Early Learning Childcare Day Nursery, St George's Way

Inclusion: Strong standard

An inclusive culture ensures children receive the support they need to access learning and make progress from their individual starting points. Practitioners identify children's needs early through effective assessment and an approach of assess, plan, do and review. They work closely with parents and carers and external professionals to review individual plans every 6 weeks. This ensures support remains responsive to children's changing needs. Leaders make effective use of reasonable adjustments, including visual timetables, objects of reference, sensory provision and adaptations to teaching. These enable children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to participate fully alongside their peers. For example, practitioners adapt a sensory activity for children who mouth non-food items by providing yoghurt instead of paint. This enables children to participate safely alongside other children.

Leaders use early years pupil premium funding purposefully to reduce identified barriers to learning. They have used funding to provide resources and training to strengthen practitioners' knowledge of communication, sensory processing and emotional regulation. As a result, children become increasingly engaged in learning and make progress in their communication, emotional wellbeing and participation.

Close partnerships with families, communication and language specialists, the local authority and children's social care ensure children receive coordinated support. Parents understand their children's individual targets and use shared strategies at home. This provides consistency between home and nursery. Consequently, children, including those with SEND, those receiving additional funding and those known to children's social care, receive coordinated support that helps them develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed for their next stage of learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The curriculum is ambitious and reflects children's individual starting points, interests and next steps. Practitioners know children well and use ongoing assessment effectively to adapt teaching so that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing additional barriers, access meaningful learning experiences. Practitioners prioritise children's communication and language throughout the curriculum. They use high-quality interactions, modelling, questioning and rich vocabulary to extend children's learning and thinking. For example, during a play dough activity, practitioners used open-ended questioning and extended children's vocabulary while encouraging them to explain their ideas.

Children benefit from well-planned opportunities to develop their physical, personal, social and emotional development through purposeful indoor and outdoor experiences that prepare them for their next stage of learning. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the curriculum's strengths and continue to refine its implementation. Practitioners are developing a consistently shared understanding of the precise knowledge, skills and behaviours they expect children to acquire. As a result, children benefit from an ambitious curriculum, although its implementation is not yet consistently embedded across all areas of learning.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children typically make progress from their individual starting points and develop the knowledge and skills they need for future learning. They become increasingly confident communicators. For example, some children who previously communicated through gestures now use words and short phrases to express their needs, respond to adults and interact with their peers. Children develop their physical, social and emotional skills as they explore, investigate and persevere with activities that capture their interests.

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing additional barriers to learning, achieve well from their individual starting points. They become more confident, sustain their attention for longer and participate successfully in learning alongside their peers. Children develop increasing independence, curiosity and resilience as they make choices, solve problems and build positive relationships. Consequently, they acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence needed for the next stage in their learning, including school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children are generally happy, settled and confident in this nurturing environment. They form warm and trusting relationships with practitioners, and feel safe and secure in their care. In the main, children behave well and respond positively to the clear routines and expectations established throughout the day. When minor disagreements arise, children respond well to gentle reminders and quickly return to cooperative play. They show curiosity, remain engaged in activities and persevere with experiences that interest them. Children develop positive attitudes to learning and are building the behaviours and routines that support their future learning.

Children learn to play cooperatively, share resources and develop positive friendships. Those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children facing additional barriers receive support through consistent and inclusive approaches that help them participate successfully alongside their peers. Leaders promote the importance of regular attendance so that children can benefit from the curriculum and establish secure routines. While children are encouraged to make choices and take responsibility during everyday routines, opportunities for them to develop independence and self-help skills are not yet consistently maximised.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Practitioners promote children's physical and emotional wellbeing through warm, responsive care and secure relationships. They know children well. Children settle quickly, feel safe and confidently seek reassurance and support when needed. Practitioners use daily routines to encourage healthy lifestyles through nutritious meals, regular physical activity and positive hygiene practices, including supervised toothbrushing. Children receive support to recognise and manage their emotions. This helps them develop resilience, confidence and positive relationships with others.

Children benefit from a safe, inclusive environment where their individual welfare needs are understood and met. Practitioners use strategies to help children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, regulate their emotions, feel secure and participate fully in nursery life. These adaptations help children access daily routines and learning experiences alongside their peers.

Practitioners encourage children to make choices and develop independence. However, they do not consistently make the most of opportunities for children to take greater responsibility for everyday tasks. For example, practitioners sometimes put on children's coats, dry children's hands or tidy resources that children are capable of managing independently. Consequently, opportunities to further develop children's confidence, resilience and self-help skills are not consistently maximised.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of the nursery's strengths and priorities for development. They use effective monitoring, coaching and professional dialogue to support practitioners and continually improve the quality of the provision. Following the recent departure of the deputy manager, leaders have maintained effective operational oversight while developing leadership capacity and succession planning. Practitioners feel well supported through regular supervision sessions, coaching and professional development.

Leaders have established effective systems to safeguard children, recruit suitable staff and monitor their ongoing suitability. They responded appropriately to a previous safeguarding concern by following statutory procedures, seeking external advice and maintaining appropriate oversight throughout the process. Their actions ensured children's safety and welfare remained protected.

Leaders have developed effective partnerships with specialist services to improve outcomes for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing additional barriers to learning. They also have an accurate understanding of the areas that require further refinement. This includes strengthening how they evaluate the impact of the curriculum on the knowledge, skills and behaviours children develop over time. As a result, children benefit from a well-led and inclusive nursery where leaders have established effective systems to improve practice and have an accurate understanding of the areas that require further refinement.