Partou Playaway Day Nursery & Pre-School

Inclusion: Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that referrals for children who may require additional support from external agencies are made in a timely manner. This prevents children from swiftly receiving the support they need to help them learn and develop. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has been subject to significant change in recent months. Additional support and training are being provided to staff to ensure that procedures are understood and implemented effectively. The information staff collect from parents about children's families and home life is not used consistently enough to identify strategies that may promote children's learning and development further.

Staff benefit from support to develop individual plans for children with SEND. Where these are in place, they are having a positive impact on children's learning and development. For example, they identify different ways to work with children who may struggle with transitions during the nursery day. Any additional funding is used to support children appropriately. Leaders have a secure understanding of the local community. They recognise that different groups of children may face barriers to their learning, such as speaking English as an additional language.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Staff do not use assessment well enough to consistently identify children who may face barriers to their learning. This means that learning opportunities do not always fully reflect individual children's needs to help build on what they know and can do. Significant improvements have been made to the nursery's curriculum. Learning environments have been developed and enhanced to reflect changes to the curriculum and to promote children's engagement and enjoyment. There has been extensive staff training to help them to ensure that the learning opportunities they provide are generally sequenced effectively to build on what individual children know and can do. The majority of children benefit from a thoughtfully designed curriculum.

There is a strong focus on developing children's communication and language skills. Staff narrate babies' play and encourage them to babble. Interactions with staff support children's confidence in starting to use single words and gradually increase their vocabulary and ability to formulate longer phrases. Stories, rhymes and songs are used effectively throughout the nursery. Staff demonstrate some skilful teaching as they join children in their play or lead planned activities. For example, they support children's knowledge and understanding of mathematics as children play in the construction area.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not benefit from targeted support quickly enough. This has an impact on their achievement. Similarly, the learning needs of children who speak English as an additional language are not fully recognised, so the curriculum is not adapted to support their progress sufficiently. Where children do make appropriate levels of progress, they develop positive attitudes to learning through engagement in activities planned to support them to develop appropriate knowledge and skills covering all areas of the early years curriculum. This supports them to be ready for their next stage in learning, including the transition to school. Most children are becoming confident communicators through effective interactions as they play. For example, children in the pre-school are encouraged to respond to questions using longer sentences.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children behave very well. Staff are positive role models, treating children with respect and kindness. Children thrive on the praise and encouragement they receive when they have done something well or been helpful. Clear and consistent strategies are in place to support children who sometimes struggle to regulate their emotions. These are appropriate to children's ages and stages of development. For example, staff carefully explain to toddlers what might happen if they push over the tower they have made. Older children become equipped with the skills they need to play with their friends, such as negotiating turn-taking and sharing resources.

Overall, children demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. They show focus and concentration as they play and join in group activities. They develop problem-solving skills through skilful interactions with staff. These equip children with the skills they need to help prepare them for their next stage in learning. Leaders and staff implement appropriate arrangements to monitor children's attendance.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders ensure that the nursery's policies and practices to support children's welfare, mental health and wellbeing are now being implemented consistently. The nursery is a safe and welcoming place for children. Procedures in relation to the recording and monitoring of accidents have been reviewed and now meet requirements. Risk assessments are carried out appropriately. Staff are deployed to ensure children are supervised vigilantly, including when they are sleeping.

Children develop a sense of belonging through warm and positive relationships with staff. Staff support children to gradually become more confident in new situations. Children learn about different emotions, often through carefully selected stories.

Children's good health is promoted effectively through appropriate hygiene procedures, regular access to outdoor play and nutritious meals. Mealtimes have been reviewed so that children develop good manners and social skills. They are given opportunities to become increasingly independent. For example, babies are encouraged to use a spoon to feed themselves. As they get older, children learn to pour water and serve their own food.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders acknowledge that further improvements are needed to meet the expected standard in all aspects of practice, including support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They also recognise that parents have not been receiving timely and effective communication from the nursery. Although this has started to improve recently, staff do not specifically share with parents sufficient information about their children's learning and development to help them continue with their children's learning at home.

Leaders have worked hard to address the weaknesses identified at the last inspection and in subsequent regulatory visits to the nursery. They have developed robust action plans and established clear monitoring arrangements to ensure changes are having a positive impact on the nursery. Recent changes in leadership are already benefiting children. Staff value the mentoring and support they receive daily. They also explain that recent training has helped them to support children's learning more effectively. Leaders consider staff's wellbeing and workload, and staff say that they feel supported and valued.