Bloom Childcare Limited

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff know children very well and rapidly identify their individual needs. They fully understand how children's abilities and experiences can create barriers to their learning and wellbeing. Measures to reduce these are highly appropriate and impactful. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is meticulously planned and highly effective. Leaders ensure that staff are capable and confident to adapt routines, expectations and learning experiences to support children's individual needs precisely. This includes sharply focused training that helps staff to review and monitor the support they offer to ensure that it supports each child as well as possible. Staff use carefully planned strategies, such as visual cues, simplified language and sensory breaks, so that all children can participate.

Children who face other barriers, such as disadvantage or changes in their family, benefit from consistent and supportive care that strengthens their emotional security and enables them to participate fully. Leaders act swiftly to reduce any barriers children face through timely referrals and early involvement of other professionals. This ensures that children get the right help at the right time. Partnerships with families are secure and embedded in day-to-day practice. Parents feel listened to, and many say the support they receive has positively transformed their experiences as parents.

Leaders use additional funding decisively and responsively to remove barriers to learning. For example, children benefit from specialist resources and equipment, which enables them to join in activities.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders review the quality of teaching and learning and have taken recent steps to build on this. The newly designed curriculum is deliberately structured to be inclusive. Learning is broken into clear, achievable steps so that every child can experience success. Those who progress more slowly are supported to grow and develop at their own pace. This supports all children to build knowledge over time. Throughout the nursery, staff have clear aims for children at each stage, and their teaching is well sequenced. They check what children already know and can do to help them to plan what comes next for each child. This is particularly effective for children who face barriers to their learning. Staff skilfully create and follow in-depth plans that are focused on the skills and knowledge these children need.

Children benefit from experiences that support their progress through the curriculum across all areas of learning and development. Staff focus well on communication and language development. They use songs, stories and repeated vocabulary purposefully to develop children's understanding across all areas, including early mathematics. For example, they teach early counting through number songs. Children's personal, social and emotional development is central to the curriculum. Staff model turn-taking and support children to build independence. Staff create opportunities for physical development. For example, babies pull themselves up on thoughtfully placed furniture, and older children run and climb outdoors.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make steady progress from their starting points. Those who face barriers to their learning make secure progress in line with their individual goals, including increased use of speech sounds and words, improved physical control and greater engagement in activities. They show developing social confidence and secure relationships. Across the nursery, children demonstrate curiosity, emotional security and an eagerness to explore. This prepares them well for future learning.

Children progress considerably well in their communication and language. They use increasing vocabulary, join simple conversations and recall familiar stories with growing confidence. Many show sustained attention during songs and group times. Babies show early interest in books, often approaching staff to read to them, and enjoy copying actions to songs. Older children demonstrate confident mathematical understanding as they count, compare and explain simple reasoning. For example, they count fingers accurately to 10 and tell a friend they need one more dinosaur to make 6 altogether.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

There is a positive and nurturing atmosphere in nursery, which is underpinned by the trusting and caring relationships that staff build with children. Children show they feel secure and are confident and ready to learn. They follow familiar routines with increasing independence, move calmly between activities and know what comes next. Staff use agreed and consistent methods to support children's behaviour. They adapt their expectations sensitively to match children's age and understanding. This includes for children who face barriers to their learning, who benefit from predictable transitions and positive modelling from staff. Children learn to get along with others and work together. They take turns, share toys and show responsibility, for example when they help with lunchtime tasks.

Staff give plenty of praise to reinforce children's efforts and raise their self-esteem. Children understand what is expected of them, behave well and are polite. For example, they remind their friends to 'use their manners'. Children show curiosity, emotional security and positive attitudes to learning, enabling them to participate well in the routines of the day. Leaders encourage parents and children to arrive on time and attend every day, building positive habits for later life. They offer flexible arrangements that support families and help to ensure that all children benefit from the routines and learning offered in nursery.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

There are times when procedures to promote children's welfare are not consistently upheld, for example while staff supervise children when eating and when preparing and serving food. Staff do not always identify or respond to potential hazards with the level of oversight that leaders expect. Risk assessments are in place but are not implemented well enough to ensure that staff apply them reliably in practice. When key staff who have specific roles are not present, leaders do not ensure that other staff follow the intended procedures consistently.

Children benefit from warm, responsive relationships with familiar staff who know them well. This supports their sense of belonging and security. For example, children confidently approach staff for a warm hug. Staff offer calm, sensitive interactions, offering reassurance and support during group times. They adapt care routines to match individual needs, including for children who face barriers to their learning. Adjustments, such as quieter spaces and reduced group sizes, help children to cope with their feelings and remain comfortable and confident. Staff respect children's feelings and help them to express them, for example by using stories to teach them the language of emotions.

Staff work closely with parents to manage babies' feeding routines. There are clear measures in place to keep children safe while they sleep. Children learn routines, such as washing their hands and brushing their teeth, that help them to understand ways to stay healthy. They benefit from daily fresh air and exercise and develop a growing awareness of how their bodies work. They learn ways to keep safe when they join in a 'danger detectives' activity to help staff to make the room tidy and safe.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders do not monitor mealtime practice closely enough when usual staffing arrangements have changed to ensure that staff understand and apply procedures consistently. Expectations for supervision during children's eating and food preparation are not always implemented as intended, and risk assessments are not applied reliably. Staff deployment, particularly when key staff are absent, does not always support consistent practice.

Leaders are deeply committed to improving outcomes for children and families. They have recently identified a need to amend the curriculum, and the impact of this work is quickly becoming evident, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They take decisive action to support children who need additional help, including increasing staff-to-child ratios, securing specialist involvement and offering extra attendance hours to support their progress.

Leaders invest in staff development through targeted training and reliable support. For example, staff experience regular check-ins with leaders to discuss workload, wellbeing and any worries they have. They feel valued, and morale is high. They are encouraged to build on their knowledge and skills, and this is currently focused on supporting children with SEND or other barriers to their learning. This has strengthened staff expertise in supporting these children, who make remarkable progress in their learning and develop greater confidence, security and emotional wellbeing.