Roly Poley's Private Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are safe and happy. Playful learning is abundant in every room. Older children keenly explore how ice melts. Together, with the help of skilful staff, they make predictions about what might make the ice melt. Toddlers build friendships with others as they carefully balance on the see-saw together. Babies develop secure attachments through lots of one-to-one interactions with friendly staff. Children follow the routines of the nursery well. For example, they know to stop and get ready for a change in activity when the tambourine is played. All children are kind and considerate of others. Children demonstrate their understanding that everyone is different. They show respect for one another in an age-appropriate way.

Children learn to use language well. A strength of the setting is their relentless encouragement for children to develop a love of books. Staff share 'interactive stories' with children to introduce them to new words. This helps them develop an understanding of how language works. Children join in stories with fascination. Babies listen to nursery rhymes and learn to associate simple objects with key words. Pre-school children develop an awareness of beat and rhythm as they play the musical instruments with excitement and joy. The learning experiences provided support children's onward education.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• The leader has embraced the support of the local authority and made significant improvements to the nursery since the last inspection. She has developed the leadership to a consistently good level. Staff understand their roles and take pride in their work. Staff have undertaken a vast amount of training to help them improve outcomes for children. The setting is well led and managed.
• The revised curriculum focuses on children's development across the seven areas of learning. Learning is well sequenced so that children gradually gain the skills, knowledge and behaviours they need. For example, children learn to share and take turns through opportunities such as playing matching games.
• The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is good. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) supports staff to identify any additional needs. Where required, individual learning plans are put in place to ensure that children can access the curriculum. The leaders work appropriately with external agencies to secure advice and contribute to education, health, and care plans. All children make progress from their varied starting points.
• Through careful assessments and staff supervisions, leaders have identified that there are some gaps in children's development. As such, they have placed emphasis on the development of early maths skills. Children learn to recognise numbers, shapes and patterns. The well-organised environment enables children to explore new mathematical ideas.
• The leader and staff recognise that giving children lots of hands-on experience impacts positively on their development. As such, children take trips into the local community. For example, they visit the post office and find out what happens to the post. Despite this, staff do not always focus the use of additional funding precisely enough to promote individual progress and development.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Staff invite parents to attend stay-and-play sessions where they can join in with learning activities, such as story time. Staff organise open evenings to help parents prepare their child for the pre-school room. Parents feel well informed and respected by the staff team.
• The leader has put in place a staff performance management system. Staff receive regular observations of practice and attend supervision meetings. This has enabled them to improve their understanding of their roles and responsibilities. However, some staff do not know what they can do better. This means that outcomes for children are not consistently of the highest quality.
• Children learn to develop healthy habits for their futures. For example, they routinely blow their own noses and brush their teeth. Children take exercise, both indoors and outdoors, to help them gain muscle strength and coordination. Home-made meals include a range of nutritious ingredients to support good physical health.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that additional funding is used thoughtfully to promote children's individual learning and development
• further develop the supervision system so that is focuses sharply on the development needs of all staff.