Fountain Children Centre

Inclusion: Expected standard

Children benefit from a welcoming environment where they are valued and respected. Leaders and staff recognise children as unique individuals and get to know them well. Typically, they monitor children's progress to ensure that they identify any barriers to learning early. Leaders have established links with the local authority special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) teams and welcome their support and advice. This means that leaders can appropriately access early intervention for children who may have SEND. Leaders have an action plan to complete further training to deepen their knowledge about SEND. This will further strengthen their understanding of how to support children who may require additional support in the future.

Where children are eligible for additional funding, leaders carefully consider how it can be best spent to directly meet individual children's needs. For example, they discuss how they would use it to provide opportunities for children, that they would otherwise not experience. Leaders also purchase resources to support individual children's progress. Staff generally adjust teaching to meet the needs of individual children. For instance, they use Makaton or visual aids to help children who need extra support with communication and language. Leaders understand the importance of keeping families involved in their children's progress. Parents and carers praise the setting's home-from-home environment, and they appreciate the diversity of cultures that are celebrated within the nursery.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have recently developed the curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of all children within the nursery. Staff regularly observe children as they play, to get to know them well. Generally, this helps staff to identify gaps in their learning and establish appropriate next steps. Staff typically teach the curriculum well. However, at times, due to staff deployment, not all staff know what individual children can do and how to support them towards their next steps in learning. Strengthening the arrangements for sharing children's progress across the staff team would support children to make even better progress.

Overall, the curriculum promotes all areas of development. Staff in the baby room focus on babies' emotional development, helping them feel safe, secure and happy. Staff encourage babies to access the indoor climbing frame, challenging their physical strength and coordination. Staff listen to children and respond with genuine interest. Staff sing songs, read stories and narrate children's play, to support their communication and language skills. Staff teach mathematical concepts to older children during play. For instance, they search for pebbles together in sand and water and use language such as 'one more' and 'one less'. Staff support children to reflect on their similarities and to understand what makes them unique through role play, stories and outings into the local community.

Achievement: Expected standard

Babies demonstrate increasing confidence in social skills as they initiate a game of peek-a-boo with staff. Older children demonstrate curiosity and focus. For instance, they explore materials to make their own tea, using lemon slices, tea bags and herbs by sprinkling, pouring and mixing. Children are confident communicators, sharing their ideas, asking questions and seeking answers. They sing along to well-known nursery rhymes and songs and join in with the actions. Children demonstrate good manners and take turns with resources with their friends. Children independently access a range of books and invite staff to share books with them.

Typically, children are suitably prepared for the next stage of their learning, including school. They cut their own fruit at snack time, wash their hands and faces independently and follow instructions. They carefully pour their own water from jugs, demonstrating precision and concentration. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported in ways that help them understand routines and develop confidence.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Overall, leaders and staff work together to create a positive, inclusive and respectful setting for everyone. Clear routines help children to feel safe and secure, and children's behaviour is positive. They listen to staff, learn to share resources and play cooperatively. Children show kindness and willingly help each other. For example, they volunteer to hold open the door for their friends.

Staff set clear expectations and use strategies to help children understand boundaries and appropriate behaviour. For example, they line up at the door when leaving the room. Through daily routines, children take responsibility, such as tidying away toys and setting the table for lunchtime. Through these meaningful tasks, children learn to develop independence, patience and develop positive self-esteem. Children are given time to manage self-care tasks, as staff support them skilfully. For example, staff demonstrate and give verbal instructions to support children to put on their own shoes, giving them opportunities to practise their skills without rushing.

Attendance and punctuality are promoted through discussions with parents and carers, and attendance patterns are monitored to ensure the welfare of children. Leaders work with families to ensure that children make the most of their funded entitlement.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children arrive enthusiastically and babies feel comfortable being handed to staff, which shows the secure relationships between children and adults. Staff are typically responsive to children's individual needs. They communicate with parents and carers to ensure that babies settling into the nursery have their individual needs met. Sleeping and feeding routines are supervised appropriately and all staff demonstrate knowledge of how to ensure these procedures are managed safely.

Staff remind children to follow rules to keep themselves safe, such as teaching babies to go one-by-one on the slide to avoid bumping into each other. Staff teach children about different emotions and support them to recognise how they are feeling, daily. For example, they learn about the importance of taking deep breaths and resting to feel calm during yoga sessions. Staff identify when emotional wellbeing can impact children's ability to engage. They make adaptations and give extra support to children who feel anxious, unsettled or need help with emotional regulation.

Staff ensure that mealtimes are opportunities for children to learn social skills and develop healthy habits. Staff eat alongside children and encourage them to try different foods. They discuss the positive impact of healthy foods on our bodies. Staff promote children's manners by modelling 'please' and 'thank you'. All children have regular opportunities to be physically active, both indoors and outdoors. Indoors, older children are encouraged to jump like stars and stomp like dinosaurs around the room. Younger children are supported to kick balls backwards and forwards and chase after the ball. These experiences support children to develop a love for physical activity.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders and new management have implemented changes which have made significant improvements since their last inspection. Recent training and support around the curriculum and teaching has improved experiences for children and helped staff to focus their practice. This is already having a positive impact on how staff identify what children need to learn and how they can support this. Leaders have developed their supervision for staff, strengthening arrangements to monitor and review the practice in the nursery, and staff are being supported to complete qualifications. Leaders acknowledge that further work is needed in some areas to strengthen staff's knowledge even more. For example, leaders recognise the importance of staff completing special educational needs coordinator training to deepen staff's understanding of supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, but have not yet taken steps to implement this. Leaders ensure that staff complete mandatory training, including paediatric first aid and safeguarding courses. Staff recognise the support they receive from leaders and feel appreciated and valued. Leaders are mindful of workload and work with staff to effectively manage this and positively support wellbeing.

Leaders engage with parents and carers positively in a way that supports children's education and care. However, there is capacity to enhance parental partnerships further to support all children and families, including those who are harder to reach. Parents value the relationships that staff build with their children and appreciate the welcoming, inclusive environment that 'feels like family'. They share that their children are always excited to attend.

Children benefit from a range of meaningful experiences beyond the nursery, including outdoor learning and community activities. These experiences broaden children's understanding of the world and enrich the curriculum through first-hand learning opportunities. Leaders and staff are passionate about providing safe and engaging learning environments where all children can achieve and flourish.