Casterton Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders have created a highly inclusive culture where every child is valued, understood and supported as an individual. Children's special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified early through observation, assessment, regular discussion and the early monitoring process. Leaders know children exceptionally well and work closely with staff to identify needs, put appropriate support in place and review progress. Children with SEND make secure progress from their individual starting points.

Leaders take effective action to remove barriers to learning and wellbeing. They make thoughtful adaptations and reasonable adjustments and provide targeted support, including small-group 'fun time' sessions, communication and language resources and specialist advice. Leaders work closely with families, the local authority and external professionals, including paediatricians, to shape individual support. Staff receive appropriate training and guidance to identify and respond to children's additional needs and can access local authority resources to further develop their practice.

Leaders monitor children's progress through observations, assessments and regular reviews of support. They evaluate the impact of interventions and adapt provision where needed. Additional funding is used purposefully to improve outcomes and remove barriers. For example, resources have been purposefully purchased to support children's physical development, and financial barriers to accessing provision are removed. Transition funding is used effectively to support children moving to school. Children with SEND benefit from additional sessions at their new school, helping them become familiar with the environment, routines and adults before they start. This supports a smooth transition and helps children to settle confidently into their new school.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The curriculum is generally broad and ambitious. Leaders have developed a curriculum that reflects children's developmental stages and interests. Staff know children exceptionally well. They have a secure understanding of child development and the next steps children are working towards. Staff generally plan activities that engage and motivate children. However, they do not always plan activities to precisely target identified next steps or demonstrate a clear understanding of the intended learning. As a result, activities can sometimes reflect what children enjoy rather than deliberately providing opportunities to practise and develop the specific skills they need next.

Children develop their physical skills through opportunities to balance, climb, use bikes and trikes and participate in ball games. They develop early mathematical understanding through filling and pouring, comparing the height of each other, using language such as 'tallest' and 'shortest' and exploring quantity. Children develop early literacy through mark making, recognising letters in their names and listening to and retelling familiar stories. They also develop their imagination and problem-solving skills as they work out ways to transport water across the outdoor area using buckets and jugs.

Children are very articulate and delight in engaging in back-and-forth conversations with staff. Adults respond warmly and sustain conversations effectively. However, the extent to which staff extend children's vocabulary varies. Adults do not consistently introduce, model and reinforce new vocabulary, so opportunities to further develop communication and language are not always fully utilised. The curriculum is inclusive, with staff adapting activities and provision to meet individual needs and working closely with leaders, families and external professionals.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make secure progress from their individual starting points and develop the knowledge and skills they need for their next stage of learning, including their move to school. Staff know children exceptionally well and have a secure understanding of child development and the skills children need to acquire across the different age groups. Children develop their communication, physical, personal and social skills through a broad range of experiences. However, children do not consistently make rapid or extensive progress. Staff follow children's interests successfully and provide experiences that engage them, but the intended learning is not always sufficiently clear. This means activities do not always provide the precise teaching and opportunities to practise needed to build children's knowledge and skills.

Staff promote communication. They model conversational skills with children, including listening and responding. Children engage in back-and-forth conversation. However, staff do not consistently extend children's vocabulary during interactions. As a result, progress is not as rapid as it could be.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing barriers to learning receive appropriate support and make excellent progress from their individual starting points.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders have created a calm, welcoming and respectful environment where expectations for behaviour are clear, consistent and understood by all children. Leaders ensure that staff apply expectations consistently and model considerate and respectful behaviour. Staff know children exceptionally well and take account of their age, stage of development, individual needs and circumstances when supporting them to manage their emotions and behaviour.

Children develop really positive relationships with adults and their peers. They learn to listen to others, share, take turns and cooperate during play and group experiences. Staff provide sensitive guidance when children experience difficulties, helping them develop the confidence and social skills needed to resolve differences and get along with others. Children show extremely positive attitudes towards play and learning and are keen to participate.

Daily routines are excellent and firmly embedded. Children know what is expected and confidently move between activities, demonstrating increasing independence. Consistent routines provide a predictable structure to the day and enable children to focus on playing, exploring and learning.

Leaders place a high priority on regular attendance and punctuality and take decisive action when barriers arise. They work sensitively with families to identify practical solutions to support consistent attendance. Wellbeing checks are completed for children who attend term time only. Leaders' inclusive approach ensures that behaviour expectations and routines are adapted appropriately to meet individual children's needs.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders place the highest priority on children's welfare and wellbeing. Children are exceptionally well cared for in a warm, nurturing environment where they feel safe, valued and emotionally secure. The key-person system is exceptionally effective. Staff know children intimately, including their individual personalities, routines, interests, family circumstances and emotional cues. Babies and children form secure attachments with their key persons and confidently seek adults for comfort, reassurance and support.

Care is highly personalised. Babies benefit from individual sleeping, feeding, weaning and settling routines that reflect their needs. Staff are trained in safer sleep practices and consistently follow safe care practices. They recognise subtle cues, such as tiredness, hunger or teething, and respond promptly. Families are kept well informed, supporting continuity between home and nursery.

Children develop an understanding of their health, physical development and personal safety through everyday experiences. Effective risk assessments keep children safe while allowing them to explore, take appropriate risks and develop independence. Children understand practical safety measures, including why they wear high-visibility jackets when out in the community.

Staff support children to recognise, express and manage their emotions. Calm, responsive interactions help children recover from minor upset and develop confidence and emotional security.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing barriers to learning or wellbeing receive individualised support and appropriate adaptations. Leaders work closely with families and professionals to remove barriers. As a result, children are exceptionally well settled, confident and secure, and their individual care and welfare needs are consistently met.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. They have established clear processes for monitoring the quality of provision and use management discussions, observations and assessment information to identify where further development is needed. Leaders are reflective and receptive to challenge and have correctly identified that curriculum implementation requires further development.

Leaders make decisions based on children's individual needs and wellbeing. They work closely with families, the local authority and external professionals to remove barriers and secure appropriate support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face disadvantage or other barriers to learning and wellbeing. Additional funding is used purposefully to provide resources, support and experiences that improve children's access and outcomes.

Leaders value staff wellbeing and provide regular supervision, where staff can discuss their wellbeing, key children, training needs and priorities. Staff have some choice over their supervisor, supporting open and trusting professional discussions. Leaders also consider workload when planning development priorities. Professional development is targeted to identified needs. Staff access training in areas including safeguarding, safer sleep, communication and language and mathematics. Leaders are also developing supervisors' skills through coaching and additional external support to strengthen professional challenge and reflective practice.

Leaders and those responsible for governance understand their responsibilities and act in children's best interests. They monitor the quality of provision through observations, assessment quality assurance and management discussions and take action where improvement is required.