Abcfabulous Nursery

Inclusion: Needs attention

Weaknesses in staff practice mean that children who face barriers to their learning do not make sufficient progress. Although leaders give priority to identifying and meeting the needs any groups of children who are particularly disadvantaged, children's progress is limited overall. Staff do not yet maximise children's learning by using specialist resources effectively with the children. Staff do not know how to extend children's learning in different ways. Leaders are recognising their responsibilities in this area and are beginning to improve the support they give to staff to increase their knowledge and expertise.

More experienced staff are deployed to supervise children with additional needs throughout the day, and routines are adapted appropriately. For example, staff encourage parents to provide food from home so that all children have something familiar to eat and are included in the lunchtime routine.

The setting has accessed special educational needs inclusion funding. They have used the funding to purchase specialist resources and create a sensory area to help meet children's needs. Staff help children to feel calm and engaged through suitable experiences, such as water play. Staff support children to continue with self-chosen activities if they find group activities difficult, and children are given time and space to express themselves.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

The curriculum is at an early stage of development. The new leadership team has not had sufficient time to fully address the training needs of staff. The staff team does not know it wants children to understand and do in great depth. For example, although staff talk with children about what they are doing, they are not yet skilled in extending children's communication and language skills. Leaders have only just begun to take action to improve the assessments of children's progress and the quality of teaching experienced by children.

Leaders support children to count as they climb the stairs and dismount the slide outdoors. This helps children to develop their physical and one-to-one counting skills as they coordinate their movements. Indoors, children learn about shape and space as they complete puzzles. However, opportunities for children to develop mathematical skills and knowledge further are poorly planned by staff.

Children are beginning to learn some reading behaviours as staff share books with them and encourage children to look at the pictures as pages are turned. However, these instances are brief, and staff do not extend children's interest in books or encourage other reading behaviours.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children are not suitably prepared for the next stage in their learning, and this is particularly so for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children listen to staff and respond to them. However, back-and-forth utterances between staff and children are relatively short. Children respond to staff, using short phrases, non-verbal signals, words and sounds. Some children are beginning to develop some conversational skills.

Children are developing listening and attention skills as leaders model singing at different speeds to less experienced staff. Children enjoy using a visual chart to select which song to sing next. This helps to build children's self-esteem and confidence. Staff try to implement what they have learned through working with external support. Leaders help children to think about what comes next using other visual tools. This helps children to develop their personal, social and emotional development as they are supported to understand the routine and to make choices.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Children are not fully supported to regulate their emotions and behaviour. Staff try to implement what they have learned from external specialists but need to further extend their knowledge and expertise to support children with particularly high levels of need.

Children understand the mealtime routine and know what to do. Staff help children to follow the routine and provide additional support to children who struggle with times of change during the day. However, at these times, staff do not always have clear expectations about behaviour or fully explain to children what is happening, which unsettles some children.

Relationships between staff and children are warm. Children mostly play alongside each other or engage in activities while staff remain close by. Staff are sensitive to children's developmental stages and understand that some children prefer solitary play. Although staff give children space to explore their surroundings independently, staff also provide opportunities for children to be together during group times, such as story time and mealtimes. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging.

Leaders understand the importance of monitoring attendance and implement a clear procedure to follow up any periods of absence. Parents are contacted in a timely manner, and leaders know who to report any related concerns to.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Staff do not help children to understand the feelings of others, although they do notice when children are feeling distressed and offer comfort and reassurance. Children enjoy having a rest, and the sleep routine is calm. Staff stay with children as they sleep and check that they are safe. Staff supervise children in the toilets and ensure that children have privacy. They remind children to use soap to wash their hands. Staff support children to develop important physical skills. For example, they help children to become confident to put their coat on after teaching them a special technique. This type of support helps children to develop some independence.

Parents speak positively about the relationship between staff and their children. They value staff's efforts to encourage children to be independent and appreciate when staff notice and encourage children's interests. For example, staff encourage children's interest in dressing up. This helps to build children's self-esteem and develop their imaginative skills. Parents place high regard on the warm welcome that they receive from the owner, leaders and staff from the admissions stage. Parents describe the nursery as being 'just like home'.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

The recent actions that leaders have taken to improve practice are not extensive enough. Leaders can identify the weaknesses in practice and engage with parents and other professionals and identify points for improvement. They have begun to arrange training for staff to further develop their knowledge, expertise and skills. However, improvement is not happening swiftly enough to benefit the children currently attending the setting.

Parents speak positively about the leadership team and are confident to approach the team to discuss any concerns. They feel valued and respected and say leaders listen when describing the communication between themselves and the leadership team. Leaders encourage a culture of team working. Less experienced staff describe feeling supported by leaders and managers, who share information about children's needs, particularly children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff are beginning to develop an understanding of how to meet children's needs more effectively.

The provider continues to meet the actions in the welfare requirements notice that was raised following notification of a concern to Ofsted. Relevant improvements have been made by leaders. Staff are safely recruited and vetted. Staffing arrangements ensure children's safety, and a key-person system is established in practice. Staff have undertaken appropriate safeguarding training to improve their knowledge, and they attend to children's personal care needs effectively.