Bright Horizons Rose Cottage, Haywards Heath Day Nursery and Preschool

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff ensure that they get to know all children well. They regularly observe children and assess their progress, which enables staff to quickly identify when they need additional support. They work in close partnership with parents so that children receive the support they are entitled to. Leaders have also improved their systems to ensure that parents are made aware of any additional funding that may be available in order to help provide children with the best start in life. Leaders and staff share all relevant information with other agencies involved in children's care and development, so that they can implement agreed strategies to support children's continued progress. This includes ensuring that children have access to specialist equipment to enable them to be included in all aspects of nursery life.

Leaders and staff thoughtfully consider ways to arrange the learning environment so that it supports all children, including those who face barriers to their learning, to independently choose what they want to engage with. For instance, children enjoy spending time throwing and catching a large dice, which helps them to build on their physical skills. However, at times, children engage in independent play for extended periods, which can limit their opportunities to benefit from focused teaching that effectively supports their ongoing learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders maintain effective oversight of the curriculum and teaching, which allows them to accurately identify both the strengths of the nursery and the areas for further development. For instance, leaders recognise that the curriculum is well established within the outdoor provision, and they are now working with staff to ensure it is equally embedded across the indoor environment.

Overall, the curriculum is implemented well and supports children to progress well in their development. For example, leaders and staff ensure that children are supported well to develop their communication and language skills. Staff speak to children as they take part in activities. They speak clearly and use repetitive words with younger children so that they can develop an understanding of what these new words mean. Staff also encourage older children to join in with back-and-forth conversations. This includes reminding children of past events or giving them time to recall what they have previously learned. Children eagerly share what they know, which gives them opportunities to develop their vocabulary.

Children are generally well supported in developing their mathematical understanding. For example, staff use opportunities during activities to support children's understanding of numbers, quantity and size. However, the teaching of wider mathematical concepts is not consistently embedded across the nursery. This does not fully enable children to grasp a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.

Staff consider ways to adapt teaching during adult-led activities, so that at these times all children benefit from teaching that supports them in their individual next steps. For example, staff encourage younger babies to mix and pour during a sensory activity, while they support older babies to learn the names of colours. This enables children to develop age- and stage-appropriate skills and knowledge.

Achievement: Expected standard

Overall, all children achieve well from their starting points, and they make age- and stage-appropriate progress in their development. This helps children to be prepared for the next stage of their learning, including their move to school. Children generally embed new knowledge they have gained. This includes learning new words and using them in context. For example, children talk about the binoculars they used during their forest school session. Children with delays in their development make visible strides in their progress, such as beginning to say some words clearly and learning to walk. However, at times, some children with developmental delays do not consistently benefit from targeted learning and support. At these times, children spend long periods engaging in their own play, and staff do not always consider ways to build on their self-chosen activities to further extend their progress. This does not provide children with more opportunities to practise new knowledge and skills to ensure that this learning is fully embedded. Nevertheless, these children still progress well in their development.

Children show that they feel safe and secure at the nursery. For example, they freely explore their learning environment. They engage in the activities and experiences that interest them, such as practising their football skills as they confidently kick a ball into a goal.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Overall, staff effectively support all children, including those who face barriers to learning, to show positive behaviour. For example, staff assist older children to calmly resolve issues with their friends. Staff encourage children to think about how they can resolve the situation, and children learn to consider solutions, such as using different resources. Children show kindness to their friends, such as giving them toys when they cannot find one for themselves. Children readily engage in opportunities to work collaboratively with others. This includes arranging football activities where they work out who will kick and who will catch the ball. Staff praise this positive behaviour, which further embeds children's understanding of how they are expected to behave. However, at times, staff do not always ensure that they are deployed well to enable them to respond swiftly when they notice episodes of poor behaviour. At these times, children are not fully supported to behave well.

Children show that they are familiar with the daily routines, such as knowing when it is time to wash their hands. Older children learn to scrape their plates after they have finished eating and to put their dirty items away. This helps children to develop an awareness of how to manage tasks for themselves.

Leaders implement an effective attendance policy. They work closely with parents to ensure that they are aware of the importance of regular attendance and punctuality. This helps children to continue to progress well in their development.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders and staff prioritise children's emotional wellbeing and implement effective strategies to enable children to settle quickly. For example, leaders ensure that staff get to know children well so that they can meet their needs. For example, staff ensure that they provide children who are feeling a bit unsure with more one-to-one support to enable them to develop secure bonds with them. As such, younger children show their attachments with their familiar adult and are easily comforted by them when they become unsettled.

Children benefit from opportunities to develop an understanding of keeping themselves healthy. For example, staff ensure that they follow children's routines at home. Staff also teach children about healthy eating. This provides them with consistent messages about how to look after their bodies.

Children are supported to build on their independence skills from an early age. For instance, younger children learn to wash their own hands, while older children serve their own meals and clear up after themselves when they have finished eating. Staff also ensure that the learning environment is arranged so that children can engage in independent learning. This helps them to develop an ability to meet their own needs.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Since the last inspection, leaders have made improvements, such as further building on partnerships with parents and other agencies involved in children's care. This has enabled them to strengthen the quality of experiences that children have at the nursery. Leaders are reflective and continually strive to offer the best possible care and learning for all children. They ensure that they have effective oversight of the nursery, including observing staff practice and giving them feedback to further enhance the quality of their teaching. Staff report that they enjoy working at the setting and are supported well by leaders in their wellbeing and professional development. Leaders ensure that staff complete mandatory training, including safeguarding. They also support staff to undertake additional training, such as specialist child development courses, to further build on staff's understanding of how children learn and how they can be supported in their learning. This further builds on the quality of staff practice.

Overall, leaders have an accurate overview of the strengths of the nursery, such as strong partnerships with parents and other agencies. They have also identified areas for development, such as enhancing the curriculum in the indoor provision so that it is implemented as well as the outdoor provision. This enables leaders to design an action plan to continually drive improvements within the nursery.

Leaders ensure that children access the available support and funding to enable them to make the best possible progress in their development. This includes supporting staff to identify gaps in children's learning promptly and working with parents and other agencies to implement support for them.