Howbury Preschool And Daycare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff meet children and their parents daily at the door and welcome them into the nursery. Children settle into the familiar routines of the nursery. Staff have high expectations of children, who behave well. For example, as children join a small-group activity, they quickly select a shape and sit down ready to listen attentively. Staff foster an ethos of mutual respect and form close bonds with children. Children demonstrate how safe and secure they are in their surroundings by being confident and happy. Staff encourage children to have a voice and develop their imaginations. For example, they ask children to think of their own superhero name as they use small-world figures.

The curriculum is planned by the managers, who meet with staff on a weekly basis to discuss and plan children's learning each week. The nursery is organised over two rooms and children mostly choose the things they want to learn with. They are then joined by their key person and other members of staff. Staff, overall, pay attention to what children need to learn next when they play. They also have a strong focus on supporting any children who receive additional funding. This helps children to make good progress.

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

• Leaders have worked hard on the recommendations from the last inspection. They now use a more effective system to ensure that they meet the needs of all children. Staff use this information to put things in place for children. For example, they provide daily small groups and games to develop children's communication and language skills and sensory circuits for those children who struggle with change. Staff also offer welcome packs for children with basic resources in, such as scissor, pencils, paper and books, as they recognise that some children may not have these things at home.
• Overall, staff get to know children well. They want the best outcomes for all children. However, staff do not consistently consider individual children's next steps in learning during planned activities, to support children to make even more progress at a faster rate.
• Staff take opportunities as they arise during daily activities to enhance children's understanding of mathematical concepts. For example, as children take turns to line up, staff encourage them to recognise colours and shapes.
• Parents speak positively about the nursery and the care which their children receive. They feel well informed about their child's progress. Parents comment on how their children have developed their language and social skills since joining the nursery.
• Staff support children's social skills through helping them to regulate their own emotions. They encourage children to uses 'kind hands and 'kind words' with each other. Children demonstrate a kind and caring attitude towards each other and staff. For example, when children see their friends upset, they offer a cuddle.
• Staff supervise children well and are quick to point things out to children, such as to use scissors at the table and to not run or climb indoors. However, they do not consistently explain to children the reason for these instructions to help children to understand how to manage risks themselves.
• Children develop a love of books and stories. For example, staff sit and share stories with children in a cosy corner individually or as a whole group at the end of the session. They also sing songs and rhymes daily, which helps to build children's literacy skills. In preparation for school, staff introduce older children to letter names and the sounds they represent. However, staff sometimes forget to make the difference between the two clear in order to fully support children's later learning in literacy.
• Staff promote children's growing independence generally well. For example children open their own packets and pour their own milk at lunchtime. Staff encourage children to use the toilet and wipe their own noses. However, sometimes, staff can be too quick to help children to put on their coats and do not always allow them enough time to practise this skill by themselves.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider children's individual next steps in learning more precisely when planning activities, to help children to make more progress
• help children to understand and manage risks, such as by offering them more detailed explanations
• ensure that all staff use a consistent approach in their teaching, such as when supporting children with their independence and introducing children to early phonics.