King David Nursery/Pre-School (Elm Road)

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders are committed to ensuring an inclusive and welcoming setting. Leaders and staff have established appropriate systems to identify children who face barriers to their learning and development, and understand their individual needs. Staff typically gather information from parents and carers. They use assessments and ongoing observations to plan support, and secure additional help where required. Staff keep parents involved in their children's learning and development. They share progress, and signpost families to further support and guidance that are available. Leaders recognise that strengthening their outreach services would further support the families of children with special educational needs and or/disabilities. They have an action plan for how this could further bridge the gap for parents navigating care services and understanding their children's additional needs.

Leaders use funding to enrich children's individual experiences, including outings to broaden children's understanding of the world, such as a recent trip to the aquarium. Staff reduce barriers to children's communication and language by using transitional objects to support children to recognise different parts of the daily routines. Leaders and staff work in partnership with external professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to ensure they make effective reasonable adjustments so all children can take part in the nursery day.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Generally, staff and leaders have a clear understanding of the curriculum. Staff organise the environment so that children are motivated to learn. They provide a range of activities that interest children and contribute to the development of their skills across all areas of learning. Children have lots of opportunities to follow their interests and choose their play. Staff adapt activities and offer one-to-one support to ensure that children with special educational needs and or/disabilities are included. Staff know the children well and tailor their teaching to individual children's starting points, needs and stages of development. This ensures all children make steady progress.

Staff share books linked to curriculum topics at group times. Staff support children to share their ideas, and value their contributions. For instance, at carpet time, staff ask all children what job they would like to do when they grow up. This means children develop confidence in their speaking and listening skills. Staff encourage children to develop their small hand muscles successfully. For example, they help children learn to use scissors effectively, ready for when they go to school. Staff skilfully support children to learn to count. They are positive role models and support children to develop social skills. For example, staff aid play in the role-play area as children pretend to be chefs cooking meals for their friends who are customers. On occasion, there are some inconsistencies in staff teaching across the nursery. For example, at times staff do not identify or seize opportunities to extend children's learning. Leaders understand these inconsistencies and are beginning to address them through professional development and further coaching opportunities for staff.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children typically build age- and stage-appropriate knowledge across all areas of development. Children who have barriers to learning are gradually becoming confident communicators. They follow instructions and recognise different parts of the nursery routine. Children line up to wash their hands before meals and help at tidy-up time. All children recognise their name as they self-register on arrival and make independent choices about what they would like to play. Children enjoy playing together. They invite each other to share experiences and work together to achieve shared goals. Children learn to take turns and listen during group activities. They demonstrate early mathematics skills. For instance, they recognise different shapes, such as diamonds, pentagons and rectangles, and count the bricks in their towers. All children sing along to well-known songs and rhymes, and enthusiastically join in with the movements. They show resilience in tricky tasks, such as cutting with scissors or putting the lid back on their lunch box. Generally, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make steady progress.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have established a positive environment where children are well supported to understand behaviour expectations. Staff remind children of golden rules, such as 'kind hands'. Children are well supported to collaborate and get along with each other. Children are praised for their positive behaviours. For instance, they are given 'high fives', stickers and consistent verbal praise. This supports children to develop positive self-esteem and confidence. Staff have warm and responsive relationships with children. They ensure they are at the child's level physically, sitting on the floor, maintaining eye contact and offering unhurried, meaningful interactions. Typically, children engage purposefully in their learning and demonstrate increasing levels of confidence and motivation.

Leaders share the importance of attendance and punctuality with parents so that all children benefit from the nursery routine to prepare them for their next steps. Routines are well established, and this contributes to a calm environment. Children with special educational needs and or/disabilities or other barriers to learning are supported to take part in daily routines. Staff use objects as visuals to support inclusive communication and use key words to support understanding. Staff also use sand timers to help those with barriers to learning understand the importance of waiting their turn.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Typically, children are supported to develop healthy habits. Staff remind children to drink lots of water to keep hydrated when it is hot. They promote the importance of healthy foods throughout the day and support children to be physically active. For example, they encourage all children to join in with dance and movement together. Leaders ensure that all children have daily access to outdoors. This means children develop spatial awareness and balance and enjoy fresh air. In the garden, children pick daisies and kindly present them to staff and visitors. This shows children are demonstrating care, thoughtfulness and growing empathy.

Leaders and staff know the children and their families well. Care practices are effective in meeting children's individual needs. Hygiene routines, such as toileting and handwashing, are well established. Intimate care is handled sensitively, and staff seek consent and keep children well informed of what is happening. However, children are not consistently supported to learn self-care skills. For instance, staff clean children's noses before allowing children to attempt this independently. Relationships between children and staff are extremely respectful and gentle. Children trust adults, and those who are shy or more reserved than others are sensitively supported to take part. Staff encourage children to listen to each other respectfully and celebrate each other's differences.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Since the last visit, leaders have taken steps to ensure that key persons are confident in their roles and responsibilities. Staff know the children well and are supported to plan effectively for their key children's next stage of development. Staff share that they feel well supported with their workload and wellbeing. Leaders ensure that all mandatory training is up to date. Leaders have a robust recruitment procedure and ensure that staff have ongoing suitability and professional development opportunities. Leaders understand the setting's strengths and have identified actions to strengthen the provision to ensure that all staff continue to develop their confidence in high-quality interactions to extend children's learning and development. Typically, leaders work promptly to help staff develop their skills. They lead training days and ensure the staff have effective safeguarding knowledge and practice.

Leaders and staff have established positive parent partnerships, where parents are kept up to date with their children's progress through updates on the app, daily verbal feedback and parents' mornings. Parents share that they appreciate the unwavering support they have received and feel that leaders and staff genuinely care. Leaders recognise that there is scope to strengthen the support they offer parents and carers of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and have an action plan. Leaders ensure that they make decisions that support children to overcome barriers to learning. They have oversight of the local community's needs and take action to offer all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, opportunities to take part in a variety of rich learning experiences.