Bright Horizons New Church Road, Hove Day Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff have made significant improvements to the key-person system since the last inspection. They build close relationships with their key children and get to know them and their families well. When they arrive, children all spend time with a person that they know well. This helps them feel safe and secure. They come in happily and settle quickly to activities.

Children respond well to staff's warm reassurance and praise. They develop positive attitudes to learning, grow in confidence and become more independent. Staff plan daily routines to encourage children to do as much as they can for themselves. For example, older children collect their own cutlery and serve their own meal at lunchtime. Staff have consistent expectations for good behaviour, and children have a clear understanding of the routines and rules. They follow staff's good example and are kind to their friends. They learn to be polite and thoughtful, taking turns with equipment and sharing resources.

Managers make good use of additional funding to ensure that all children benefit from a broad curriculum. For instance, they organise training to help staff understand how to support and include children who may need extra help communicating. This helps ensure that all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are well prepared for their future learning.

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

• The new management team has taken swift and effective action to address weaknesses in practice and ensure that requirements are met. This has had a positive impact both on the quality of children's experiences and on staff well-being and morale. Managers and staff are highly motivated to make further improvements and continue to develop the provision.
• Staff plan and provide a wide range of stimulating activities and experiences for children. They think carefully about how to build on what children already know and can do, so that the children make consistently good progress. Staff support children to gain useful skills and knowledge for the future. For example, two-year-olds learn how to put on their shoes and wash their own hands, to help prepare them for moving into the pre-school room.
• There is lots of chatter and laughter throughout the nursery. Staff encourage conversations while children play. Younger children hear and copy new words, such as 'squash' and 'mushy', which broadens their vocabulary. Some older children confidently explain their ideas while they design a tower of blocks or mix play dough. On occasion, however, staff are too quick to offer ideas or answer their own questions and do not give children enough time to think things through for themselves.
• Inspection report: Bright Horizons New Church Road, Hove Day Nursery and Preschool 2 8 November 2023
• Staff value children as unique individuals. Children who speak English as an additional language enjoy hearing words in their home language in the nursery. For example, they use a 'talking tin' to play a recording of their parent's voice speaking to them and staff learn familiar key words. Staff sensitively teach children about different people and communities. For instance, older children learn about and show empathy for refugees who have had to leave their homes.
• Babies benefit from sensitive individual care provided by their key person. Staff carefully follow familiar home routines and build warm, caring relationships with the youngest children to support their emotional needs. Staff help older children talk about their emotions and think about how others feel. Children learn to negotiate with their friends and are considerate and well behaved.
• Partnerships with parents are strong overall. Staff keep them well informed about their child's progress. They involve parents in their child's learning in a variety of ways, including providing activities to share at home. Some staff also offer parents ideas to help their child work towards their individual next steps in learning at home. However, this is not a fully consistent approach to ensure that all parents benefit from the same good level of support.
• Managers closely monitor staff practice and provide effective support for their professional development. Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions and well-targeted individual training opportunities. For example, staff have used what they learned on a course to extend the use of simple sign language throughout the nursery. This has had a positive impact on the support for children's communication and language skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's skills in giving children enough time to think things through, find solutions to problems and share their own ideas
• support staff to develop a more consistent approach to involving parents in their child's individual learning at home.
• Inspection report: Bright Horizons New Church Road, Hove Day Nursery and Preschool 3 8 November 2023