Perfect Pandas Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of children's needs and progress. They use their knowledge, experience and expertise to ensure children are supported well. Leaders and staff swiftly identify children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) on entry to the setting or as needs emerge. They discuss children's individual needs with parents and carers and immediately begin to assess, observe and support children. Individual plans provide targeted support for children, and staff review and update them regularly. If children require specialist support, leaders contact external professionals and services to provide this, and they implement any advice provided.

Leaders and staff have high expectations of all children. They adapt routines and activities to target individual needs and allow all children to join in. There are a range of strategies in place to reduce barriers to children's communication needs that staff generally implement well. For example, staff use gestures and visual aids to support children's language and understanding. This supports children's understanding and helps them to communicate their needs.

Leaders and staff work with parents to ensure children receive access to the funding available to them. They spend additional funding effectively to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children and those with SEND.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders typically have an accurate understanding of what quality teaching and learning look like. They disseminate their skills and knowledge to newer members of the team so that highly effective teaching and practice will become embedded across the setting. Leaders generally provide an inclusive curriculum that centres around developing children's language and communication, their confidence and their emotional security.

Developing children's vocabulary and communication skills is at the heart of the curriculum. For example, during snack time, staff encourage children to name and describe the colour and taste of fruit and vegetables. During story time, children repeat words, such as 'swish' and 'splash'. This helps all children to learn new words and expand their vocabulary.

Children develop a love of reading through high-quality texts. For example, they listen to an engaging retelling of the story, 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' while acting out the story with small props. This helps children to understand the characters and events in stories.

In the main, staff draw children's attention to mathematical concepts throughout play and routines. For example, children count the number of legs on minibeasts and talk about the size of sandcastles they are making in the sand. This supports children to develop the foundational knowledge and skills they need for later learning.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children generally progress well at the setting, regardless of their starting points. They become confident and curious learners. Children are able to concentrate for longer periods of time during activities and their play. They learn to name their emotions and say what makes them feel a certain way. Children develop secure relationships with staff and their peers, and they play together well.

Children expand their vocabulary and take part in back-and-forth conversations throughout the day. For example, while playing in the sandpit, children talk about their experiences of the beach. Children become confident communicators.

Children learn about the world and the people in it. They talk about the features of minibeasts and compare their own features. This helps children to understand the world around them and their place in it.

Children learn how to count, and they develop their understanding of quantities. They talk about the colour, shape and size of objects. Children use language to describe the position of things. For example, they explain that the big bubble has gone up in the air. Children typically develop the foundational knowledge and skills necessary for their next stage in learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children understand and follow the well-established routines within the setting. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities take part fully in the setting's routines. All children are motivated by the curriculum on offer. This makes them eager to join in with learning, and they sustain their attention for long periods of time.

Children are calm and behave well at the setting. Staff give regular and explicit praise to children to encourage their best behaviour. Staff sensitively support children to solve any age-appropriate disagreements. For example, when children want other children's resources in the sand tray, staff remind children to take turns and share. This means that children interact positively with each other and get along well.

Children learn to be polite and use good manners. They sing a 'please and thank you' song at mealtimes, and staff model and encourage positive manners throughout the day. As a result, children are beginning to say 'thank you' without prompting. Children typically attend well and are punctual. This supports them and their families to establish habits that will support later learning.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders implement an effective key-person system at the setting. All children, and particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, develop secure attachments with their key person. This helps each child to feel settled and safe at the setting.

Children receive support to recognise, express and manage their emotions. For example, during circle time, children sing a song about how they feel. Every child has the opportunity to say how they feel and why. This supports children to recognise, name and understand their emotions.

Children generally develop their understanding of how to stay healthy. For example, they talk with staff about healthy eating during mealtimes, and they learn about how to brush their teeth effectively. However, procedures in the setting do not consistently promote high levels of hygiene. For example, children do not consistently wash their hands with soap before snack time, and tissues are not readily available for children to blow their noses. This impacts on children's ability to stay well and learn healthy habits.

Staff provide children with opportunities to develop their independence, such as self-serving their own snack and putting hand towels in the bin. However, at times, staff perform self-care routines that children could complete for themselves, such as selecting and retrieving their own water bottles, clearing and tidying up after snack and hanging their coats on their pegs. This limits children's opportunities to become increasingly independent.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders are experienced and knowledgeable about the early years foundation stage. They establish a culture of continuous improvement, where all staff are keen to improve their knowledge and practice. Leaders provide staff with regular, relevant and appropriate professional development and feedback. Staff feel that leaders value them, support them well and that their workload is manageable.

Leaders regularly engage with external professionals to support children's education and care. They are positive and reflective about the support they receive from the local authority early years team and a variety of external networks. This collaborative work has a positive impact on children in the setting.

Leaders understand the setting's context. They identify areas of strength and development, and take action to drive improvement. However, leaders' analysis of the setting's strengths and areas for development is not yet detailed and perceptive enough to fully understand the effectiveness of the provision. This impacts leaders' capacity to continuously drive improvement.

Parents and carers are very happy with the service provided. They say that their children develop well at the setting and grow in confidence. Parents praise staff for the regular and detailed communication they receive about their child's progress and development. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities feel that they and their children are being well supported by the setting.