Elm Lane Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at this inviting nursery. Friendly and welcoming staff provide a caring environment, which helps children settle. A robust key-person system means staff know children, their needs and interests well. Staff plan for children according to their interests and next steps. For example, this is evident during a group activity using a mirror, where children talk about their emotions. Staff link them to children's most recent experiences. Leaders ensure the curriculum is ambitious for all children. Staff support children well, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), especially during transitions. Staff use a range of strategies to meet their individual needs. All children make good progress.

Children behave well and learn the routines of the setting. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. For example, they introduce, 'Golden nursery rules' from an early stage, which helps children to feel secure and understand expectations. As a result, children develop a clear sense of routine and boundaries.

Staff promote meaningful opportunities for children to learn about the diverse world around them. They help children to develop an understanding of people's differences and cultures through stories and first-hand experiences. For example, parents are invited into the nursery to share traditions from their home countries. These experiences spark children's curiosity and build on their early understanding of diversity, respect and inclusion.

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

• Managers have a clear and ambitious vision for the setting, which has resulted in good improvements since the last inspection. They provide appropriate training and support for staff to strengthen their teaching skills. This results in all children making good progress in their learning and development.
• Leaders and managers work closely in partnership with parents and other professionals to support individual children's learning, including for children with SEND. For example, staff help children to follow visual timetables so they know what will happen next. They create consistency in all children's learning.
• Staff work well with parents to meet children's needs and keep them informed about their progress. Parents particularly value the newly introduced home visits, which help to build strong relationships from the very start. These strong partnerships contribute greatly to supporting children's emotional well-being and sense of security.
• Staff support children's speech and language development effectively and work closely with professionals to strengthen their practice. For example, they provide lots of singing and rhyming opportunities throughout the day, which actively promote children's speech, language and communication development.
• Staff are ambitious for children's learning and understand the curriculum aims well. They implement a wide range of well-structured activities designed to build on their attention and focus. However, some activities are not consistently adjusted to all children's needs and interests. When this happens, not every child remains as engaged as at other times.
• Children have a range of opportunities to develop their physical abilities through daily play, both indoors and outdoors. Staff provide age-appropriate resources that encourage children to practise small-muscle control, and coordination. However, older children do not consistently benefit from as many opportunities as the younger children to use their larger muscles as part of physical activity. This slightly reduces their opportunities to further build on their physical development.
• Children enjoy healthy, well-balanced meals provided by the setting. Staff promote children's independence effectively, supporting younger children to develop self-help skills, such as using cutlery. Mealtimes are calm and well organised, with children confidently following established routines. Staff also reinforce good hygiene practices, such as encouraging children to wash their hands before eating and after messy play.
• Staff support children's behaviour well. Children learn the routines over time and have positive attitudes towards learning. Older children are learning to share and resolve conflicts. For example, when children show an interest in the same toy, they work together to create a sharing strategy to make sure everyone has a turn. This helps children develop important social skills, such as cooperation, turn-taking, and problem-solving. They learn to negotiate with others, manage their emotions and show respect for their peers.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen consistent opportunities for all children to further develop their gross motor development, including large-muscle control and core strength.
• support staff to offer activities suitable for all children to further encourage their engagement and learning.