Little Peaches Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Typically, leaders and staff develop relationships with parents and carers at the onset of their children's care. They find out about children's individual needs and past experiences. Leaders and staff find out about any potential barriers to children's learning and if they have attended another nursery previously, or if this is their first experience. This helps staff to provide a settling-in package relevant and specific to each child's needs. Leaders and staff liaise with a range of other professionals involved in children's lives, for example foster carers, social workers and health visitors.

Many children who attend speak English as an additional language. Staff generally use what they know about children to plan for their next steps in their learning. Staff demonstrate an awareness of adaptations that can be made to the environment to cater for all children's individual needs, providing an inclusive environment.

The special educational needs coordinators have experience of working with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They generally support staff to identify early signs and indicators of potential developmental delay and take action to inform parents at the earliest opportunity. This helps to ensure they can work together and that staff can provide support to parents in relation to any referrals that may be required. This helps children to receive intervention in a timely way.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders support staff to develop a curriculum that supports children's learning. Staff find out from parents and carers what their children already know and can do. Staff plan activities to incorporate children's interests and their next steps in their learning. Older children have opportunities to have fun with their friends. They build on existing skills and develop new ones that enhance their independence in readiness for school. Children engage in a broad range of experiences throughout the day.

Staff provide opportunities for younger children to enjoy involving others in their play. Children share their dolls and encourage interaction, demonstrating how to wrap their dolls in a blanket. The youngest of children enjoy one-to-one time with staff. Staff skilfully support children to look at books and concentrate and engage throughout the story. Leaders are aware that occasionally the adult-led activities that staff provide for the younger children are not as ambitious as they could be. They are in the process of supporting some staff to improve their work when considering activities to deliver the curriculum successfully. This includes ensuring activities, such as making play dough, provide children with as many opportunities as possible, for example for the children to be involved at each stage of the process, to sustain their interests and enhance their learning.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children achieve generally well in relation to their starting points. Pre-school children's overall skills develop at a positive rate. They progress well in their communication and language and personal and social skills. Older children readily converse with one another and staff as they play, such as sharing their experiences about a trip to the dentist. They work together to move a large parachute up and down, having fun by hiding underneath it.

Overall, younger children make some progress across the 7 areas of learning. Their physical development grows as they begin to learn how to hold and manage a book, turning the pages over and starting at the beginning. Children's vocabulary and language skills develop well. They learn new vocabulary throughout routine times of the day, such as snack time. Children listen and repeat new and less familiar words they hear, such as 'watermelon'.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff who work predominantly with the older children support them effectively to behave well, to be respectful to adults and to one another. They take opportunities with all children to praise them for a job well done. Staff provide clear explanations about sharing resources, such as colouring pens, to help children to change their behaviour in a positive and timely way. However, the practice from some staff working with the younger children is at times not as effective. Occasionally, staff do not explain to children the consequences of their behaviour and instead simply tell them not to climb or run indoors. This means that the younger children do not receive consistent support to understand the difference between right and wrong.

Staff help children to know the routines well. Children know when it is time to sit at the table for snacks and meals and how to prepare for going outside on sunny days. Older children approach activities that are introduced with enthusiasm, such as playing outdoors on the new trampoline. Staff promote all children's attendance effectively. They initiate the strategies in place to follow if children do not attend in a timely way.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Children's welfare and wellbeing are compromised. Leaders have failed to ensure children are effectively supervised at all times. Leaders have not taken action and followed safeguarding policies and procedures. As a result, the safety and wellbeing of the children is not assured.

Staff greet children on arrival. Children who are less settled have a cuddle with staff until they are ready to play. This helps children to feel that they belong.

Overall, children learn about a healthy lifestyle and are introduced to foods that will support this. Fruit is frequently featured as a snack and a dessert. Children readily tuck into slices of orange, grapes and watermelon. This helps children to try foods that may be less familiar to them and broaden their palette.

Older children typically access activities to help them understand the importance of positive oral health. They also know why they need to wear sun protection cream in the sun. Older children visit the bathroom independently and are supervised by staff to ensure they effectively wash their hands. This helps to reduce the spread of germs and equips children well with the skills they need when they move on to school. In the main, younger children have some opportunities to practise self-care, such as being encouraged to wipe their faces clean after lunch.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

The provider has failed to maintain effective oversight of the nursery. There are breaches of the early years foundation stage that have put children's safety and welfare at risk. Leaders do not fully understand their responsibilities regarding complaints about the nursery, informing Ofsted of significant events, and how to manage safeguarding concerns or act in line with their local safeguarding procedures.

Leaders are aware of the setting's strengths and some of the areas for improvement. However, some aspects of the provision that would benefit from improvement are not always swiftly identified. Leaders have devised effective settling-in processes to enable children to settle as quickly as possible and begin their learning. Leaders identify professional development opportunities for individual staff. They are currently in the early stages of reviewing the support and training needed for staff working with the younger children.

Leaders are aware of any barriers to learning that children may face and the support that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities require. They work collaboratively with other professionals involved in children's care and learning. When children move to another nursery, leaders provide the new setting with information about the child, their current stage of development and next steps in their learning. This promotes a smooth transition for children and their families.

Staff do not frequently share information with parents about their children's next steps in their learning. Parents concur with this too, commenting that their children's learning is not frequently shared in a timely way for them to support their children's learning at home. That said, parents and carers overall are positive about the care and education their children receive. They comment that their children experience warm relationships with their key person and make positive progress regarding speaking in English.