Magic Roundabout Nurseries Ltd

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff know children's home backgrounds and needs securely. They work closely with parents and any outside agencies involved to support and meet the needs of children and their families.

Staff create an environment, where all children feel included and can thrive. Leaders ensure staff receive regular training to enable them to understand how they can support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, they have created a sensory room and staff understand how they can use this room to support children to regulate how they are feeling. Leaders ensure staff involved in supporting the learning of children with SEND receive regular updates and advise them on adapting their teaching strategies. This enables staff to implement individual learning plans and tailor activities to children's needs.

Leaders and staff monitor children's development, ensuring they identify any children who may require additional support. Children who need extra support progress well, and any gaps in development are quickly closed. Additional funding is used well to help meet children's individual needs. For example, children with vulnerable health issues are sensitively supported. Leaders are supporting staff to develop their skills in using sign language to promote all children's communication and language skills.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff provide a broad and balanced curriculum, prioritising fundamental skills. Staff plan activities that offer a wide range of experiences that reflect children's interests. They consistently encourage children to explore the environment and resources and to be curious. Staff use their accurate assessments of children's abilities to identify what children need to learn next. They adapt activities and their teaching to provide tailored support to help close any gaps in children's learning. Consequently, all children's learning is promoted, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, at times during daily routines, such as mealtimes, children experience prolonged waiting. This leads to times when they are not engaged in learning new skills.

Staff use stories to support children's communication and language development. They read stories with the youngest children, allowing them to become familiar with turning pages and give them time to look at the pictures. Older children listen to familiar stories and staff use props to engage children. Occasionally staff do not support children to use language themselves. For example, younger children do not consistently have opportunities to use new vocabulary and older children are not given time to share their own thoughts and ideas.

Children's physical development and personal, social and emotional skills are prioritised throughout the day. Staff engage children in conversation as they play together. They model rolling balls to babies and talk about the importance of sharing toys. Staff sing number rhymes with children, developing their early understanding of number names and counting.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, enjoy a variety of activities and develop knowledge and skills across all areas of the curriculum. They make age-appropriate progress from their starting points as they are well supported by staff while they play. Babies develop their physical skills as they crawl towards toys and resources they want to play with. Pre-school children enjoy imaginative play as they make food with their friends in the role play area. Babies and toddlers develop their independence as they learn to feed themselves and older children are take responsibility for small jobs, such as filling the jugs with water.

Typically, children develop their social skills as they learn to play with each other and become increasingly aware of how they are feeling. Toddlers become aware of different emotions as they talk about what makes them feel happy. Babies develop their small muscles as they play in the water. Pre-school children have secure attachments to staff in their room.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff implement age-appropriate strategies to help children understand how they are expected to behave. This includes talking to older children about the setting's expectations, which helps them understand what positive behaviour looks like. Staff provide appropriate praise when children behave well, so they generally require very little help to show positive behaviour.

Staff support children to learn how to take turns and share resources. They plan activities to help children practise these skills, such as encouraging them to take turns to stack blocks on top of each other to make a tower. Staff enable children to learn about regulating their emotions and to understand how they feel. For example, staff encourage children to talk about how they are feeling and why, such as, feeling excited about dancing together. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively. For example, they adapt their practice and use sensory activities for younger children.

Children enjoy a range of learning opportunities, such as independent play, group time and one-to-one activities. Children learn to work collaboratively with their friends and show respect towards each other. However, some routines, such as story times, are less well organised to ensure all children are able to engage. This means they are not fully supported to develop positive attitudes to learning.

Leaders recognise the importance of regular attendance. They work with parents to demonstrate the positive impact of this on children's welfare and development. Firm parental partnerships enable two-way information-sharing and openness.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff typically encourage children to become independent as they support them to freely choose their own play activities. Children are able to access resources to develop their own play ideas. Pre-school children find a picture of themselves when they arrive and put it into a play house to show they are present. Children pour their own drinks and serve their own food at meal times. Staff ensure that care practices, such as nappy changes, are carried out sensitively and meet children's individual needs. They ask children's permission before changing nappies and support older children to manage their own care needs.

Children develop an understanding of good hygiene routines and why these are important. For example, children know why they need to wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating. Children can talk to staff about how this keeps them safe from having germs on their hands as this could make them poorly. Parents value the care staff show towards the children, and comment their children are always talking about the staff they play with at nursery. Leaders ensure staff know their key children very well and understand their unique needs. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, show a positive attachment to their key person. For example, babies snuggle into staff for a cuddle when they become upset and quickly calm down as they feel reassured.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders are working to fully establish the setting and recruit and train staff to the high standard that they aspire to. Leaders follow robust recruitment procedures to ensure staff are safe and competent to work with children. They place importance on giving new and inexperienced staff time to understand their responsibilities and develop their skills. They provide effective support and coaching for staff for their professional development. For example, they regularly observe staff practice to target professional development opportunities to improve teaching, such as supporting staff to implement the nursery curriculum. Targeted training and coaching are delivered with care to develop staff confidence and skills and to promote consistency across the staff team. Staff feel they are valued and supported in their work by leaders and comment on the high morale.

Leaders have a very accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and weaknesses. They recognise the areas they would like to develop further and they put the individual needs of children at the heart of their decision making. However, they have not as yet had time to embed consistent practice across the team.

Leaders are proud of the parent partnerships they have developed, and they place great value on these relationships. As a result, parents say they feel very well supported by the nursery. Leaders are dedicated to creating an environment particularly suited to children who may face barriers to their learning and who require a calm setting in which to experience their early education. They ensure additional funding is used to target individual children's needs and understand how to apply for additional funding to help them provide necessary adaptations for children.