access planned outdoor activities and experiences on a daily basis 24/01/2025 ensure leaders get the support they need to identify and address weaknesses to foster a culture of continuous improvement across the provision 24/01/2025 improve the quality of assessment, particularly the progress checks for children aged two years, to ensure they are accurate and effective.24/01/2025 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: consider how the daily routine can support children to engage in purposeful learning throughout the day.