The Brentford Day Nursery & Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children feel safe in this nursery. They develop a sense of security and well-being. Children form positive relationships with their key person.

All children behave well and develop a positive attitude to their learning. They engage in organised activities, indoors and outdoors. Children make choices about their play and select resources independently to develop and explore their own ideas.

They are happy and eager to learn. The nursery is a very inclusive setting. Staff include all children in the activities and experiences.

Staff help children to develop their independence. For example. they show children ho...w to wipe their noses and dispose their tissues hygienically, and to wash their hands afterwards.

Children develop confidence in their own abilities. They make progress in their learning and development. Staff have high aspirations for children and plan a wide range of learning opportunities.

Staff work with small groups of children to promote their social skills and help them form relationships. This especially benefits children who are settling, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and children who speak English as an additional language. Children are constantly busy and happy in their play.

They work together as they build small coloured wooden block towers, and make connections with numbers and shapes as they count the blocks. Children enjoy exploring the book area and independently select books. They sit together and look at images on the pages, pointing out characters they are familiar with.

Children recall words and phrases from memory, showing their understanding of stories.

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

The manager is extremely passionate about her role and believes children that deserve the best start. She has good oversight of each member of staff's areas of strength.

The manager has effective systems in place to closely monitor staff's professional practice. She identifies areas of improvement for some staff and has plans in place to help develop their skills and confidence.Managers are committed to staff's professional development and well-being.

Staff report to be happy, feel well supported and enjoy working at the setting. They can self-refer for additional mentoring and mental well-being support.Parents communicate that they are extremely satisfied with the progress their children make.

They praise how staff support them and their children with transitions. Parents share how they enjoy accessing the nursery's lending library as this allows them a great opportunity to plan time at home to sit and read with their children. They also comment on how much happier they are since being allowed back on site.

Staff work hard to promote children's good communication skills, along with their personal, social and emotional development. This is clearly reflected in the curriculum in the baby and pre-school rooms. Children learn to take turns, listen and share.

These opportunities allow them to forge friendships within their peer groups.In the pre-school room, children hear new vocabulary, such as 'squishy', 'squashy', 'soft' and 'stretchy', when they stretch and feel a soft, coloured ball. Children are introduced to number concepts by using and counting out visual images.

Staff provide a good balance of adult-led and child-led activities during each session. They have a good knowledge of children's interests and individual needs. Staff link what they want children to learn to the activities they provide.

For example, children enjoy hearing the story about the 'Gruffalo' and make connections to the theme of autumn. They develop their language and confidence in using new words and phrases, as well as developing their awareness of the world around them.In the baby room, there is plenty of space for babies to crawl and practise their walking.

Babies learn through investigation and exploration. For example, they explore paint and water trays set at their level. This gives them confidence to see and touch wet and dry textures.

Staff repeat and model words and phrases for babies to hear.Staff have a good understanding of what children know and can do. They develop a curriculum based on children's interests and what they need to learn next.

Staff monitor children's progress and assess their levels of development. This helps to identify their next steps in learning.Children learn to be independent.

They make decisions as to where to play and who to play with. Children put on their coats when playing outside. They spend plenty of time outdoors in the fresh air.

This helps children to develop their larger muscles and coordination.Staff work with professionals to implement individual education plans to support children with SEND. This helps children to receive targeted support to help them make progress.

Staff encourage children to make democratic choices, such as reaching an agreement when voting on what story to listen to or song to sing. However, staff do not consistently promote older children's thinking skills. This is due to staff being enthusiastic to communicate with children and not always giving them time to formulate their own ideas and respond to their questions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers are confident and committed to safeguarding children. They have robust processes are in place when recruiting new staff members, to ensure that they are suitable to work with children.

Staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding and know who to contact should they have a concern. They also recognise the different types of abuse and what signs they should be alert to. Staff are supported through training on various aspects of safeguarding at induction, through additional training and staff meetings.

They make effective use of risk assessments to ensure that children are kept safe from harm. Staff are deployed to always ensure constant supervision of children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: build on staff's questioning techniques to allow children time to think and respond, in order to help them express their own ideas.