Loving Hands International Nursery School Ltd

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders are dedicated to and passionate about inclusion. They get to know children and families very well from the start, including through arranged home visits. Leaders go to great efforts to involve parents to share important information about children's abilities. They use this information, alongside their own observations and assessments, to develop a detailed understanding of individual children's needs, likes, interests and family circumstances. Leaders ensure that staff receive high-quality training and guidance to support individual children's changing needs. As a result, children receive high-quality support to help them thrive and achieve their full potential.

Leaders and staff follow a 'graduated approach', with a great emphasis on early identification and early intervention. They work effectively with all professionals involved in children's development, such as speech and language therapists, and implement strategies to support children in their learning and development. Leaders and staff work together consistently well to ensure every child makes progress they are capable of.

Staff are skilled and effectively support children who are learning English as an additional language. For example, they use key words from children's home languages during play and learning. This strengthens the foundations of each child's home language, supports their understanding of routines and fosters a highly secure sense belonging.

Leaders ensure that children who receive the early years pupil premium funding benefit highly from its use. For example, they carefully decide on and provide specific resources that children have no access to at home. Additionally, they arrange targeted one-to-one sessions for children to build on their communication and language development. This helps children make more rapid progress.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff understand how children learn. They design the curriculum to ensure that all children develop a broad range of skills through the varied learning experiences on offer. Leaders and staff adjust teaching and ensure that every child achieves their full potential. All children benefit from the high-quality curriculum and develop skills in all areas of learning and development.

Staff generally tailor teaching based on what children already know and what they need to learn next. For example, staff identify when children need to develop physical strength and provide suitable activities that encourage them to use their fine motor skills. Staff arrange 'play-dough discos', and encourage children to squeeze, pinch and squash dough with their hands. Staff skilfully use mathematical language and encourage children to recognise sizes, shapes, measure and directions.

Staff support children's communication and language development well. They use simple language and repetition to support babies' and young children's listening and attention skills. Staff encourage children to join in with songs and rhymes, and encourage them to recognise the noises of animals and describe their colours and sizes. Staff regularly read to children. They ask relevant questions to help older children to recall their favourite stories.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make good progress in their learning from their starting points and are generally well prepared for the next stage in their education. They develop effective communication and language skills, using both non-verbal and verbal ways to express their needs and wants. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children have opportunities to learn words in other languages, such as Spanish and French. They show focus and attention during these sessions. Children gain expected knowledge in their mathematical development. For example, young children learn the names of colours and shapes, and older children associate numbers with different amounts of resources.

Children develop confidence in social situations and show a kind and caring approach towards one another. They develop independence skills and proudly manage self-care tasks by themselves. Babies practise self-feeding, while toddlers and pre-schoolers wipe their noses and understand the need to wash their hands to keep germs away. Children strengthen their small-muscle movements through a range of exercises, such as threading and cutting with scissors. Children develop appropriate physical skills, including the balance and coordination needed to support their future development. They develop an understanding of healthy choices and discuss which foods are unhealthy for their bodies.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff establish clear expectations for children's behaviour and routines across the nursery. Staff have attended training on positive behaviour management, which has had a positive impact on developing effective strategies to support children's behaviour.

Staff are positive role models and encourage all children to develop positive relationships with their peers. They support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities with the use of visual aids. For example, they teach children to use pictures to help them recognise and communicate different feelings and emotions. This helps them to understand what is expected of them, and they generally behave well. Children learn to share resources and take turns when playing with one another. Staff manage minor behavioural incidents in a calm and sensitive manner. This helps children understand the impact of their actions on others. Children show respect for one another and learn to value each other's differences.

Children develop positive attitudes to learning and the routines in the setting. They are eager to try new things and develop a 'can-do' attitude as they explore the learning environment. Staff teach children to look after their environment. For example, they know that they need to tidy up resources once they have finished playing with them.

Leaders promote the importance of regular attendance. They work very well with families and explain the impact of absences on children's learning and development. Leaders work with parents and effectively support children to settle back into the nursery routines following longer absences.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure that all staff follow and implement safe eating and safe sleeping arrangements. For example, they do not ensure that children are always within their sight and hearing while eating. Staff do not recognise the risk of choking. This compromises children's health and safety. Staff have poor knowledge of safe sleeping arrangements. They do not place all children under the age of 2 on a firm, flat surface. Instead, they rock them to sleep in the bouncy chair. This does not support or protect children's health and safety.

Staff do not keep written records of accidents and first-aid treatment provided to children as required. This causes inconsistencies in information-sharing and does not protect children's welfare and wellbeing. Leaders fail to ensure that the required staff-to-child ratios are maintained. They have poor oversight of staff deployment. For example, they fail to identify that children are not adequately supervised by staff during transitions and mealtimes. This compromises children's safety.

Leaders place an emphasis on the emotional wellbeing of all children and their families. They arrange home visits to get to know children in their home environment and tailor the length of settling-in sessions to meet the needs of individual children. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, benefit from an effective key-person approach. Staff are responsive to children's immediate care needs. For example, they recognise when children need a nappy change or a cuddle. Children develop a trusting and positive relationship with their key person, who knows them well. All children are active and enjoy playing outdoors in the fresh air. Staff support children to develop appropriate hygiene routines, such as handwashing before mealtimes.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

Leaders' poor oversight of staff practice has a significant impact on children's welfare and wellbeing. Leaders do not recognise when policies and procedures are not being followed, particularly for safer eating and sleeping and the recording of accidents. They do not ensure that staff-to-child ratios are maintained, for example when children arrive at nursery. Leaders fail to monitor staff deployment to ensure children are supervised during key routines, particularly at mealtimes. This negatively impacts children's safety and wellbeing. Leaders do not report concerns about children's welfare to relevant agencies as promptly as required. This compromises children's welfare.

Despite this, staff feel supported and valued by leaders, both personally and professionally. Staff wellbeing is of importance. They receive regular supervision and tailored training to build on their teaching practice and positive interactions with children. As a result, all children benefit from a broad and well-taught curriculum, which helps them prepare for their next stage in learning.

Leaders and staff develop a strong inclusive culture across the setting, where every child feels included and well supported in their learning and development. They work effectively with parents, other professionals and the wider community. Leaders and staff provide support to families, including via workshops to support their children's development, for example about toilet training. Parents feel well informed about their children's daily experiences, care and learning. They benefit from regular information-sharing on how to support their children's learning at home. This supports continuity in children's learning and development.