Ashbourne Day Nursery Sandbach

Inclusion: Needs attention

Leaders do not provide consistent support to all children, who may face barriers to their learning, including those who have previously been known to social care, or have had recent changes in their lives. Leaders gather information about children's individual home circumstances and individual needs. For example, they find out about children's individual medical, dietary and cultural requirements. However, they do not use this information to provide consistent support or to make adaptations to daily routines. This means that children's personal and emotional wellbeing are not sufficiently well supported. Staff complete regular assessments of children's learning and the required written progress check when children are aged between 2 and 3 years. They share this information with parents and external professionals. This means that potential delays in children's development are identified and requests are made for additional external support. Staff follow the advice given by professionals. For example, following external advice, staff have implemented a now-and-next board. This helps children to understand the routines and expectations.

Leaders make sure that the use of additional funding is monitored and invested in resources that provide opportunities for learning. Staff monitor children's attendance and ensure that children who receive funding receive their entitlement.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

While leaders have a vision for what they want children to learn, this is not yet embedded into practice and consistently implemented by all staff. Staff provide activities that do not consistently meet the specific needs of children across all areas of learning. Older children engage in activities, such as counting and comparing animals. However, young children do not routinely hear mathematical language or engage in activities that build on what they already know and can do. This means that children do not access a curriculum that promotes confidence in and enjoyment of mathematics.

Generally, children develop their language skills through back-and-forth conversations with their friends. However, staff do not help children to develop these skills further. For example, they do not consistently build on children's play, introduce new words to enhance their vocabulary or use questioning effectively. This means that children do not hear or acquire the language to build on what they already know.

Children enjoy reading books, join in with familiar songs and generally enjoy exploring their environment. They have plenty of opportunities to develop their physical skills in the well-resourced and spacious outdoor areas. Children laugh as they run around playing football with their friends and throwing balls to one another.

Achievement: Needs attention

Generally, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children, make progress from their starting points, however, this is not sustained.

Some children struggle to separate from adults. This means that they are not developing social skills, such as interacting with others and developing confidence. However, this is not the case for all children. Pre-school children in particular are confident and self-assured. They greet visitors, make them pretend drinks and food and talk about their favourite things to do at nursery.

Children typically develop their independence skills. They put on their own coats and shoes, choose what they would like to eat for meals and select what they would like to play with from a range of activities. Older children confidently serve their own foods and display positive manners. Tasks, such as self-serve for younger children, are too difficult and this impacts on children's confidence and self-control during these times.

Children demonstrate some knowledge about the world around them. For example, they learn to grow vegetables and understand about recycling. They are developing a thirst for knowledge.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Children enjoy playing with their friends and are familiar with the setting's routines. However, at times, these routines do not meet children's needs. For example, during lunchtimes, children wait for extended periods for their food. This causes older children to leave their seats multiple times. While during snack times, younger children do not receive the positive interactions from staff that they need. This leads to children becoming distracted and impacts on their behaviour and interactions with others.

Children generally behave well. Staff encourage positive behaviour. For example, they remind children to use their manners and to say please and thank you. Staff use specific praise for children's achievements and encourage children to keep trying when at first they do not succeed. For example, when tying bobbles to string, children receive encouragement from staff to keep trying. Strategies are in place to support children who require additional support. For example, children access 'motivation bags' containing their favourite resources. Consequently, children develop their resilience.

Leaders and staff follow clear procedures, including welfare checks, for when children do not attend. Leaders ensure that children have access to their full entitlement. This helps to keep children safe and promotes their regular attendance.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Although children build attachments with their key person, these relationships do not meet their needs. For example, staff do not support children effectively to separate from their key person, engage in activities or encourage play. This impacts on children's willingness to interact with peers and hinders their learning opportunities. In addition to this, staff do not recognise when it is appropriate to adapt individual children's routines. For example, when children are visibly falling asleep, staff do not offer them a rest. This impacts on children's wellbeing.

Children develop the knowledge and skills to keep themselves healthy. They learn about healthy foods, plant their own fruits and vegetables and are offered a nutritious diet. Children benefit from access to a large and well-resourced outdoor space. They discover the importance of physical exercise.

Staff monitor and support sleeping children effectively to ensure their safety. They complete records of accidents and administration of medication, and share these with parents and families.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders observe staff's practice, provide feedback on their strengths and set actions to improve their skills. However, this has not been effective in raising the quality and consistency of teaching to a high standard. This means that not all children benefit from a robust curriculum that promotes their development.

Leaders do not consistently implement the setting's complaints procedure. They do not consistently keep a record of the outcome or share records with Ofsted, as required. Leaders do demonstrate that they investigate complaints raised. However, their procedures are not in line with the requirements of the early years foundation stage statutory framework to maintain and share records on request.

Leaders ensure that staff are suitable for their roles through following a robust recruitment process. There are procedures in place to ensure staff can access mandatory training, such as first aid and safeguarding.

Leaders use additional funding appropriately to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They consider staff wellbeing and workload when making decisions. For example, leaders deploy more staff than legally required so that children benefit from increased adult support.

Leaders and staff work positively with families, overall. For example, they provide flexible settling-in sessions and invite them to attend stay-and-play sessions. Staff keep parents informed about their child's progress through daily communications and regular parents' evenings.