Brookside Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff identify children's individual needs well and are wholeheartedly committed to reducing or removing barriers to learning. They maintain ambitious expectations for all children and meticulously plan strategic support and individual adaptations for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), children who are known or previously known to children's social care, disadvantaged children and those with other barriers to learning. Leaders consistently put thorough support plans in place and rigorously monitor the progress of children. This ensures the strategies and targets they have set are having a demonstrable impact on children's development and outcomes. Parents feel very well informed throughout this process. They praise and appreciate the progress their children have made and the skills they have learnt through targeted support at the setting.

Leaders take a robust approach to ensuring children have the support they need for school, including applying for and finalising education, health and care plans for children who need them. Leaders and staff welcome external professionals to the setting so they can provide the best possible support for children with SEND and ensure there is a multi-agency approach for those with complex needs. This includes physiotherapists, occupational therapists and health visitors, who contribute to discussions and assessments, such as the progress check at age two.

Leaders spend any additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, very effectively. They strategically plan how to use the funding. They ensure parents understand the plans they have created and the intended impact of these interventions. For example, staff attend specific training so they can fully support children's alternative communication methods, including the use of alternative communication devices that some children rely on. As a result, these children are able to confidently communicate their needs or thoughts to staff, who know the children very well. Leaders have introduced Makaton to the nursery, which also helps children with communication difficulties communicate more effectively with their peers. Leaders also provide opportunities for higher staff-to-child ratios for targeted support.

Leaders support children who are known or previously known to children's social care and work thoroughly to protect children's safety and confidentiality.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Overall, leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All children develop a love of stories and reading. They invite staff to read to them, and staff bring stories to life. For example, children enjoy the 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' story and excitedly join in with repeated phrases and actions that get them up and moving. As babies play with animals in a sensory tray, staff elongate initial sounds to support children's speech skills, such as 'ssssssnake', and children watch the staff intently and then move on to the next animal. Shortly after, staff move them to the book corner to read 'Dear Zoo'. Staff help children make connections between the animals they had just explored and the story.

Children experience mathematics weaved through everyday experiences, and older children are explicitly taught these skills. Older children play a dice rolling game, where they subitise confidently. Young children benefit from staff counting one by one to help children begin to understand number and quantity.

Staff model words for younger children by repeating them clearly, helping children hear the correct pronunciation. However, staff do not always implement the curriculum consistently, and the quality of teaching sometimes prevents children from experiencing the full intended curriculum. Generally, staff interact well with children through a variety of learning experiences. However, staff do not always respond effectively to children or extend their ideas. As a result, children do not always deepen their thinking or learning, even when they invite staff to engage in their play.

Achievement: Expected standard

Overall, children, including those who may be disadvantaged, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are known or previously known to children's social care acquire appropriate knowledge and skills across the seven areas of learning. However, children are not always challenged in learning experiences, and, as a result, they sometimes become disengaged and move on to something else.

Children communicate confidently with one another and with the staff who care for them. They share their thoughts and test their ideas out with one another confidently. For example, children positively choose to draw and write in the garden, excitedly sharing their pictures of animals, create narratives about them and make links to previous learning. Older children confidently write numbers and share them with their friends, who try to identify them. Staff prepare children well for the next stage of their development. They consider the skills and knowledge children will need in the next room or when they move to school, particularly in communication and independence. For example, toddlers pour their own drinks at snack time and older children manage minor disagreements independently.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children behave very well at this setting. They work together harmoniously, kindly and collaborate to solve problems without adult support. For example, children play a game where they have to choose a squishy or hard toy. When a child pulls out one that they weren't hoping for, other children observe this and offer to swap with them, asking, 'Is that better?' This shows that staff have typically embedded positive strategies to support children's behaviour and social development. Children understand the routine well. Staff provide flexibility within the routine, allowing children to choose where they would prefer to play. Leaders and staff make the routine particularly responsive for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning.

Leaders and staff use robust procedures to promote good punctuality and attendance. They follow clear escalation processes when they have concerns about a child's wellbeing. Leaders analyse children's attendance individually and across the nursery, so they can minimise any barriers so that all children achieve good levels of attendance.

Overall, children show a positive attitude to learning and engage in self-chosen play with other children and adults. However, during periods of staff holiday, leaders do not ensure that children are well known by those covering staff absences. As a result, staff do not always know what the children's next steps in learning are and learning experiences are less targeted. However, staff typically understand children's ages and stages of development and respond appropriately to individual children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Typically, staff get to know children well during their settling-in period and take into account individual needs. For example, staff work with parents to tailor the approach for each child and increase the number of sessions when children need additional time to settle, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to their learning. Staff support children to understand their own feelings and the feelings of others. For example, when children become upset after a disagreement over a toy, staff help children name the emotion, help children regulate, and then support them to work together to find a solution.

Leaders and staff teach children the importance of being healthy and make this learning enjoyable. For example, during snack time, staff invite children to make faces with fresh fruit and vegetables and talk about how these foods help keep their bodies healthy. Staff monitor children's lunch boxes closely and work with parents when they notice unhealthy changes.

Overall, staff help children understand how to take appropriate risks and stay nearby when children need support. For example, staff support babies to walk unaided but are nearby to offer a hand. When children build an obstacle course with a range of loose parts in the garden, staff support them when they encounter risks they cannot yet manage independently.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and have developed a clear plan for the areas they want to improve so they can strengthen outcomes for children. For example, leaders have identified, through observations, that some staff need support to enhance their interaction skills, extend or consolidate children's learning and help embed new knowledge. Leaders have plans to focus on this through role modelling experiences. However, the plans are yet to be implemented effectively and there is more still to do to improve the quality of teaching and interactions across the setting.

Parents are complimentary of the setting and very much value the progress their children have made as a direct result of the setting, especially children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and children who are known or previously known to children's social care. Parents appreciate the regular updates on the electronic app that allows them to see what their children are doing whilst at the setting. Leaders and staff are proud of their multi-agency working, which results in children receiving bespoke and consistent targets to support them. Leaders and staff feel there is a good sense of community between the nursery and wider school and have a sound understanding of the local community and families who may attend the setting.

Staff report that leaders support their wellbeing very well, which enables them to carry out their roles effectively. Leaders prioritise a range of professional development for staff, including safeguarding training, and, more recently, training to become 'maths champions' to strengthen mathematical practice across the setting, which the staff are excited about.