Spring Gate Nursery School

Inclusion: Needs attention

Inclusive practice is not consistently embedded across the setting. This means some children do not receive sharply focused support. Therefore, children do not always make the progress they are capable of and not all children's needs are fully identified, planned for or met. Children are included in daily experiences and develop a sense of belonging in a caring environment. The setting is generally welcoming, and most children are included in a range of activities indoors and outdoors. Leaders and staff know children and their families well. They use daily communication with parents and carers to understand children's needs. Leaders use any additional funding the setting receives effectively to support children's individual needs. For example, they provide children with extra resources, access to activities, such as football and music, and staff training to support their practice.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have individual learning plans in place. Staff work with parents to share information about children's routines, interests and development. However, planning for all children's next steps is not always precise enough to ensure that learning is consistently well targeted in daily practice. This means some children do not receive sharply focused support and, therefore, do not always make the progress they are capable of. Where barriers to children's learning are identified, staff make some adaptations to help children take part in activities. However, these are not consistently applied across the setting.

Staff work with other professionals where appropriate to support children's needs. Although this is developing, it is not fully reflected in the precision of support for children's learning and development. For example, during activities, staff do not always adapt their interactions or questioning to match children's developmental stage. This means children do not consistently receive support through appropriate adult support to help them engage and make progress.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Teaching is variable in the setting. Some staff's interactions do not consistently extend children's learning or develop their thinking skills. Staff do not have a secure enough understanding of child development or what children need to learn next. As a result, they do not identify clear learning intentions to guide their planning or interactions with children. This means staff do not break activities are not down into small enough steps and do not build on what children already know and need to learn next. Teaching does not consistently support children to make typical progress, extend their learning across all areas or develop the skills needed to be fully ready for the next stage of learning, including school.

Overall, staff plan a broadly appropriate curriculum based on children's interests. This includes a range of activities, such as indoor and outdoor play, sensory experiences, role play and physical play. Staff provide activities and set out resources for children to access throughout the day. They spend time alongside children during their play.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities take part in activities, and staff make some adaptations. However, these are not consistently planned or precise enough to fully support their individual learning needs. For example, staff do not consistently adapt their interactions or teaching during activities, such as conversations, counting games or mark making, to match children's stage of development. As a result, learning is not consistently extended and children do not make the progress they are capable of across areas of learning.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children do not always make the progress they are capable of because their learning is not consistently built on across all areas of development. This is due to inconsistencies in how staff support and extend children's learning through the curriculum.

Children take part in a range of activities across the areas of learning. They play indoors and outdoors, engage in sensory experiences, make marks with paint and use their imaginations in role play. Babies explore textured materials. They touch and move resources and display early responses, such as looking, reaching and vocalising. However, they do not receive support to extend these experiences to build on their learning.

Toddlers use simple sentences to communicate their wants and needs. They sometimes join in with familiar stories, although their engagement varies due to weaknesses in staff's practice. Pre-school children are beginning to count and use early number language. However, they do not receive support to build on this during their play or everyday routines. This means children do not develop their understanding of early mathematics further.

Some children develop independence in routines. They help to tidy away toys, wash their hands and sit at the table at mealtimes. However, this is not consistently supported or reinforced for all children. Some children display early social skills, such as playing alongside others. They are beginning to share and take turns with support. For example, some children help to put toys away and choose activities independently.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Children are not fully supported to develop consistent behaviour and positive attitudes and to regulate their feelings to prepare them for their next stage of learning. Leaders recently introduced written daily routines, which are displayed on the walls. However, these routines are not firmly embedded in practice. For example, during transitions, such as moving from play to group time or mealtimes, children are not consistently supported to follow the expected routine, resulting in confusion, delays and children not always understanding what is expected of them. That said, children do eat meals and play at regular times, so there is some structure to the day.

Children form positive relationships with familiar staff. They are generally settled when engaged in activities. Children display some interest in their play and move between activities during the day. However, staff do not consistently have high expectations for children's behaviour. They do not reinforce guidance effectively, so children do not reliably follow expectations. Children do not manage their behaviour or understand boundaries in different situations. For example, some children run indoors despite reminders, move around during group activities and do not remain seated at mealtimes. Staff do not consistently support children's manners, sharing and turn-taking during their play and routines, which hinders their development of these social skills. Attendance is monitored, and children attend regularly.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that welfare and wellbeing practice is consistently embedded to fully support children's understanding of healthy choices, independence and care routines. Staff do not use consistent approaches to support all children's welfare and wellbeing. As a result, not all children are able to take part fully or understand what is expected of them. That said, staff provide a caring environment where children are generally settled and familiar with some daily routines.

Children form positive relationships with familiar adults and seek support when needed. Their emotional wellbeing is supported through daily interactions. Some aspects of children's care are in place. For example, staff follow safer sleep procedures, checking children regularly and ensuring that cots are clear and safe. This supports children's rest and comfort. However, mealtimes are not well organised and can be chaotic. For example, children do not always remain seated and sometime wonder around the room. This is due to ineffective staff deployment and a lack of shared understanding of expectations for mealtime routines and children's behaviour.

Although staff prompt children to wash their hands at key times, they do not always help children to understand the purpose, such as reducing the spread of germs. Staff do not make effective use of mealtimes to support children's understanding of healthy eating or why nutritious food choices are important. As a result, opportunities to promote children's understanding of healthy lifestyles through daily routines are not fully developed.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders oversee daily practice. However, the systems for monitoring the quality of practice are not effective. Leaders have not identified that key aspects of practice, including behaviour management and the promotion of healthy eating, are not effective. In addition, supervision meetings are not carried out regularly, which means weaknesses in teaching are not identified or addressed in a timely way. Peer-on-peer observations are in place but are not being used effectively as a reliable measure of quality. Leaders have not ensured that the environment is always conducive to children's learning. Some rooms, particularly the baby room, are overly full with furniture and resources and not well organised. This limits children's space to move and explore freely.

Leaders are committed and caring. However, their governance and oversight are not effective in securing sustained improvements across the setting. Leaders have received support from the local authority, including action plans and advice. However, leaders have not used these effectively to secure sufficient improvements. Their action planning lacks precision and does not drive improvements in practice or outcomes for children.

Staff access training to develop their knowledge and skills. However, this is not reflected in practice, particularly in staff's understanding of child development and the curriculum. As a result, the quality of teaching remains inconsistent.

Leaders and staff communicate with parents and carers through daily discussions and an online platform. Parents spoken to during the inspection report positive communication with staff and say their children are settled and happy.