The Oak Treehouse

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settled at this nursery. Staff help those children who require extra support to settle in a sensitive manner. They cuddle, speak softly and reassure these children, who then quickly engage in their chosen play.

Children benefit from a well-implemented and clear curriculum to support their learning and development. Staff provide an enriching environment where children are keen to explore and try new skills. They ensure children remain interested in activities.

For example, staff who work with babies regularly change sensory activities to keep them engaged. Babies excitedly explore dry sand, dried ...rice and cereal as they experiment with touching the various textures. Staff make the most of natural experiences, such as rainfall.

They encourage children to jump and splash in puddles to help develop their physical skills. Children giggle and squeal as they show their enjoyment. Staff help extend children's learning as they add balls to guttering pipes.

Children place the balls at the top of the pipe and watch as they roll down and splash into the puddles.Children behave well and develop secure attachments to their key person. Babies enjoy sitting on staff knees as they share a book.

Older children confidently share their knowledge of Rangoli patterns with visitors. They talk about the shapes of the Rangoli patterns and how it takes a long time for the ink to come off the Diwali designs on the painted hands.

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

Older children have excellent confidence as they recall their familiar and favourite stories.

They enthusiastically tell visitors about a mouse who ventures into the wood and use props to help share what happens next in the story. Children explain to visitors that they are concentrating so they can remember all of the story. They are very proud of their successful storytelling and want to share another story with visitors about a witch and a broom.

The manager and staff are very quick to identify children who require early intervention and additional support. They build positive partnerships with parents to reassure and support them during these sensitive times. These children receive exceptional individual care and attention and are fully included and encouraged to be involved in all activities.

Parents spoken to on the day of the inspection are very complimentary about the service they receive and the care and education their children are offered. They comment on how well information is shared in different ways by the staff, such as electronically and daily face-to-face catch-ups of their child's day. Written comments report on how nurturing and caring the staff team is.

The management team monitor staff practice through various methods, such as team meetings and annual appraisals. However, these are not precise enough to ensure all staff receive the necessary support and coaching to raise the quality of their teaching and interaction with children to the highest level.The management team know what they want staff to do to assess children's development and support their learning.

Staff plan activities and experiences to support children's learning well. However, sometimes, the learning intent for children is lost. For example, during a 'potion-making' activity with older children, the staff do not make the most of the children's learning intent.

They do not develop or extend children's understanding of and the effect of mixing colours.Overall, staff interaction and engagement with children supports children's interests and learning. However, on occasions, staff focus more on the children who are confident and engage in the activities than those who are less confident and quiet.

Therefore, these quieter children miss out on some learning experiences to help them to progress further in their learning and development.Children are independent and very familiar with routines and understand what is expected of them. Their behaviour is good.

Children from a young age learn to share toys and take turns. Older children play cooperatively as they take turns pushing the baby dolls around the room. Staff praise children on their achievements and good behaviour to help raise their self-esteem.

Children's health is promoted well. They spend plenty of time outside in the fresh air. They practise their physical skills as they balance and jump off and on low-level blocks.

Children also enjoy healthy and well-balanced meals. Mealtimes are a social occasion. Staff sit with children and help them learn about the benefits of eating healthily.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff complete regular child protection training. They keep their knowledge up to date regarding changes to safeguarding practices, such as protecting children from extreme views and behaviour.

Staff have a secure understanding of what they must do should they have a concern about a child's welfare or a staff's suitability. Risk assessments of the environment, which are completed by staff, are thorough and promote children's safety. Children are closely supervised.

When babies are sleeping, staff remain in the room to monitor their safety. Older children receive appropriate guidance and support from staff as they learn to use knives to cut up food correctly.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove the ongoing coaching and support for staff to further develop their interaction with children and overall teaching skills support staff to ensure that the precise learning intention for children is consistently implemented so that children learn as much as they can help staff to engage more with quieter and less confident children, so they receive the same level of support as their more confident peers.

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