Cherrystone Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations for all children to make progress. They provide staff with support to implement teaching effectively. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Leaders ensure that staff responsible for supporting children with delays in their development attend relevant training. Learning from this training is shared with the team to help them provide children with effective support. This includes sharing information about how children process their feelings and emotions, so staff can better understand why they show certain behaviours.

Staff get to know children well. They promptly identify any delays in development and decide how they can best support them to close gaps in their knowledge and skills. Staff work in partnership with families and other professionals to implement effective support. Staff monitor children's progress and recognise when to adapt support so that children continue to make progress.

Leaders give careful consideration to additional funding and involve parents and carers in decisions. For instance, some funding is used to provide additional staff so that children can benefit from more targeted support. This helps children with SEND to make consistent progress in their development and learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff recognise the importance of building trusting relationships to help children settle and engage in their learning. This helps to reduce some barriers to learning from the outset. As a result, children learn to confidently communicate their wants and needs. Staff regularly monitor and assess children's progress so they can decide what they want children to learn next.

Children generally benefit from teaching that provides them with the skills and knowledge they need to progress to the next stage of learning. For instance, staff support children's developing mathematical knowledge by singing counting songs and helping them to recognise numbers. Staff consider ways to build on children's vocabulary and understanding. This includes naming objects and using words to describe what they are doing. Children enjoy the variety of opportunities to develop their small and large physical skills, such as tracing magnetic letters.

Overall, leaders have effective oversight of the quality of experiences that they provide for all children. This generally enables them to identify strengths and areas for development. However, at times, teaching is less consistent. For example, children do not always hear the correct pronunciation of words during singing sessions and are not supported to focus their attention during stories. This does not help children to fully benefit from the intended learning.

Achievement: Expected standard

Overall, all children, including those with barriers to learning, make progress from their starting points, and gaps in their learning narrow and close. Children generally develop the skills they need for the next step in their learning journey, including their move on to school. For example, children extend their understanding of new words, such as learning the names of different animals, which helps to build on their vocabulary. Children engage confidently with others and in their learning. They eagerly explore their surroundings, knowing that support is there when they need it. Children typically join in with familiar songs and stories. They learn to move their bodies in different ways as they copy actions to songs and dance to music. Children enjoy opportunities to use their imaginative skills and make their own creations. For instance, they spend time drawing pictures with their friends. Children praise each other for what they have drawn, demonstrating their social skills and how they engage positively with others.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders understand the importance of regular attendance and punctuality and have secure procedures in place to monitor this. Staff implement age-appropriate strategies to help children understand how they are expected to behave. This includes talking to older children about the setting's 'code of kindness', which helps them understand what positive behaviour looks like. Staff provide appropriate praise when children behave well, so they generally require very little help to show positive behaviour. Staff are prompt to step in when children struggle to regulate their feelings, such as when they want to play with the same toy as their friends. Children listen to staff and modify their behaviour appropriately.

Children enjoy a range of learning opportunities, such as independent play, group time and one-to-one activities. Children learn to work collaboratively with their friends and with staff as they build a train track together. Children use different signs to indicate when their friend's train can go and when it has to stop. They show respect towards each other as they listen to their friend's instructions. However, at times, teaching is less effective during group activities. For example, children become easily distracted during story times and do not benefit from the intended learning. This does not fully support children's positive attitudes to learning.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders focus on children feeling safe and developing secure bonds with staff. This enables children, including those with barriers to their learning, to settle well. Children quickly develop the curiosity to explore their surroundings. Staff meet children's care needs well, such as supporting their personal care and toileting needs. Staff support children's understanding of how to keep themselves healthy. For example, they provide children with daily access to fresh air in the newly refurbished garden, and they recognise when children need time to rest. Staff talk to children about foods that are good for them, supporting their understanding of healthy lifestyles.

Staff teach children how to keep themselves safe. For instance, staff encourage children to think about what might happen if they do not tuck their chairs in. Children begin to learn that they could trip over the chair legs and hurt themselves. This helps them to identify and manage potential risks around them. Children learn to do things for themselves, such as serving their own food at mealtimes and tidying up after themselves. However, the organisation of mealtimes does not support children's emotional wellbeing consistently. Sometimes, children wait too long for their food to be served and get upset. On occasion, tasks are not delegated well to help staff enable the smooth running of this routine.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders failed to notify Ofsted of a significant event within the required timeframe. They recognise that this was an oversight on their behalf and have taken steps to ensure that they make required notifications in a timely manner.

Overall, leaders have effective oversight of staff's practice and help them understand their roles and responsibilities. Recent changes in leadership have resulted in a period of adjustment for families, staff and children. Leaders have focused on building a secure team to promote wellbeing and the best outcomes for children. Staff enjoy working at the setting and are supported well by leaders.

Leaders are focused on identifying training needs for staff in order to further support them in their practice and enhance the quality of experiences that all children receive. Leaders give staff time to complete mandatory and additional training, and they encourage staff to share what they have learned from recent training. For instance, staff share strategies to support children, including those with barriers to their learning and special educational needs and/or disabilities, to regulate their feelings and behaviour. This helps staff to provide appropriate support for all children.

Leaders have well-established partnerships with parents and carers. They praise leaders and staff for the care and teaching they provide for children. Leaders engage with other professionals involved in children's care, which helps them to work together to meet children's needs.