St Mary's Church Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of their responsibilities to ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language (EAL), are fully included and well supported. They swiftly identify gaps in learning and implement robust monitoring systems to adapt and refine the curriculum to meet children's individual needs.

Leaders work closely with external professionals, including SEND inclusion partners and speech and language therapists, to secure targeted support. Professionals visit the setting to observe children, and leaders compile detailed reports to inform next steps. They implement shared strategies to provide a consistent approach to care and learning. Leaders work highly effectively with families, helping them understand their child's needs and signposting them to relevant services. For example, they direct parents to autism courses to strengthen support at home.

Leaders hold high expectations for every child. They adapt routines to promote engagement, such as offering shorter sessions to help children settle and succeed. Staff support children with EAL by using key words in their home language and visual cues to reinforce understanding. They prioritise language development through consistent, purposeful interactions. Leaders deploy additional staff to provide extra support and translate summary reports to ensure that all families remain fully involved. As a result, children make significant and sustained progress from their starting points.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders and staff deliver a highly inclusive and ambitious curriculum for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. They accurately assess what children know and plan precise next steps to secure sustained progress across all areas of learning.

Staff create a rich, enabling environment that promotes choice and independence. In the creative art area, children design their own Valentine-themed pictures, use heart stickers and practise early writing, with some confidently writing their names. Staff extend learning effectively by teaching colour mixing, encouraging children to combine black and white to make grey.

Teaching is highly effective. Staff prioritise literacy and adapt activities to reflect children's interests. In the storytelling area, children retell 'The Three Little Pigs' story using masks, character spoons and model houses. They recall key phrases, such as 'I'll huff and I'll puff', and learn to take turns, strengthening social skills. Staff skilfully adapt teaching when children bring resources to the area, such as a measuring tape. Staff instinctively build on this interest by supporting children to measure the houses, supporting children's interests and deepen learning.

Staff prioritise physical development through energetic movement sessions and teach children how exercise affects their bodies. Mathematics is deeply embedded throughout. Children order numbered shapes by size, explore weight using scales and measure ingredients in sensory activities, such as making pancakes.

Achievement: Strong standard

All children, including those who face barriers to their learning, achieve highly and make excellent progress across all areas of development. Children demonstrate strong communication and language skills. For example, they eagerly engage in rhyme-time sessions, confidently selecting songs and joining in with actions. They act out familiar songs, such as marching like soldiers and performing 'I'm a Little Teapot', showing growing vocabulary, coordination and self-assurance.

Children are very well prepared for their transition to school. They begin to understand school routines through their play, confidently acting out familiar experiences within the role-play area. Children demonstrate increasing familiarity with their new school environments as they look through booklets with pictures of their local schools, enjoy stories read by teachers and visit their new school. Children are sensitively supported to manage their emotions about moving on through stories and open discussion with staff. Feedback from receiving schools highlight that children are extremely well prepared academically and emotionally for the next stage of their education.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Staff have extremely high expectations for children's behaviour. They act as positive role models, consistently promote positive manners and provide praise in abundance, helping children to understand what is expected of them. Children learn to be kind towards their friends. This supports children to develop positive relationships and play harmoniously together. Children behave exceptionally well.

Children feel safe and secure with familiar routines throughout the day. Staff use effective visual cues to help children understand transitions. For example, staff wiggle their fingers to indicate transitions in the day. Children instinctively stop what they are doing and listen to staff to tidy up. They show excellent listening skills and positive attitudes towards their learning. Special helper roles, such as 'snack helpers', are allocated to children. They proudly help staff to prepare snack for their peers, providing them with a sense of independence, responsibility and belonging in the setting.

Leaders understand the importance of attendance and the impact this has on children's development, particularly for disadvantaged children. They work closely with families to promote this and follow clear policies to ensure that every child makes the most out of their attendance at the setting.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders implement an effective key-person system based on children's natural attachments, helping them to form secure relationships and support their wellbeing. Staff provide thorough settling-in sessions and detailed welcome packs to ensure that families feel informed and supported from the outset. They make appropriate adjustments for children who face barriers to learning, including offering additional settling-in sessions where needed. Staff work closely with parents and professionals to understand and meet individual needs, carefully managing medical conditions and allergies, including epilepsy, to keep children safe.

Staff fully promote children to make healthy choices. Regular visits to outdoor spaces and physical play opportunities help children to stay active. Children develop a secure understanding of healthy eating. Staff use snack time as opportunity to talk to children about healthy foods and how these impact on their bodies. Leaders promote healthy eating with families, encouraging ideas to put in children's lunchboxes. Children show good levels of independence with their self-care, confidently washing their hands and using tongs to self-serve their own fruit.

Staff teach children how to keep themselves healthy and safe, with displays on oral health and regular discussions about stranger danger and road safety, while on trips out in the community.

While staff deployment is effective for most routines throughout the day, on occasions at the end of mealtimes, staff are not always deployed effectively to ensure that children are consistently supported, which results in them becoming distracted.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have a clear and ambitious drive to provide the very best care for all children, including those that face barriers to their learning. They adopt a reflective approach to continually evaluate the effectiveness of the care and experiences children receive, for example developing plans to further enhance the outside area with an improved mud kitchen to increase opportunities for children to build their physical skills and imaginative play.

Leaders follow safer recruitment procedures to ensure that suitable staff are employed. New staff are fully inducted and allocated a mentor to support them with their roles and wellbeing. Staff are well supported through regular monitoring and receive routine supervision and appraisal sessions where focused targets are identified to help them build on their professional development. Leaders ensure that all mandatory training is kept up to date and work closely with the local authority to enhance the environment to promote positive engagement for children. Occasionally, training is not always targeted sharply enough on supporting children's individual learning needs.

Leaders establish strong partnerships with parents, actively involving them in children's learning. Initiatives, such as the 'Paddington Bear' project, encourage parents to share photos of the bear's adventures, which children discuss during carpet time. Staff share children's next steps and offer regular consultations to discuss progress. Annual parent surveys inform improvements. Families are invited to events, including Easter celebrations, sports days and leavers' graduations, and newsletters keep them well informed about activities and developments.