Sanderstead Park Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children have experienced a time of change recently and staff and leadership are working hard to provide stability. Children are settled and engaged. Staff use established routines to create a feeling of calm. This is reinforced with pictures of what happens in nursery, which are used as a visual aid for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Staff work together to plan the ambitious curriculum. Children enjoy a variety of activities based around the topic 'traditional tales'. Toddlers concentrate well and practise using their fine motor skills, sticking shapes onto a gingerbread man. They try again when the shapes do not stick first time, while attentive staff offer solutions of why this may be. Children listen, then try a new approach until they are successful, and then proudly show staff their creations. Children are happy to share ideas and communicate what they are doing. They show curiosity in what is happening around them. Children show interest in books and re-tell familiar stories. They remember new vocabulary to describe the characters. Children persevere when trying to pronounce the words and are congratulated by staff when they get it right.

Staff speak to children kindly and treat them with respect. Staff show consideration when asking the children to do anything. For example, children are asked permission by staff before having their nappy changed or helped with putting on clothes. This helps children to keep themselves safe by teaching ownership of their bodies and the language of consent.

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

• Staff plan monthly 'umbrella' topics to reflect what is happening in the world around them. They design activities based on the needs and interests of the children, while focussing on their individual learning and development. Staff use observation and tracking to ensure each child makes progress. Management make good use of tracking to monitor the progress of all children and support staff to fill any gaps.
• The nursery is calm and noise levels are low. Children are busy and show good levels of concentration in what they are doing. Children listen well and respond to staff positively. Staff play alongside children or sometimes leave them to happily play in friendship groups. Children are encouraged to share and show 'kind hands' to one another. Children struggling with their emotions are tended to with gentleness by caring staff.
• Children enjoy being outside daily and have access to an enclosed garden. Staff take babies on walks around the local park, safely tucked up in their triple buggies. Children splash in puddles and run around in all weathers, cosy and warm in protective outdoor clothing and wellies. Children work together to help scoop leaves into a bucket, others practise their coordination and balance while climbing on the frame.
• Staff read policies and learn about procedures during their induction. However, sometimes messages can be misunderstood or occasionally missed. Managers are working hard to solve this and have an open-door policy. Staff are supported to further their knowledge in childcare with formal qualifications and short courses online. Management test staff's understanding by asking questions at one-to-one meetings and quizzes at staff meetings.
• Children are encouraged to be independent in readiness for school. For example, older children can go to the toilet on their own. At times, children forget to tell staff where they are going and this can lead to them being out of the room without always being noticed. The management team is helping staff to develop strategies to remind children of the rules.
• The manager and owners work together to promote consistency. Staff, in the main, feel able to approach management and discuss all issues. The manager uses team meetings, observations and one-to-one meetings, as tools to guide staff and develop practice. All staff work together to support positive partnerships with parents. Leaders and staff engage with outside agencies, such as speech and language, to help achieve positive outcomes for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Home-cooked meals are made from fresh ingredients. Children look expectantly for their meal as lunchtime arrives. Children tuck in and enjoy their food. Staff are knowledgeable about allergy requirements and dietary needs. Older children scrape their bowls after they have finished and sit down in readiness for pudding. When children ask politely for fruit instead of cake, staff happily respond to their needs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve methods to communicate all information in a format that staff understand
• support staff to implement agreed routines and strategies.