Partou Stockwood Lane Day Nursery & Pre-School

Inclusion: Expected standard

Staff meet children's individual needs. They work with parents and carers of children with barriers to their learning and/or special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. Staff actively involve parents and other professionals working with children and closely monitor children's progress. Timely identification of needs and referrals to other agencies, such as speech and language therapists, help to ensure early intervention when gaps in children's development are emerging. This helps get the tailored support in place for children and helps prevent the gaps from widening.

Leaders are proactive in seeking support from other professionals and act upon advice and guidance they receive to help children to benefit from quality care and education. Staff receive training that they make effective use of. For instance, staff use a 'graduated response' approach. They carefully assess, plan and review children's individual care and learning needs. They consider any adaptions and adjustments they need to make, to enable children with SEND to access their learning environment and the curriculum and reach their full potential. Children with SEND benefit from clear support plans, and staff understand and implement these well. Leaders make effective use of early years pupil premium funding to enhance children's education. As a result, these children make effective progress in their learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Overall, teaching is effective, and staff have a secure understanding of how different children learn. Staff complete regular and accurate assessments about what children know and can do. They prioritise securing children's learning in the prime areas. Staff carefully plan activities and experiences tailored to children's interests and next steps. This well-planned curriculum helps all children to progress in all areas of their development. Staff support the development of children's communication and language well. They model language, engage children in conversations and teach them new vocabulary. They consider the clarity and pace of their speech, particularly when supporting children with speech and language difficulties and those who speak English as an additional language. However, despite staff using a range of techniques well, there is scope to improve this further. More consideration is needed at times around the most effective use of questioning to support children's conversation skills and speaking even more.

Staff encourage children to participate in a range of physical activities and play throughout the day. For instance, outdoors, children engage in more active, larger movement play to enhance their coordination and balance skills. Staff place a high focus on children's personal, social and emotional development, which helps prepare children for their transition to school.

Staff follow children's lead and take opportunities as they arise to extend children's learning. For example, they teach the numbers one to five as they sing counting songs. However, occasionally, there can be distractions and interruptions to activities, so valuable learning time is lost. This impacts on children's engagement and learning opportunities.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children achieve well, particularly in the prime areas of personal, social and emotional development, communication and language and physical development. They acquire the foundation knowledge and skills they need that will help them succeed in their later learning.

All children make steady progress during their time at the setting. Children are well prepared for school through carefully planned activities that build their social skills, confidence and independence. Children build positive friendships and socialise well with one another. For example, children thoroughly enjoy sharing books in dens with their peers.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children's attendance is positive, and they arrive to the setting eager and ready to learn. Staff build an effective awareness of children and their families. They use the knowledge they gain to build positive relationships from the start. Regular communication with parents and carers helps with ongoing partnership working. Staff help children to understand their feelings and emotions. They offer children support to regulate their emotions. Staff always acknowledge children's feelings and guide them in ways in which they can express themselves positively.

Children learn to understand rules and quickly learn to follow the routines of the day. Staff support smooth transitions for all children, which helps them to understand what is happening now and what will be happening next. Staff celebrate children's successes and offer children encouragement and praise. They also recognise and praise good behaviour. Overall, children benefit from positive interactions with staff.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children's wellbeing and welfare are paramount to staff and leaders. They have developed a strong key-person system to ensure that highly effective relationships are made for all children. Staff adapt and revise routines and approaches in partnership with parents and carers continually. This ensures that what they do is always in line with the changing needs of children.

Staff in all rooms are sensitive to children's emotional needs and wellbeing. For instance, nurturing staff settle babies to sleep in similar ways to their parents and carers. They understand each baby and implement respectful care routines, helping children to feel extremely safe and secure. Older children learn and understand their own needs. They manage their own emotions and responses. For example, they use spaces in the environment to rest and take quiet time to regulate their emotions.

Staff place a very strong emphasis on independence. Staff promote healthy routines through daily physical play, lots of fresh air, nutritious snacks and opportunities for self-care, such as helping children using the toilet and washing hands independently from a young age. At mealtimes, children are praised for healthy choices and discuss the benefits of healthy foods. Children are keen to try new foods to help expand their diet.

Staff help children to develop healthy habits for their future lives. Leaders continually look for ways in which they can further enhance children's health. For example, in response to what they know about some children being reluctant to clean their teeth, they are beginning to introduce carefully planned programmes to use with children to teach them about oral hygiene and toothbrushing in a fun and interactive way.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

The provider has notified Ofsted regarding a recent incident that happened at the setting. Leaders took swift and robust action to ensure that this does not happen again. For example, they have revisited their staff deployment and introduced further safety measures, such as additional headcounts of children at key transition times.

There is a strong leadership team in place that has been extremely proactive and made a number of well-considered changes and improvements since the last inspection. Leaders have fully addressed the previous actions and are very clear on their responsibilities and the relevant statutory requirements that underpin their work.

Staff supervision is a high priority for leaders. They provide excellent support for all staff, based on observations of their practice, self-appraisal and discussion. This sharp attention to staff's ongoing development ultimately enhances the quality of interactions and support children receive. Staff morale is high. Parents and carers comment on the vast improvements they have seen since the last inspection, particularly on the robust leadership, improved communication and say that their children are cared for by a consistent group of staff who know them well and meet their needs.

Leaders have a strong understanding of the setting's strengths and areas to develop. They have a clear vision going forwards and are ambitious and highly motivated to ensure continuous improvement.