Greenbank Daycare Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders have taken swift action to address weaknesses raised at the previous inspection. Newly implemented risk assessments for the outdoor area, where children play, are implemented consistently well by all staff. As such, children are safe and secure in the setting and their well-being is protected.

Leaders have high expectations for all children. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders construct a curriculum that heavily focuses on helping children acquire good social, physical and communication skills. The flexible and sequenced curriculum supports children in developing their skills and deepening their learning over time. This, alongside strong partnership working with parents and other agencies involved in children's care and learning, prepares children well for later learning. This includes the move to formal schooling, when the time comes.

Staff are excellent role models for children. They shower them with praise and affection and build strong and caring bonds with children and their families. Children are confident and highly sociable. For example, they play cooperatively from a very early age with little support from staff. Additionally, they confidently tell visitors about their ideas and home lives. Children's behaviour is good, given their ages and stages of development.

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

• Leaders are dedicated and strive for continual improvement. For example, they reflect on practice well and make required improvements. As such, the setting is vastly improved since the previous inspection. Children's safety and well-being are assured.
• The curriculum for personal, social and emotional development is a key strength of the setting. Right from the outset, staff plan meticulously to help children settle in and build strong attachments with key staff. As a result, children display high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem. This, in turn, has a positive impact on children being keen learners and developing positive attitudes to learning. All children are well prepared for transitions throughout the setting and on to other educational establishments.
• In the main, staff are well supported by leaders. They have regular one-to-one meetings, where they discuss their workload and well-being. Staff attend mandatory training, and apprentices are given time to complete their studies away from the setting. As a result, staff morale is high. However, the monitoring of staff's practice is not yet robust enough to help them further improve all areas of their educational practice and deliver all aspects of the intended curriculum to meet leaders' high expectations.
• The curriculum for supporting children's communication and language is good. Older children benefit from engaging in good-quality back-and-forth conversations with the staff during play and at routine times of the day. Babies are encouraged to sing and take part in familiar action songs. Toddlers' speech is supported as staff teach children simple sign language. This aids children's understanding and helps them to express their wants and needs. Children are confident communicators.
• Staff understand the importance of supporting children's physical development. Children play outdoors every day in all weathers. Babies are encouraged to pull themselves to stand and are helped by the staff to safely scale low-level equipment. Toddlers enjoy climbing on apparatus outdoors and use small tools, such as a trowel, to dig in the mud. Older children use different-sized chalks to make meaningful marks on a chalkboard. For example, the letters in their name. Children are gaining the skills needed for later writing.
• Children behave with maturity beyond their young years. Older children share their ideas and play cooperatively without adult support. Staff help younger children to share and take turns with the resources. As a result, children are tolerant, patient and show respect for the staff and their friends.
• Meals and snacks provided for children are healthy and nutritionally balanced. Older children know to wash their hands after using the toilet and do this independently. However, on occasion, some staff do not consistently carry out good handwashing practices or consistently take steps to stop any potential spread of infection. For example, babies only have their hands wiped with a baby wipe before eating. Additionally, while staff are vigilant in wiping children's runny noses, they occasionally forget to wash their own hands after doing this. Consequently, at times, children are not fully supported in developing a positive attitude to maintaining their good health.
• Staff regularly share children's next steps with parents and keep them informed about their child's progress and interests via the online app. Leaders work closely with parents to ensure that children receive their full entitlement to early years funding and work flexibly to support parents of children with SEND. As a result, all children make expected progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen supervision arrangements so that staff receive incisive feedback and closer monitoring to help them further improve the delivery of all aspects of the intended curriculum
• strengthen hygiene practices so that they are consistently embedded to promote children's understanding and support their good health.