Chestnuts Nursery TW1

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment, where children arrive happy and feel safe. Children develop strong bonds with their key person and other staff and follow routines well. Staff praise children for their achievements, and this helps them build on their confidence. They hold meaningful discussions with children and encourage them to recall past experiences. This supports children's thinking and communication and language development.

Staff assess children's starting points and plan effectively for their future learning. They have clear expectations of what individual children can achieve. As a result, children develop positive attitudes to learning. Children have plenty of opportunities to be active and master their physical skills, including balance and coordination. Staff give clear messages to children on what they expect from them. Children learn to share, use 'kind hands' and behave well.

Leaders have improved arrangements to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, they ensure that staff follow a targeted plan to meet children's learning needs. This helps children to make the progress they are capable of. Staff provide opportunities for children to develop independence, including managing their own personal and hygiene routines. All children, including those with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language (EAL), develop skills to prepare them for their next stage in learning.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Leaders have worked hard to meet the actions set at the last inspection. For example, they completed a range of training to help them develop skills on safer recruitment to ensure staff's suitability.
• The provider has improved their knowledge of space requirements. As a result, children benefit from a safe environment, where staff meet their individual needs effectively.
• Leaders have worked successfully with the local early years team to deliver safeguarding training to staff. Staff understand the procedures should they have concerns about children or adults working with children, in line with the local safeguarding partnership.
• Staff and leaders have improved their risk assessments to ensure children's safety. They teach children how to keep themselves safe.
• Leaders and staff develop a strong working partnership with parents. Together, they share information about their children's care and learning needs. This supports consistency in children's learning and development.
• Leaders have improved staff induction and provided support for staff, including through supervision. Staff are confident with planning and delivering curriculum, and this has had a positive impact on children's learning and development. However, some less-skilled staff require more tailored support and training to help them develop consistently strong teaching skills.
• Children choose nursery rhymes during circle time and sing these with enjoyment, using actions. They develop a love for books, and this supports their early literacy skills.
• Staff know individual children well. However, there are occasions, such as during mealtimes, when staff do not recognise and make use of opportunities to build on children's learning even further.
• Children benefit from a nutritious diet throughout the day. They understand that good food makes them healthy and strong.
• Staff provide opportunities for all children to use their small muscles during activities. For example, children use paintbrushes and chalks to make marks. Older children learn to use scissors. This helps to strengthen their muscles and supports hand-eye coordination.
• Staff teach children to recognise different emotions and discuss how they feel. Children think and express what makes them happy and sad. Staff skilfully introduce new vocabulary, such as frustrated, and explain this emotion.
• Babies have plenty of opportunities to move around and soon develop the confidence to become independent walkers. Staff meet their unique needs well.
• Children use their imagination and enjoy building towers out of blocks. Staff encourage children to recognise shapes and count in sequence. This supports their early mathematical skills.
• Staff expand on children's knowledge of understanding of the world through a range of experiences. For example, they arrange visits to a local care home, where children learn to respect elderly people and learn about people who help us.
• Children who learn EAL benefit from hearing their home language in their play and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to support less skilled staff, to help them develop consistently high-quality teaching skills
• use opportunities as they arise to build on children's learning.