Cherry Tree Day Nursery (Portsmouth) Limited

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff provide children and their families with inclusive practice. They recognise and value the unique backgrounds, cultures and experiences that each child brings. Staff use information gained about children when they first start, to put in place support that is needed from the outset. They are committed to ensuring that all children, particularly those who may face barriers to learning, receive the best possible start to their education. Leaders use additional funding effectively to provide the individual, one-to-one support that some children need. Staff thoughtfully adapt daily routines and activities to meet the wide range of needs within the nursery, including for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning.

Leaders and staff understand the importance of the positive relationships they build with parents and carers. They share information regularly to promote a consistent and shared approach to children's care and learning. This has a positive impact on children's progress. Leaders follow clear processes for accessing additional support for those who need it most, including in preparation for transition to school. Where further support from external agencies is required, leaders and staff act proactively and work closely with other professionals to ensure children typically receive the help they need.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders create a broad curriculum for the differing ages and abilities of children across the nursery. They communicate this to staff to ensure that they have the same high expectations. In particular, staff prioritise children's communication and language, health and wellbeing and personal, social and emotional development. They reflect and adapt learning to promote inclusion, so that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning benefit from tailored learning.

Staff organise a wide range of learning experiences with key areas of children's development in mind. Staff working with the oldest children motivate them to think and express their ideas. For instance, staff use small-group activities to promote pre-school children's personal skills. Staff teach children about emotions, such as being glad, as children reflect and share their ideas of what makes them glad. However, at times, staff working with older babies and toddlers do not consistently support these younger children to practise speaking. During snack times and play, staff sometimes rely on narrating children's play or asking closed questions. As a result, children often respond non-verbally or with simple one-word answers. This limits opportunities for children to develop and extend their early speaking skills.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to their learning, make typical progress from their starting points. Children develop the skills they need for later learning, including their eventual move to school. Children are curious, enthusiastic and eager to explore. Babies develop physical skills when they crawl and move around to explore toys and resources staff have set out around the room. Toddlers develop their hand-eye coordination as they connect and build structures. They concentrate and persevere to thread pasta tubes along cotton, to create bracelets they proudly share. Pre-school children explore how to fill and transfer water between watering cans and buckets. The mix and notice the changes that happen as they add water to soil. Children learn how to turns with their friends. They become confident in expressing their ideas with peers in play.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff establish routines that lay foundations for children's learning from the outset. They promote regular attendance through discussions with parent and carers about the value this for children's learning, care and their friendship groups. This has a positive impact, enabling all children, including those who face barriers to learning, to receive consistency in their routines, relationships and learning experiences. As a result, children settle well and benefit from the continuity that regular attendance provides.

Staff use their key-person approach to get to know children. Care practices, such as mealtimes and rest times, are typically embedded into daily routines. Staff use these times to build relationships that help children to feel safe and secure. For instance, staff recognise when younger children need extra reassurance and offer cuddles and close comfort to help them settle into the morning routines.

Leaders and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They teach children the importance of respecting and valuing each other and are positive role models. Children respond well when asked to complete some tasks, such as tidying away toys. Where children, including those who are older, need gentle reminders about sharing and turn taking, staff use age-appropriate strategies to help children. They give children time to think about and regulate their emotions in positive ways. Children learn that friends have differing needs from themselves and how to value and respond to these kindly.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders and staff promote a curriculum that supports healthy bodies and minds across the nursery. Children learn about the benefits of active play and making healthy food choices. For example, at snack times, children are encouraged to try new fruits, helping them to explore different textures and tastes. Older children talk about what they like and dislike, developing confidence in expressing their preferences. Recent staff training on supporting children's mental health has strengthened practice. Older children now learn about their emotions and how to recognise and respond to them. Staff teach simple breathing techniques to help children feel calm. Staff share these strategies with parents and carers so that children can continue developing their emotional regulation at home.

Overall, staff help children to learn to take responsibility for their care needs. Babies are supported to feed themselves, while pre-school children take increasing responsibility for their personal toileting needs. They build important self-care skills that prepare them well for school. However, at times, staff working with toddlers complete some self-care tasks for them, rather than teaching them how to do these independently. This means staff do not consistently build children's developing independence and reinforce positive hygiene routines, limiting children's confidence in managing their own care.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders evaluate and reflect on the overall nursery. Following a previous weakness in safeguarding procedures, the provider has reviewed and addressed their understanding of the processes for notifying relevant agencies in a timely manner. This has been addressed, and Ofsted are not taking any further action.

Leaders have an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths, particularly in welfare, healthy lifestyles and personal and emotional wellbeing. They have identified clear priorities to continue improving the provision. Decisions are consistently taken in the best interests of children. Leaders work closely with families and external professionals to ensure children who may face barriers to learning and/or wellbeing receive appropriate support.

Leaders and staff work well together. Staff say that they feel valued and supported in their roles. The staff team has continued to grow since registration, some staff are new and others new to more senior roles. The support from leaders ensures that staff benefit from the support they need to understand and fulfil their roles. However, leaders recognise the importance of embedding systems for monitoring individual staff's teaching skills so that training and coaching can be more precisely targeted, to promote consistency in teaching across the nursery and promote opportunities to maximise children's learning. Parents and carers speak positively about the setting and the clear communication from leaders. The feedback they shared with inspectors reflects families' trust in the setting and the supportive relationships developed with staff.