Hamilton House Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and well behaved. They respond well to the staff's calm and patient approach and their many friendly smiles. Babies build strong bonds with staff.

They learn to trust others and feel secure in their environment. Staff provide strong support to help children who find it difficult to manage their emotions to feel safe and behave well. Children are safe and well cared for indoors and out.

They grow in confidence and independence as they progress through nursery. For example, babies delight in increasingly using cutlery to feed themselves at mealtimes, while older children help to set tables and serve ea...ch other. Staff place a strong emphasis on promoting children's communication and language skills.

Occasionally, however, they do not help children to think and reason more deeply. The manager and staff have high expectations for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They provide a bright, welcoming and safe learning environment.

They work as a team to provide activities which capture children's imagination and extend their achievements overall. New assessment and planning procedures are helping staff focus sharply on helping children reach the next steps in their learning. However these are not yet fully established to have maximum impact.

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

The well-qualified manager provides strong leadership to the staff team. She is well supported by her senior staff. Procedures to evaluate and strengthen the quality of provision are well informed by analysis of children's achievement and observations of learning.

Staff are given time and support to access different training opportunities. This has contributed to curriculum development, for example, including support for children with SEND.Children make good progress overall in all areas of learning.

Staff make sure that learning for all children is built upon systematically and regularly reinforced. For example, babies play and sing simple action songs that help to reinforce their emerging language skills. Older children build on these skills when inventing their own rhyming songs and games and using them in their role play.

New procedures for assessing children's progress and planning more precisely for their future learning have recently been introduced. However, the procedures are not yet fully embedded and reviewed to make sure they have the maximum impact on learning.Staff help children to acquire the skills they need for their future learning, including making a successful start to school life.

For example, children learn to listen well to others and follow increasingly complex instructions when they re-enact well-known stories and fairy tales.Staff use additional funding that children receive well to have a lasting impact on children's achievement and address any gaps in their learning. Staff work closely with other professionals to support children with SEND.

Staff are consistently kind and gentle role models to children. They warmly praise children and value their ideas and achievements. They help children to explore their emotions and learn to be tolerant of others.

Staff's interactions with children are positive and effective overall in promoting communication skills. However, occasionally staff are too quick to offer information rather than letting the children think things out for themselves.Children are given many opportunities to be physically active.

Young babies have ample opportunities to pull themselves up as they begin to walk and push trolleys and other toys. Staff lead children in vigorous dancing activities. They encourage children to bounce, spin and stretch for significant periods of time.

Parents hold the nursery in high regard. They appreciate the open, friendly nature of the manager and her staff. Parents receive regular information on their children's progress and good guidance to support learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff know the signs that indicate that children may be at risk of harm or abuse, including being influenced by extremist views. The nursery's safeguarding lead ensures that staff always take regular training to deepen their knowledge of the procedures to keep children safe in their care.

Staff understand and follow the robust procedures for reporting and monitoring their concerns. The manager makes good use of regular staff meetings to further strengthen staff's safeguarding knowledge and understanding.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nembed the recently introduced assessment and planning procedures and review their impact on children's learning to further strengthen achievement support the staff to give children more opportunity to extend their thinking and reasoning skills.

Also at this postcode