Crystal Palace Day Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders consider the needs of babies before starting at the nursery. They work collaboratively with parents to identify any concerns around wellbeing and to consider how best to support children. This includes children who speak English as an additional language. Staff generally support these children to hear words in their home language and to consider how best to approach teaching them key vocabulary. As a result, these children make steady progress as they gain an understanding of language to help them to make sense of the world.

Leaders create processes for identifying any gaps in learning for individual children. They typically encourage staff to seek professional guidance for children with gaps in their learning. As a result, staff typically seek advice from experts to support individual children. Overall, staff understand how to approach external professionals to seek expect advice for babies with gaps in their development and learning. However, leaders do not consistently use this guidance to help staff to strengthen their practice. As a result, Staff are not able to fully embed strategies from experts to guide their future practice and support children to thrive in all aspects of their learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders design a curriculum that focuses appropriately on the development of babies. For example, they support babies to develop key attachments with staff. As a result, babies gain the fundamental emotional and social skills they need for their development. Staff monitor the progress of babies as they work towards milestones. They understand that babies develop at different rates and identify barriers to learning and development. Leaders and staff plan a flexible curriculum that considers individual babies' interests and create appropriate targets to help them to achieve.

Staff typically teach the curriculum well. For example, babies develop creative skills as they hear and respond to music. Staff read to babies in a way that promotes their understanding of language. They carefully adapt their teaching to help children who speak English as an additional language to join in and learn.

Generally, staff communicate with babies in a way that promotes their learning. However, there is not a consistently sharp focus on speech development. For example, strategies for helping children to hear, understand and process words are not fully embedded across the nursery. This limits the opportunity for babies to develop language skills at all times of the day.

Achievement: Expected standard

Babies develop the physical skills they need as they learn to crawl, pull themselves up and walk. Babies who have barriers to their development benefit from carefully planned activities that consider their needs. They have the time they need to practise skills that make them increasingly independent. All babies achieve well as they work through their milestones.

Babies generally learn to use sounds and words to express themselves as they respond to the facial expressions of staff. Babies enjoy exploring and working things out, for example, they develop hand eye coordination as they experiment with ball play. Babies become increasingly independent when feeding themselves, for example, when grasping finger foods, holding a spoon and bringing food towards their mouth. Through repeated opportunities to practise these movements during play, babies strengthen the coordination and control needed for everyday self-care skills.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders promote an inclusive approach to adapting routines to meet the individual needs of babies. They create a culture of back-and-forth communication with families to enable staff to create consistency between the home and the nursery. They promote regular attendance and this helps babies to develop the secure attachments they need to feel safe.

Staff work closely with parents to consider the bedtime routine of babies and create an environment at the nursery, which where appropriate, mirrors home routines. This helps babies to settle well as they transition into the nursery. Staff understand that building positive relationships is essential to their work. They spend time helping babies to develop healthy attachments that enable them to feel safe and emotionally secure.

Staff create an environment where typically babies enjoy learning because they give them praise and encouragement as they work towards their milestones. All staff know the babies well and they each have positive and warm relationships with them. They create a culture of play, having fun and enjoying learning. This helps babies develop positive attitudes to learning as they explore their environment.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders create policies and procedures that are understood by all staff and that promote the wellbeing of babies. For example, they have clear policies for sleep arrangements for babies. Staff carefully consider what different babies need to settle to help them to have enough rest to be ready for their day of learning and fun.

Staff are consistently responsive to the needs of babies. They skilfully comfort and distract babies when they experience distress. Babies develop healthy attachments to staff and feel listened to and cared for. All babies feel happy and relaxed as they play with staff and other babies. These positive experiences support babies' emotional wellbeing and help them develop resilience for the future.

Staff are highly effective in how they plan babies' routines whilst considering any gaps in their wellbeing. For example, they carefully track the feeding habits of babies, encouraging them to try a vast selection of flavours and textures. Staff diligently identify babies with allergies and intolerances and support parents to access expert advice to consistently support their long term physical health and wellbeing.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders create a culture where staff feel valued. They promote opportunities for staff to regularly share good practice, knowledge and ideas. Leaders typically identify opportunities for training that helps strengthen practice and ensure staff have the skills and confidence they need to promote the learning of the babies at the nursery. Leaders consider the wellbeing and workload of staff as they select responsibilities and plan routines. For example, they make sure that staff have regular breaks and rest. As a result, staff enjoy working at the nursery and carry out their roles effectively.

Leaders reflect regularly on practice and work collaboratively with staff to ensure policies and procedures are followed with children's best interests at heart. Leaders use feedback from parents and staff to identify areas for development and ensure their actions typically lead to meaningful improvements. Leaders and staff engage effectively with parents about children's development. They also gather information from families that helps strengthen the learning and care staff give to babies. This back and forth collaboration with families gives staff a broad picture of the experience of babies with which to inform their practice.