Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Princes Risborough

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children learn about diversity in the world around them in this town centre nursery. The proactive manager has high expectations for both his staff team and for children.

He sets a clear direction for the nursery and is successfully guiding improvements to the teaching and learning experiences for children. Staff plan well for children's individual needs to ensure their good progress, and they know what children need to learn next. Children appear to enjoy attending nursery and are observed to be safe, happy and settled.

They exhibit warm, trusting relationships with staff. Children lead their play and sustain their co...ncentration at some activities for a good length of time. Staff make good use of snack and meal times to make conversation with children and talk about what they are enjoying at nursery today.

Children are emotionally secure, develop good levels of independence and start to make new friends. When children find it hard to manage their behaviour, staff consistently support them to find a resolution so they can learn to manage their feelings and understand the consequences of their actions.

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

Targeted initiatives at a senior management level have helped to raise the quality of the provision, and parents say that they can see the positive impact.

However, the newly appointed cluster manager acknowledges that the increased support for staff now requires embedding to secure continuous improvement.Staff know the children well and promote learning through play effectively. The good levels of individual attention from staff help to develop children's personal, social, communication and language skills and their physical abilities very well.

This helps children to make good progress in their learning.The manager capably monitors staff practice. He makes sure that every staff member is clear about the intent of each activity and then evaluates the impact of their teaching.

Consequently, the curriculum has a purposeful focus and builds on what children know and can do. The manager recognises that this monitoring process requires extension to check children's progress over time.Children enjoy good-quality interaction with the manager and his staff, who engage in conversation, model language and show children different ways of doing things.

Staff have noticed the positive impact of music on children's language development and speak about their pride in hearing a young child say, 'Look at my injuries!'.Staff value each other's strengths and exploit these effectively to deliver the curriculum for children. Experienced staff role model different teaching styles for colleagues to enable them to increase their knowledge of teaching.

Children enjoy some superb activities. Dressed in protective suits, they take off their socks and shoes and paddle in green paint. They walk onto paper taped to the floor and marvel at the marks their feet make.

Staff encourage children to crawl in the paint and travel through the 'swishy, swashy grass' from the well-known story. Children revel in painting the feet and legs of staff and concentrate for a substantial time.Children learn to develop a taste for healthy food and the importance of physical activity.

Although the nursery has a very small outdoor area, staff make good use of local play parks and walks in the town. Children learn how to throw and catch a ball, climb and balance.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are truly included and their individual needs are met well in this nursery.

They share their experiences with other children to the benefit of all. Consequently, children develop a positive sense of themselves and others.Staff in each room complete a planning book, to share activities with parents and to help in explaining what learning is achieved.

For example, during water play, children learned new mathematical concepts and words such as 'full' and 'empty' through filling and emptying the containers. They added different-coloured paints to change the colour of the water. The children's voices were captured through their comments, for example, 'It's nice and warm', 'I can see purple water', and 'I like the bubbles'.

Parents report that they feel well informed and supported to share children's learning from home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff regularly complete child protection training to stay up to date with safeguarding procedures.

They have a secure knowledge of the signs and behaviours that indicate children may be at risk of harm. They are aware of the procedure to follow if they have a concern about another member of staff or adult. Staff supervise children to keep them safe, including during outside play.

Senior managers and the nursery manager work well together to ensure safeguarding is always high on the agenda. They check staff knowledge and understanding at staff meetings and work in close partnership with other agencies.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nembed and extend the monitoring process to check that activities continue to have an increasingly positive impact on children's learning and development, and that children make good progress over time nembed support for staff and monitoring at senior management level to secure continuous improvement in the quality of provision.