Ashbourne Day Nurseries at New Ollerton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children, including those who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are welcomed by staff when they arrive. Staff respond when children put their arms up for a hug, and they speak to parents to ensure any information is shared so children's needs can be met effectively. Children develop feelings of well-being and belonging at nursery. Staff spend time with children playing and talking to them. These positive interactions result in children being motivated and eager to join activities, and they build close relationships with the staff. For example, babies persevere with play tray puzzles. Staff encourage babies to keep trying by saying, 'In there', when babies hold the pieces. Babies smile at staff when they give them praise and are eager to continue with the puzzle.

Overall, children, including children with SEND, make rapid progress in their learning. Staff know the children well and provide activities that build on what they know already. Staff are reassuring and they play alongside children and talk to them, which helps develop children's confidence to try new things. Children know the expectations for behaviour. They quickly become engaged and excited when staff suggest a game and a song that includes different movements to remind children to walk rather than run inside.

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

• Leaders work with the staff effectively overall. Staff feel valued as part of the team. They support one another during their daily work with the children and support their colleagues' well-being. Leaders swiftly identify and manage safeguarding concerns when they arise. They monitor staff's knowledge and practice to develop their interactions with children. However, this process lacks some clarity. Some staff are not clear about how the support they receive contributes to their ongoing professional development.
• Staff help pre-school children to develop their own ideas as they play. When children build towers with construction materials, they work together. Children think about how they can make the tower taller when they can no longer reach the top. They independently find a suitable block to stand on and staff acknowledge their good idea. Staff ask children if their tower can go any higher, challenging them to think and keep going.
• Overall, staff know the children well and provide positive interactions that promote their learning as they play. For example, staff play alongside children at the sand and water tray. They show children how they can use a spoon to fill a container with sand and give them encouragement to try. Staff praise the children when they take part, which helps develop their confidence to try new things. However, although staff talk about the specific and individual targets for each child's development, there are sometimes inconsistencies in how staff support children to make progress towards these targets.
• Staff are attentive and caring towards the children and ensure their individual care needs are met in respect of sleep times and nappy changes. Staff have a gentle approach that promotes children's feelings of well-being at nursery. Staff take time to cuddle and reassure children who are upset, which enables children to return to their play.
• Staff are clear and consistent in their approach with children. They offer children activities they are interested in and are curious to try. This contributes to children becoming focused for long periods. Children with SEND concentrate and keep trying as they build towers with stacking cups, turning them over as they place them on top of each other. Staff support toddlers and pre-school children to begin to recognise and manage their feelings. They read stories and use toy characters to help children talk about how they are feeling, which promotes positive behaviour.
• Staff implement effective, collaborative partnerships with parents and other agencies that are involved with the children. Staff ensure parents are kept informed every day about how their child has been, the activities they have enjoyed and what they have learned. Staff encourage parents to share what their child is interested in at home. Staff work closely with other agencies to support children with SEND. Regular sharing of relevant information contributes to children receiving a consistent approach to their care and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff develop their skills to ensure they provide children with consistent support to work towards their identified development targets and promote their individual, specific learning needs
• enhance the supervision and monitoring of staff's practice to ensure it is consistently effective to enable staff to build on their professional development.