Bright Horizons Ely Day Nursery and Preschool

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have created a welcoming and inclusive environment, where children and their families feel welcome. Leaders and staff work closely with parents to identify children's individual needs. They work collaboratively with other agencies and professionals, such as speech and language therapists and health care practitioners. This enables leaders to plan appropriate intervention for children requiring additional support, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders monitor children's progress and support children's key persons to implement plans that help to address identified gaps in children's learning and development. Overall, staff have an understanding of the individual needs of children, including those with SEND.

Leaders use additional funding to support children's individual needs, such as providing additional staff training and providing individual daily schedules to help children understand what is expected of them. Parents speak positively about the support they receive and the progress their children make. They value the guidance staff provide, which helps them continue to support their children's care and learning at home.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders' ambitions for the curriculum and teaching are appropriate. They plan a well-balanced curriculum that covers all areas of learning. However, staff do not consistently understand the curriculum intent or what children are expected to learn during planned activities. As a result, staff interactions are not always purposeful or focused on extending children's learning. Although staff identify children's next steps in learning, they do not consistently tailor their teaching to help children achieve these. Consequently, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are not consistently supported to make the progress they are capable of in their learning and development.

Children make independent choices in their play and confidently join activities. They enjoy a wide range of physical activity throughout the day. For instance, babies are supported through careful interactions to control tools as they learn to scoop sand. Toddlers develop their small motor skills as they manipulate dough, and older children build core muscle strength as they climb equipment in the well-resourced outdoor area. Staff promote children's communication and language skills. They regularly share books and children enthusiastically join staff to participate in action songs and rhymes. Staff introduce mathematical concepts, such as counting, matching numerals and exploring weights and measures. Children explore a wide range of media as they make marks using chalks, paints and water, supporting their creativity. They combine materials, such as water and soil, as they explore the mud kitchen.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children are not able to engage and sustain attention. Overall, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language make progress in their communication and language. However, others do not maintain high levels of engagement during their learning, limiting their ability to engage and sustain attention. This has an impact on their overall achievement.

Children of all ages learn to take turns in conversation. Babies and young children interact in games, such as peekaboo, while older children enter discussions and share their thoughts and ideas. Children learn important social skills and play cooperatively with their peers. They are independent, completing tasks for themselves, such as using cutlery at mealtimes and managing their self-care, gaining the skills that help them prepare for school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Staff remain calm when speaking with children and reinforce the behaviour expectations of the setting. Generally, strategies for promoting positive behaviour are implemented well across the setting. For example, staff explain the importance of sharing toys and resources and treating others with kindness. They make adaptations, when needed, to support children's individual needs and provide an inclusive environment. For instance, children requiring additional support to aid their understanding of turn-taking are provided with visual aids to help them develop this concept. Children regularly receive praise for their efforts and kind behaviour. When children become upset or disagreements occur, staff introduce language to help children to understand their feelings and emotions. However, this practice is not yet consistent across the setting.

Typically, children show enthusiasm for the activities staff introduce, such as music and dance and exploring malleable materials, including dough and sand. Staff provide familiar routines, which help children to understand what is happening next. Children are beginning to participate in routine activities, such as tidying away toys before mealtimes and when transitioning between activities. Parents confirm that children enjoy attending the setting. They understand the importance or regular attendance.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff promote and form positive and trusting relationships with children from the outset. They work closely with parents to understand the care needs of babies and children. This helps them to ensure that care routines are familiar to children, helping them to feel safe and secure. Children build secure attachments with their key person, who know their children well. For instance, babies cuddle with staff and are gently comforted to sleep. Older children seek out staff for comfort, when they need reassurance.

Leaders and staff ensure they create a safe environment for children. Staff are warm and nurturing as they help babies and young children prepare for sleep. They remain close by and complete regular checks while they are sleeping. Leaders and staff have robust systems in place to keep children with allergies safe during mealtimes. Staff sit with children to create a sociable environment and support children as they learn to use cutlery safely. Babies and younger children are offered foods that are suitably prepared for their stage of weaning.

Leaders and staff implement suitable hygiene practices to ensure children's personal care needs are met appropriately. Overall, staff support children to become independent in managing their self-care routines. Children wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. They assist with changing and dress for outdoors. In addition, staff encourage and support children to become independent at using the toilet, where appropriate.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders have an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and the areas in need of further improvement. They have taken appropriate action to address identified weaknesses, which have brought about some improvements, such as focused staff meetings on understanding how to plan the curriculum. However, these actions have not been implemented quickly or consistently to bring about the sustained improvements, particularly in the quality of teaching, interactions and curriculum delivery. As a result, staff do not always tailor learning experiences sufficiently to meet children's individual needs or to build on their next steps in development.

Leaders have implemented new systems for staff supervisions to ensure consistency across the staff team to improve the planning of the curriculum. However, staff do not yet receive the targeted support they need to address weaknesses in their knowledge and teaching practice. As a result, staff do not consistently support all children's learning effectively.

Leaders have introduced effective strategies to ensure all staff are kept up to date with their safeguarding knowledge. For instance, daily questions are posed to ensure staff can identify the correct procedures to follow and inset days have been implemented to discuss policies and procedures as a whole setting. Leaders build positive relationships with the staff team, taking appropriate action to support and promote staff wellbeing, such as providing access to counselling and wellbeing meetings. As a result, staff confirm they feel supported in their roles and speak positively about the support leaders provide them. Parents speak positively about the staff team and the support they provide to help their children settle in and feel safe and secure.