Childcare@Broadway

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders create a strongly inclusive culture within the setting and the wider community. The staff know all the children in their care well. They build strong bonds and accurately assess their needs and achievements. They identify any gaps in children's learning at an early stage and work closely with parents and senior staff to identify and plan for the next steps in the children's development. For example, staff carefully analyse patterns of behaviour for children who find it difficult to manage their own emotions. They skilfully work with parents and other behavioural and early years professionals to develop strategies to help children progressively recognise and manage their feelings and behaviour.

Leaders sharply focus on ensuring that staff have the training and mentoring to provide targeted and systematic provision for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and other vulnerable learners. They carefully consider the use of additional funding, such as early years pupil premium funding, to improve outcomes and raise children's achievement, such as through providing resources and training to boost children's personal and social learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

The experienced leadership team places a carefully planned and systematic curriculum at the heart of all children's learning. Leaders ensure that staff have depth of knowledge and understanding to support children's learning and development. They make effective use of assessment to meet all children's needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff in the baby room, for example, are well trained in early communication skills, safe sleeping, feeding and weaning to provide a secure foundation for future learning. There is a clear focus on enriching children's personal development and supporting skills and attitudes they need for later learning. For example, babies are supported to become inquisitive and good communicators as they name and make sounds of different farm animals in their role play. Older children are supported to explore the properties of ice and the effects of freezing on fruit and flowers and explain that 'the stalk is stiff' and the ice will melt in their warm hands.

Staff are knowledgeable and confident in building children's vocabulary through, for instance, carefully planned daily routines of songs, rhymes and games to help them describe and question their growing knowledge of the world around them. Staff use a range of strategies to support children's mathematical skills, from learning to match numbers one-to-one to counting accurately and beginning to add 2 numbers together.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make progress from their starting points and learn to express themselves clearly and with confidence. They benefit from regular opportunities to explore books and stories, which help them learn about the world around them. For instance, young children learn about relationships through sensory play based on a story of young owls. Older children give very good examples of things that make them happy, sad and angry in their group activity. Children develop their language, mathematical and cultural understanding, including learning to count and greet each other in over 5 different languages.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and other vulnerable learners make progress as they build their communication skills in small, manageable steps, including through the use of Makaton and other communication strategies. They make progress that prepares them well for the next stage in their learning. Children benefit from support that helps them to build securely on what they already know and can do.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have very high expectations for children's positive behaviour and attitudes throughout the nursery. Staff are consistently strong role models and establish excellent relationships with all children. They establish routines from the start so that babies and children soon learn to feel confident and assured. Staff work closely with parents to reflect home routines, such as sleep times, to help babies and young children transition confidently into nursery life. As a result, children are very well behaved and show care for others. For example, they listen carefully to adults and other children in their group activities and speak politely.

Staff plan systematically to help children who find it hard to recognise others' needs to share and take turns. For instance, children take turns to say their name and shake staff's hands as they play a welcome game.

Children's attendance and punctuality are good. There are well-established routines for staff and parents to communicate if there are any unexplained absences. Children develop very positive routines to support their later learning, including the transition to school. For example, they take pride in quickly lining up as they move around the building and sitting in a circle to listen to instructions.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders establish a caring and positive ethos throughout the nursery. This is based on assessments that sharply identify children's individual needs and high levels of training and guidance for staff. Key persons establish good relationships with children and their families. Children are confident and happy as a result.

Staff strongly support and promote all aspects of children's welfare and wellbeing. For example, children's physical and health development is systematically nurtured through programmes such as activity songs, dance and yoga. Consequently, the older children have a very good understanding of the value of physical exercise and explain the importance of cooling down afterwards. They learn to wash their hands regularly. The staff provide timely guidance to parents to support many aspects of children's welfare, such as toilet training, sleep and behaviour management.

Children appreciate the value of healthy eating. They grow their own vegetables in the nursery's allotment. They peel the potatoes and carrots for their nutritious daily meals. They are helped to be independent as they set tables for lunch and organise their own play.

Children are helped to recognise and manage their own emotions and behaviour. Well-chosen books, for example, help children to reflect on and understand their feelings.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

The experienced leadership team has continued to sustain a high quality of provision since the previous inspection. Leaders have a strong understanding of the nursery's strengths and weaknesses. There are robust procedures to draw on the views of parents, staff and children to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the nursery. Leaders and other senior staff work towards challenging actions, such as strengthening the good practice in equality, diversity and inclusion, to have a sustained impact on children's achievement and wellbeing. They support this through strategic research, training and links with the local community.

Leaders place a high value on well-trained and positive staff to promote the highest standards. They make very good use of rigorous and supportive staff induction, probation procedures and ongoing training initiatives to strengthen curriculum and teaching. Leaders use staff's self-evaluation, 'annual conversations', specific training days and regular staff meetings to promote staff's wellbeing and effectiveness. Consequently, staff morale is high, and they feel well supported and valued. The leadership team makes effective use of its links with the other nurseries in the St George's group, and with local authority advisers, to meet the diverse needs of children and their families.