Play & Learn Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy to attend the nursery.

Staff support them well when they arrive and they settle quickly into the wide range of experiences provided for them. Strong focus is placed on children obtaining the essential knowledge they need to prepare them for their future success. For instance, staff help children to grow vegetables, such as carrots, and take them to buy fresh produce at the local shops.

Children share their experiences with their parents and carers when they are dropped off and collected. Staff recognise they could provide even more opportunities to involve parents in their children's learning, partic...ularly at home. Staff are supported well by the newly appointed manager to implement a well-designed curriculum.

This ensures that most activities provided are age appropriate and provide children with a good level of challenge. The manager has recently increased her monitoring of teaching and is aware of where some improvements are required, especially for the two-year-old children. Children behave well throughout the day.

Staff provide consistent messages to them and talk about the age-related expectations in place. Children listen, respond appropriately to instructions and are beginning to develop good levels of self-control.

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

Staff support three- and four-year-old children extremely well to engage in imaginative role play.

They create imaginary situations, such as camping overnight in a tent before going to the beach the following day. Children are highly motivated to take part. They gather excitedly in the tent to hear a story at 'bedtime' and join in with their favourite phrases in the book.

Behaviour is very good. Children show high levels of respect for each other as they sit on the pretend bus to take them to the beach.Staff provide a range of activities for two-year-old children to explore outdoors.

Children use and move equipment, such as wooden planks and milk crates to make obstacle courses. They use large, chunky chalks to make marks on the ground. However, staff do not always have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn indoors.

Some activities do not always build upon what children already know and can do.Staff gather good-quality information from parents when children first start attending, which helps to promote children's good progress from the outset. Parents say their children come on in 'leaps and bounds'.

They find staff are 'always flexible, helpful, patient and understanding'. Some opportunities, such as a take-home bear, are provided to help the parents of older children to support their learning at home. The manager and staff team have plans to reintroduce initiatives, such as a book-sharing scheme throughout the nursery.

However, this has not yet been implemented.All children enjoy activities outdoors to develop their physical skills. They show good control and coordination when using bikes and other equipment.

Children cooperate well with each other and skilfully use their legs to move around.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff swiftly identify where children need additional help and implement appropriate activities that meet their needs.

Partnerships with external professionals are strong and help to ensure children have full access to their entitlement to early education.A well-established key-person system is in place and helps children to build strong relationships with staff. Children demonstrate they are happy and feel safe with staff when they accept help and support as they play.

Children's independence skills are supported well. Staff help children to develop skills such as using the potty when they are developmentally ready for this stage.The newly appointed manager has a good understanding of how to develop the nursery further.

She is working closely with the area manager to support the staff team and make improvements that aim to support children's learning to a higher level. Some staff have been in post for many years and feel well supported in their role.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a comprehensive understanding of child protection issues among the staff team. They know how to act and who to contact if they are concerned about the welfare of a child. The manager and her staff team implement effective policies and procedures to keep children safe.

Risk assessments are reviewed following any event or incident to prevent a possible reoccurrence. All staff have up-to-date paediatric first-aid qualifications and know how to respond if a child sustains an injury while in their care.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen staff's understanding of what they want two-year-old children to learn and provide even more activities indoors that support their learning to a higher level help parents to extend and enhance their child's learning at home to strengthen partnerships even further.