The Childcare Village

Inclusion: Expected standard

Managers are passionate about ensuring that every child can access and enjoy their time at the setting. Managers and staff are generally swift to identify and support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face other barriers to their learning. Staff are knowledgeable and have ongoing training to help them fulfil their roles in supporting children with SEND or with specific medical needs. They typically demonstrate a targeted approach, working closely with other agencies and parents to set goals and monitor these closely to measure the impact. Generally children benefit from a consistent approach. Additional funding is used wisely to support the children it is allocated to. For example, resources are purchased with clear consideration of children's individual needs. This helps ensure that children, including those with SEND, those who are disadvantaged and those known to social care, make progress from their individual starting points. Managers and staff are skilled in finding out about children's unique needs before they start. They use this knowledge to help them to make adaptations so all children can engage. For example, they provide sensory experiences as children enter the setting. This offers a focus for children who find it difficult to separate from their parents and helps them to settle happily. Managers and children have regular meetings with all agencies involved in a child's care to ensure a clear focus on supporting improvements. This ensures that children are safe and well supported throughout their time at the setting and as they transition to their next stage of learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders's recent improvements to the curriculum and learning environment are supporting progress, however, the delivery of the curriculum is not yet embedded. Activities are sometimes too open ended, and expectations for individual learning can be unclear. This means teaching is not always sharply focused on building children's current knowledge and skills. The setting benefits from high numbers of staff employed to support children. This helps to minimise any impact of the weakness in teaching, and overall children make steady progress, although not as rapid as it could be.

Staff offer a broad curriculum with a clear intention to support children in readiness for their next stage of learning. For example, they provide opportunities for children to develop language, offering new words to build their vocabulary. They support children's physical skills, helping children to manipulate objects and offering activities to help children practice their balance and co-ordination. The setting has a clear focus on building children's independence and children become competent and confident learners.

Staff demonstrate how to use resources effectively and they use good questioning techniques to support children's language development. Teaching for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged has a sharper focus and staff interactions for these children are increasingly tailored to support children in achieving their next steps. Staff use assessment effectively to identify gaps in learning and additional funding is used with clear consideration to support the individual needs of the children it is in place for.

Achievement: Expected standard

Overall, despite the occasional weakness in teaching of the curriculum, children make steady progress across the areas of learning. They benefit from the high numbers of staff in place to support them, children regularly work in exceptionally small groups with one member of staff and enjoy one to one support at times. Staff are well placed to observe children closely and support their engagement and perseverance in learning. As a result, children are confident, demonstrate positive social skills and show a good attitude to learning. Children skilfully complete independence tasks, such as managing their lunch box, opening containers and unwrapping items. They use recall skills as they join in singing time. Children with less language use actions to join in and all children show delight as they remember the songs that match the prop they have chosen. They demonstrate effective recall and memory. Children are confident communicators. They respond to questions during play and use spontaneous language. For example, children point excitedly and say 'bye bye butterfly' as they notice a butterfly in the garden.

Children with less language communicate using gestures and objects of reference. They take staff by the hand to show them what they want. All children are able to make choices and communicate their wishes. Children enjoy reading. They happily take books into cosy and quieter areas to read. Children develop their physical skills as they manipulate dough and squeeze bottles. This helps to develop their finger strength and dexterity. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are developing a range of new skills that help to prepare them for their next stage of learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Managers and staff have worked hard to adapt routines since the last inspection. This has helped children to feel secure at the setting. They are eager to engage and they thoroughly enjoy their time at the setting. These changes have had a positive impact on children's behaviour, helping them to follow routines and supporting children's resilience and self-regulation. Managers remain focused on further improvements as they have identified that care tasks, such as changing nappies, sometimes disrupt the children's learning. In addition, the high numbers of staff employed ensures they can re direct children to re engage on the occasions they loose concentration. Managers and staff establish a culture of respect and form secure relationships with children. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those known to be vulnerable benefit from personalised routines. Effective partnerships with parents support consistency between setting and home routines. Expectations for positive behaviour are in place and staff model consistently kind and caring behaviours. Staff recognise that some children need more support and offer this with sensitive and gentle encouragement. Children typically behave well and form close relationships with staff and their friends. Managers work closely with parents to encourage attendance. They monitor patterns of attendance consistently and strive to adapt the service to meet individual needs and to ensure children receive their full entitlement.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

The key person system is typically well embedded. Managers and staff know children and their families well. They spend time gathering information to find out about children's personalities and needs when they first start. This helps them to adapt routines and sessions to ensure each child feels happy, secure and benefits from their time at the setting. The secure attachments between children and staff are clear. Staff show respect for children, asking their opinions and giving children regular choices throughout the day. This supports children's emotional wellbeing and helps to develop confidence and independence. Staff show genuine pride in children's achievements. Children beam in delight as staff recognise and celebrate their achievements. Staff help children to express how they are feeling. For instance, some children struggle to share resources. Staff acknowledge their frustration and recognise this is an appropriate stage in their development. They help children to learn new words to describe their feelings. Managers recognise that the local area has a high number of children with oral tooth decay. As children start at the setting, they support families who do not have a dentist to access one. They offer menu cards and food bags to help families make healthy meals, reducing the sugars children have. Furthermore, they have plans to provide children's meals to mirror their teaching about healthy food choices. Effective hygiene routines are well embedded across the nursery. Children are competent in washing their hands. Older children know to use and bin tissues and staff support younger children to manage this task. This promotes children's overall positive health and wellbeing.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders are passionate. They have worked in close partnership work with the local authority in making changes to the learning environment. This has resulted in improvements to children's continuous learning, engagement and attitude to learning. Changes to the curriculum are not yet fully embedded and it is too soon for the impact of this work to be seen, however, children are making steady progress. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those known to be vulnerable benefit from a well-planned curriculum that is closely tailored to their needs.

Managers understand the strengths of the setting and the areas they want to improve next. They provide a wealth of support to the staff team, ensuring their workload is manageable. Since the last inspection, leaders have implemented new arrangements for staff supervision and training. Staff say they feel well supported and their enthusiasm for their work is evident. However, training and targets typically focus on wellbeing and safeguarding. Managers have identified improvements needed in staff teaching which leads to occasional inconsistencies in teaching practice. Managers make decisions that are in the best interests of children. For instance, they seek funds to make changes that enable children to move freely during most parts of the day. This allows children who learn best outdoors to benefit from this learning. Strengths in leadership and governance are show in the well-embedded partnership work. For example, they work in partnership with parents and work with other agencies, such as the Local authority and specialists who support individual children.