Mischief & Giggles Ltd. T/a Twinkle Toes Private Day Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders strive to provide children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to their learning, with the very best care and learning. They swiftly identify gaps in learning and when children or their families may need additional support. They work closely with outside professionals, such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and early help specialists. They act on their advice and effectively implement their suggested strategies into daily routines. Children receive high-quality care, interactions and support to enable them to join in activities at their own pace. Consequently, they make the best possible progress from their individual starting points.

Leaders and staff attend extensive amounts of training to enable them to support children with SEND and those who have more complex medical needs. This enables all children to attend nursery and ensures that their wellbeing is successfully met at all times.

Leaders and staff use a variety of communication methods, such as signs, pictures and objects of reference. This enables all children to communicate their needs in their own individual way. Leaders consider how best to spend funding to ensure that it is purposeful and enriches the outcomes for the children it is intended for.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is tailored to the needs of each individual child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning. The main focus of the curriculum is to enable all children to be ready for the next stage of their learning journey. Leaders review planning and children's next steps for learning to ensure that they are individualised and relevant for each child's stage of development. Leaders are extremely mindful that not all children learn at the same pace. They monitor children's achievement and support staff to adapt activities to enable all children to participate.

Communication and language are threaded through all activities. Staff use a language assessment tool to enable them to swiftly identify where children may need additional support. They engage children in conversations, ask questions and wait for a response. However, on occasions, staff do not consistently extend children's learning or recognise when activities are too long and children lose focus. Furthermore, there are times when the organisation of activities, especially just before lunchtime, does not encourage all children to participate in purposeful play.

Leaders and staff carry out home visits to observe children in their home environment. They make home learning packs and demonstrate to parents how they can use these to continue their child's learning at home.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are generally well prepared for the next stage of their learning. However, there are some inconsistencies in the quality of the experiences children receive. Children are able to communicate and make their needs known in their own individual way, such as through language, signs or gestures. Older children negotiate with each other as they play. Younger children learn the names of animals and the sounds they make.

All children develop physical skills. Younger babies and children with more complex needs learn to walk due to the ongoing support they receive. Older children ride bikes with dexterity and use their hand muscles to undo buttons on a large mat. Children learn mathematical concepts. They begin to understand full and empty as they scoop rice into containers and talk about throwing a ball over an object.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff foster an inclusive culture of mutual respect throughout the nursery. Staff and children are polite and use manners. For example, staff apologise to children for interrupting their play when it is time for lunch. Children learn to share with their friends and take turns as they play. Staff introduce strategies such as egg timers, so that children know when they must get off the bike and let someone else have a turn. Staff provide simple explanations to children when they take toys off another child, and ask them to consider how it may make their friend feel. They explain to children that it does not matter if other children put an object upside down on a button mat because the important thing is that everyone has a turn and tries to do their best.

Children are confident to share ideas and negotiate with each other. For example, as they throw balls and catch them on sticky gloves, they decide where they will stand and who will throw first. They talk about their favourite fairy tale princess and eagerly show how to dance like them as they twirl around the room.

Leaders explain to parents the importance of regular attendance. They support them to recognise that it is to enable children to build strong foundations for learning and to help them understand the expectations for attending school.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing is given top priority. It is at the heart of everything that leaders and staff strive for. Leaders and staff have a comprehensive knowledge of each child's individual needs, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with more complex medical needs. Staff have attended specialised training to enable them to meet the individual needs of all children. This includes training to ensure that they fully understand and implement safer sleeping practices.

Relationships between staff and children are gentle and respectful. Children actively seek out staff for a reassuring cuddle if they are unsure or upset. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Information is gathered from parents before children start so that routines from home can be followed. This, along with a specifically designed calm environment, helps babies in particular to settle quickly.

Children become increasingly independent in their self-care. They learn the importance of making healthy choices. Staff embed well-structured routines to help children to understand the importance of healthy lifestyles. Children enjoy healthy food, such as fruit and salad, which they serve themselves. They talk about what foods are good for them and what they need to help them grow big and strong. Staff feed younger babies their bottles next to the table, where older babies are tasting a variety of fruits. This helps even the youngest of children to feel included at their own level.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

The nursery benefits from a cohesive, knowledgeable and highly enthusiastic leadership team. Their passion for providing top-quality care and learning for children is evident. They are extremely forward thinking and regularly reflect on practice. They have identified that the curriculum needs to be fully embedded into practice, so that staff are able to extend children's learning spontaneously. Leaders introduce new and innovative ideas to further children's enjoyment in their learning. They have made significant progress since the last inspection. They work to staff's strengths and value their individualised expertise. Leaders have implemented welfare and wellbeing checks for staff. Staff talk about how supported they feel by leaders, both at work and in personal situations.

Staff attend copious amounts of training to further their professional development. Leaders empower staff to further their own knowledge, depending on their interests and individual need. They introduce research sessions in staff meetings and reflection sessions to discuss serious case reviews. Leaders carry out peer reviews and model high-quality practice to further staff's knowledge and skills.

Leaders have a detailed overview of the local demographic area. They have made significant changes to meals to support healthy eating for children. Every child receives an oral health bag to take home, which includes a toothbrush, toothpaste, a timer and a song. Leaders and staff talk to children about the importance of healthy eating and oral hygiene.

Partnerships with other professionals are extremely robust. Leaders share in-depth information to ensure all children receive the support they need to enable them to thrive. They provide parents with detailed assessments and regular updates on their children's learning and development. Parents speak highly of the support leaders and staff provide for their children and say that they are excellent.