Harwich Connexions Windmill Nursery Limited

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff always work collaboratively with parents from the start. Highly effective settling-in processes means parents can share their unique information about their child. This includes any external professionals that be already working alongside them, to support their children. This means leaders and staff can provide individual support to children from the beginning. They closely monitor children's progress and review support accordingly. Staff receive excellent training to help them identify any gaps in children' s learning and ensure appropriate support is swiftly sought.

Parents are invited to have their say on how early years pupil premium funding is spent for their child. For example, children who find social communication difficult, benefit from money spent on dance classes, specifically delivered by professionals. They learn to sing and dance and share ideas with their peers and adult, which help develop their communication and vocabulary skills, in fun, creative and inclusive ways. This ensures all children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those know (or previously known) to children's social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, are receiving support that is best suited to help them make the best possible progress.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Recent reforms to the nursery curriculum are highly successful. Prioritisation is given to children's physical, personal, social and emotional development, and teaching mathematics in fun ways. Leaders and staff, alongside valuable input from the local authority early years advisor, have designed a curriculum that meets all the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage. Staff's involvement in the curriculum design ensures that they fully understand it and successfully implement it. For example, staff consistently use assessments of children's progress to plan stimulating, daily activities, to help them achieve their next steps.

All children make excellent progress in their language and communication development. Thorough assessment processes are in place and staff work with parents and outside professionals, such as speech and language therapists. This ensures all children make ongoing progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those know (or previously known) to children's social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. However, staff do not always adapt resources well enough, to meet the interests of all children consistently. For example, when children show a keenness to practice writing their name, staff do not ensure mark making resources are available to them. This can limit the progress some children make in developing early writing skills.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children generally make secure progress through the curriculum from their starting points. They become increasingly confident in their abilities, and develop the essential knowledge and skills needed for their future learning and development. For example, children relish having a go at pouring their own drinks. They are achieving these personal care skills with perseverance and a determination to succeed. This supports them in preparation for school.

Children are very proud of their achievements and delight in showing visitors their artwork and play dough creations. Children make excellent progress in their communication and language development. For example, all children develop their attention and listening skills as they have opportunities to enjoy small communication group sessions. Additionally, staff use Makaton sign language alongside verbal communications to ensure all children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those know (or previously known) to children's social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing communicate effectively.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders have worked hard with staff to review and improve mealtime routines. They are now well organised, and repetitive. Children enjoy sociable mealtimes that can help them develop independence for when they start school. For example, staff model Makaton sign language, such as 'please' and 'thank you'. Babies copy these signs and staff praise their efforts. This helps children form an early age, or those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those know (or previously known) to children's social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, to learn good table manners.

Leaders and children's key person work strategically with parents and carers to boost attendance and promote children's overall wellbeing learning and development. For instance, leaders seek ongoing advice and undertake specific training from parents and external professionals, to safely administer medication for children, including those with complex medical needs.

Throughout the nursery, children play cooperatively and make close friendships. Children swiftly develop secure attachments to their key person with secure settling-in processes. Staff typically demonstrate high expectations for children's behaviour and promote 'golden rules', such as walking feet indoors. However, occasionally, there are some inconsistencies in how staff help older children maintain these expectations of the nursery.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

During times, when children experience periods of overwhelm, staff encourage them to access the calming sensory room. Some children need to let of steam which they can do by climbing on the soft play equipment. This helps all children including those with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those know (or previously known) to children's social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, learn to self-regulate their emotions in ways that meet their individual needs.

The effective key-person system ensures babies and children build trusting attachments to friendly staff. For example, parents build a rapport with staff and share their babies' routines followed at home, such as feeding and weaning. Staff meticulously follow daily risk assessments, to ensure children with special dietary requirements, preferences, food allergies and intolerances, have their care needs met.

Children develop good hygiene routines to assure their health and wellbeing. When older children sit down before washing hands to eat, fun-loving staff ask them in a jovial way, what they need to do before eating. Children giggle and say how they forget to wash their hands. They delight as staff praise them for recalling and then implementing this self-care routine successfully.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Recent changes to the leadership of the nursery have contributed significantly to the wellbeing and progress children make. For example, as staff helped design the new curriculum, they clearly understand and implement it, very well. Staff express overwhelming praise for their leadership team. They feel incredibly supported in their roles with regular supervisions and workload is manageable. They express how training opportunities, such as recent training on autism awareness and communication and language, helps them feel confident in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or those known (or previously known) to children's social care to thrive. Parents express children are making significant progress in their learning and development, particularly their communication and language development.

Since the last inspection, leaders have taken substantial action to ensure that ongoing discussions with parents and, where appropriate, health professionals to develop allergy plans for managing those children with any known allergies and intolerances. Staff are following robust risk assessments to ensue children's safety and welfare needs are continuously met. Monitoring of staff's performance is effective, and staff look forward to feedback on how they can improve their personal effectiveness. Leaders identify areas for improvement. For example, funding and plans have been put into place to enhance the outdoor learning environments.