Rainbows Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have high integrity to ensure that all children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face other barriers to their wellbeing and learning receive swift and responsive support. They work in close partnership with an extensive range of other professionals and use their in-depth knowledge of children, observations and effective assessment information to ensure children benefit from targeted and impactful support. This is evident when an extensive number of different professionals attend the setting to assess children's needs and review their progress.

Leaders and staff make meaningful adaptations to the environment and their routines. For instance, they use visual aids and timetables to support children to understand changes in the routine and what will happen next. They also obtain specialist toothbrushes for children with sensory difficulties to support them to brush their teeth at the setting and at home. Furthermore, staff create sensory boxes to capture children's interest and extend their focus and concentration throughout the day. Leaders and staff use additional funding extremely well. They invest in resources to support children's communication, self-regulation skills and physical development. They also use funding towards consumables in order for all children to have equal opportunities and experiences. Several parents and carers highlight the wonderful sense of belonging their children enjoy as a real celebration of the setting. They also hugely value the dedication from staff and leaders and the comprehensive partnership working that takes place to improve outcomes for their children.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations of children and plan an inclusive and generally varied curriculum. Children's communication and language development is given high priority throughout the setting. Staff frequently model new language as children learn and play. Babies enjoy searching for bugs outdoors. When they find spiders, staff sing songs such as 'Incy Wincy Spider' and introduce simple mathematics when they count the spiders' legs. This supports children's language and mathematical development in a positive way. Toddlers have fun listening to stories such as 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?' and match different animals to the book as they recite the poem. They also enjoy engaging in imaginative play and discuss their favourite flavours of ice cream at the ice-cream parlour.

Pre-school children show high engagement as they build nests with twigs, leaves and feathers and talk about owls and owlets. This deepens their knowledge of birds and animal homes. They also display enjoyment when matching and counting bee resources. Furthermore, they like predicting and measuring when investigating with tubes and containers during water play. This introduces children to the concept of different volumes and capacities and an array of mathematical knowledge. Overall, leaders and staff plan a wide range of activities and experiences across the setting that children show that they enjoy. However, on occasions, staff working with babies and toddlers do not consistently plan activities in a way that stretches and extends children's learning to the very highest level. Furthermore, some resources on offer for babies do not fully foster their imagination and maximise opportunities for them to consistently learn through their senses during play.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, settle in extremely well at the setting and show high levels of emotional wellbeing. They are successfully supported to build their confidence and to try new things at their own pace. Children's independence is very well supported. For instance, children make choices about their play and also develop a range of new skills when pouring their own drinks and serving their own food at mealtimes. Children generally develop their curiosity and exploratory skills well. They show interest in a range of activities and are well supported to join in or persevere when they find tasks more challenging. Younger children enjoy listening to stories and learn key words and phrases. Older children display positive attention and listening skills when exploring different characters and components of familiar stories. Furthermore, children gain early mathematical knowledge as they play. For instance, they sing counting songs and match and classify as they build and construct with blocks and construction resources. They also learn new words such as 'harbour' and 'coast' when engaging in small-world play. In addition, they enjoy making binoculars from junk modelling resources and looking for insects and birds outdoors. Children evidently make progress in relation to their starting points and are well prepared for their next stage of learning and school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children's behaviour. They clearly communicate the expectations and boundaries of the setting in a positive and age-appropriate way. Children build close relationships with their peers. They get along well with one another, play cooperatively, share resources and take turns well. Children generally approach new activities with enthusiasm and interest. Staff give children lots of praise and encouragement as they play. They also use tambourines and timers to support children to understand about tidy-up time and transitions throughout the day.

Older children demonstrate excellent attention and listening skills during small-group sessions and as they discuss the differences between a moth and a butterfly. Staff support children to learn about their feelings and emotions. For instance, they engage in discussions during play and help children to consider different perspectives. They also name different emotions when children experience them, as well as when they enjoy books and songs that help children gain a better understanding of their own feelings. Leaders promote punctuality and attendance through clear systems. Staff precisely record daily attendance and follow up promptly on any absences, encouraging parents and carers to notify the setting in good time.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children develop close bonds with staff who know and understand their unique characters, interests and developmental needs extremely well. Staff also invest a great amount of time in understanding about each child's individual circumstances and background in order to offer high levels of care and support. Children are very well supported to learn about adopting healthy lifestyles. For instance, leaders liaise with outside agencies to review their menus to ensure children benefit from a nutritious and balanced variety of meals. Staff also teach children about where food comes from and plan growing and gardening projects that help them learn about vitamins and nutrients. Furthermore, staff work closely with the local oral health team to teach children about developing healthy teeth brushing habits. Children also have daily opportunities to play outdoors and develop their physical skills. Leaders and staff use funding to invest in waterproofs and wellington boots to prioritise outdoor experiences each day. This successfully promotes children's overall health.

Staff plan a vast array of experiences to help children learn about diversity and lives different to their own. For instance, they plan projects such as 'Christmas across the world' to look at how families from different cultures celebrate traditions that are important to them. They also plan thoughtful and interesting activities to help children learn about Diwali, Passover and Hannukah. This helps all children develop a positive sense of self and feel a great sense of belonging at the setting. Overall, staff plan welcoming learning environments. However, staff working in the baby room do not fully consider the cosiness of the environment and how they can fully maximise how young children learn and develop through their senses even further.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have taken successful action to address any weaknesses identified at their last inspection. The setting is fully secure, and staff are knowledgeable when discussing how they complete risk assessments both indoors and outdoors to help to keep children safe. Furthermore, leaders and staff have undergone further safeguarding training and have a secure knowledge about keeping children safe and involving other professionals at an early stage to best support each child.

Staff consistently state that they love their work and feel very well supported with their workload and personal development. Staff engage in a range of meaningful training that supports their practice effectively. However, leaders do not precisely reflect on how the curriculum can be extended further for babies and toddlers to enhance children's learning to the very highest level. Throughout the setting, there is a highly embedded culture of supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who may face other barriers to their wellbeing. This is evident through the impressive partnership working that takes place with an extensive range of professionals across the borough. Parents and carers express very high levels of appreciation for leaders and staff. Several highlight leaders' and staff's passion, commitment and dedication as real strengths. One commented that the setting is 'their village' and has played a huge role in shaping their child's early childhood.