Happy Little Sunbeams Day Nursery

Inclusion: Urgent improvement

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not supported effectively in the nursery. Leaders' and staff members' practice has a negative impact on children's emotional wellbeing and creates barriers to learning. For example, some children have specific strategies in place to support them to participate and feel secure. These strategies are included in documents such as their education, health and care plans (EHCPs). Although leaders make documents such as these available to staff, they do not ensure that staff follow them when children with SEND become emotional and struggle to regulate their feelings. For instance, staff hold children tightly and try to hug them in a misguided attempt to comfort them. This action goes against the guidance in children's EHCPs on how to manage these situations and raises the children's levels of distress and discomfort. Although leaders and staff work in partnership with other professionals and children's families, children do not benefit from continuity of learning.

In contrast, leaders and staff have a clear understanding of how to celebrate difference and diversity. For example, staff regularly take children out into the local community and visit local churches and mosques. Children take part in weekly themed activities which reflect the different countries that they have lived in or visited. Overall, leaders have used additional funding appropriately to support some children who have gaps in their learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders do not provide a purposeful, sequenced curriculum for all children. On occasion, staff's teaching is not tailored to meet children's individual needs. This means that although children show enjoyment in some activities, they are not supported to make adequate progress towards their individual learning goals. For example, young children enjoy playing in the water tray outdoors. They explore flowers, taste lemons and listen as staff model new words to them. However, some children show an interest in filling and emptying containers, but staff remove the pots because it is not in their plan. As a result, they do not help children to build on their emerging mathematical knowledge.

Older children are not supported to develop all the skills they need to start school. For example, staff do not encourage them to develop their listening skills and concentration. At times, children wander between resources in the room and learning is incidental. In addition, staff are not effective in removing barriers to children's learning, particularly children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For instance, children are not supported to be emotionally ready to join in with experiences, which has an impact on their willingness to participate, and they miss out on social group experiences. In contrast, babies are supported by staff to develop their physical skills and are keen to explore their surroundings. Staff purposefully plan experiences to help develop babies' sensory play and confidence. They offer praise as babies explore the sensory tray and encourage them to copy words and sounds.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children do not make the best possible progress across every area of their learning. This means that some children do not develop all the skills they need to fully prepare them for school or the next stages in their learning. For example, young children and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not consistently settled or emotionally regulated enough to be ready to learn. This limits their levels of engagement.

Babies experience a better start in their learning and development. They show emerging confidence and are curious learners. Babies begin to dance and copy new words. They benefit from trips to the library and develop a love of books from an early age. Some children begin to develop their self-care and independence skills. They know how to wash their own hands and start to use the toilet. Overall, children develop an understanding of the world around them and learn about other people, places and cultures.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Urgent improvement

Children's behaviour is not supported appropriately, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who face barriers to their learning. Although leaders have high expectations for all children's behaviour, staff do not make necessary adaptations to support individual children or implement strategies which help them to regulate their emotions. Staff do not support children to begin to understand about emotions and feelings. When children struggle to meet staff expectations for their behaviour, staff handle children inappropriately, and while the provider takes swift action to address this immediately, this practice falls well short of the expectations of the early years foundation stage requirements. In addition, the weaknesses in staff's teaching mean that some children are not deeply engaged in purposeful experiences, which has an impact on children's attitudes to learning.

Overall, staff who work with babies promote continuity of care as they gather information from parents before children start. This helps them to understand babies' individual needs and care routines. Children are encouraged to attend the nursery regularly. This helps families who are new to the area to become part of the community, and leaders assist them to build a network of support.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Children's welfare and wellbeing are not prioritised. Staff do not support children's personal, social and emotional development effectively, and their actions have an adverse effect on some children's wellbeing. Children's privacy is not considered when they have their nappy changed or when they use the toilet. For example, staff change young children's nappies in the bathroom, but staff position the children so that their bottom and genitals face the corridor and can be seen from within the entrance hall where parents and visitors wait. Older children use the toilets that are not situated in cubicles and/or do not have privacy screens. While children sit and use the toilets, staff and other children use the same bathroom area at the same time to wash children's hands. This does not help children to learn how to keep themselves safe or provide sufficient privacy.

Overall, children are encouraged to eat healthy foods, have plenty of exercise and fresh air and are provided with spaces to rest and sleep. Babies are taken out of the nursery daily by staff and benefit from close relationships with their key people. Toddlers show interest in tasting new fruits and pull faces as they taste lemon. Staff sit close to children during snack times and supervise them effectively to minimise risks of choking. Older children wait patiently to take part in brushing their teeth. Some staff support them to do this as they model the actions and offer praise.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

Leaders have not sufficiently reflected on or evaluated the effectiveness of the provision. There are several breaches of the requirements of the early years foundations stage, some of which have a negative effect on children's care, learning, wellbeing and safety. Leaders have not ensured that staff fully understand the procedures to keep children safe. Although they provide staff with supervision meetings to discuss personal effectiveness and training, professional development opportunities do not have enough impact to make the necessary improvements to benefit children.

Since the last inspection, leaders have worked on developing communication with families. For example, they ensure parents and carers know who their child's key person is and use an online platform to share information digitally. This supports families who speak English as an additional language as the translate feature breaks down barriers to communication. Leaders have begun to work on developing the curriculum. However, this is still not embedded, and further training is required to raise the quality of staff's teaching, particularly in supporting children's personal, social and emotional development and their mathematical skills.

Leaders work in partnership with other professionals and support families. For instance, they help new families to locate doctors and dental practices when they are new to the country. This helps to promote children's health. Staff complete transition documents and invite teachers into the setting to help promote smooth transitions, such as when children move on to school.