Nellie's Day Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations for all children, including those who may be more vulnerable than their peers. Where children may have barriers to their learning, such as showing indications they may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), staff and leaders are swift to respond to these and put support into place. This includes sharing concerns with parents in the first instance, before implementing strategies to support children. Support strategies include following individual learning plans, which help staff to break their planning down into clear, achievable steps. Children receive bespoke teaching, such as one-to-one time with their key member of staff to focus on these targets. Leaders and staff carefully assess the progress children make through these plans, and, if required, they contact external professionals for further support.

Leaders have a clear knowledge of the external support available. They work closely with the local health visiting team, speech and language therapists and the local authority early years SEND service to access advice and support as needed. Through their discussions with health visitors and parents, leaders have a good understanding of the needs of individual children and their families and use this knowledge to ensure that the support is effective. Parents speak very highly of the additional support their children receive and praise the nursery's communication and collaborative approach.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders undertake ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the quality and impact of the curriculum and teaching and have an action plan to bring about further improvements.

Teaching is typically effective across the setting. Key persons adapt activity planning to reflect the needs of each child. Overall, the curriculum is carefully planned to ensure that all areas of learning are covered. There is a clear focus on supporting communication and language, for example through stories and conversations as children play. However, this aspect of the curriculum lacks detail to guide staff to consider the words that they want children to learn during activities. This does not provide children with the best possible support to develop a broad vocabulary to further enhance their knowledge and understanding.

A love of books is thoroughly promoted in this nursery. Children join in with familiar stories with high levels of enthusiasm and take part in lively discussions about the story. Children use their knowledge of the story to happily develop their own independent play and are well supported by staff as they take part in activities.

Staff consider ways to best support children's mathematical knowledge and understanding. For instance, children start to learn about the concept of subtraction through number rhymes.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children, including those who face barriers to their learning, develop well across all areas of learning. They demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of what has been taught. For instance, they use their knowledge of the focus story to inspire and extend their independent play. Children develop a range of skills that help to prepare them for moving on to school. For example, they calmly move from the pre-school room to the dining hall and eat their meal with lovely table manners.

Children develop positive social skills and interact confidently with adults and with their peers. They remember and share their learning. For instance, they explain that there are 'zero' speckled frogs left after they have all jumped into the pool, referring to number songs they have practised during circle time.

All children, including babies and toddlers, are confident in accessing resources with independence. For instance, babies show high levels of interest and physical skills as they pull sensory items from a basket to explore the different colours and textures. Toddlers focus carefully on stacking small blocks to successfully build a tower and show pride in their achievements.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

The support provided by leaders has raised the expectations for children's behaviour and ensured that the nursery has made particular progress in this area following the last inspection. The high-quality approach to the curriculum and teaching supports children's good behaviour, as they are stimulated and engaged in their learning at all times.

Staff fully understand and implement the positive behaviour policy, and children understand what is expected. They move harmoniously from one activity to another, and instances of poor behaviour are extremely rare. Children are consistently kind to each other, and this is promoted through staff modelling positive behaviours and establishing warm and trusting relationships with children.

The improvements to the routines and behaviour at mealtimes are particularly significant. Mealtimes, both in the inviting new dining room and in the baby and toddler room, are a very calm and enjoyable experience for children and staff. Children show they fully understand the routines and behavioural expectations. They happily eat their meal, showing wonderful table manners. They are well supported by their familiar members of staff in understanding what to expect next during transitional moments in the day. This communication is further enhanced for children who need additional support to understand the routines. As a result, all children are supported to understand what is happening throughout the day.

Leaders actively promote the importance of attendance and punctuality. They make reasonable adjustments where families may be struggling to attend, with the aim to ensuring the best attendance possible for all children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders ensure that policies and practices are inclusive and support children's welfare and wellbeing. They ensure that staff receive the right training and support to carry out care routines. For instance, nappy changing routines and nap times are well embedded and are carried out sensitively and with care. Staff understand how to ensure children's safety when eating and sleeping and are vigilant in ensuring that these safe practices are consistently applied. They support children to carry out personal care independently, including handwashing routines. However, there is some inconsistency in helping children to understand the importance of these routines and communicating why they need to take part in them.

Leaders and staff work hard to create a safe welcoming space for children. They warmly greet children and their families when they arrive, helping children to settle in calmly and happily. Throughout the day, interactions between staff and children are cheerful, and staff show they are interested in each child's contribution. As a result, children feel valued, and they enjoy their time at the nursery. When children need support to manage their emotions, staff are swift to provide comfort. In the pre-school area, children make use of a cosy nook, specifically designed to help them explore and regulate their emotions. Children enjoy their mealtimes. For example, they enthusiastically tuck into a pasta bake at lunchtime.

Recent improvements to the outdoor area support children in their physical development. Children thoroughly enjoy using this space to climb and explore how to move their bodies in different ways. This supports them to develop healthy attitudes towards movement, fresh air and exercise.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders understand the needs of the community and use this information in order to provide appropriate support for children and families. Leaders have worked hard following the previous inspection to significantly raise standards and have an action plan in place to improve the quality of provision even further. Leaders respond positively to implementing change and making the improvements required. They make use of support from the local authority early years team and access further training for staff. The impact of the strengthened leadership is evident in the substantial improvements in all areas, identified at this inspection.

Staff report they feel well supported by leaders and have found their ongoing supervision to be an enjoyable and supportive experience. They are enthusiastic about the training opportunities they have received and articulate the positive impact of training on their practice.

Partnerships with parents are a strength in this setting. Families feed back that their children settle in very well at the setting and that they make good progress. They are particularly pleased with the speech and language development that children make during their time at the nursery. Leaders ensure that children receive the support they need when moving on to school, including accessing additional support for transitions for children who have barriers to their learning.