Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Hartley Wintney

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff know their responsibilities to support children who have or may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or other barriers to their learning. They monitor children's development closely, identify any emerging gaps and take steps to close these. This includes putting individual education plans in place for children when appropriate. These identify areas of learning that need more support to help children progress. Staff adapt activities to help children build on their learning and support their progress. They regularly review children's progress through observations and assessments.

Leaders and staff hold discussions with parents about any emerging concerns linked to their child's development. They make referrals to other professionals when needed. Leaders and staff understand the importance of following other professionals' guidance to help support children's needs. Those with lead responsibilities for SEND are due to complete specific training to further support their knowledge about their role.

Leaders and staff gain information about children's backgrounds on entry. They use this information well, liaising with parents about how they celebrate festivals and religious dates of importance to them. This helps staff provide appropriate activities to help celebrate and include children's backgrounds, which develops other children's awareness of the wider world.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have a secure understanding of the individual learning needs of children, including those with barriers to their learning and special educational needs and/or disabilities. They have a curriculum that focuses on developing children's skills and knowledge across all areas of learning over time. Staff use observations and assessments well to identify children's learning needs or areas of the curriculum that may need more focus. Staff typically understand what they are teaching and how activities support children's learning.

Staff plan activities across all areas of learning to help children build on their knowledge and skills. They identify activities for individual children, including those with additional learning needs, to help close gaps in their development and progress. For example, staff plan specific activities to support children's physical skills. Staff support children's independence. For example, toddlers develop their hand-eye coordination as they learn to balance the jug and pour their drinks at snack time. Staff consider children's emotional wellbeing sensitively. They use stories and characters from books to help children recognise and learn how to manage their feelings.

Staff typically interact during play and activities at the same level as the children. Some staff provide more effective teaching to children. These staff use routines well to build on children's learning, such as encouraging discussions and modelling language to younger children. Staff read books to children regularly throughout the day and sing songs and rhymes with them, which helps support children's language development. Staff weave in mathematical learning appropriately during activities, such as counting and identifying sizes and quantities.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make steady progress and gain skills for their future learning, including those who may have barriers to their learning or special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children are interested in their play and learning and are happy to take part in activities. For example, older children engage well as they sing to a musical instrument being played. Children develop confidence in completing tasks. For instance, pre-school children choose their lunch and carry their plate to the table and learn to use cutlery to cut up and eat their food. This helps to prepare them for school. Children show awareness of numbers and counting and gain understanding of mathematical and positional language, such as 'heavy', 'top' and 'bottom'. All ages of children enjoy books and songs regularly through the day. They benefit from a lending library, which encourages reading and learning at home. Babies and toddlers show they are learning the words and actions to familiar songs. Older children remember prior learning, such as pre-school children recalling what ingredients they need to make play dough and parts of a musical instrument during a music session.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff and leaders form caring, positive relationships with children. Children are keen to attend, enjoy their play and activities, and feel safe and secure in the staff's care. Leaders provide information to parents about the expectations of children's attendance and have clear procedures to follow should there be any concerns regarding this. Staff typically provide consistent daily routines to children. They offer babies sleep routines similar to home, which helps provide a familiar daily routine to them.

Leaders and staff recognise the importance of supporting all children's behaviour. They give praise to children about what they do well. Staff are generally positive role models to children. They are calm and respectful to their colleagues, for example. Not all staff consistently promote some behaviour expectations, such as modelling good manners with the younger children. Occasionally, staff do not recognise times to remind older children about the behaviour expectations, such as when play between children becomes more physical. This does not always guide children's developing understanding of respectful interactions with others.

Staff identify children who need extra help to manage their feelings and emotions. They provide well-considered support to children who struggle with this aspect of their development. This includes calm, quiet spaces for children to spend time in and offering cuddles and time to talk about their feelings and emotions. This supports children who need additional help with their feelings and behaviour well.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff welcome children warmly on arrival and develop close bonds with them. Children are happy and settled and develop a positive sense of belonging at the nursery. They leave their parents easily on arrival. When needed, staff give children caring support as they arrive. They reassure parents that their children have settled if children have found it difficult to leave them.

Leaders have identified effective procedures to support and protect children's welfare and wellbeing. This includes recognising and acting on any potential concerns relating to children's welfare. They have established routines that ensure privacy for all children during toileting and nappy changing. Staff have a clear understanding of these expectations and implement them consistently.

Staff and children follow good hygiene procedures, including regular handwashing. Staff support children to recognise their self-care needs, such as using tissues. Staff generally promote children's independence. For instance, babies start learning how to clean their hands and faces after eating.

Leaders ensure that there is a healthy, well-balanced diet that meets children's individual dietary needs. Staff demonstrate they know and understand the process for managing children's individual dietary requirements, such as being aware of any allergies. Staff typically help children develop their awareness of healthy lifestyles. For example, they plan activities to help children learn about brushing their teeth. Staff generally promote children's awareness about the healthy food they eat and why it is good for their bodies.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders are engaged and hands-on in the nursery to help support the staff team. They reflect on the quality of the nursery and identify areas to continue to develop, such as enhancing the curriculum. They make improvements to the nursery, such as extending the areas used for the care of babies to offer resources and an environment better suited to different stages of development. They have created a natural play area for children to explore and understand more about the world.

Leaders typically know and understand the quality of the provision and practice, and they take steps to develop and improve this. They generally support staff's professional development and training well, although they do not always precisely identify and develop staff's skills and practice further. Staff speak positively about their work and the support they receive from leaders. For instance, leaders organise staffing to ensure that there are additional staff working above the required staff-to-child ratios. This provides further support to both children and staff.

There are very positive partnerships and communication with parents. Parents speak highly about the staff and their children's experiences. Leaders and staff make links with other settings children attend, which helps to promote continuity of children's learning and care needs. They involve themselves in the local community and participate in events with children. This helps children gain experience and understanding of their local community.