The Blue Strawberry Kids Daycare Ltd

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff show a strong commitment to inclusion and early identification of additional needs. In the key-person role, staff actively monitor children's development, including using a communication monitoring tool. This greatly helps staff to identify potential delays early and respond promptly with suitable support. This approach is very effective in ensuring children receive support as early as possible. Leaders and staff excel at supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as those who face barriers to learning. They work closely with external professionals, such as speech and language therapists. Staff participate in training initiatives that help to strengthen their skills, such as training that focuses on children's communication and language skills. This helps to place a strong emphasis on building children's communication skills.

Leaders and staff carefully consider how they use additional funding to ensure gaps in children's learning and development close quickly. For example, they provide story sacks for use at home to support language development and use inclusion funding to enhance staffing ratios, where extra support is needed.

Staff involve families in discussions about their child's development and support strategies. For instance, leaders assist parents in accessing suitable funding and hold regular meetings to evaluate how the funding supports children's progress. Staff take time to understand each child's needs, adapt activities accordingly and work closely with families and external agencies. As a result, the setting consistently removes barriers to children's learning, ensuring all children make good progress.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The curriculum covers all areas of learning effectively. Staff have a good understanding of what they want children to learn. They understand children's next steps and support children well throughout their play. Staff use assessments to plan activities that help children build their learning over time. Generally, interactions are effective, but sometimes inconsistent across rooms. For example, staff need to provide more focused support for older children during interactions to maximise opportunities for their learning and improve outcomes.

Staff introduce a range of knowledge and skills during activities. For example, they introduce early mathematical vocabulary, such as big and small, when children explore flowers in an imagination tray. Children explore the smell and texture of the flowers and staff model words, such as 'sticky'. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities using Makaton and visual aids to help them understand and join in. They introduce stories, rhymes and songs to enhance children's language skills. Staff allow children plenty of time to respond, which helps to build their self-confidence.

Staff provide many opportunities for children to develop their personal, social and emotional development. For example, daily group time activities help children to become confident in expressing their emotions and talking about their feelings. This helps children to develop confidence and respect each others' views and feelings. In addition they learn to take turns and listen to their friends.

Staff ensure that children enhance their physical development. Pre-school children learn to hold scissors and begin snipping paper and squeezing pipettes. Toddlers develop hand strength as they push pipe cleaners into dough and fill and empty containers in sand play. Outdoors, a wealth of play equipment helps children develop strength, balance and coordination skills.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to learning, demonstrate that they understand and follow instructions and join in routines. They progress well in their learning and development from their starting points. Children move between rooms with growing confidence and independence, and continue building on what they know and can do. For example, consolidating the ability to dress and undress, pour water from a jug and hold cutlery at mealtimes. Children show that they learn to make choices by choosing who and what they want to play with.

Children feel confident to join in singing songs. They sing along with familiar nursery rhymes and copy actions. Children listen carefully and learn to communicate their needs clearly. Older children become increasingly confident in recognising their names on name cards and the days of the week during registration. Children develop essential skills that prepare them for the next stage of their learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff uphold high expectations for children's behaviour. Leaders have provided training to support staff in this area since the last inspection. Staff encourage children to cooperate and play nicely with each other during routines and play. As a result, many children display confidence, curiosity and sustained engagement in activities.

Staff model positive behaviour well. For example, they support children in tidying resources before mealtimes, participating in group activities and developing independence and social skills. These approaches help children understand routines and enhance their overall wellbeing and sense of responsibility. Older children receive clear expectations from staff. For example, they explain that they want to 'hear singing voices' and for everyone to have their 'listening ears on'. Staff are generally effective at promoting positive behaviour. However, staff do not consistently implement these strategies introduced by leaders, particularly when supporting younger children in sharing resources. In these situations, strategies to teach turn-taking and patience are not always applied consistently by staff.

Strong partnerships and supportive relationships with parents promote attendance. Staff work closely with parents who may face challenges to ensure children continue attending the setting regularly.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Morning handovers from parents are clearly shared with all staff. This helps greatly in meeting children's individual needs. As a result, children settle extremely well and form close, secure and trusting relationships with their key person and all staff.

Staff provide excellent support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to help them begin to understand their feelings and manage their emotions. This includes using quiet areas in playrooms and a sensory den. Group time activities are consistent between all rooms and staff prioritise encouraging children to reflect on what has made them happy or sad and to explore their emotions further.

Leaders consistently prioritise children's health and wellbeing. Leaders and staff give high priority to accommodating children's dietary needs, ensuring they are met through an inclusive, varied and nutritious menu. They diligently check meals and ensure children's safety. There are robust care practices that are highly effective at keeping children safe. Staff consistently support children's sleeping and feeding routines, working in partnership with parents. Children thrive as they enjoy plenty of fresh air and access an inviting outdoor play area with ample space to run and jump.

Staff encourage children's independence at all times. For instance, children learn from an early age to pour their own drinks from small jugs. They learn to use the toilet independently and follow good hygiene procedures, such as washing their hands. In addition, staff consistently prioritise children's understanding of safety. For example, children are taught how to handle scissors safely and learn about road safety when walking to the nearby church hall. These experiences effectively support the development of their confidence and self-esteem.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Since the last inspection, there has been a change in leadership. Leaders have been proactive in making the necessary changes and now have a clear vision for the setting. Their passion for their roles has had a positive influence on the organisation of the setting. Leaders now have effective systems in place to monitor the quality of teaching and learning. This includes regular supervision meetings and more opportunities to enhance their professional development. There is now a sharp focus on senior staff modelling best practice and setting personalised goals for the team. This is helping raise teaching quality and helping leaders identify where staff can improve further. Leaders have also identified additional staff training, such as developing children's communication skills and supporting children's understanding and developing visual timetables. This has placed a stronger focus on children's communication and language skills and developing routines to support children's positive behaviour. Staff speak highly of the support they receive from leaders.

The support that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those with barriers to learning, receive is a strength of the setting. Leaders and staff are effective at working closely with parents and other professionals to support children's care and learning. This ensures all children make good progress.

Parents appreciate the communication from the setting. They receive regular newsletters and have daily updates via a messaging app about their child's day. Furthermore, they share their child's next steps, and parents can share information from home. This helps greatly to ensure a continuity of care and learning for every child.