Knight Hill Day Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff know the children very well. They are proactive in swiftly and accurately identifying when children may need additional help and support. Leaders and staff work in a positive partnership with parents and other agencies to make adaptations to the provision in order to offer high-quality support to all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or known (or previously known) to children's social care. For example, staff use visual timetables with some children, which parents then also use at home. This successfully supports children to understand and prepare for what is going to happen next and helps them to regulate their behaviour.

Progress and achievement are meticulously tracked and reviewed. This enables staff to quickly identify which strategies are working well and make changes if they are less successful. This supports all children to make secure progress.

Leaders ensure that staff all complete a range of training, with a focus on providing high-quality support for all children, including those with SEND or other additional needs. Staff have an in-depth understanding of how to implement and review the progress of this group of children. This demonstrates the positive impact of the training.

Leaders use additional funding carefully and match to the needs of individual children to support areas of need. For example, children's physical development was well supported by a specialist dance and movement instructor during additional sessions.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders are reflective, knowledgeable and ambitious for the nursery, staff and children. They review their practice regularly and use their findings to make changes that improve outcomes for children. For instance, the nursery now has improved areas for eating, where children benefit from a focused social experience at mealtimes, free from distractions.

Leaders have developed a curriculum with a focus on the key skills and knowledge that children need to be successful and that builds on prior learning. Babies explore simple board books and listen with interest as the staff talk about the pictures. Older children sit in the cosy book corner and share a book together, chattering about what they can see on the pages. Children use mathematical language as they discuss the sizes of worms in the outdoor area and how much more sawdust they need to fill a pot in the mud kitchen. This demonstrates the positive impact of the curriculum on children's communication skills and vocabulary.

Outside, children climb under and over large equipment and dig in the soil. They enjoy opportunities to visit nearby parks, where they play parachute games and run among the trees. These activities support the development of children's physical skills and their appreciation of the natural world around them.

Staff use assessment to identify what children know and can do, and to identify their next steps. However, occasionally, staff focus on the outcome of the activity as opposed to what they want children to learn or practise. At these times, teaching is not as sharply focused on supporting children to achieve their next steps, and progress is not as secure.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children typically achieve well from their starting points. Overall, they make secure progress across the curriculum, although minor weaknesses in curriculum and teaching occasionally impact on the progress children make. Children who face barriers in their learning are settled and able to learn because routines and expectations are predictable.

Babies develop their physical skills effectively, confidently crawling to reach items and grasping hold of books tightly. They show increasing independence and determination. Toddlers are highly engaged, enthusiastically scooping up pasta shapes and snapping longer pasta to a manageable size, then carefully filling a container. This develops their fine motor skills and their hand-eye coordination well. Outside, older children are involved in detailed discussions as they look for worms in a soil bed. They measure the worms and talk about the comparative lengths and sizes. This activity demonstrates their developing mathematical language.

Children are supported and encouraged to be as independent as possible. For example, they put on their coats by themselves, wash their own hands and carefully put away their lunch boxes. Children learn to listen carefully and to try to close out distractions. This means that they are well prepared for their next steps, such as starting school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

There are very clear expectations for behaviour at the nursery, which all children understand. Children behave extremely well. On the very few occasions where children display less than positive behaviour, staff intervene quickly. For example, when children want the same toy car, staff skilfully discuss with the children what they could do to resolve their differences. Children respond positively, agreeing to share the car or use another one.

Relationships between staff and children are warm, caring and highly respectful. Babies enjoy lots of cuddles and laughter as they snuggle up with staff and share a book in the cosy and welcoming environment of the baby room. They listen intently to a story about a farm and point to the pictures of the animals as staff turn the pages. This demonstrates their engagement with the story. In the outside area, children work collaboratively in the mud kitchen. They help each other to lift wood chips out of a big bag and to collect herbs to add to their pretend cooking. Children politely thank each other for helping, without being reminded. This demonstrates the positive impact of the high expectations that leaders and staff have for the children.

Leaders work with families to ensure regular attendance and punctuality. This supports children to engage consistently in their learning and make sustained progress over time.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders and staff provide a home-from-home atmosphere where children are happy, confident and curious learners. Staff support children to recognise and express their emotions. For example, they read and discuss stories that have a focus on different feelings that the children may experience. This is further developed for some children, who use jars filled with coloured marbles as a resource to identify and discuss their feelings and emotions. These opportunities help children to recognise and discuss their feelings and to regulate their emotions and behaviour.

Staff teach children to manage their personal hygiene. For example, children wash their hands for snack. Staff support children effectively as they prepare snack. Children concentrate well as as they carefully peel fruit and independently cut it up into portions, encouraged by the kindly and enthusiastic staff.

Babies and children show high levels of trust and attachment to the adults in the nursery. They seek reassurance and comfort from familiar adults if they are upset or unsure about anything. For example, children initially hold the hand of their key person when challenging themselves when balancing on the outdoor equipment. Routines such as sleeping, weaning and feeding are carefully tailored to reflect each child's stage of development. These strong attachments and thoughtfully planned care practices promote children's emotional wellbeing and build their self-confidence.

Overall, children are well supported to develop an understanding of how to be healthy and safe. They get lots of exercise and fresh air in the outside area. They enjoy a healthy snack and choose between water or milk to drink. However, staff do not make the most of the curriculum to help children understand the risks of using digital technology and how to keep themselves safe online.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders are highly committed to continually improving what the nursery offers to children and families. They have a clear picture of strengths and areas for development. For example, they have reviewed and refined the curriculum to better support all children to regulate their own behaviour and enable children to settle more quickly. Leaders have developed a curriculum that is ambitious for all children who attend, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children with barriers to their learning.

Leaders promote effective partnerships with parents and outside agencies to support all children to be engaged and confident learners. Parents and carers are full of praise and appreciation for the kindness and support shown to the whole family, especially at challenging times. Leaders work to support children and their wider families, for example, ensuring that families access their full entitlement of time at nursery and by signposting to resources and support.

Staff report that they are well supported by leaders who genuinely care about them. They say that they enjoy coming to work and feel valued. Regular supervisions take place to review practice, discuss areas of strength and development and to support staff's wellbeing. Staff complete regular training, such as how to better support children to regulate their own behaviour. This enables staff to offer enhanced behaviour support to all children.