Crews Hill Day Nursery and Pre-School

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders take time to understand each family's unique needs and to support them throughout their time at the setting. They swiftly identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. From the start, staff work with parents and carers to gather information about each child's interests and current abilities. This helps them to understand children's individual needs and to plan accordingly. Staff adapt experiences to enable all children to participate. For example, they provide smaller group sessions to support children's social skills. As a result, all children typically make steady progress from their starting points.

Leaders use additional funding effectively to support children's needs and remove barriers to learning. For example, they purchase heavy pushing bikes and spinning chairs to help children, including those with specific sensory needs, to regulate their feelings. In addition, staff attend training to improve their knowledge on how to support children with specific needs and associated behaviours. This helps children to feel fully part of the setting and enables them to access all activities on offer.

Leaders work closely with local schools by inviting reception class teachers into the setting to observe children and gain knowledge on how best to support them when they move to school. This contributes to smooth transitions to children's next steps in learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff create a curriculum that promotes children's curiosity and helps them to develop across all areas of learning. Children benefit from a broad range of learning experiences. Staff support children's communication and language skills well. In the baby room, staff model simple words during sensory play. Older children hear and use new vocabulary such as 'wonky' and 'overfilling' during a hands-on activity. Storytelling encourages children to develop a love of books. Children listen attentively and enjoy familiar stories such as 'Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs'.

Staff adapt activities so that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, can participate and benefit from the learning opportunities provided. Children enjoy exploring resources and equipment in the garden. They share ideas and play cooperatively at the water tray. They use their small muscles to pump water while learning about concepts such as sinking and floating. Children test their coordination on balance boards, negotiate space safely while riding on tricycles and encourage one another to try new movements. Staff introduce mathematical language through play. They encourage children to notice shapes, count how many 'cupcakes' they are preparing and compare quantities. This helps children begin to recognise early mathematical concepts.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, typically make steady progress from their starting points. They acquire the skills they need for their next steps in learning, including their eventual move to school. Children learn to listen, communicate their ideas and join in with conversations. Children develop social skills as they play alongside others and interact during activities. Generally, children show secure physical skills. Babies crawl and reach for items of interest, which helps them to strengthen their muscles for future walking. Older children build structures with straws and enjoy energetic play in the garden. Children demonstrate confidence and self-esteem. They beam with pride as staff recognise and celebrate their achievements with 'high fives'. Children generally engage in their learning, especially during activities of their choice.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Routines are not consistently embedded or followed through across the setting. For example, during transitions, such as coming in from the garden or moving from lunchtime to sleep time, some rooms become disorganised and children are not consistently supported to follow the expected routine. This causes confusion and long waits. As a result, some children find it more challenging to manage their behaviour and become restless during these periods. This hinders children's positive attitudes to learning.

Overall, children behave well and benefit from positive relationships with staff. They are keen for familiar adults to join in with their play and show affection to them, such as by giving cuddles. Staff gently encourage children to share and take turns when needed. As a result, children play cooperatively. For example, younger children pass each other bowls at the mud kitchen, while older children line up for their turn to shoot goals. Staff support independence skills as children learn to do things for themselves. For example, children pour their own water and change their shoes independently, shaking them to remove the sand before putting them back on.

Leaders encourage regular attendance and follow up unexplained absences. This helps to promote children's good habits for the future.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Staff do not consistently ensure that children's care needs are met. This is because some aspects of care practice and routines are not planned well enough to support children's welfare and wellbeing. Daily routines, particularly for younger children, are not organised effectively. As a result, children are unclear about what they are expected to do. For example, if younger children do not fall asleep straight away, they are taken out of the sleeping room before being supported to unwind and return to sleep. This disrupts children's opportunities to settle to sleep and does not consistently support their rest needs. That said, staff understand safer sleeping requirements and ensure that children are checked regularly during their sleep. Lunchtimes are not consistently used as meaningful social and learning opportunities. For example, staff do not engage children in conversations about healthy eating or why it is important to make healthy food choices.

Children are provided with fresh and nutritious home-made meals. They enjoy fresh air daily, and have a variety of opportunities to be physically active and to develop their motor skills. Older children negotiate space skilfully while riding tricycles and during football games. Younger children dig with spades, test their balance on small apparatus and use a rolling pin to spread paint.

Children form positive relationships with familiar adults and seek support when needed. If children become upset, staff comfort them with cuddles and reassurance. This supports children's emotional wellbeing.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

New leaders have focused on implementing a curriculum that is ambitious for all children. Leaders recognise where practice could be further enhanced. For example, they are aware that some routines need further support. Staff are taking action to address this, but it is not yet consistently embedded. Leaders are committed to supporting children's learning, reflecting on practice and generally making changes to improve outcomes for children. Appropriate systems are in place to support the safe running of the setting. Overall, leaders help staff to carry out their roles. For example, they spend time working alongside staff in rooms, to provide mentoring and support. In addition, staff have appropriate opportunities to increase their knowledge through training opportunities, which are discussed with leaders.

Leaders work in partnership with parents. In the main, parents speak positively about the care provided. They praise the friendly and committed staff and report that their children are happy to attend. Leaders support families, including those of children who face barriers to learning or children known or previously known to children's social care, by sharing information and signposting them to local services.