Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Wellingborough

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff promote children's feelings of belonging and well-being at nursery. They greet children warmly and welcome them inside. Children quickly form positive relationships. With effective and ongoing staff support, overall, children learn about respect and care for others. Children independently access sand timers when they want to have a turn with specific toys. They show a mutual understanding of how to use the sand timer, which results in children's behaviour being positive and them working together cooperatively.

Children benefit from how staff implement the curriculum to build on what children know already. Staff know the children well and successfully adapt their interactions to ensure they promote all children's learning during play. Staff speak clearly to children when they play alongside them. They use appropriate language to ensure children taking part can understand, and they introduce new words to gradually extend their vocabulary.

Children are excited by the activities staff plan for them. They become deeply involved in their play, developing their imagination. Children explore play dough and decide this is ice cream. They are confident to take the dough to the home-corner area to continue their game. Staff encourage children to move the resources around to follow their own ideas and enhance their play.

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

• Since the last inspection, significant improvements have strengthened safeguarding procedures to ensure children's welfare is protected. Recruitment processes now include thorough checks on staff suitability, both at the point of employment and on an ongoing basis. All staff, including senior leaders, complete regular refresher and extended safeguarding training. This additional knowledge has helped to create a strong safeguarding culture across the nursery.
• Staff work well together to meet all children's needs. Leaders provide effective support through role modelling and reflective discussions, which build staff confidence and strengthen their teaching and interactions with children. Staff develop a deeper understanding that positively shapes curriculum planning and ensures additional funding is used effectively to help children make high levels of progress.
• Staff extend children's interests effectively and support their communication and language skills. Staff talk to children during activities and introduce new words, such as 'stomp' when children move around the room pretending to be dinosaurs. Staff refer to previous activities, which helps children to consolidate and build on their learning. Following outdoor play when children were fascinated by a worm, staff provide clay and pictures of worms, bees, birds nests and pumpkins for them to inspire their model making. This results in lively conversations and supports their learning well.
• Staff are positive role models and help children learn strategies to manage their feelings, such as using the calm areas of the nursery. This supports children to begin resolving minor conflicts themselves. However, staff do not always apply behaviour expectations consistently, which means children do not always receive clear guidance to fully support their learning.
• Children gradually develop independence during their time at nursery. Staff give them time to complete tasks for themselves, such as putting on shoes and coats, changing into dry clothes after playing in the rain, and serving their own meals. Warm, supportive relationships help children feel confident and resilient, encouraging them to keep trying with tasks they find challenging.
• Staff work in close partnership with parents. The effective communication gives parents confidence that their children's individual needs are being met. Staff take full account of information from parents, which enables them to ensure all children can take a full part in nursery life. Staff involve parents in identifying their children's next steps in learning. They regularly update parents about their children's progress and give parents ideas on how to support their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to apply consistent approaches to managing behaviour and cooperative play, so children develop a clear understanding of expectations.