Aintree Day Nursery & Kids Club Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settled. They enjoy attending this clean, welcoming and homely nursery.

Staff know all children very well and it is clear that children's experiences are at the forefront of everything that staff do. Children play in a safe, clean and stimulating environment. They very much enjoy exploring and investigating the activities and toys on offer at the nursery.

Younger children make marks in shaving foam with their fingers. Older children squeeze dough and roll it to make snakes. This helps them to develop their hand muscles in preparation for writing.

Staff found that, as a result of the pand...emic, some children needed extra help to develop their social skills. Children watch and learn from staff who model how to negotiate with each other during play and how to share and take turns. This shows quieter children how they can join in play with others.

Three- and four-year-old children form firm friendships.Staff have high expectations of children and provide a challenging curriculum based on what they know about children's progress and their interests. This helps to ensure that all children make good progress in preparation for school and life in modern Britain.

Children are very well behaved and receive an abundance of praise for resolving their own conflict when it arises.

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

Staff understand how each child prefers to learn and what the children's special interests are. Staff use this knowledge to provide opportunities for children to develop their skills and understanding of the world around them.

For example, staff talk to children about 'fast' and 'slow'. They help children to notice how a truck moves differently on different surfaces.Children as young as one year of age, sit quietly and are fascinated as they look at books and turn the pages.

They listen intently as staff tell familiar stories and point with glee as they recognise their favourite characters. Older children predict what will happen next in their favourite, familiar stories and assume the role of characters with confidence.Children demonstrate the key skills of effective learners; they share their thinking and make links to previous learning as they play.

For example, while playing with play dough, children help the inspector to solve the problem of dough sticking in the cutter. They skilfully explain, relating to their prior experience, the steps she should take to free the dough. This demonstrates that children are learning and remembering more.

Overall, staff support children's emerging communication skills well. They introduce new vocabulary as children play. For example, babies repeat new words such as 'tiger' and 'elephant' as they play with toy animals.

Staff encourage children to discuss their ideas and share their thoughts. They ask questions to extend their learning. However, on occasion, some staff do not give children enough time to think and respond in order to share their knowledge and understanding.

The manager and deputy are dedicated leaders. They involve staff, parents and children in their ongoing reflection and when planning future improvements to the nursery. The manager works with staff, observing them as they work with children.

She meets with staff to discuss their role, agree professional development targets and to plan future training. However, targets set for staff do not always fully support them in raising the quality of their teaching to the highest level.Parents speak highly of the nursery and the steps that the managers and staff have taken during the pandemic to help to ensure their child's safety and well-being.

They value the innovative ways staff have found to keep in touch with families during the pandemic. For example, the introduction of a variety of electronic means of communication and the provision of outdoor family events, such as 'The Winter Wonderland'. Parents state that staff at the nursery feel like 'part of the family'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children. They regularly renew their child protection training to ensure that they have a clear understanding of the signs and symptoms which may indicate that a child is at risk of harm or abuse.

Staff know where to find contact details for the local safeguarding board and who to contact in the event of an allegation against a colleague or the manager. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: build on staff's questioning techniques to enable children to have more time to think, respond and demonstrate what they know and understand strengthen the existing arrangements for staff supervision and provide more targeted and precise support to each member of staff, to help them to enhance their teaching skills to the highest level.