Canterbury Day Nursery, Holiday Playscheme and ASC

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Overall, children enjoy their time at the setting as staff provide an engaging and exciting curriculum. Children have formed strong attachments with staff. They smile as staff interact with them during their chosen play.

For example, children build marble-run towers with plastic bricks, and babies explore sensory textures with different parts of their body. Staff praise children for their achievements. Children initiate conversations with staff and show pleasure as they encourage their efforts.

Most children show confidence and demonstrate this as they explore different areas of the learning environment.There are some inc...onsistencies between rooms in the setting, which highlights a weakness in the effectiveness for promoting all children's learning. For example, the nursery consists of four rooms, three of which are very effective in providing activities that support children's development in an enjoyable and stimulating way.

However, the arrangements in the fourth room are less effective. This particularly relates to the staff's ability to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff working in this room are sometimes overwhelmed.

The room is overcrowded and, at times, chaotic. Some children have multiple changes to the key people who support them. This leads to a lack of consistency in the approach towards individual children's needs.

Therefore, some children do not always access meaningful learning opportunities.

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

Managers and staff are highly committed. However, the arrangement for one of the rooms is weak.

Children in this room are happy and take part in the various activities on offer, but this is not as well coordinated as other rooms in the setting. For example, some children occasionally wander around the room and do not all show high levels of involvement. At times, staff are inconsistent with their behaviour management approach.

Therefore, at times, this hinders some other children's interaction in their play.Generally, the quality of education for most children is strong, including for children with SEND. Leaders have ensured effective support from external professionals.

However, they have not ensured that staff have the capacity to implement a consistent approach to some children. In particular, children who require strategies that support their emotional and behavioural development. This does not ensure that children with SEND make the best possible progress.

Despite some weaknesses in practice, staff successfully promote children's developing independence. Children scrape their own plates and place their used cutlery in a bowl. Older children put away their own chairs under close supervision and learn to tidy up effectively.

Staff help children to learn about taking risks during their play. They talk to children about potential dangers and what might happen if they do not do things safely.Staff support children's language development well.

For example, babies hear repeated words and phrases, and toddlers enjoy listening to songs and stories. Older children take part in engaging group activities that specifically target improvement for their speaking and listening skills. Children speak to staff with confidence and share their home experiences.

Staff listen with intent and question them appropriately to practise an effective back-and-forth conversation.Children benefit from the outings staff take them on. For example, they visit the library and a local cafe.

Staff support children to develop their social skills, helping them to identify various familiar experiences. Children can talk about the similarities and differences that make them unique.Parents are invited to attend play sessions with their child and to share their favourite stories with children in the setting.

They are complimentary about the communication they receive from staff. Parents praise the signposting and top tips shared by leaders on a private social media platform. Staff keep parents well informed of their children's progress, such as through regular meetings.

Parents enjoy the videos and ideas for activities that can support their child's development at home.Children have daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise. They develop good physical skills.

Staff in the toddler room ensure that there are various opportunities for messy play and for children to practise their small- and large-muscle development. Outside, children learn to climb safely, balance on small beams and search for bugs in the exciting outdoor learning environment.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Managers have recently reviewed and strengthened the arrangements for meeting children's personal hygiene needs. Staff have effective procedures in place to respond to emergencies, such as in the event of a fire. Staff know how to identify indicators of abuse, including the risks associated with extreme views and behaviours.

They are aware of how to escalate any concerns about children's welfare to relevant agencies. Staff also know how to respond in case of any allegations. They complete relevant checks to assess the staff and trustees' suitability to work with children.

The supervision of children is appropriate, which helps to keep them safe.

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 secure the key-person system to ensure that all children have a consistent person who fully understands their developmental needs 01/09/2023 ensure that effective arrangements are in place to support children with SEND to make consistently good progress in their learning.01/09/2023 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: create a learning environment that consistently provides high-quality provision for all groups of children.