Footsteps Nursery Cannock

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders have made significant improvements since the last inspection. They have strengthened processes across the nursery, and focus more precisely on supporting and monitoring staff practice. The curriculum for children is well sequenced and successfully builds on what they already know and can do. Leaders and staff are knowledgeable about what skills children need at each stage of their learning journey and plan exciting activities that motivate children to learn. As a result, all children make good progress.

Children at this nursery form strong bonds with staff. They are given reassurance and comfort when they become upset. Staff show affection towards children and give them cuddles to help them to feel safe and secure. Staff create a calm and relaxed environment that can be felt throughout the nursery. This helps children to feel happy and settled, particularly those who are new. Nursery rules are securely embedded from the moment children start, to the time they move on to their next stage of education. Staff role model appropriate behaviours and remind children to use 'kind hands', and walking feet. Children understand what is expected of them and learn to be respectful of one another. They play cooperatively and develop friendships with their peers.

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

• Children are highly engaged in their learning. Staff are skilled at teaching children, providing high-quality interactions that help them to maintain concentration in what they are doing. However, staff do not always implement specific learning intentions effectively. For example, some planned activities do not focus precisely enough on what staff want children to learn. This means that children can sometimes become overwhelmed by trying to learn too much all at once.
• Children follow well-established routines. For example, older children confidently wash their hands, fill their cups up from the water station and serve their own food at mealtimes. They demonstrate their familiarisation of this, as they patiently wait for their peers to complete each part of the routine. There are times, however, when some staff do not always encourage children to wash their hands after they have wiped their noses. Although, children have access to a tissue station so that they can complete this personal care task, all elements of the routine are not consistently embedded.
• Children become confident communicators. Staff describe what children are doing and help them to learn new language. Staff ask open-ended questions to encourage children to think, and express their own ideas. This helps children to be prepared for the next stage in their education.
• All children at the nursery make good progress. Staff quickly identify where there are delays in children's development and take immediate action to implement the support children need. They work closely with external agencies and parents to create plans, and implement strategies that help children to learn new skills.
• Leaders and staff have a robust process for managing children's allergies in the nursery. The nursery cook separates children's food and clearly communicates this to staff. Children's food is served on colour coded plates, so those with allergies are easily identifiable to staff. Staff closely supervise children at mealtimes to ensure the risk of them being in contact with allergens is minimised. This helps to keep children safe.
• Leaders are conscientious and reflective. They are highly present within the nursery environment and accurately identify where there are opportunities for practice to be strengthened across the nursery. They meet with staff regularly and identify training they would benefit from, to improve the quality of teaching and learning across the nursery. Staff comment that they feel well supported in their roles. Leaders monitor the impact of the training staff receive and encourage them to develop their confidence by taking on roles with extra responsibility.
• Partnerships with parents are a strength within the nursery. Leaders and staff make good use of an online system, where parents can communicate changes to children's routines. Parents comment that staff pay attention to this, and that relationships with key workers are strong. They comment that children have 'come on leaps and bounds' since attending the nursery and that there is a strong focus on helping children to learn. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities compliment the dedication of staff, in providing the support they need to make referrals to external agencies, and secure the help children need.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to implement precise learning intentions for children to support their learning even further
• support staff to fully embed personal care routines for children.