The Academy at Almondbury

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Caring and nurturing staff greet children and families warmly at this welcoming nursery. Staff form positive relationships with children. Children are settled and happy. Babies show confidence in the care of their key person. They wave and say, 'Hi' to visitors. Managers create a home-from-home environment that allows children to make choices in their learning. Children access the resources independently. They have a positive attitude to their learning. Babies enjoy scooping the sand and watching intently as it falls. They count one, two, three, and say ready, steady, go, as they wait for the sand to fall. Children are focused and engaged. They become independent learners. Staff teach children to be considerate of others and help their friends. They teach children the rules of simple playground games. Children follow the rules and wait patiently for their turn. Their behaviour is good.

Managers plan trips and outings to give children a range of opportunities and experiences. Children learn about the environment and the importance of recycling. This helps children to develop an understanding of the world around them. Staff create books about children's activities and trips. This helps children to revisit their previous learning. Staff build on what children know and can do. Children remember and talk about their past experiences. They make good progress and are ready for their next stage in their development.

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

• Managers have a good understanding of the community they serve. They plan a curriculum that is tailored to meet the needs of all children who attend. Staff constantly review and adapt this to ensure they meet the individual needs of children. The curriculum is ambitious and gives children the knowledge and skills they need in life. Children are well prepared for their move on to school.
• Staff read and sing with children throughout the day. They teach actions to the songs, as they sing the rhymes. Young children excitedly join in. Babies enjoy looking at board books. Older children lay on their tummies looking at books, as they tell the story to their friends. Children enjoy visits to the library. Staff provide a lending library for families to use. Children enjoy stories, songs and rhymes.
• Staff are positive role models. Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. Staff speak clearly and remodel sentences back to children, using the correct pronunciation. They comment on what children are doing. Staff repeat key words as they play with children. Children make good progress in their communication and language development.
• Children enjoy healthy snacks and meals. They develop their independent skills. Children learn to serve their own food and pour their own drinks. Staff encourage children to use a knife and fork. Mealtimes are a sociable time. Staff teach children good hygiene routines from an early age. Babies learn to wash their hands before eating. Older children learn to wipe their own noses and to wash their hands afterwards. This supports children's good health.
• Staff complete the progress check at age two. They share this with parents. Managers work closely with the local authority to share information with health visitors where needed. They use additional funding effectively to support children's needs. For example, they purchase resources and offer children experiences to support their knowledge and understanding of the world, such as trips to the theatre and a local pet shop. This helps children to develop an understanding of the world around them.
• Managers implement a supervision system to support staff development. However, this does not always focus on how staff can improve their individual teaching practice. Managers have identified the need to support staff to develop their skills. However, this is not yet embedded to ensure staff have the training, coaching and support to improve their teaching to a consistently high level.
• Managers and staff develop positive partnerships with parents and carers. They share information with parents daily, through an online app and during parent meetings. Parents find the online app useful to keep up to date with their child's learning and development. Parents appreciate the experiences their children receive while attending the nursery. They comment their children feel safe and happy in the care of staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen supervisions to provide staff with targeted coaching and training so that they can develop their practice to a consistently high level.