Right Step Nursery & Kids Club

Inclusion: Strong standard

Staff are highly skilled at supporting disadvantaged children and/or children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They are patient and offer high levels of care to them. Consequently, children with SEND, other barriers to their learning or those known to children's social care are flourishing in their development. Staff and leaders work extremely closely with parents and other professionals. They attend relevant meetings and share comprehensive updates and gather information. Staff develop thorough plans and targets for children, utilising the advice and support they have received from other professionals. They meticulously monitor and review plans; making changes as required. Staff and leaders remain committed to ensuring that the support children receive meets their emerging and changing needs.

Staff know the children's individual needs extremely well. Routines are thoughtfully adapted to meet children's needs, and are increased in small increments over time. Staff carefully consider each child's days of attendance. For instance, they tailor activities to ensure that disadvantaged children still receive the full curriculum entitlement during their time in the setting. Staff deliver one-to-one learning experiences for children, with an emphasis on children's focus, attention and their personal social and emotional development. Children smile as the staff purposefully interact with them. The experiences on offer to children are focused on their next steps and on narrowing gaps in their learning. Any additional funding that is received is carefully spent and monitored by staff and leaders to ensure that it meets children's needs.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The curriculum is ambitious and varied. It covers all areas of learning and is sequenced well. Staff generally support children to develop their knowledge of mathematical concepts. For instance, children learn about space and size as they attempt to fit puzzles into the right spaces. Children develop their perseverance as they keep on trying until they are successful. At times, some staff do not consistently support children to extend their knowledge and skills as they play.

Staff provide lots of opportunities for children to develop their physical skills. For instance, children practise throwing and/or kicking balls into the large hoops outside. In addition, children are supported to learn how they can use their feet to move themselves on scooters. Children thoroughly enjoy mark-making experiences, as they use a range of media to draw and create. They show their pride by keenly showing staff what they have drawn, constructed and built. Staff praise them for what they do well, recognising when children have tried hard.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive high levels of support from staff. Staff support them to make choices, by using objects as reference. They give children lots of space to make their choice as they learn to express themselves. Leaders typically have an understanding of staff's teaching practice, and areas where this can be developed even further.

Achievement: Expected standard

Disadvantaged children are thriving in their learning, particularly in their personal, social and emotional development. They learn how to interact and play with and alongside their peers and staff.

Children leave the setting ready for the next stage of their learning, including school. They are confident and independent learners. Children eagerly offer to stand up and sing songs and rhymes to their peers. They start to learn how to take turns and share. Children learn how to make patterns, as they thread coloured objects on to string in a repeated sequence.

Children learn how to use glue to make objects stick together. They develop their knowledge of colours and numbers as they play. Children develop a love of reading as they look at pictures in stories. Older children are excellent communicators. They speak in sentences. Younger children use sounds, single words and gestures as they learn to express themselves. Children practise their physical skills, such as running, throwing and jumping. However, at times, children need further support to help extend their knowledge and skills as they play.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

On the whole, children show an eagerness to engage in the learning experiences on offer. They develop their social skills as they play with and alongside their peers. However, on occasion, the organisation of adult-led and whole-group activities is not well thought out. For example, at times, there are not enough resources on hand for the amount of children, or some children lose focus and become distracted. This does not support children to remain engaged and enthused in their learning.

Staff are caring and shower children with love and cuddles. They praise children for their effort. Staff remind children of the rules. They typically follow the setting's approach for how they should manage children's behaviour. Staff generally support children to learn the routine. For instance, children know that they need to wash their hands before they sit at the table to eat their lunch. Staff support disadvantaged children to become familiar with the routine, by showing objects and visual cues. They make adaptations to the routine where needed, taking into account children's individual needs. For example, they adjust the length of the day to meet children's needs and then increase this in small increments over time.

Children develop warm relationships with the staff who care for them. Staff role model to children how they should treat each other with care and respect. Leaders regularly share information about their attendance procedure with parents. They talk to them about the importance of routines and structure for children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff wash children's hands before meals. Children generally have plenty of opportunities to play and explore outdoors. They practise a range of skills, including jumping, running and learning how to kick a ball. Leaders and staff do not work closely enough with parents to promote healthy eating. Children's packed lunches often contain items that are not balanced or nutritious, and staff who eat with the children sometimes bring food that does not model healthy eating effectively.

Staff provide high levels of care and support for disadvantaged children. They have a designated quiet room that is used to provide a calming environment for children, and provide one-to-one activities. This helps to ensure that disadvantaged children and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have the time they require to form deep bonds with the staff who care for them.

Settling-in arrangements and transition arrangements are typically well thought out. Staff are responsive to children, following their individual cues. Leaders take effective steps to ensure that the correct ratios are maintained. Staff deploy themselves well as children eat, play and rest. This ensures that all children are well supervised at all times.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders are passionate. They typically evaluate the overall quality of the setting, and identify areas of strength and areas that can be strengthened further. They have recently taken steps to develop information-sharing with the local school, specifically when accidents occur in their setting. In addition, they have improved the procedures followed for reporting accidents to parents.

Leaders generally work well with parents. They host various open days throughout the year for parents, carers and grandparents to attend. They provide information about the setting's routines, curriculum and transitions or settling-in procedures. Staff keep parents informed about their children's development, progress and next steps. They provide parents with information packs, ideas and resources that they can use at home to support their children. This includes recipes and oral health guides. Parents value the support and care that they and their child receive. Leaders need to work even more closely with parents to help ensure children's lunches are healthy, balanced and nutritious, in order to fully promote children's health.

Leaders work extremely well with other professionals. They ensure that disadvantaged children receive the specialist help, care and support that they require to thrive. Leaders ensure that staff share key information about the children with other settings that they are due to attend. This helps to ensure that children receive the consistency they require.

Staff generally feel well supported in their role and feel that leaders take into account their wellbeing and workload. Leaders monitor staff through observations. They encourage staff to reflect on their own performance. Leaders hold regular supervision meetings with staff where they review staff's practice; identifying any areas of support or training.