Footsteps Nursery Cannock

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff are extremely gentle and caring. They greet children with enthusiasm and smiles. Children show how happy they are to be at the nursery and spend time with their friends.

Older children chat to staff, adults and their friends. Babies giggle with excitement as they respond to staff's interactions. Staff comfort babies and children and provide positive, warm interactions.

This helps them to feel secure and to settle quickly. Staff provide a curriculum that is sequenced to help every child build on the experiences they arrive with. Babies and young children begin to make their needs known through pointing, eye gaze a...nd single words.

As children move through the nursery, they gain confidence to talk and express themselves. Older children articulate their thoughts and ideas confidently. Staff have high expectations for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Staff are skilled at adapting their teaching to include all children. This helps every child to feel a sense of achievement and to make consistently good progress. Pre-school children have their own committee.

This provides them with plenty of opportunities to share their views with each other and staff. Staff have focused the committee group on encouraging children to share what they know about their new schools. Children are confident to explore their feelings about the changes ahead.

This has helped them to feel more secure with their transition on to Reception. Children's behaviour is good. Staff are positive role models, and they help children to be respectful towards one another.

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

Leadership and management are strong. The manager is enthusiastic and committed to making continuous improvements. Since the last inspection, she has provided training, supervision meetings and whole-group team meetings.

All staff work extremely well together. They comment on the support they receive to improve the overall quality of the provision. They are confident in their roles and talk about the ongoing improvements that have been made.

Children with SEND are supported to make the best possible progress. Funding is sought to provide one-to-one support for those who need it. Staff are very quick to identify where there are gaps in children's development.

They work closely with parents and the nursery's special educational needs coordinator, as well as outside agencies, to ensure that appropriate targets are in place to help close gaps in children's learning quickly.Staff implement consistent behaviour management strategies. They offer gentle reminders to help children to overcome barriers and manage their feelings and emotions.

Older children manage conflict well and understand how their behaviour can affect others.Children's communication and language development is a focus across every room. Staff provide stories, songs and rhymes and use Makaton, pictures and props to help babies and non-verbal children to join in.

As children move on to the rising threes and pre-school rooms, they predict what will happen and excitedly wait in anticipation as staff enthusiastically read to them.Parents are positive about the nursery. They receive information about activities and care routines.

Parents are invited in for parents' meetings and stay-and-play sessions. However, some parents of the older children comment that they do not receive consistent information about their children's individual next steps to enable them to support their child's learning effectively at home.Children's good health is promoted well.

Staff follow good hygiene procedures and model these to children. Children talk about healthy food, and they show the knowledge they have gained as they play imaginatively in the role-play area. Children have daily opportunities to develop their physical skills outdoors, and older children take part in weekly physical education sessions.

Staff working with the younger children organise routines and activities to respond to their needs. This helps these children to have opportunities to be curious and inquisitive as they play indoors and outside. However, on occasions, during some parts of the routines for older children, staff do not consistently organise activities in a way that sparks children's interests.

This means that some children are sometimes distracted and do not remain highly engaged in their learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff have a good understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities.

They know the signs that could indicate a child is at risk of harm or abuse. They are fully aware of the procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child or member of staff. Safer recruitment procedures are effective.

The premises are safe and secure, and no unauthorised persons can gain access. Staff risk assess all areas of the premises to ensure that any risks are removed to keep children safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of routines and activities, particularly for the older children, to sustain their interests and help them become more highly engaged in their learning provide all parents with consistent information about their children's individual next steps so that they can continue to support learning at home.