Whytebeams

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Happy, smiling children enter the nursery school with their parents and are warmly welcomed by the staff team.

Children enthusiastically put their belongings away and seek out their friends to play. They eagerly share items from home with the group, speaking clearly and fluently. They immediately become engrossed in enjoyable, exciting and purposeful play.

From the moment children begin their session, they appear happy, excited to learn, safe and settled. Children are very confident and independent. They are highly motivated to learn and know the daily routine extremely well.

Children behave exceptional...ly well. They show respect for each other and do kind things for their friends. Their kindness is rewarded with meaningful praise.

Children receive excellent support. They have the same key person throughout their nursery life. This helps the key person to form extremely strong bonds with the children and their families.

Children make exceptional progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are learning English as an additional language. Key persons use the extensive knowledge they have about each child to plan interesting, challenging and engaging experiences that are tailored to children's individual learning needs and styles.

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

The manager and deputies lead the nursery with extreme confidence and professionalism.

They spend much of their day working directly with the staff and children. This helps them to develop a secure knowledge of the children, their families and the staff team. The manager holds frequent supervision meetings with each member of staff, where they review any training needs and discuss working practices.

Staff comment that they feel extremely well supported and happy in their job.Children express their creative nature. For example, they construct insects linked to nursery rhymes they are learning.

Children proficiently manipulate different building bricks and blocks to construct and create a range of highly thought-out structures and shapes, such as different 3D shapes. Staff are on hand at all times to support the children. They model how to use the magnetic number board and pen, which strengthens children's finger muscles and enhances their writing skills.

Children have fun serving themselves at snack time and delight in talking to their friends. They choose from an exciting selection of fruits and vegetables. Staff expertly help them to develop their language skills, for example, they ask questions and allow children time to think and respond.

Staff introduce new words and give clear explanations to help them to consolidate their thinking.Staff plan inspirational activities for the children and present resources in an exciting way. For example, they provide textured material with a wide range of tools to encourage children's mark-making skills and awareness of textures.

Children learn about different numbers and understand their value as they match quantity to numbers. Staff support children's mathematical vocabulary extremely well. For instance, they encourage children to think of numbers that are 'higher' or 'lower', 'before' and 'after' as children make predictions about the number of legs a spider has.

Children of all ages learn to respect others and the different cultures around them.Parents speak extremely positively of the staff and managers. They comment on how well their children are cared for and the extensive range of activities they participate in.

Many state that their children love coming to the nursery and are eager to start their day. Parents say that managers are always available to speak to if they have any concerns.Children enjoy highly exciting and challenging opportunities to develop their physical skills.

For example, they explore the exceptionally well-equipped garden and playground. They take part in gardening and learn about the natural habitat. They enjoy sports and extra-curricular exercise sessions.

Staff successfully teach children about the importance of keeping fit and healthy.The exceptionally qualified and experienced staff expertly observe and assess children's learning. They are extremely knowledgeable about children's needs and monitor their progress closely.

This information is shared with parents and leaders to ensure that gaps in children's learning are immediately remedied.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers have high expectations of staff, especially regarding their knowledge of safeguarding.

Staff receive rigorous safeguarding training, including ongoing discussions and workshops on child protection. They monitor the welfare of the children vigilantly. Staff demonstrate detailed knowledge of the signs that could indicate a child is at risk of harm, including from extreme views.

Managers and staff have an excellent understanding of their duty to identify and respond to concerns about a child and/or member of staff working with them. Managers maintain meticulous recruitment procedures. They ensure staff's suitability through ongoing checks.