Highfield Day Nursery

Inclusion: Needs attention

The inclusive culture is not well embedded consistently across the setting at all times. Weaknesses in staff practice for younger children have an impact on children's wellbeing. For example, younger children are not always supported through tailored strategies that have been identified to develop their skills to communicate. As a result, at times, this has an impact on children's behaviour towards others.

Generally, staff use observation, assessment and information gathered from parents and carers, including during settling-in processes, to identify children's emerging needs. For example, they identify children's early communication needs through ongoing assessment and the progress check for children at age 2. Staff develop support plans, such as one-page profiles, which are reviewed regularly. Leaders monitor children's progress and work with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to ensure coordinated support.

Staff receive training, including in-house special educational needs and/or disabilities training and local authority courses. Leaders make adaptations to the environment, such as using soft furnishings to reduce background noise for children with hearing impairments, and provide low-level furniture to support children's physical development and independence. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported through the use of key words from their home languages, visual cues and effective partnerships with families.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Staff do not consistently support all children to access purposeful or engaging activities during routine periods, such as sleep times if they do not want to sleep and at the end of the day. Younger children, in particular, spend extended periods standing or waiting around with little meaningful interaction. During these times, some children engage in play that poses potential risks to their safety due to insufficient supervision or direction from staff. High-quality interactions and teaching strategies are not consistently embedded for younger children.

Leaders have developed a curriculum that is appropriately sequenced and aligned with the requirements of the early years foundation stage. Overall, this is not reflected in the teaching children receive. However, mostly, staff embed some mathematical concepts, such as counting, comparison and problem-solving, in children's play. Children confidently match, sort and compare objects by colour, shape and size. Older children benefit from rich opportunities to think, explore and deepen their understanding through practical experiences. Staff model language effectively for this age group, introduce new vocabulary and support children to communicate with confidence.

Staff generally consider children's physical, personal, social and emotional development. They promote older children's independence through daily routines, including mealtimes and self-care. Staff use assessment to build on children's starting points and plan activities that support their progress. Music and movement sessions are used to develop children's coordination. Practical experiences, such as play dough activities, enable children to explore ideas and develop their early problem-solving skills.

Achievement: Needs attention

Effective interactions are not consistently in place for younger children, particularly during sleep times and end-of-day routines. As a result, younger children sometimes wander without purpose and are not engaged in play that supports their readiness for the next stage in learning. Support required to meet the needs of younger children is not consistently embedded, which limits their ability to make the consistent effective progress needed in all areas of their development.

Older children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as those who may face additional barriers to learning, achieve well. They develop confidence, communicate their needs effectively and participate alongside their peers. Older children make progress from their starting points across all areas of learning. They often show pride in their achievements and develop independence, resilience and positive attitudes towards learning. Older children manage routines well, use a wide range of vocabulary and engage confidently in meaningful interactions with adults and peers.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Younger children's needs are not always identified or responded to effectively by staff, which on occasion results in a negative impact on their wellbeing. Leaders and staff are not always positive role models. Their arrangements for some daily routines are not managed appropriately to support younger children's understanding of staff expectations for their behaviour or to meet their individual needs. As a result, children display behaviours that put themselves or others at risk, and staff do not address and manage these incidents appropriately.

At times, relationships between staff and children are warm. Generally, staff support children in developing positive behaviours and to recognise and manage their emotions. For example, some children use familiar strategies, such as comforters, puppets and simple language, to express how they feel. Older children understand routines well and learn to cooperate, share and take turns, developing very secure social skills.

Leaders promote children's attendance. They use systems to monitor attendance through an app and follow up promptly when children are absent. This includes contacting families by telephone or email and, where necessary, carrying out wellbeing checks. Leaders work with parents and carers to remove barriers to attendance and ensure children attend regularly.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Staff do not always prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing effectively in routine tasks, and children's individual needs are not always considered. Although staff do carry out regular timed checks on sleeping children and remain nearby, at times, other children have to wait around if they do not want or need to sleep. For younger children, care practices are inconsistent and routines are not always well organised, and therefore, the environment is not always calm, organised or supportive of children's individual needs. Staff's supervision of younger children is not consistent or effective as staff are not always vigilant during all routines of the day. In particular, for younger children, this leads to children being involved in play that puts their safety at risk and can lead to behaviours that have a negative impact on others.

Staff support healthy eating, positive hygiene and physical health through meaningful discussions. For instance, children can explain why they wash their hands to remove germs and independently access resources, such as tissues and mirrors, to manage their personal hygiene. At mealtimes, children make choices about what and how much to eat, while staff talk to them about how food supports their energy and growth.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

Leaders have not sustained improvements made as the result of previous action taken by Ofsted. In addition, there have been further breaches to the early years foundation stage requirements. Some weaknesses in staff supervision arrangements have been responded to and action taken. This included carrying out a full investigation of an incident. However, not all weaknesses have been identified, which means poor practice is not tackled effectively or in a timely manner to assure all children's safety. Staff supervision of children is not always effective as they are not always vigilant during all routines of the day, in particular with the younger children.

Leaders work with parents and carers. For example, leaders share information through daily conversations and the nursery app and work with parents and professionals to agree clear next steps for children. This helps to ensure consistency between home and the setting. Staff receive regular supervision sessions, and leaders also prioritise staff wellbeing through practical support, such as wellbeing sessions and access to advice. Leaders explain they have clear systems to check the quality of the provision. However, these are not effective as there are concerns that arise that have not been previously identified, such as staff deployment with younger children to ensure their safety. In addition, leaders and staff do not always show an understanding of when to follow whistleblowing policies and procedures to ensure poor practice can be improved in a timely manner to reduce the risks to children's safety.