Hopscotch Day Nurseries (Regents Park) Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and make good progress in their learning and development.

They enjoy the toys and resources available. All staff, including regular agency workers and covering staff from the linked nursery, know, support and engage with the children well. They plan and provide a good range of activities that cover the curriculum and help to support children's learning.

All children, including those who are new, are happy and confident at the nursery. They have built good relationships with their key persons and supporting staff, which helps them to feel safe. Children behave well and have developed good friendships ...with each other.

All staff encourage children to explore and develop their own interests well. This helps children to feel secure and they are motivated to play and learn. Children have good opportunities to explore different media and materials.

For example, babies are engrossed in their play as they feel and explore cooked spaghetti with toy animals. Toddlers are fascinated as they investigate with water, chalk and dough. Overall, all children are supported in their communication and language skills well.

All staff chatter to children as they play and include spontaneous nursery rhymes as they play and explore.

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

Managers evaluate their practice well to ensure that all children's needs are met. They demonstrate a reflective approach and have a clear vision for improvements.

For example, they have started to implement a more defined method of sharing children's progress with parents to help them support their child's learning at home.Overall, staff support children's developing communication skills well. They model listening skills through activities such as 'what's in the box?'.

Generally, staff engage and communicate well with all children. However, at times, some staff do not give children sufficient time to think and respond to questions to enable them to articulate what they would like to say.Children of all ages enjoy being outside in the garden.

Babies and younger children like cosying up to listen to stories. Older children practise their physical skills as they ride wheeled toys, climb play equipment and explore the obstacle course. Staff support children's understanding of the world well.

For example, children benefit from local walks and trips to places of interest, such as the local art gallery.Staff help children learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, they talk to children about the ways they can be safe as their friends ride around the road track in the nursery garden.

This leads to creative play and good discussions about how to cross and pass safely. Their imaginations are further extended as they build a bridge using blocks and traffic lights to help others avoid the road.Children enjoy healthy and nutritious snacks and meals that meet their individual dietary needs.

However, the organisation of lunchtime is not always coherent with nursery procedures. For instance, children's independence is not consistently encouraged, and staff do not talk to children about the importance of eating healthily. Despite this, mealtimes are a social occasion where staff sit with the children.

Staff help children to be kind to each other and behave in a positive manner. For example, any minor incidents are dealt with positively and reinforced as needed for the older children through the use of the 'emotions monster'. Staff praise children for helping and being kind to others, which helps them to remain motivated.

Parents are positive in their comments about managers, staff and children's progress at the nursery. Many praise the communication and daily information that they receive. Parents comment that they are kept well informed about any changes at the nursery through messages sent via the online app.

Managers undertake regular supervisions and team meetings with staff. These cover discussions about staff's professional development, their key children's progress and implementing the curriculum. Managers also work in the rooms with the staff and children to coach and mentor staff as needed.

This helps them to enhance the curriculum and learning intentions to further advance children's progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff complete regular training to ensure that their knowledge and understanding of child protection is up to date.

All staff have a good awareness of the signs and indicators that a child may be at risk of harm and the referral procedures to follow if they felt this to be the case. The premises are clean, well maintained, safe and secure. The adult to child ratios are met and staff are deployed effectively to supervise the children well.

Appropriate risk assessments are in place to identify and reduce any potential risks in the nursery and when on trips out. Robust recruitment procedures are followed and maintained to ensure that adults working with children are suitable for their role.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: create more opportunities for children to have the time they need to think about and answer questions review the organisation of some daily routines, in particular mealtimes, to help raise children's self-help skills and develop their understanding of a healthy lifestyle.