Hammersmith Day Nursery & Pre-School

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders ensure that all children thrive, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children with barriers to learning. Staff know each child's individual requirements extremely well. They identify any emerging needs swiftly. Staff make purposeful adaptations to the environment and tailor daily routines. For example, they have adapted menus to ensure that children have their safe foods. This ensures that all children feel emotionally secure.

Leaders ensure that funding is used to close any potential gaps for disadvantaged children. For instance, as many children live in high-rise flats, they provide outdoor ball-game sessions to all children. Leaders have created a designated area with sensory resources that support children to recognise their emotions and choose strategies to help them settle. As a result, children learn how to manage their emotions and make excellent progress.

Leaders work in collaboration with external professionals and agencies. These partnerships ensure that interventions are both timely and impactful. This ensures that children receive specialised support. Leaders sustain a proactive partnership with families. They consistently share observations and information about children's progress and offer guidance and support. Parents and carers speak highly of these relationships, noting that their children are happy, safe and receive highly attentive care. They describe how targeted support has helped their children who speak English as an additional language make rapid progress in learning English.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum that fully prepares children in all areas of development for their next steps. Staff prioritise getting to know children through a robust settling-in process. As a result, they make accurate assessments of children's starting points. Staff use this knowledge to implement unique plans that support children's development effectively. They make timely adjustments so all children can access the curriculum. Leaders are highly evaluative and consistently reflect on how they can further improve teaching and learning for all children.

The quality of interactions between staff and children is a particular strength of the setting. Staff engage purposefully with children. They respond to their ideas, narrate their play and introduce new concepts. For instance, when children search for worms, staff share that children are more likely to see worms in wet soil, from rainy weather during autumn, than in dry soil during spring. Children are encouraged to explore, solve problems and develop their interests.

Staff embed mathematical language within daily routines and play with children from the earliest ages. For example, babies explore patterns with staff sharing that the circles go 'round and round'. Leaders place a great emphasis on children's personal, social and emotional development, recognising these as foundations for learning. Staff encourage children to be active, supporting them to develop their confidence and independence in physical abilities.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make sustained progress from their starting points across all areas of learning. Children who speak English as an additional language make remarkable progress, developing a secure foundation of communication and language skills. Babies eagerly communicate with staff. They repeat back new words, such as 'splash', 'duck' and 'bubbles'. Children demonstrate confidence in mathematics as they explore the gardening area, measuring different-sized worms and reliably counting insects.

Babies settle quickly and understand routines, such as helping at tidy-up time and washing their hands before lunch. They confidently access the resources and enjoy accessing the small climbing frame independently. Children develop advanced independence. They manage their belongings, make choices and participate responsibly in daily routines. Children develop excellent focus and attention skills. They show resilience in tricky tasks. When cutting different types of fruit, they excitedly compare them to the diagrams of the anatomy of fruit, showing advanced readiness for future learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff ensure that all children understand expectations within their 'golden rules'. This typically results in a positive environment where children enjoy learning. Staff use strategies, such as sand timers, to help children navigate sharing and turn taking. Staff talk through conflicts to support understanding of why some behaviours are not acceptable. This helps children to behave well, learn to play collaboratively and form friendships. Staff recognise children's individual behaviour needs. For example, when children become anxious, staff intervene swiftly and support them to access the sensory room to help them calm down. Staff also support parents and carers by sharing strategies for use at home. This provides consistent expectations for children.

Relationships between children and staff are caring and respectful. Staff help children to treat others with kindness. Even the youngest children are taught to use 'kind hands', and children are praised for 'lovely walking'. However, at times, some staff do not consistently role model positive manners, such as 'please' and 'thank you', during routines and play. As a result, children do not receive encouragement to consistently practise this behaviour to further support developing a respectful culture.

All children understand the daily routines and anticipate what is coming next. Leaders understand the importance of regular attendance for children's education and to help prepare them for later learning, including attending school. Leaders share this with parents regularly through newsletters and during meetings with them.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders create a safe and nurturing space, where they prioritise children's emotional wellbeing. They work with families to support adapted routines for those children that take longer to settle in the mornings. This ensures that all children are ready and regulated to start their learning. Staff closely monitor children's weaning and sleeping. Information is shared daily between parents and carers and staff to ensure that care routines are effective to meet children's changing circumstances. Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of each child's individual needs, home lives, backgrounds and preferences. They use this knowledge to create an inclusive environment.

Generally, staff provide children with the knowledge they need to stay safe and healthy. For example, they remind them to sit down while eating. However, at times, children are not supported to understand personal safety. For example, children are not taught to queue at the bottom for the slide or to hold fruit on the table when chopping. While staff supervise closely at these times, children do not learn consistently how they can keep themselves safe.

Children form deep bonds with their key person, seeking cuddles and reassurance when needed. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who are disadvantaged or who face other barriers to learning, develop secure attachments. Children receive a nutritious menu. Staff promote healthy eating and adhere to safe eating practices.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders demonstrate an ambitious vision for the setting. Since the previous inspection, they have embedded the curriculum and continually strengthened teaching. They take a highly strategic approach to improvement, recognising there is more to be developed to ensure the best possible outcomes and experiences for children. They are fully committed to giving every child the best possible start in life. This can be seen in the thoughtful decisions they make and in the inclusive environment they have created, where all children, staff and families are valued. Leaders recognise the importance of staff knowledge and wellbeing. All staff recently completed behaviour training, which is having an impact on the clear behaviour expectations in the setting. During supervisions, leaders arrange targeted professional development opportunities, such as management and leadership training to support staff taking on more responsibility. Staff morale has been strengthened by introducing wellbeing cafés, employer of the month and feedback opportunities.

Parents and carers are an integral part of the setting's community. Leaders build warm and trusting relationships from the start. Families receive regular updates through newsletters, parents' evenings, an online app and daily conversations. This ensures that they feel well informed about any changes or events at the setting and are included in their children's learning and development journey. Leaders take actions that are in the best interests of children. For example, they ensure that they change the trip day weekly, so all children get to experience trips even if they do not attend full time. This ensures that all children benefit from the rich learning experiences.