Bright Horizons Northcote Road Day Nursery and Preschool

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff show high regard to promoting inclusion for all children. They take prompt action to initiate support plans and identify children's emerging learning needs. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make rapid progress from their starting points and quickly develop skills that enable them to purposefully engage in activities. For example, staff use visual timetables and props to support children's learning about what is happening now and next. They make effective reasonable adjustments, especially during transition times, so that children's individual needs are successfully met and any impact on the daily routine is minimised. Children are caring and considerate towards each other. They show understanding and acceptance of their differences as they talk and play alongside their friends, while knowing that their friends may not always respond. Leaders and staff work closely with parents and external agencies. This ensures information is shared effectively. For example, staff review and implement strategies recommended by speech and language therapists to further aid children's communication and language skills. They take effective action to support children who face barriers to their learning. This includes working with parents and professionals to aid successful transitions to school and effective support for children who are learning English as an additional language.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders and staff offer high-quality teaching for children in an environment that is planned effectively to meet their individual needs. Leaders have clear ambition for the curriculum, and this is consistently seen throughout the setting. Staff know exactly what they want children to learn and give full consideration of different ways to approach this to support their interests. For example, staff place role-play toys at low levels to successfully encourage babies' movements and early walking skills. They give lots of praise when children reach their chosen toys. Staff are mindful to support children's emotional wellbeing. They initiate role play, such as washing and dressing dolls to support children who have new baby siblings in the home.

Staff actively encourage children's love of books. They frequently read books with children, and children use books independently during indoor and outdoor play. They go on regular trips to the local library, and children also take books home from the nursery lending library. This consistent practice across the nursery actively supports children's language and literacy skills and aids their future learning.

High-quality practice is embedded across the setting. Leaders' and staff's approach is child centred, ensuring well-embedded routines and high levels of engagement that help all children to successfully make progress across all areas of learning. Staff seize every opportunity to weave children's early mathematical skills into their play. They encourage them to count, consider sizes and shapes and recognise numbers. Older children use rods to catch large plastic fish in the water tray and confidently talk about the numbers on their fish. Staff follow younger children's interests as they talk about their small digger truck and about the big diggers they saw outside, using real-life experiences to further promote children's learning effectively.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children's achievements are continuously celebrated, resulting in them becoming independent learners and well prepared for when they move on to school. They are keen and interested to learn. Younger children explore and increasingly develop their physical skills during outdoor play. They show confidence as they attempt to climb the steps and get on and off the see-saw independently. Older children confidently use wheeled toys, skilfully showing spatial awareness as they ride with speed around other activities. They show pride in their achievements, for example when they successfully master their skills to use bats and balls, and enjoy the praise given by staff.

All children show a strong love of books, and this is evident across the setting. Older children use books independently, recalling stories and sharing books with their friends. Babies and younger children enjoy stories and songs with staff, successfully developing their vocabulary as they repeat words and phrases.

All children behave well, developing their social skills as they play cooperatively and actively share and take turns during play. For example, older children freely share chalk and the space on the board as they confidently make marks and patterns together and talk about the different colours with staff.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff create and embed a calm, safe environment for all children. Staff consistently reinforce positive expectations of children's behaviour and also role model this with each other. Consequently, children show a commitment to looking after their learning environment. They independently make choices of toys they want to use and transport them inside or outside during play. At tidy-up time, all children quickly help to tidy away toys and books. Older children use small mops to clear up any spilt water under the water trays, and children actively help to set up and clear away at mealtimes. These well-embedded routines and expectations successfully help children adopt a positive attitude to learning.

Staff are warm and caring towards children, building secure relationships that enable children to feel safe to play and explore and return for reassuring cuddles when needed. This helps children to develop their emotional resilience.

Staff are highly successful in supporting children to express their feelings and resolve any disputes themselves. They encourage children's effective communication skills so that children learn to discuss and resolve any disputes themselves. For example, children use egg timers to support turn-taking or find more resources so that they all have one each. Consequently, children's play and learning is successfully extended.

Leaders are proactive with their approach to encouraging children's regular attendance and punctuality so that children develop good habits that aid their future learning. Leaders monitor children's attendance effectively, including the reasons for any absences. This helps to keep children safe.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children have a high sense of belonging across the nursery, and leaders and staff make their wellbeing a priority. The key-person system is consistently embedded across the setting. As a result, staff know children well and are highly responsive in meeting their individual needs. Staff are attentive and successfully support children's emotional wellbeing, including at times when they may become unsettled and need extra support. As a result, any disruptions are successfully minimised, and children quickly return to their activities. Overall, the well-embedded daily routines enable the day to flow with a relaxed, purposeful atmosphere.

Staff show high regard in promoting children's good health. All children enjoy regular outdoor play, enabling them to take part in regular exercise while running around and using a wide range of play equipment. They benefit from a balanced diet of healthy meals and snacks. Mealtimes are relaxed sociable events, enabling children to choose the foods and amount they want to eat while chatting with their friends and staff. Children accurately follow the daily routines as they line up to scrape their plates and clear away when they have finished. They independently wash their hands before and after meals and use mirrors to check their face is clean. Staff work closely with parents to promote a consistent approach to toilet training. Children also learn about oral hygiene while taking home the nursery mascot with its toothbrush, and they bring in photos to show and tell their friends. These life skills successfully promote children's wellbeing and help them to prepare for when they move on in their education.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders' professionalism and high expectations of staff are mirrored in staff's conduct and knowledge of their roles and responsibilities. Leaders are highly effective role models. They work closely with staff, enabling them to have a clear oversight of their practice and actively encourage staff's ongoing professional development. As a result, the high-quality teaching and well-embedded routines are consistent across the nursery. This ensures all children make the best possible progress in their learning and development and are well prepared for when they move on in their education.

Leaders are ambitious and continuously evaluate the quality of the service they provide. They work with the local authority and take part in initiatives that further promote children's learning experiences, such as gardening, recycling and forest school activities. This enables them to successfully expand the curriculum and meet children's individual learning needs and interests.

Leaders and staff work closely with parents to share regular updates about their children's progress. They implement effective strategies to promote the early identification of any special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work closely with parents and external agencies so that children get the support they need. Many siblings have attended since the setting opened, and parents value the continuity of care offered by staff and the welcoming family atmosphere this has created.