Kingsteignton Day Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders have extremely high aspirations for all children. They monitor children's progress with precision. Children's individual needs are identified swiftly. Referrals to agencies to provide early support, such as for speech and language, are prioritised, and children receive the right support at the right time. Staff build strong bonds with families, and they work together effectively to develop a detailed understanding of what teaching strategies and learning opportunities best support their children to thrive.

Practice is inclusive. Leaders meet with staff regularly to discuss their key children's progression and any barriers to learning, development and wellbeing. Leaders ensure that staff training best promotes progress for the children in their care and helps them meticulously assess, plan and review the support they provide. Leaders carefully consider how additional funding is best spent to help children who need targeted support. Leaders review the impact of targeted teaching and adapt support as needed. This promotes progress for all children. Simple sign language such as Makaton is used consistently by staff during group activities to support children's communication and understanding. Children enjoy using it as they sing songs to greet each other and learn to sign the days of the week.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The curriculum is well sequenced and builds on what children already know and can do. Leaders prioritise supporting children's personal, social and emotional skills to flourish. The curriculum supports staff to build children's knowledge and skills systematically. Monitoring of children's development is part of everyday practice. Group opportunities are matched well to children's individual needs and promote progress. At times, however, when children engage with activities of their choosing, staff interactions with them do not consistently develop children's knowledge and understanding to help them gain fully from the learning experience. Although leaders are prioritising this as a focus area for development, improvements are still in progress.

Staff support children's language skills to develop well. The learning environment is full of language. Staff promote children's love of stories, rhymes, songs and books, and children enjoy exploring these with their friends. Younger children enjoy learning a story about a bear hunt as they act the story out together, traipsing through a tyre trail. Older children support younger ones as they steady each other and develop balancing skills. During group activities, staff promote communication and language skills particularly well.

Staff support children's early mathematics skills to develop. As children play outside, staff lead a game where children develop counting skills as they take steps to match the number given. The development of children's physical skills is well supported by staff. Babies who are beginning to walk are offered frequent opportunities to take steps. Staff offer support and encouragement as they hold babies' hands and cheer as their confidence and skills bloom. Older children develop coordination and spatial awareness skills as they enjoy travelling on trikes. Staff model how to catch a ball, and children show high levels of concentration as they repeatedly try until they succeed.

Achievement: Expected standard

Babies are developing well. They develop personal, social and emotional skills that prepare them well for future learning. Children of all ages make steady progress in their physical development. Babies develop core strength, balance and coordination as staff encourage them to take steps as they hold their hands. Children of all ages are typically achieving well from their starting points and generally achieve across all areas of the curriculum. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make continual progress from their starting points. Overall, preschool children are well prepared for starting school. For example, they develop high levels of independence and resilience that support them to achieve when they face a challenge. Children show positive behaviours for learning. These foster children's curiosity and promote achievement.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have very high expectations for children's behaviour and attitudes to learning, and children strive to meet these. Leaders work in close harmony with families. They prioritise frequent communication between parents and carers and nursery staff. This promotes an extremely secure shared understanding of the importance of high levels of attendance in supporting all children to progress. If children do not arrive as expected, staff contact parents swiftly for a welfare call and to offer support.

Babies have positive and secure attachments with their key persons that promote a positive learning environment. Staff have established daily routines and activities that foster confidence in children. Children consistently demonstrate highly positive attitudes to their learning. They are familiar with daily group-learning opportunities and excitedly cheer when invited to morning group time. Even the youngest of children eagerly sit and wait in anticipation for the activity to start.

Staff skilfully support children to develop respectful, caring, responsive relationships. They model speaking with compassion and thinking of others' feelings. In turn, children readily and confidently offer each other help, encouragement and praise. For example, as staff support toddlers to retell a familiar story, children independently take turns at sharing stuffed farm animals that match the characters in the story. Children show high levels of care and respect for each other as they check that the activity is fair and all their friends are included in the fun.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and staff provide an extremely safe, inviting and nurturing environment. Children transition seamlessly from their parents. They enter the nursery full of excitement and eager to see friends. They settle immediately and show confidence in the familiarity of the daily routines.

Children's health and wellbeing are successfully supported. Nappy-changing procedures are consistent and ensure children are comfortable and clean throughout the day. Staff support children with toilet training, and parents comment that staff support with this has made the process successful for their child. Staff have a good understanding of safer sleep practices and ensure children are monitored throughout nap time.

Staff skilfully support children to recognise, express and manage their emotions and develop a secure sense of emotional wellbeing. Staff speak with children as they observe them finding something challenging. For example, when helping children have a fair share of food at snack time, staff take time to acknowledge and name how children are feeling and speak with them about possible solutions to help them and their friends all feel happier. Children learn to make their own choice to share, and staff are quick to recognise their thoughtfulness.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders monitor progress robustly. They accurately identify aspects of their setting for improvement and adapt provision to best support learning and development experiences of children. They are working on embedding the improvements needed.

Leaders have established strong working relationships with families, which support children to achieve and thrive in both learning and development. They have adapted practice to best support children's progress. For example, parents' meetings take place over a week, and parents can visit at a variety of times. Staff are flexible and strive to meet with all parents so that a shared understanding of children's progress and next steps in learning can be established to best support children's individual needs.

Staff wellbeing is high. Leaders value staff's professional expertise and detailed knowledge of each of their key children. Staff receive support from leaders when they ask, and professional development opportunities are provided to ensure skills and knowledge remain of a high standard. Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings, which focus on wellbeing and provide opportunities to discuss key children and any concerns. Staff have many opportunities for professional development and engage well with these. Staff feel valued and are passionate about the learning and care experiences they provide for children.