Manor House Minster Nursery Ltd

Inclusion: Strong standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing receive timely and effective support. Skilled leaders support staff to identify children who may require additional support and help them to implement detailed learning support plans. Leaders regularly seek advice from external professionals and swiftly implement ideas to help close children's gaps in their learning. Staff signpost parents to a range of professionals and support networks to help them at home. This ensures children get targeted, joined-up support to help them achieve exceptionally well from their starting points.

Leaders have robust processes in place to effectively monitor the support they offer children. They use assessment to consistently adapt both the physical setting and their approach to teaching, to support these children to a high standard. Staff make adaptations to ensure they include children with SEND and support them to cope with new situations, such as moving on to school.

Leaders provide a variety of focused training for staff to ensure they understand children with SEND and can support them effectively. Leaders carefully consider how to spend any additional funding children are entitled to. For example, they use it to provide one-to-one staffing, to support medical needs safely and for resources to help children with self-regulation.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Inconsistencies in staff's knowledge and skills mean that the curriculum design is often weak. Although staff provide activities that children generally enjoy, they do not clearly know what they intend children to learn from them. Staff monitor and assess their key children's skills. However, they are not skilled at tailoring their teaching to meet the needs of all children taking part in an activity. Leaders have some knowledge of the weaknesses regarding the quality of the curriculum and teaching. They have identified appropriate areas that they need to focus on, but this support has not yet had a positive enough impact.

Babies generally have their needs met and show they feel safe and secure. Staff support them with cuddles of reassurance and at times provide some interesting activities. On occasions, staff are preoccupied with other tasks or do not know how to engage well with babies to support their development. At these times, babies are left to wander or occupy themselves.

Staff teach children to develop their communication and language skills. This is particularly strong for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff sometimes read stories with children and sing songs. For younger babies and children with SEND, many staff use simple sign language to include them and support their communication effectively.

Children enjoy practising physical skills outdoors, such as how to kick and throw a ball and how to jump safely. For older children, staff focus on teaching children mathematical skills. For example, staff provide resources to help children learn to count, identify numbers and know their colours.

Achievement: Needs attention

Weaknesses in teaching mean that not all children remain engaged with activities or receive high-quality teaching experiences. This leads children to wander without a focus to their learning, or to leave activities that are not appropriately matched to their individual age and stage of development. Despite this, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do achieve well.

Children with SEND make good progress in their communication and speech with focused one-to-one teaching sessions. Older children receive some new vocabulary, but this is not consistently extended. The inconsistencies in positive interactions from staff mean that not all children make the progress they are capable of.

Children learn some independence skills and they learn to share and take turns. They are supported to learn social skills, and older children learn to begin to resolve conflict. Children who are transitioning to school are confident and curious about taking their next steps.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Weakness in staff practice mean that most children are not taught how to develop positive attitudes to their learning. Too often, children disengage from learning, or occupy themselves. At times of more positive interactions, staff use praise well to help children feel proud of their achievements.

Leaders have appropriate expectations for children's behaviour. Staff role model good relationships. They are patient and understanding when supporting children to resolve conflict. Staff plan sessions for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to spend time with other children and learn to build their social skills. Older children talk about their best friends and enjoy playing together with their peers.

Children typically build warm relationships with staff. Babies demonstrate a close bond to their key persons. Older children show they trust staff and ask them for help when they need it.

Older children are keen to follow the routines of the day, washing their hands before meals and lining up well to go on external visits.

Leaders work with children and families to promote the importance of regular attendance. They share their policies and expectations, establishing clear and consistent routines for children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Children are not given privacy when having their nappies changed or using the toilet. Although staff understand why it is important to teach children about privacy, they are not implementing this consistently. This does not teach children about positive hygiene practices and how to keep themselves safe.

Leaders are keen to keep consistent and familiar routines in place for children's wellbeing. For example, babies benefit from staff following their care and sleep routines from home where possible. Staff ensure they understand the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, they communicate with health professionals and parents to ensure children's medical needs are met safely and they are included in experiences.

Leaders create a welcoming space for children where they have free access to the outdoor garden areas. Children enjoy time outdoors, taking part in exercise and fresh air. They are provided with healthy cooked meals and are encouraged to use good manners at the table.

Staff get to know children and their families well so that they understand how to support their mental wellbeing. They lend stories and resources to families to support children to understand their difficult emotions and feelings. Children feel close to staff. Babies go to staff for comfort, and older children enjoy it when staff play with them.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders have identified areas of focus that they need to target to improve standards. However, any actions taken have not led to improvements quickly enough. They acknowledge that there are further areas that need improvement, some of which they had not identified prior to the inspection. Leaders are now keen to continue to support staff and implement the necessary changes.

Leaders work closely as a team and are supportive of each other. They are sensitive to staff's needs and take time to listen to them and provide regular supervision meetings. Leaders ensure they share their workload appropriately and give staff time to complete necessary paperwork during working hours.

Leaders regularly meet as a team to share ideas and discuss what training would benefit the setting. They are effective at identifying additional training to support staff to be able to deliver quality support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), for example to reduce these children's gaps in learning, and to address their emotions effectively.

Leaders engage effectively with parents to provide a continuity of care. Parents receive regular feedback on their child's learning and are given ideas for how to support their children further at home. Furthermore, leaders are skilled at working closely with external professionals to support the needs of children with SEND. They are quick to implement advice from professionals, leading to measurable improvements in their development and wellbeing.

Leaders focus well on supporting children to have a positive experience when they move on to school. They have strong links with the local primary school and support children to understand about their transition. For example, they share stories and photos to increase their familiarity. For children with SEND, leaders provide lots of support. For instance, they arrange additional transition days and share all pertinent information to support a smooth transition for them.