Snapdragons Nursery Grosvenor

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff place a high and sustained emphasis on early identification and overcoming barriers to learning for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They have ambitious expectations and use their secure knowledge of child development to identify emerging needs promptly and accurately. Leaders and staff act quickly to close the gaps. They liaise with parents, create targeted support plans and implement strategies, such as visual aids and small group activities, to best meet the needs of children. This helps to ensure that children receive consistent well-targeted support that enables them to access the full curriculum.

Leaders support and empower staff to continually strengthen practice through effective coaching, professional development and collaboration with parents and external professionals. Staff access specific training linked to the needs of their key children. This enhances staff expertise and ensures that support is precise, responsive and impactful. Leaders who are responsible for supporting children with SEND provide clear direction and oversight, enabling staff to identify needs accurately and implement effective interventions. Consequently, children receive timely support, overcome barriers to learning and achieve the best possible outcomes, helping to ensure they are ready for their next stage of learning.

Leaders and staff implement a carefully planned and highly responsive small-steps approach that builds children's knowledge and confidence over time. Learning experiences are adapted with purpose to meet children's individual needs, while maintaining ambitious expectations for achievement. Alongside this, leaders and staff place a strong emphasis on children's emotional wellbeing, ensuring they feel safe, valued and secure. For example, during 'sunshine-circle' activities, staff focus on children learning how to initiate interactions and respect one another's wishes. As a result, children learn how to manage small group interactions and play with peers.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff design and deliver an inclusive curriculum that is broad, balanced and carefully sequenced. It promotes key areas, such as communication and language, personal development and physical skills. Leaders ensure that learning opportunities reflect children's developmental level and what they want them to learn next. For example, babies develop their large physical skills, ready for walking, when they pull themselves to stand and climb up steps to a small slope. Older children develop their listening and attention skills when they follow instructions at tidy-up time. Staff work collaboratively and regularly discuss children's development, using this shared knowledge to plan opportunities to best meet individual needs.

Staff generally implement the curriculum effectively. They interact positively with children, model language clearly and support learning opportunities. Staff plan purposeful experiences and adapt practice in the moment to respond to children's interests and stages of development. For example, staff introduce mathematical language from a young age when they read books to babies and count the pictures they see. Older children play with dinosaurs, supporting staff use descriptive language and ask children if they can locate the dinosaur with the long neck, and children proudly hold up the dinosaur and say 'Diplodocus'. However, children who require further opportunities to extend their learning do not always receive this consistently.

Staff successfully enrich children's learning by exposing them to a wide range of opportunities within the local community. For example, they arrange regular visits to parks, libraries, farms and wide-open green spaces. Children build their understanding of the wider world and develop confidence in new environments. Leaders carefully plan additional experiences, including visits from gymnastics coaches and zoo laboratories, so that all children benefit from quality enrichment opportunities. As a result, children gain valuable experiences that extend beyond their everyday lives and support their personal development.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children develop age-appropriate knowledge and skills across all areas of learning. They demonstrate increasing confidence in expressing their ideas, making choices and interacting with others. Children show high levels of independence and confidence in their learning. They demonstrate responsibility when undertaking tasks. For example, children carefully transport buckets of water to the painting area, managing resources safely and showing good coordination and awareness of others. These opportunities help children to develop resilience, equipping them with the skills needed for future success. Children are generally well prepared for the next stage of learning. They gain the essential knowledge, skills, confidence and independence needed and transition smoothly to their next stage of learning.

Children make progress from their individual starting points and achieve well across all areas of learning. Children's strengths and next steps are understood and reflected in learning opportunities that are inclusive and tailored to meet their individual needs. Children, including those with additional needs, are supported to participate fully, develop their skills, and achieve positive outcomes.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff place a clear emphasis on establishing routines and promoting positive behaviour for all children, including those with additional needs. They typically create a calm, nurturing and inclusive environment where children feel safe and secure. This helps children to understand expectations and develop a sense of belonging. A well established key-person system, which begins before families start at the nursery, supports secure relationships with children and their families. This continues as children transition through the nursery. As a result, children settle well and develop confidence in their surroundings. Routines are clear and well structured. For example, the youngest children confidently climb flights of stairs to access the garden with minimal support from staff, demonstrating growing independence and physical confidence.

Leaders typically promote positive attitudes to learning through activities that reflect children's interests and encourage curiosity. Children have positive attitudes to learning, concentrate well and approach new experiences with confidence. For example, staff build on children's interests of sea animals by encouraging them to explore and discuss these creatures while using play dough, helping them to remain engaged and motivated in their learning. However, staff do not always adapt activities effectively to sustain children's interest and engagement. Consequently, some children become bored and are not supported to engage in learning.

Inclusive approaches ensure that individual needs are understood and supported. For example, some children benefit from slow, concise instructions and gentle reminders to help them follow routines and meet expectations. Leaders work closely with families to ensure they access their funding entitlement and attend regularly. They adapt this to meet individual needs where needed. All families are valued and well supported.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and staff place a high priority on children's welfare and wellbeing, including those with additional needs. They develop warm, nurturing relationships with children and families from the moment they start at the nursery. Staff create a calm and welcoming environment where children feel safe, secure and valued. They promote positive behaviour effectively and support children to recognise and manage their feelings, develop friendships and show consideration for others. As a result, children demonstrate positive emotional wellbeing and confidently seek reassurance and support from familiar adults when needed.

Leaders and staff help children learn about respect, personal boundaries and consent through everyday interactions. For example, they encourage children to ask permission before joining a friend's play, sharing resources or offering physical affection, such as holding hands. Staff are excellent role models, they use respectful language and reinforce that everyone can make choices about their own bodies and belongings. Through these consistent approaches, children learn to keep themselves safe and respect the feelings and preferences of others.

Leaders and staff implement effective systems to promote children's health, safety and wellbeing. They follow robust safeguarding procedures and adhere to current safe sleep and healthy eating guidance. For example, all children receive healthy meals that are prepared on site, which are tailored to their specific allergens and individual needs. Staff support children's independence and autonomy through daily routines. For example, they ask babies for permission before wiping their faces and encourage them to have a go themselves where appropriate. Staff consistently explain what they are doing and respond sensitively to children's cues. They support older children to develop their independence, including confidently washing their hands and accessing the toilet area independently. Staff also work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure that children's individual needs are understood and met. As a result, children are happy, settled and emotionally prepared to engage in their learning and play.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have a clear vision for providing high-quality care and education that benefits all children. They are ambitious for children and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where every child can thrive. Leaders have established a strong culture of continuous improvement and regularly reflect on practice to identify priorities for development.

Leaders place a high focus on staff wellbeing and recognise the important role this plays in achieving positive outcomes for children. They provide extensive support for staff, including adapting working hours where possible to promote a healthy work-life balance. Leaders have implemented employee recognition and reward systems that celebrate staff achievements and contributions. They also provide staff with tailored professional development opportunities, which they discuss at regular supervision meetings, that support both individual career aspirations and the needs of children. For example, staff have completed forest-school training to enhance children's outdoor learning experiences and specialised training to strengthen their knowledge of supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, staff feel valued, motivated and well equipped to support children's learning and development.

Parents speak highly of the nursery and describe it as a 'magical' place where children are clearly at the centre of everything that staff do. Leaders and staff communicate effectively with families via the online application and daily conversations, and they share information about children's experiences and progress. Parents are well informed, valued and fully involved in their children's care and learning.

Leaders have established highly effective systems to monitor the quality of the provision. They gather the views of children, parents and staff and use this information to drive improvements. Robust recruitment, induction and safeguarding procedures help to ensure that children are cared for by suitable adults. As a result, the setting is well led and managed, and children benefit from a safe, nurturing and ambitious environment where they make good progress in their learning and development.