Hearts Day Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have effective systems in place to identify and support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those with additional barriers to learning. For example, they work collaboratively alongside parents and carers to create and implement support plans for each child with SEND, to ensure that they target significant areas for their development. Children's progress is closely monitored through regular reviews and thorough tracking. For example, every child who follows an individualised support plan is assessed, and targets and interventions are amended appropriately to suit their progress. This is managed at the pace of the child's individual progress and is reviewed on a personal basis when necessary.

Leaders use funding appropriately to provide resources, staff training and additional adult support through targeted interventions. This helps eligible children to regulate their emotions, develop their communication skills and enables learning. As a result, children with SEND or additional barriers to learning make progress and are well supported to access all aspects of the curriculum. Staff benefit from leaders' knowledge and their support to help meet the range of children's individual needs.

Staff are aware of how to effectively meet children's needs and generally make suitable adaptations for them. For example, they use visual cards and physical objects to refer to activities and to support communication. However, practitioners do not always adapt activities and interactions to meet the needs of children with SEND or those with additional barriers to learning. As a result, some children do not engage fully, access learning effectively, or make the best possible progress.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Recent changes in how leaders and staff plan and deliver the curriculum have been effective in supporting the development of children's knowledge and skills. The curriculum is designed so that all children benefit from learning through their interests, as well as ensuring that all areas of learning are typically covered. Staff generally implement this appropriately through positive interactions. However, staff do not always provide consistently high-quality interactions with children. This means that sometimes, valuable learning is not always embedded to a greater depth.

Staff conduct regular observations and assessments of children's progress. This supports them to plan activities that allow children to meet the purposeful next steps that have been set for them. These next steps are tailored to each child's stage of development, due to staff's in-depth knowledge of the children they teach. Children benefit from a focus on communication and mathematical language skills. For example, babies enjoy playing in the sandpit as they are encouraged to pour more sand into their buckets. Younger children are exposed to numbers and counting, as staff count the amount of small water pots it takes to fill the large container. Older children learn about how many more scoops of sand are needed as they work together to fill their bucket.

The environment is optimised to enhance learning, and staff use exciting resources and equipment to provide engaging activities. For example, children's balance and core strength are developed as they take risks to safely walk along wooden planks. Staff encourage and support babies to walk along the planks independently. This develops children's confidence and coordination.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children typically make steady progress from their starting points and develop skills across key areas of learning. For example, babies develop communication through repeated exposure to simple words. Younger children confidently sing songs and use actions. Older children hear new and unfamiliar words in context to develop their understanding of the world.

Children develop their independence and show increasing confidence through daily routines. For example, babies feed themselves, helping them to prepare for their next stage in learning. Toddlers are encouraged to pour their own milk and help to clean spillages to ensure that their friends do not slip and fall. Older children self-serve their lunch, judging how much pasta to spoon onto their plate. Children play happily together and show confidence in collaborative activities. They demonstrate enjoyment as they fully participate in social-play opportunities, which builds relationships with friends.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children typically develop positive attitudes and engagement towards their learning. They are happy and settled. Children are keen to attend the setting each day and engage in their activities with enthusiasm. Leaders promote regular attendance through ensuring their attendance policy is clear and shared early on with parents and carers. Leaders communicate with parents the positive impact that nursery is having on their children, to encourage regular attendance. Routines are generally well embedded across the setting, and children demonstrate a secure understanding of what to do at key points of the day. For example, children know to wash their hands before mealtimes and choose their seat at the dinner table. Staff use inclusive approaches to establish routines, helping children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or those with additional barriers to learning, to understand expectations and participate confidently in daily activities.

Children generally behave well. This is promoted by staff who are positive role models and regularly use praise and reinforcement. Staff use inclusive strategies to support children's behaviour and emotional wellbeing, taking individual needs into account. Children are encouraged to use 'kind hands', and staff are there to support them where there are any minor conflicts. This helps children to understand expectations and manage their feelings. Children develop positive relationships with each other and benefit from the praise staff offer, which supports and builds their self-esteem.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders create a safe, welcoming environment where children are typically happy and settled. Leaders and staff gather detailed information from parents and carers before children start and they benefit from flexible settling-in sessions. Staff promote healthy habits as they embed hygiene practices into daily routines. For example, children wash their hands before eating and after playing outside. Healthy habits are further promoted by staff as they provide lots of outdoor learning experiences. Children develop a range of physical skills. They enjoy the fresh air and spend time learning in the outdoor environment. For example, babies are encouraged to push themselves up and walk from one activity to another. Younger children show enjoyment as they develop their smaller physical skills, by carefully attaching train pieces to each other. However, at times, staff do not consistently encourage children to take responsibility for tasks they are capable of managing themselves. As a result, opportunities to further develop children's independence are not always maximised.

Children are provided with healthy choices. For example, they can choose to add yoghurt to their fruit at snack time. Children eat healthy, freshly-cooked meals. Mealtimes are used effectively to develop children's social skills. For example, staff make conversation with children about their meal as they eat. Mealtimes are also used to promote positive manners. For example, children are praised for saying 'thank you', when they are given their bowls and cutlery.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have a sound understanding of the context of the setting, and of the families and children who attend. Leaders have a broad awareness of the nursery's strengths and areas for development. Through careful analysis, they make changes to increase positive outcomes for children and staff. This is evident through the recent changes made to the curriculum planning, and the positive impact this has made. Leaders and staff work collaboratively with parents and carers and external agencies to ensure that children receive the most appropriate support. This includes for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who have additional barriers to learning. However, leaders do not ensure that learning experiences are consistently adapted and responsive to the individual needs of children with SEND or those with additional barriers to learning. As a result, these children do not always access learning that fully supports their ongoing progress and development.

Staff benefit from working with caring leaders. Leaders create a supportive work environment, which enhances staff's mental health and wellbeing. Staff enjoy working at the setting, and are happy with the opportunities for training and career development. However, leaders do not consistently ensure that staff interactions with children are of a high quality across the setting. This means that children do not always benefit from interactions that deepen their understanding and build on what they already know and can do. Leaders dedicate time to conduct regular supervisions with staff. Parents value staff's communication and the work that the setting does to support their children. Leaders have plans in place to offer more workshops for families to further enhance parental engagement.