Holme Park Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel safe and secure, and are happy in this inclusive setting. They are well cared for by their key persons, who know them and their families really well. This enables staff to meet their individual needs effectively. Babies demonstrate impressive independence skills for their age. They learn to drink from open-top cups and feed themselves with a knife and fork, and start to scrape their own plates, all before they move up to toddler room. Toddlers and their parents receive targeted support around key physical development milestones, such as potty training. Staff hold parent information events and loan books and resources about toilet training for families to use at home. As children grow, staff plan opportunities for them to become involved in completing their own risk assessments. They undertake the role of outdoor detectives, looking for hazards and deciding on what action they need to take. In addition, staff use outdoor activities well to support children's understanding of healthy lifestyles and of life cycles, including planting vegetables and flowers, and going on bird and bug hunts.

Staff provide children with a familiar routine. Children learn the importance of following robust hygiene routines and are well supported to develop their self-care skills. Staff engage children in meaningful conversations that deepen children's understanding of other beliefs, including those with dietary requirements that link to these. Children learn to respect others' choices and observe their personal preferences. Staff take time to get to know each child and make them feel valued. Children behave well and demonstrate high levels of engagement in both adult-led and self-chosen activities. Children who have identified special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective support to fully access the curriculum.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Leaders have worked hard to design and embed a clear and appropriately sequenced curriculum that builds on children's unique starting points. Children's individual family structures are understood and this information is used to enrich children's learning experiences. For example, children's home languages, as well as that of their extended families, are used and celebrated within the setting. The coordinator for children with SEND demonstrates exceptional passion for inclusion and supports all staff to ensure that children with SEND are provided with tailored interventions to promote their good progress.
• Leaders, including the centre director, area manager and quality adviser, ensure effective oversight of quality in the nursery. They demonstrate accurate insight into areas for future development which focus on continuing to support the quality of teaching to further improve children's learning and development. Leaders display a 'can-do' attitude and are proactive at identifying and addressing weaknesses, which includes acting on feedback from other stakeholders, such as the local authority and parents. Communication and language are a focus throughout the setting. There are strategies used to support children who require additional support with their speech and language. However, not all staff have the confidence to implement these consistently, such as by using simple sign language and referring to visual aids to further improve the good progress children make.
• The centre director is a supportive leader who understands the importance of staff well-being. Staff benefit from regular training, effective supervision and peer support to improve their personal effectiveness. This includes newly recruited staff and staff who are working towards recognised qualifications, such as those who are supported to take on specialist lead roles. All staff receive targeted training to help them support the children that they care for according to their age. For example, training aimed at supporting two-year-olds is provided to staff working with toddlers. In addition, training around quality and intense interactions have been successful in supporting children's listening and attention skills and have led to an increase in their concentration.
• Staff are highly skilled at promoting children's behaviour and supporting their understanding of how to recognise and manage their feelings and emotions. Older children use 'The Colour Monster' story to describe how they feel, and younger children use visual aids, such as coloured bottles, when they do not have the exact words but recognise the emotion. Staff remind children frequently of the expected levels of behaviour and act swiftly to address this where children's actions fall short. All staff act as excellent role models in their interactions with one another and children. They model kind and polite manners and children use these in return. Children listen carefully to staff and follow their instructions.
• Parent partnership is a strong golden thread which links together the effective key-person approach, with support offered for children with SEND and, in turn, the good progress made by all children. Parents are clear on who their child's key person is and what they are currently focusing on with regard to their development. There are effective systems in place for keeping parents up to date with their children's learning and development, and a number of communication strategies used to help parents support their child's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop consistency of teaching to support children at all times in their learning, particularly where additional strategies have been implemented to further support children's communication and language.